Hello, I’m Jack.

I’m a British expat living in Texas who, in what seemed an entirely reasonable escalation, bought five acres of desert near Terlingua and decided to build an off-grid home on it. It is a generous expanse of caliche, cactus, and optimism.

The plan is to build a home there. This would be considerably easier if the land possessed water, power, shade, level ground or a cooperative attitude. It does not. It does, however, have extraordinary views and plenty of room in which to reconsider earlier decisions.

A Brit Wild is where I document what happens next: designing and building the place, choosing tools and systems, solving problems, revising plans whenever reality clears its throat and celebrating anything that works correctly the first time. Should that happen, I intend to photograph it.

This is not only a construction diary. It will also include hikes, climbs, road trips, outdoor challenges, travel, drone projects, and occasional detours sparked by the phrase, “How difficult can it be?” Some will go well. The rest will probably make better stories.

My route here has included theatre, commercial diving, offshore work and expeditions. This has made me fairly comfortable with logistics, technical problems and plans unraveling in scenic locations. I’ve also learned that experience does not prevent mistakes. It simply gives you more specific vocabulary while making them.

The newsletter is a monthly-ish account of the progress, setbacks and lessons generally learned the hard way. It is monthly-ish because the desert has yet to recognize an editorial calendar. I’ll share useful things when I discover them, mistakes when I make them and the honest version of events rather than the suspiciously polished one.

Thanks for stopping by. This is the story of what happens next, or at least the version the desert permits.

Jack Opie