Last weekend wasn't up to much farming wise. The snow stopped us finishing drilling the last of our sugar beet and it was too cold for the seeds to germinate in any case. But to be honest I didn't spend too much time worrying about it.
My wife, Lorna, and I went to Gloucestershire for the weekend. The main reason was to attend the golden wedding anniversary of some old friends and that turned out to be an excellent party with great speeches and delicious food. Indeed the whole weekend was a gourmet's delight.
At the wedding anniversary we ate roast beef finished on the familys' own farm followed by, among other things, a wonderful selection of English cheeses. And I'll let you into a secret - it all took place at the home of Suzie Paton, FW Farmlife columnist, the daughter-in- law of the couple whose wedding we were celebrating.
On the way there we called in at the Elvedon Estate near Thetford, owned by Lord Iveagh, for a snack lunch in the restaurant he's set up there as part of a rural shopping complex in some old farm buildings. The food isn't cheap but boy is it good quality, like the rest of the development. Lorna says it reminds her of the Chatsworth House shopping and eating experience and its virtually all home produced. In any event I had one of the best bowls of soup and crusty bread I had ever tasted. And that was lunch.
On Saturday evening we went to The Bell at Sapperton, just south of the A417. The pub advertises itself as "one of the dining delights of the Cotswolds" and I won't argue with that. Once again the food was locally produced. I had a ribeye steak, for instance, cut from a Hereford steer, produced on a farm near Cirencester.
It was beautifully cooked and very tasty and the service, mainly I have to say, by young South African waiters and waitresses, was quick, polite and efficient.
I didn't eat them because contrary to appearances, I do try to control my intake, but the sweets were equally appealing and most were also made from local ingredients. Here too there was a magnificent display of English cheeses - Smarts Double Gloucester, Sharpham Brie, Dorset Blue Vinny and Devon Oke. It was the sort of place you felt privileged to visit. And it was doing a great job of promoting British and South Western agriculture.
Back home in Norfolk, the weather is still unsettled and cold and we still haven't finished those sugar beet. But the diet starts here.