May 2007 Archives

Hats off to farmers Peter Howard and John Ballard - they're about to attempt a 240-mile walk for charity.

Deep breaths. Count to 10. Calm.

It's no good. I'm incandescent with rage.

Having written about the curse of fly-tipping before, I now discover I've become a victim.

Talking of cheese, here's another piece of cheese-related news.

Cheddar cheese has come second in a poll which asked 3,500 foodies to list "the uniquely British ingredients that have had the most impact on world cuisine".

Worcestershire Sauce topped the list - I love it although only seem to have it these days in Bloody Marys.

Jellied eels also made it into the Top 10. Yuk!

You can't begrudge spending money on pets.

That said, young Nutmeg and Parsley do seem to be costing me a fortune.

I was hoping that, as they came from a farm, they'd be strong - but the vet tells me that sometimes farm cats can be exposed to all sorts of nasties in the first few weeks of their life. Hence their sniffles and upset tums.

They still love chicken, though. And here's Parsley having a nice cup of tea. Two sugars, please.

I don't know about tea - I needed something stronger after the vet gave me his last bill!

It was like the FA Cup.

Without the football, obviously. And with cheese.

Yes this year's internationally-acclaimed cheese rolling event took place in Gloucestershire yesterday.

And if you think cheese rolling sounds a curious rural pursuit, what about worm charming....

Here's a question for you? Where do you find 17 Clubs competing against each other in 79 classes, ranging from chariot racing to flower arranging?

There are so few Shire Horses around these days - that every one born is a cause for celebration.

If you would like to see this beautiful filly foal, you can at Sacrewell Farm & Country Centre near Peterborough.

Sporting buffs will have the chance to get their hands on some rare treasures at a sale at Perth Racecourse on June 16.

One of the highlights of the Scottish Sporting Sale will be a painting by A Roland Knight called 'Salmon on the fly' which is valued at £1,500-£1,800.

There'll also be sporting guns, big game trophy heads and a collection of fishing tackle.

The picture shown, Roaring Stag, by Malcolm Coward measures 25.5 x 35.5cms and carries and estimate of £400-£600.

The event comes not long after another auction by Cheffins in Cambridge when more than 700 sporting lots went under the hammer.

I promised not to go on about my new cats, but indulge me a little bit.

Two more things I've discovered this morning. It seems that my arms will now be permanently covered with scratches (a woman in the post office noticed them this morning - I reckon she thought I was a self-harmer.)

And, rather worryingly, I seem to be paying an unnauturally large amount of attention to the number of times they use the litter tray. All well in that department, I'm pleased to report...

The pair of them, after a few sniffs and sneezes, seem to be getting stronger every day. They came from a farm: so I'm hoping they're of hearty rural stock...

I joined Farmers Weekly because I love agriculture and am endlessly fascinated by the countryside.

No one ever mentioned that I might have to watch men take their clothes off!

Anyway, I'm heading off to Cumbria shortly to watch a dress rehearsal by this group of brave farmers who are planning to do a Full Monty-style strip in their village hall for charity.

I'll let you know how it goes. Right now, I think I'd rather be visiting the RPA head office - and that's saying something!

Raise a glass to English and Welsh wine producers: new figures show that 2006 was a bumper year for them.

Production stats from the Food Standards Agency show one of the highest volumes on record, with 3,369,000 million bottles set to be produced.

We like pets here at Field Day.

I'm fond of dogs, but it's cat's I really love. So I've been beside myself with excitement this weekend - having got two new kittens.

You've been telling me all about funnily-named places since I wrote about quirky village names.

Thanks for the ones you'ev sent in - my favourites so far are 'Lost' in Aberdeenshire, Hell in Norway and Slack Botton near Halifax.

I've even been told about - and I guess this is one you wouldn't want to misspell - a road called Pennis Lane in Kent. And where's this? Believe it or not, in Fawkham!

He's old, he's unreasonable and he certainly speaks his mind. Some people think he's hilarious, others think he's offensive. Meet Farmer Frank, our fictional therapist.

Bad news for country dwellers today, as the government announces its plans for rural post offices.

The details are only now filtering out, but the shake-up announced by Trade and Industry secretary Alistair Darling could see 2500 rural post offices disappear.

How's this for a novel way of raising money?

Young countryman Nelson Bacon has done a 10-mile sponsored walk with his ferret, Gordon, to raise funds for the Countryside Alliance.

The 11-year-old from Shipton-under-Wychwood in Oxfordshire who hunts with the Heythrop, raised £100 for the Alliance.

"The countryside will be in safe hands if the next generation is as committed and positive as Nelson," said Countryside Alliance spokeswoman Charlotte Fiander.

Gordon hasn't yet commented...

Everyone likes Bill Bryson.

The American writer, best known for his book Notes from a Small Island, is now all set to become president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

Staff at the organisation tell me he can't wait to get stuck into the job.

Meanwhile the author has announced one of his first priorities: to tackle the scourge of litter and fly-tipping in the countryside.

He's obviously can't bear the thought of having to call his next book Notes from a Dirty Island!

I first saw Tania Still's work at the Game Fair. It stopped me in my tracks.

I soon discovered she's well known for her paintings of hounds - fox hounds, greyhounds and mink hounds, although she's also turned her hand to beagles and harriers.

I've just had a bacon sandwich - and jolly nice it was, too.

Eating it reminded me of this little gem of a story which has been circulating about how to make the perfect bacon butty. Apparently, scientists have researched it.

Whatever next - how to make the perfect cup of tea? Well, funnily enough, boffins do give guidance on that as well...

This made me laugh out loud this morning when I saw this in the Daily Mail - it's a Shetland sheep which bears more than a passing resemblance to a panda.

Reaseheath agriculture students prepared and showed world class calves from the famous Genus MOET herd as part of the college's Open Day and Festival recently.

Twenty students showed off their stockmanship skills, with 17-year-old Cerys Crank the champion handler with Shottle Almira.

Mark Robinson, who is also 17, took reserve with and Shottle Jean. Both are National Diploma in Agriculture students.

You may remember when I was at the Young Farmers convention in Torquay, I met a journalist from the Sunday Times who was writing an article for the paper's Style supplement.

Well it's been published now, and you can read it here. Let me know what you think.

I mentioned in my last post how unfit I am.

I don't play any sport these days, spend too much time chained to a desk and the only real exercise I get is walking - but I do love walking in the countryside. I think my all-time favourite day was around the beautiful Derwentwater in the Lake District.

Good news, then, that if new research is to be believed walking is good not just for your physical health, but also for your mental wellbeing.

Strikes me this will be welcome news to farmers who, without realising, clock up miles on foot simply going about their daily work...

People who fancy trying their hand at shooting but don't normally get a chance will get the ideal opportunity soon, with National Shooting Week kicking off on May 26.

There's some fantastically-named villages in Britain.

Someone's just given me a copy of a new book called Far From Dull and other Places by Dominic Greyer.

It's full of photos of place name signs - including this one, Pity Me, in Durham. Apparently it's a humourous term for a barren piece of land.

I also like Drinker's End (relating to the family name Drynkar), Ripe (from the old English word 'ripp' meaning a narrow bit of land) and Lower Slaughter (lower muddy place, in old English).

There are also some names with rude connotations in the book and you can see two of them below. I don't suggest you look if you're of a sensitive disposition, though...

Shakespeare's birthday to Midsummer's Day.

That's the old way of remembering the asparagus season, so I'm told. April 23 to June 21, it means in terms of actual dates.

OK, so as festivals go, they might be a bit different to Glastonbury - but I've been to a scarecrow festival before and it was great fun.

Good news for fans of Shaun the Sheep.

I've just been talking to those clever guys at Aardman Animations, who make the popular series, and they tell me a new series of 20 episodes is starting in September.

If you can't wait that long, you can see Shaun at 5.30pm on BBC1 this Sunday.

You can also see lots of photos and some behind-the-scenes facts and figures about the show here.

You've got to admire their nerve.

Six guys are preparing to do a Full Monty-style strip in a village hall in Cumbria to raise money for charity.

Tickets for the event, which takes place in Roadhead on June 16 and is in aid of Brampton Cottage Hospital, went on sale at the weekend.

They sold out within 19 minutes, prompting one of the participants Steve Pattison to tell Field Day: "We are officially more popular than Barbara Striesand!"

I'm always slightly sceptical of strange spottings in the countryside - whether it's big cats, ghosts or UFOs.

I was a little unsure what to think this morning, then, when I heard a giant vulture had been spotted in the skies over Norfolk.

But the majestic Egyptian vulture, with a six foot wingspan, has been spotted by three people, according to the local press. You can read the story here.

None of them was on the way home from the pub, either...

I'm a sucker for a cute puppy - and they don't come much cuter than Rufus, my other half's mum's new dog.

Rufus lives on a farm in Snarestone in Leicestershire - and I can't wait to meet him. He likes sleeping and chewing everything (but people's hands are his favourite).

I've just opened a letter from a gentleman called Philip Francis whose grandaughter was one of the winners of Farmers Weekly's recent kids art competition.

Sadly, we didn't get space to publish all the winning 40 pictures in the magazine, so Jodie never got to see hers in print.

Philip's asked if we could somehow publish it - "so that a gran and gramps can see a smile on Jodie's face when her picture makes the press."

So here it is. Well done, Jodie. your drawing was fab!

OK, so ploughing's mostly over for this year, but I figure I ought to at least give the guys from Reading University Agricultural Society a mention (better late than never, lads!) after their ploughing marathon.

Nearly 30 former students returned to Harper Adams recently, 50 years after they first went to the Shropshire campus as students.

The 'class of 57-59' travelled from across the UK and from as far afield as the USA, Begium and Jersey for the Golden reunion.

Ever get the feeling someone's pulling the wool over your eyes?

It certainly happened to some people recently - as this incredible story of sheep being passed off as dogs demonstrates.

Brings a whole new meaning to the word sheepdog!

Anyone interested in sustainable farming in Africa will have a chance to learn about it - on a farm in Herefordshire, of all places.

From Monday, visitors to Shortwood Farm at Pencombe will be able to see the 'African Farmyard' - complete with cow - to demonstrate the work that the agricultural charity Send a Cow does with rural families there.

Students have been battling it out in Bishop Burton College's annual stockmanship competition.

Did anyone watch The Apprentice last night?

Under the watchful (terryfying) eye of Sir Alan Sugar, the contestants were charged with taking a load of British food to France and selling it at a French market. The theory was that if they could shift the stuff there, they must have fabulous sales skills.

There are celebrations of everything these days. Even watercress gets it own day.

The Hampshire town of Alresford will be hosting a watercress festival on Sunday May 13th.

A day of watercress-themed events will celebrate these peppery little salad leaves.

I can't help but feeling celery might be feeling a bit left out...

It's May 1st - an important day in the rural calendar.

There are all sorts of activities which have been traditionally been practiced on this date to celebrate the arrival of the warmer weather. The way we're going with global warming, maybe we should think about bringing the celebration forward a month!

We promised you exclusive video footage of the Young Farmers in Torquay. Click here to watch the seven-minute film.