June 2007 Archives

Ever wondered how to raise the subject of infidelity with the vicar? Or whether ferrets smell? Or what to do about a dog with piles?

Farmer Frank, the agony uncle, has been spouting off (sorry, offering advice) on these matters and more. Read his latest and previous musings here.

The Royal Show is a great day out.

It’s world famous for its livestock – though not so well known, it has to be said, for medical prosthetics and incontinence pads.

Big-hearted Reaseheath College students raised £9000 through their RAG (Raising And Giving) appeal for the children’s charity When You Wish Upon a Star.

They're looking for old fat ones.

Trees, that is. Yes, the Ancient Tree Hunt has begun. It involves thousands of people - and if you love trees, you can take part.

I heard about the hunt on the Today programme on Radio 4 this morning.

We like Today, here at Field Day, although seem to be in the minority in thinking that Ed Stourton is the best presenter by a country mile.

I was lucky enough to get on the show earlier this year, talking about the country smells debate which we had running. You can listen to it again here (see the 7:48am slot). OK, it's not high politics, but it's still a fascinating subject...

This is it, this is D day.

My cats, Numeg and Parsley (Nutters and Pars) had their last dose of antibiotics 24 hours ago so are now officially going cold turkey.

It's hard to imagine how terrible it must be to be affected by the flooding.

I read this morning that Field Day reader and fellow blogger Sara was woken in the early hours to find her farm has been badly hit by the rising water. Our thoughts are with you, Sara.

Other flooding news is also available here.

One of the disadvantages of visiting - or living in - London is the underground.

It's horrible - especially in the summer when the smell in the carriages often resembles a mountain of unwashed socks.

It's rare that anything tube-related makes me smile - so I was pleased to be told about this website by Field Day reader Hannah Velten. It shows animals on the underground. Figuratively-speaking...

We've talked about artist Tania Stubbs before on this blog.

Those nice people at her gallery have just sent me some pictures of her working. Sadly, they're a little out of my price range - but I thought I'd share one with you.

Glastonbury might be great for music lovers - but it's not so good for wildlife, according to The Countryside Restoration Trust.

Field Day has learnt the boss of the charity has written to the festival's organiser, farmer Michael Eavis, asking him to change the date of next year's event to August for the sake of wildlife.

The CRT has also contacted the police informing them that the Festival could have broken the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

We've obviously started something here.

All this talk of rural songs has got you thinking - and here are 10 song titles with an agricultural theme from Ben Machen. OK, he's tweaked them a little, but I think they're hilarious.

Strawberry Fields for Heifers, by The Beatles
Manure in Love with a Beautiful Woman, by Dr Hook
Raddle and Hum, by U2
The Tracks of my Steers, by Smokey Robinson
Always Take the Wether with you, by Crowded House
The Tines They Need a Changing, by Bob Dylan
Shakerate, rattle and roll, by Bill Haley
The Power-harrow of love, by Frankie Goes to Hollywood
You Gotta Cambridge Roll with it, by Oasis
Sheep Drive Me Crazy, by Fine Young Cannibals

Farms are often used as sites for striking adverts.

But this one stands out from the crowd - it's a 100,000 sq ft ad for a pole-dancing club painted in a field. As to where it's situated, it's right beneath the flight line for Gatwick Airport.

It's certainly a visible spot - but the ad's causing quite a controversy.

I've been asked by Field Day reader Guy Bishop for less on cats and more on big agricultural kit.

So here you are Guy, this one's for you. A video of the world's most powerful tractor in action. Enjoy...

Cows and construction might not normally mix - but there are exceptions to this rule, as this great story on a Contract Journal blog demonstrates...

Our campaign to spark a Wurzels revival here at Field Day has received a setback.

The band, loved by rural revellers everywhere, has pulled out of Glastonbury which starts tomorrow.

Come on, Glastonbury, sort it out!

New Holland tractors are playing their part in the world-famous Glastonbury Festival which opens tomorrow.

Two NH TSA115 and two TLA90 tractors are being used in the festival's build up, all running on 100% biodiesel, so increasing the event's green credentials. They'll also be in operation during and after the festival to help with the clear-up.

Proud mum Fiona Watts sent us this picture of her son, two-week-old Harry. She wonders if he's Farmers Weekly's youngest reader...

"He enjoyed drooling at the tractors and the cows and then fell asleep when it all got too much for him!" she says.

We like unusual events here at Field Day.

Remember the mink raft workshop? The worm charming championship?

This one also caught my eye - the first Lancashire and north west scythe festival.

Various events are taking place on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 July, including scything workshops, a competition and a clinic - demonstrating such things as restoration techniques and how to re-temper blades.

You can find out more by calling 01706 827961.

I went then. I made it to the Farming Full Monty.

I'm working on the article and some video footage of the actual event today, so you'll be able to see that soon, but here in the meantime is a photograph from the night.

The crowd, as you can see, was pretty lively!

Tomorrow is the big day (no pun intended).

I'm heading to Cumbria to watch these brave, brave lads reenact a scene from The Full Monty in their local village hall for charity.

I'll let you know how it goes - but in the meantime you can watch a video of them rehearsing.

It's like buses.

I haven't talked about music for ages, but mention The Wurzels and I suddenly discover all sorts of talk in the blogosphere about rural music.

You don't have to be a genius to work out the countryside is changing.

Everywhere you go it's happening: sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly. It's never stayed the same and it never will.

Some of these changes are regrettable: the disappearance of hop fields from my native Kent, for example. Others are to be welcomed - they're testimony to the entrepreneurial spirit of farmers and land managers.

The extent of these changes have come into focus today, though, with the publication of a report by Natural England called Tracking Change in the Character of the English Landscape.

Is the countryside a green and pleasant land?

It might be green but it's certainly not pleasant, if the results of a new study are representative.

Now maybe I've got my rose-tinted spectacles on here, but I'm convinced being young was better years ago.

Long bike rides, roaming miles across the fields, building tree houses, sailing along rivers on rafts... this was all part of growing up in the countryside. Nowadays most kids seem to spend their time glued to tv screens and computer monitors.

They're coming out of the woodwork now.

Since my post on The Wurzels, I've had about a dozen people tell me they're big fans of the Somerset band.

Field Day reader Adam was among the first to 'fess up, proudly stating that he has everything they've ever released in his collection.

This could be the start of something big. Come on, all you secret (and not-so-secret) Wurzels lovers. Let's go out and buy more of their stuff.

Who knows where it could end. Another appearance for the band on Top of the Pops? A Christmas number one?

Any band that can write a song called I am a Cider Drinker has to be touched by genius...

A model of a Lake District landscape made from a shoebox, matchboxes and stone chippings. Paint pots filled with different types of material from fresh milk to fresh cowdung.

Sound like the sort of thing Damien Hirst might dream up? In fact, they're among the artworks created by artist Georgina Barney.

Hares are beautiful creatures.

Mountain hares, especially, are one of our most fascinating native animals - an integral part of the countryside for over 12,000 years, with most living in the Scottish hills.

I've seen The Wurzels play live.

Now maybe that doesn't have the same cachet as saying I've been to a Stones gig or I was at Live Aid when the late great Freddie Mercury stole the show - but as crowd pleasers go, The Wurzels are hard to beat.

Calling all modern-day Fred Flintstones and Barney Rubbles.

Ever fancied owning a cave home? That's exactly what's on offer at an auction in Kidderminster next month.

Today is the middle day of the Royal Cornwall Show - one of the shows where Dave Smith, the human cannonball, is perfoming.

Dave, aka "the bullet", certainly impressed my friends who saw him at the Bath and West last week.

As Sir Alan Sugar might say on The Apprentice: You're fired!

I'm beginning to appreciate the true cost of pet ownership.

My two new kittens, Nutmeg and Parsley, had to go back to the vet this week - and he ended up keeping them in overnight.

Seeing as we've been compiling lists, here's another one.

The magazine, Country Life, recently compiled one of the things we should save for future generations in rural areas - it featured such things as red squirrels, lapwings, bluebells and water voles.

Here are my 10 suggestions to go on this list:

Kingfishers
Inglenook fireplaces
Village pubs
Village idiots
Red telephone boxes
Wild brown trout
Village noticeboards
Oak trees
Wells
Cow parsley in hedgerows

Wow. More than 12,000 visitors came to Sunday's Open Day and Country Fair at Myerscough College.

Here are a few of the highlights in pictures. It's the lawnmower racing I like the look of most...

Talking about interesting names, when it comes to curious and quirky ones pubs often score highly.

One that was actually named after a farmer is The Tom Cobley Tavern in Spreyton on Dartmoor.

Tom Cobley was an 18th century farmer (made famous by the folk song Widdacombe Fair) who left from the spot on a horse to attend the Fair.

Haven't been to the pub myself, but I hear it's very good - and its recently been named as the Campaign for Real Ales national pub of the year.

I've talked about amusing village names before.

Farm names are also endlesly fascinating. I heard about one near Otterburn in Northumberland this morning called Shittleheugh Farm.

Maybe it's pronounced differently? Like it's Hyancith Bouquet - not Buckett.

OK, so it's maybe not as brave as taking your clothes off, but you can't knock this lot for originality.

Here it then, the much-anticapted video - a dress rehearsal of the six rural guys who are about to re-enact The Full Monty for charity.

Be afraid, be very afraid...

I once tried to take up golf. It bored me senseless. I never could quite see the point of it.

Farm dogs are no strangers to hard graft.

Whether they're rounding up sheep or hunting vermin, they're always eager to please.

But these two black labs have a special skill. They're helping in the fight against music and film piracy.

June means birdsong is at its glorious best.

We've written about birds a lot on Field Day - whether it's how lovely lapwings are, or an Egyptian vulture in East Anglia.

But now you can test your knowledge of birdsong in a fantastic competition. All you've got to do is match the audio clips to the birds and you could win some great prizes.

The competition is only open to you if you're 16 or under - but adults can play along, too, just for fun...

Who says country people aren't a soft-hearted lot?

Diana Lewis of Witheridge in North Devon has just rescued five tiny hedgehogs from a barn.

She nurtured the tiny, blind orphans back to health after their mother disappeared - before handing them over to an animal rescue centre. All together now: Aaarrrgggh!

I love regional dialect - two of my favourite examples are the words rum and ginnel.

The former is often heard in Norfolk - in such contexts as "that's a rum old do" or "he's a rum bugger", meaning peculiar.

The latter is a northern word for a passageway between buildings.