March 2009 Archives

You might have noticed Field Day looks different.

That nice man Adam, Farmers Weekly's blog tsar, has made it nicer and more user friendly.

The changes haven't gone unnoticed with Mr Naylor - he of the small feet and the blow-dried dogs. He isn't sure about the new mugshot of me. I think he may have a point.

I'm always interested to hear your views, so do let me know if there's anything you'd like to see more of, or less of, on the blog. All comments are welcome (although nice ones are obviously more welcome than critical ones).

I'm away on holiday next week, incidentally, so I've given the keys to Field Day to Caroline and Johann. Usual rules apply: Be nice to them and enjoy their stuff (but not, obviously, as much as mine).

Neither Caroline nor Johann, incidentally, has a titled head.

If you already know your sheep, and indeed already know more sheep, then here's a chance to get to know your combines. This natty little book, priced £4.99, is about to be published by Old Pond.

Samsung has been in touch about the sheep video that's taking the internet by storm.

The 2 minute 45 second spot, set near a 13th century Welsh castle called Caregg Cennen, has now had nearly 4 million hits.

According to the creators, it works online because it is "completely original and unvarnished".

The internet rewards newness - anything that pushes things to the limits," says Daniel Evans, a creative director from Viral Factory, the company that made it.

"It's respected because we were able to create it with just time and energy. It's not some glossy, unattainable advert."

It features shepherds and their highly trained dogs herding sheep (wearing jackets with LED lights on) through intricately coordinated stunts.

A total of 400 sheep were used in the unscripted video, 200 black and 200 white, and 43,000 lights.

The vid was released to help market Samsung Electronics' 2009 LED TVs - it works, they say, by linking smart dogs, smart shepherds, and the company's smart LED technology.

The Aussies really really don't like cane toads.

It's not hard to see why: they eat a lot, breed a lot (not unlike the Australians) and are posionous.

Tomorrow, however, is a special day. There's a special festival on. A mass killing of the creatures.

Aussies. Don't you just love em.

Can you think of a name for this lamb?

It's a female Wensleydale, part of the flock at Providence Farm near Knaresborough - and farmer Mark Elliott is looking for suggestions.
 

I don't like horses - but these are great.

They're a version of the children's toy, My Little Pony, which have been give a makeover.

A new collection sees them mimic characters from films such as Batman, Alien and Edward Scissorhands.

Long time since we've heard anything about your cats, Tim, I hear you say.

Well I don't, actually, but I took this picture last night and I rather like it.

Cat lovers, see below. Cat haters, turn away now. 

Interesting article in The Independent today about rats - whether we're right to loathe them as we do, and an account of a current plague of biblical proportions.

Is it just me, or is the bloke in the photo a splitting image on Microsoft tycoon Bill Gates?

Working for Farmers Weekly has its advantages. If you ever want a bit of gossip or insider information about farming, there's usually someone around who'll tell you.

I've managed, therefore, to find out some more about the Extreme Shepherding video that has taken Youtube (or should that be Ewetube) by storm and got nearly 3m views.

I'm loving this - it's a partridge shooting game over on Shooting Times's website.

Don't try it if you've got things to do - it's strangely addictive. And the sounds effects are great!

Obviously a slow news day on the BBC: they're running a video of a dog that likes to climb trees.

For people who are culinary challenged, even to the extent that they find boiling an egg difficult, this little device could be the answer.

Pop it in the pan and it plays tunes to let you know when your egg's cooked. My only concern is over its choice of tunes - one of which is Killing Me Softly!

It'll soon be that time of year again: I've just booked my accommodation for the Young Farmers annual convention in Blackpool at the beginning of May.

I'm told by the manager of the hotel we're staying in that The Four Tops have stayed there. After watching this video of said band, I'm not sure whether to be pleased or very worried...

See - you do learn something every day, whether it's members of the same family running Tesco, that potatoes can be purple, or that bread can make £15 a loaf.

Today, it's this: that Stonehenge changed hands in 1915 for £6600. It was bought by Cecil Chubb as a present for his wife (she gave it to the nation three years later).

The entire town of Reigate in Surrey also was sold for £203,840 in 1921.

If you're wondering why on earth someone told me this, it's beacuse a friend of mine has been researching the history of property firms, and Knight Frank did both deals. 

This picture appeared recently in Country Life - apparently it's the favourite painting of that icon of radio, Libby Purves. (Sorry, Libby, you probably would rather not be referred to as an icon!)

It's called Bright Cloud and is by someone called Alan Parker and I reckon it's lovely. I've just tried to find some stuff out about him on the web and have failed spectacularly. All I can find is Alan Parker the PR guru and Alan Parker the film director. Who says you can find anything on the internet.

I might not like The Archers - but I do like audio books. And seeing as we were talking about Lady Chatterley earlier, here's a superb audio CD version of it. It made me cry on the M1.

Love in the Present Tense by Catherine Ryan Hyde is also well worth a listen if you've got a long journey coming up.

And now I'll shut up, or I'll definitely sound like some wannabe English teacher.

Talking of books, I hear this morning that five new editions of Gerald Durrell books have been published.

A couple of beautiful tawny owl photos over on the Daily Mail's website. Makes a change form them banging on about ASBO kids and asylum seekers!

More great wildlife pictures here.

Mention the word 'gamekeeper' to a lot of people and all they'll think of is Oliver Mellors in DH Lawrence's groundbreaking (earth-moving!) book, Lady Chatterley's Lover.

Modern gamekeepers are, however, rather different to Mr Mellors in Lawrence's beautiful book. Their work often goes overlooked or unnoticed (as a breed, they typically avoid the spotlight) but if you know one, why not nominate them for the Farmers Weekly/CLA Gamekeeper of the Year competition 2009.

Now this is my kind of invite. Took me about three nanoseconds to decide how to resond to this one!

I've raved about the rural photographer John Eveson before. Another well known and very talented snapper on the rural circuit is Tim Scrivener (he does a lot of work at livestock markets, so you might well have seen him at one). Tim's been trying out a swanky new Nikon camera. His dog, Pip, got to be the model.

First it was the waterskiing squirrel, now a skiing pig.

A friend of mine's wife, Louise, took it in Morzine in France. Apparently the pig belonged to some local chappie who let his animals wander pretty freely - including on the slopes.

Why do I always feel so guilty when I tell people I don't like The Archers?

I almost feel duty bound to apologise - as if, deep down, I recognise it's merely a stage I'll grow out of, that one day very soon I'll see the error of my ways and join the other people who croon on about its many merits.

But I'm afraid I never have liked it and can't see I ever will. Frankly, I'd rather listen to the shipping forecast.

For Field Day readers who do, however, here's an interesting interview which appeared in Saturday's FT with its agricultural story editor, Graham Harvey.

As harbingers of spring go, the sound of a cuckoo is pretty iconic.

But these beautiful birds may be disappearing, if this article in The Independent is right. It's worth a look - if only to listen to the various birds sounds on it!

I wonder what this little fella's dreaming about. Chasing rabbits, maybe?

It's very funny (and more genuine than the sheep art vid). Thanks to Jill for sending me the link.

I can think of a few jobs on the farm I'd like to set these Brussels bureaucrats to work doing. Most would involve manure.

Matthew Naylor is living off immoral earnings.

No, he's not involved in an internationl drugs ring or gun-running cartel, but he sells particularly lovely flowers and a huge number of fresh flowers, as I've just learnt on Phil Clarke's blog, are bought by men with a guilty secret.

Matthew talks about Mothering Sunday being the big one in the flower trade - but we know differently now.

It's men having affairs that is the big one. As it were.

Things to do this spring, as recommended by The Guardian.

I was half expecting - bearing in mind it was The Guardian - to find the list full of right-on extremely politically correct rubbish (vow to light house only by natural flame, save earthworms threatened by traffic in Surrey etc etc) but in fact they're saner than that.

This is brilliant. Can't work out how much (or, rather, how little) of it is real though... 

This has surprised me. You wouldn't think a knitting pattern could cause so much excitement, would you. But every day I'm getting emails and phone calls about it.

It's an old knitting pattern which we discovered in a cupboard - it had been first printed many years ago in Farmers Weekly. 

One lady set about knitting it, sent us a photo of her grandson - young Ben Bucknall (below) - sporting his new jumper, and the calls started coming.

Those nice people over at Organic Farmers and Growers are among the people busy knitting. Steve Clarkson, admittedly rather bigger than Ben, is looking forward to modelling his after winning the pattern in a competition on Twitter.

People who know about these things tell me knitting is still popular with the older generation and is even in vogue among younger people nowadays.

I guess the credit crunch will prompt more people to knit their own clothes, too.

If you want a free copy of the pattern, just email me.

I also pestered the Lib Dem MP Simon Hughes at the Countryside Alliance Awards yesterday.

He's the bloke that for a long time was tipped to become leader of the Lib Dems - and in my view should have been.

As it was, they went for that bloke whose name nobody can ever remember. Nick something-or-other....

I told you she was my mate. With Clarissa at the Countryside Alliance Awards.

She first shot to fame as one half of the Two Fat Ladies tv cooking duo.

Have just got back from the House of Lords where the Countryside Alliance Awards were presented.

Here are profiles of the four winning businesses (plus the winner of the new Rural Hero award).

News of my famous people spotting will follow shortly (admittedly it'll be hard to ever top my Cribbins at the Game Fair moment!)

A walking catfish... after recent unsuccessful fishing outings, maybe this is one sort of fish I could catch!

I'd hate to be accused of being bias, having written repeatedly about Phil Vickery (actually I am bias: Come on England!) so here's another rugby/farming story, this one from north of the border. A bit of sad news: Scotland's oldest rugby international, a farmer by trade, has died.

I've said before that you learn something ever day.

Today, it's that the bloke who runs Tesco's US business, Tim Mason, is the son-in-law of Lord MacLaurin, the former chairman of Tesco.

When I heard that I didn't know whether to think:

That must be one incredibly talented family,
or
Nepotism.

Looking forward to tomorrow - even if I am going to have to iron a shirt for it.

It's one of my relatively infrequent trips up to London for the Countryside Alliance Awards presentations. It's in the Cholmondeley Room in the House of Lords, which is a wonderful venue with a balcony alongside the Thames.

My photographer pal Charlie will also be there. Let's hope, unlike last year, he remembers to empty his pockets this time before getting through the House of Lords security.

Be warned: the picture below is juvenile and peurile.

But it's been doing the rounds on email and it made me chuckle so I figure after a few high-brow blog posts (it's all relative and most things are high-brow as far as I'm concerned) we needed something trite. It's called: How to Serve Chicken Wings to a Man.

How exciting. I've just been offered the chance to interview Matt Baker - the ex-Blue Peter presenter and one of the new faces who'll be fronting the BBC show Countryfile.

He'll star alongside Julia Bradbury and John Craven in the new-look programme which is set to air on Sunday evenings.

Maybe I should ask him for a Blue Peter badge? Or maybe I should just keep my mouth shut. I'm trying, after all, to learn from the time I rattled on about how Bill Bryson's beard made him look like he smoked 20 woodbines a day - only then to find out I was due to be interviewing him!

After my foray into the art world last Friday, I've been thinking about sculpture today.

A lady called Jilly Sutton has been in touch - she's got an exhibition on at the moment called Family Trees.

The idea for this project using elm trees came to her, she says, when she was rowing down the river Dart in Devon counting young dead elms on a neighbour's farm.

"I was thinking how they should be growing up to be the tall handsome trees they used to be - but are now doomed with the fatal Dutch elm disease," she explains. 

"Then I thought of my tall handsome dad who suffers from dementia and total memory loss - and in a similar sort of way is also still looking good but his life is doomed as well.

"He was a nurseryman and always very keen on the family tree - and so I got going on digging up these dead trees and standing them on their own roots in the studio, decorating them all in ways that showed family stuff..."

A group of seven Elm trees, plus other sculptures, are now on show at the Rebecca Hossack Gallery in London.

Jilly is well known for her monumental sculpted heads - and her lime-wood portrait of poet Andrew Motion is in the National Portrait Gallery. 

London, Hollywood and Cannes aren't, it seems, the only places where film festivals are held.

Borderlines is showing 70 different films over 18 days in village halls and arts centres in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Shropshire, Worcestershire and Powys between this Thursday and April 5.

Billed as 'Britain's biggest rural film festival', it attracted 10,000 people last year. "It's all about bringing contemporary cinema to friendly, rural audiences," says director David Gillam.

The battle is hotting up for the Countryside Alliance's Rural Hero Award, which is due to be presented next week.

I've helped judge some of the other categories in these Awards, but haven't been involved with this one - so am intrigued to find out who'll win.

As I reported a while back, two of the contenders are Janet Street Porter and Clarissa Dickson Wright.

The presentation is in the House of Lords (I missed the gallery canapes, so I'm determined to get my share at this gig!) and feathers could fly.

Street Porter has been writing only recently about how she's not a great loser. In her column in The Independent, she outlined why a good tantrum can be better than diplomacy and said: "I've never been a wallflower when it comes to screaming and shouting." So let's hope she keeps her cool if she's not the winner.

I reckon Dickson Wright would probably take losing more gracefully. There again, she's a colourful character and no stranger to unconventional behaviour. 

She claims that, during her alcoholic years, she had sex with an MP behind the Speaker's chair in the House of Commons.

Brings a whole new meaning to the term Private Members Bill.

How cute is this.

It's a working cocker spaniel pup that a friend of mine, Jon, has been to see. He's either going to get the one above (the colour of which is termed 'gold') or the one below ('lemon roan').

I think they're sufficiently cute that he should save himself the trouble of choosing and simply get both!

I'm no Waldemar Januszczak, I know that.

I can't even pronounce his name, let talk authoritatively about art in anything like the way he does.

But I've always thought you don't need to be an expert to have an opinion on art. That's kind of the point.

A colleague of mine has just been raving about this picture - but it's not my cup of tea. As far as I'm concerned, it's a bit too mock-Van Gogh.

It's by a painter called Tin Odescalchi (she's got Hungarian ancestry) who's got a show on celebrating the landscapes of Cornwall, Scotland and the Cotswolds around her home. Paintings in the show range from £750 to £7500

Tin reckons any initial suspicions farmers and landowners have of her soon disappears when they discover she's an artist. It's then, she says, a case of: Get On My Land. A local farmer in the Cotswolds even left a load of found bales out in a field in the winter so she could paint them.

Each is, according to the gallery, a "sumptuous, thickly painted essay in post impressionism."

I'm not sure what that means, but I was invited to the private view so was intending to go, but missed it unfortunately.

Shame, I imagine there would have been free canapés and wine.

Look at this face. There's a lot of stories in there.

It's that chap I mentioned the other day, Jack Creasy, who I've written an article on for Farmers Weekly. The piece appears in the mag tomorrow, but you can read it below. The super picture, incidentally, was taken by a photographer called Jason Bye.

Why, you might wonder, were a group of people dressed in St Patrick's Day clothes eating Christmas pudding in a Cambridge pub yesterday?

It's a good question. It was neither St Patrick's Day (that's generally celebrated on March 17) nor Christmas (that's generallyc elebrated on December 25).

The answer is that a firm called Cole's Traditional Foods - a family-run Christmas pud company - held a special tasting in an Irish pub there called Quinn's.

The tasting was to mark the launch of a new Guinness Christmas pudding, which will be hitting the shops for Christmas 2009 - and they wanted to preempt Cole's Christmas pudding giveaway scheduled for St Patrick's Day in Cambridge.

It's obviously a slow news day.

The Daily Mail has run a piece on a pony with short legs, while the BBC has posted a video of deer misbehaving in a beer shop.

I've heard of some strange foods over the years. But how about this - a chocolate cake made from deer liver.

It was one of the things participants got to try at a recent venison production workshop at Craigadam near Dumfries. And apprently, it was delicious.

It was made by chef Nichola Fletcher at the Best Practice Partnership workshop which taught participants a range of skills from ensuring venison quality to identifying diseases to cooking creatively with venison.

Richard Benson, who wrote the bestselling book The Farm (which later transferred to the stage), is a busy man.

He's now been involved in an exhibition which is on in London from March 24-28.

Food and Farming - an Urban Perspective is a collaboration between Richard and photographer Kevin Foord.

It's on at The Mall Malleries and is in cojnunction with that great rural charity, The ARC-Addington Fund.

There's some stuff about it on Richard's website, plus a piece Richard wrote about it for the Daily Telegraph.

The Fenland Citizen has published a photo of what some are claiming is proof big cats exist in the wild.

I'm not convinced. Frankly, the animal in the picture looks about the same size as my cats, Nutmeg and Parsley.

Meanwhile, in Gloucester two tree surgeons have reported a sighting, according to The Daily Mail. There's even a picture of a paw print. Although it looks rather like an ornately decorated cowpat.

Loads of dog-related stuff on The Guardian's site at the moment - as well as a round-up of Crufts, there's a few pictures of dogs dressed ridiculously in the publication's very own 'Grufts' competition. Looks exactly like the sort of thing that could appear to spud supremo Matthew Naylor.

Young (or youngish!) farmers with catwalk potential are to be given the chance to strut their stuff on the opening day of this year's Great Yorkshire Show.

I've always though the woodcock a curious, enigmatic bird - and I'm not the only one.

While the resident UK population is supplemented by an autumn influx of up to 750,000 migrants from continental Europe, very little is known about this secretive bird, according to the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.

An a bid to discover more, the GCT has embarked on a research programme.

One component of this could see satellite tags used on woodcock to provide information on routes between wintering sites and breeding grounds.

A study in Spain recorded a female woodcock that migrated 3,800 km to Russia to nest in 2007, returned to within 11km of the original point of capture in Spain during the winter of 2007/8 and nested in Russia again in 2008! 

Funding from the Countryside Alliance Foundation and the Shooting Times Woodcock Club has also enabled the Trust to employ a PhD student, Adele Powell (pictured) to help with this research.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England and the think tank Policy Exchange has launched a new report highlighting the blight of littering in Britain.

The amount of litter dropped annually has shot up by 500% since the 1960s, with local authorities now left to foot a bill of £500 million a year to clean it up.

Alongside these costs, companies in heavily littered areas are losing business, and rubbish adds to an air of neglect in local communities, contributing towards increasing crime rates and anti-social behaviour, says the report.

I might have missed the Ravilious programme, but I did catch my mate Jimmy Doherty's show about Charles Darwin last night. Fascinating stuff.

Much of it was filmed at Down House, Darwin's Kent home - and I never realised how close Darwin came to not publishing much of his work. Apparently it sat in a cupboard under the stairs for many years.

I also learnt a lot about pigeons and how the biologist (he was actually as much a geologist as a biologist) came to many of his conclusions having talked to pigeon breeders. Apparently, the way they selected birds for breeding, in a bid to accentuate certain traits, helped him formulate his ideas.

Wonder if the great man ever encountered a frizzle cock on his travels.

I wish I'd seen this.

There was on BBC4 on Saturday night on BBC4 about James Ravilious - described as "one of the great unknowns of British photography".

Alan Bennett narrated the documentary about the rural photographer who dedicated his art to a small area of north Devon, where over a period of two decades he took more than 80,000 photographs.

He was also the son of the renowned water-colourist and engraver Eric Ravilious.

Artist Les Stones has painted this lovely picture in a collaboration with the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

I particularly like the detail - check out, for example, the lapwing about a third of the way up on the left hand side. Perhaps it's leading the approaching bull away from its well-hidden nest?

This is definitely a Friday afternoon story - a newly-discovered species of tree which has been officially named 'No Parking'.

Tree enthusiasts can also see a photo of the UK's tallest tree in The Sun (along with a typical Sun pun about how tree-mendous it is).

We've mentioned England rugby player and farmer's son Phil Vickery on Field Day before.

He's got a lot on his plate at the moment. As well as competing in the Six Nations (he was sin-binned in last weekend's game against Ireland), he's selling some land.

The prop, who now plays for London Wasps after an 11-year spell with Gloucester, is offering 80 acres of pastureland at his family's Cornish dairy farm.

There is 15,000sq ft of modern steel-framed farm buildings plus a range of stone barns, which could be converted into residential use, subject to the necessary planning consent at Part Killock Farm, which is near Bude.

Barry Hutchinson of agent Hamiltons, said: "Killock Farm is in a very beautiful part of the country and presents a multitude of options to a wide variety of potential purchasers."

Hamiltons has lotted the property four ways with a guide price of £535,000 for the whole. If you fancy the Vickery land, you can contact the agents on 01452 331134.

Right now, however, Phil Vickery is probably concentrating on his rugby ahead of next weekend's clash with France at Twickenham.

As for England's performance generally, well, I don't really want to talk about it, alright!

Hampshire butcher Uptons of Bassett from Southampton won Supreme Champion at yesterday's Great Hampshire, Sausage, Pie & Ready Meal Competition

Simon Broadribb of Uptons of Bassett in Southampton took first place with an Italian pork sausage at this annual county competition organised by county food group Hampshire Fare.

He's been at it again - the countryside's favourite agony uncle.

Funnily enough, I heard on the Today programme on Radio 4 yesterday morning there was a horse running in the 4.50 at Catterick called Farmer Frank, so I put a fiver on it.

Needless to say, it didn't win. The donkey.

Seeing as we're having a run of ginger cats, here's one last one. It was sent in by Sarah Burrows on East Lydford in Somerset.

See more Pet Photos of the Day.

The best part of my job is the people I get to meet.

And I met a fascinating chap yesterday. We're about to start a new series in Farmers Weekly called 'Farming Stalwarts', which will profile men and women who have been involved with farming and the countryside for many decades. This chap had been working on farms for over seventy years. Seventy years. And he was still as sharp as a pin. I'll post the article first on Field Day - once I've had a chance to write it, that is...

The latest victim of global warming, according to the Daily Telegraph, is thatched cottages.

Julie Beck, the sender of a previous Pet of the Day photo, has contributed this one. Looks like there's a bit of a battle for sofa space in that house.

I know Crufts is coming up - but anyone would think this alpaca was about to be entered in the poddle class!

It was given this look, apparently, for an agricultural show in Australia.

One of the categories in The Countryside Alliance's awards (I help judge some, but not this one) is the 'Rural Hero' award.

I hear this morning that it's shaping up to be a two-horse (no pun intended) race between Janet Street-Porter and Clarissa Dickson Wright.

The category, which is new this year, joins four others in these annual awards (Rural Enterprise, Local Food Retailer, Traditional Business and Best Village Shop/Post Office). 

The winners will be announced at a House of Lords reception next week.

"Through tv shows such as Clarissa and the Countryman, Clarissa has been a constant and fearless champion of the rural way of life, says the Countryside Alliance's Jill Grieve.

Meanwhile, Janet Street-Porter has "courageously supported British veal on the tv show The F Word and shown continued no-nonsense support of the food sector through her column in The Independent."

Also in with a shout are Hertfordshire farmer Ian Pigott who kickstarted the Open Farm Sunday initiative and Les Wake, the "popular young chairman of the Tockwith Show who has recently become Chairman of the Federation of Yorkshire Shows".

I wonder if Janet S-P will be at the presentation next week. Not that I'd dare talk to her - I've always found her faintly terryfying.

Ginger cats are obviously in vogue.

There was the one of the scarecrow, the one on the tractor seat and now this one called George, sent in by Edwina Smith of Mountnessing in Essex. You wouldn't mess with George, would you...

See more Pet Photos of the Day.

A new regional sourcing food hall and cafe will open at the Great Yorkshire Showground in June. 

The hall, called Fodder, will offer the best food and drink from the region and is the brainchild of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.

YAS deputy chief exec Heather Parry - a self-styled "woman on a mission" - has been on the hunt for producers across Yorkshire and the Humber to supply it. 
 
"I've tasted everything from bilberries to butter and I want to leave no cake untested and no loaf untried," says Heather (pictured above left). "I'm looking for produce that is of excellent quality, tasty and made with passion.

"I also want Fodder to act as a springboard for new businesses. Maybe you're a brilliant home baker and want to start up a business? We're looking for delicious food and a commitment to locally-sourced ingredients, coupled with excellent hygiene standards in production."

One producer who has passed the Fodder selection process is Caroline Sellers of the award-winning Side Oven Bakery. 

Caroline produces a range of artisan breads, flours and mueslis using mainly home grown produce from Carr House Farm near Driffield.

If you have a product you'd like to see on the shelves of Fodder contact Heather Parry on 01423 546253 or email: heatherp@yas.co.uk

Now this is what you call a makeover - a shepherdess gets a bit of help from some fashion experts to make her all ready for a ball. Read the story and watch the video here.

It reminded me a bit of the makeover we once gave to three agricultural students.

Enough dog-related stuff. Here's a cat on a scarecrow.

Thanks to Jane Overy of Spurstow in Cheshire for sending it in.

Dogs are obviously in the news ahead of Crufts. Now it seems a St Bernard could, in fact, be responsible for some of the recent big cat stories.

With Crufts due to start this Thursday, there's no let up in the stories about 'unhealthy' pedigree dogs.

The Times have been particularly interested - this one about the judges being on high alert and this one headlined Crufts vs The BBC.

I still think one of the funniest things I've ever seen on tv was when a studio-full of retrievers got frisky behind Ben Fogle at a previous Crufts.