August 2009 Archives

After the record-breaking sheep, now here's a death-defying one which abseiled down a hill with its horn hooked to a power cable.

Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones is not your typical farmer.

He came to Britain, aged four, from Jamaica in the 1950s with his parents and grew up in inner-city Birmingham.

One of nine siblings living in a two-up-two-down, he found himself retreating to his father's allotment which he called "an oasis away from the misery of my surroundings". And it was there, age 11, that he made a promise to himself that one day he'd own his own farm.

I'm no expert on sheep. In fact, I know bugger all about them. But I know that £231,000 is a lot of money - and that's what was paid for one yesterday.

Lovers of the Lake District (my favourite spot is Blea Tarn, although I wouldn't recommend swimming in it) will enjoy this Swimming Wordsworth Country video on the Guardian's website.

It reminded me of the late Roger Deakin - the man who swam Britain.

Inspired to take to the water? Here are Adam Tierney-Jones's top 50 places to swim outdoors.

This is wrong on so many different levels. A poodle made to look like a panda at a 'creative grooming show' (yes, you guessed it, they happen in America).

If you scroll through the three images, you'll also find a camel (well, a poodle made to look like a camel).

Tomorrow, the news will be more serious on Field Day. Promise.

Why is this man standing in the middle of a field with one pumpkin on his head and another hiding his modesty?

What was claimed by some to be the most convincing evidence to date that big cats are living wild in Britain may not be so conclusive, after all.

A man is claiming in the Helensburgh Advertiser that he's seen (and filmed) the very same creature - but it is, in fact, Puss-Puss, a three-year-old domestic moggy.

Meanwhile in East Anglia, Sue Prothero is adamant she's spotted the infamous Fenland big black cat and Dumfries lorry driver Mark Reid has reported a sighting.

Big cat expert Rob Martin has reiterated his belief that such animals are out there - a view that, according to another wildlife expert, is total poppycock.

So, that's cleared that up then. Not.

All I know is that when I spent the night out hunting for one of these creatures, all I got was impatient, cold and a little grumpy.

I can listen to Radio 4 for hours, but then something will come on which will make me lunge for the off switch. The Archers does this every time. Even the music irritates me. Now I know a lot of Field Day readers will find that sacrilegious - but I'm afraid I simply don't like the show.

So I smiled when I read Adam Sherwin's People slot in The Times today and discovered that Brian Aldridge - played by Charles Collingwood - got his dates rather muddled in one episode.

He announced after the so-called Glorious 12th that he was going on a partridge shoot (presumably not realising that the Glorious 12th only applied to grouse). The partridge season doesn't, in fact, open until September 1 - and anyone shooting one outside the season could face a fine of up to £200 per partridge bagged.

An Archers spokesman pointed out that the mistake was edited out of the omnibus edition that was broadcast on the following Sunday.

Adam tells me that there's nothing unusual about such inaccuracies on radio and TV, highlighting a series from a couple of years ago, The Tudors.

That show's faults included everything from Henry VIII having the wrong colour hair (it was black on TV, when it should have been red) to the appearance of modern radiators in the 16th century. 

For those of you who do like The Archers, you might be interested to know that Charles Collingwood was one of the actors we interviewed at the FW Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel. You can listen to the interview here.

Naked men and vintage machinery.

They're not two things you'd think would go together well - if for no other reason than the health and safety risk of exposed and moving parts (if you see what I mean).

But it's a winning formula for the Keeves family, who once again are producing a semi-naked agriculturally themed calendar for charity.

The couple enlisted the help of their sons, nephews and others in the venture. Martine tells me they were all enthusiastic participants, but had to be well lubricated (I assume she means with alcohol).

It's a great idea and all in aid of a good cause: the 2010 Harvest Guys calendar is raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Cancer Research UK and Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance.

You can get a copy for £6.50 by emailing Martine or, if you want to save £1.50 and have a good day out, you can buy it at their Working Vintage Harvest Open Day on September 5. Probably best to wear clothes to the event... 

I rather like this painting, Downland in Winter.

It's by someone called Tory Lawrence, who reckons her work has been profoundly influenced by rural England and the natural environment.

At first, it was the open downland of Wessex where she grew up; then she began to respond to animals: horses, sheep, hens, pigs and, more recently, flies.

She began painting in 1980 and lives and works in Suffolk and London and, since moving to East Anglia, says she's discovered "a very different, more gentle, sense of place beneath the clear light of the famous sky".

The Spectator's art critic, Andrew Lambirth, says: "Lawrence builds up her paintings with strong touches of paint, marks made with conviction, resulting in the most gloriously animated surfaces. She puts the paint on vigorously, but with sensitivity."

If you're interested in seeing more, Tory is holding an exhibition called Ancient Land which will open at the Star Gallery in London on December 16.

If you fancy getting on TV, I could have just the opportunity for you. There's only one caveat: you'll have to take your clothes off.

Yes, MTV are casting a new rural-themed special of their rebellious dance show which involves people stripping to music.

The woman from the station who contacted me, Kirsty, had read on Field Day about country people making naked calendars (like the Essex Young Farmers), plus watched our Full Monty video, and wondered whether farming men and women might fancy having a go.
 
"No matter your age, shape or size, we are looking for all sorts of people who are proud of their body and wanna shake their thaaaang while taking off all their clothes to their favourite music videos in front of our TV cameras," she said.

They're looking for "adventurous, cheeky and outrageously daring" contestants. Anyone can have a go, 18 to 80+.

I didn't volunteer. But I might watch it. Purely for research purposes, you understand.

If you fancy applying, you can do so here.

My colleague Grant has been talking about this place this morning - he wants to relocate there!

It's an idea - the beaches look wonderful. There again, as with a lot of remote cottages, I'm sure the reality (especially in the middle of winter) is rather different to the dream.

You might not think that graphic scenes of animals being stunned, killed, bled out and butchered would make good TV.

But they seemingly do, as the BBC is planning a fourth series of the show Kill it, Cook it, Eat it.

The new series will look at attitudes to eating farm animals and explore why some people are vegetarians or vegans.

The show's producers are looking for articulate people to join the debate. It is searching for contributors ranging from vegans to meat connoisseurs to take through the whole supply chain.

The programme, screened on BBC Three, was launched with the aim of reconnecting the public with where their meat comes from by showing them the whole slaughter process. It follows their journey "from the pasture to the plate" (typically a one-way journey!)

Filming will take place in Devon in mid-September. If you would like to be considered, call 020 7033 2289 or email kate.nixon@dragonfly.tv

We heard about the German tractor clocked doing nearly 80mph, and now there have been complaints about tractors speeding in East Anglia.

Don't you just love the silly season.

First it was acres of coverage of the death of the giant carp (RIP, Benson) and today I see the Daily Telegraph has got a story about conkers on its front page.

Apparently the season is set to begin weeks earlier than usual and involve a bumper crop, thanks to the mild spring and hot damp summer. Conkers have already started falling from trees - something that doesn't usually happen until late September.

According to the Telegraph, the game of conkers probably evolved from a game called 'conquerors', which may have originally been played with snail shells. Historical records show the game also used hazelnuts, but by the 20th century they had been replaced by horse chestnuts.

A new world record for combining has been set. Read the full story here.

Now this is what I call an invite.

Gawd knows why I've been invited - but I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. I must remember to take some Ferrero Rocher.

I won't start eulogising about Somerset, because I'll end up boring you for hours - but here's just one of the many, many reasons why it's such a fabulous county. Exmoor Ales.

As I mentioned, farmer Oliver Walston was on R4's Any Questions last Friday - and he was his usual mischievous and provocative self.

I particularly liked the bit where he advocated the sport of female mud wrestling to a leading feminist and highlighted how much cash the trade union leader also sitting on the panel was earning. Listen to the episode here.

Jon Huxley, an associate professor of Farm Animal Production Medicine at Nottingham Veterinary School, recently completed the John O'Groats to Land's End Walk.

The 37-year-old undertook the walk to raise money for Cancer Research UK, in memory of his mum, Gill, who died from leukaemia.

Jon completed the walk in 5 weeks and 3 hours, averaging 29 miles per day, six days per week.

I may have only got as far as Somerset for my holiday - but Farmers Weekly reader Emily Wood went to Cyprus. She sent me this picture to prove that, even in villa's swimming pool, she still found time to catch up on the latest news from her favourite farming mag!

Back from Somerset (more news on that later), so thanks to Adam and Caroline for looking after Field Day while I was away. 

I've come back to an overloaded inbox of emails - one immediately caught my eye, though. It's from Milly Wastie and she wanted to tell me about a skydive with a difference she'll be doing on September 5.

Milly, who's a regional officer with RABI, is planning the Northamptonshire skydive wearing wellies as part of the rural charity's Welly Week initiative.

Last year, Welly Week events included tractor pulls, Welly calendars, welly wanging competitions and a record-breaking welly conga. Events involved schools, colleges, young farmers clubs, businesses and country families. 

"I wanted to do something a bit different this year to help raise awareness and funds for the Welly week campaign," Milly tells me. "I will have my wellies strapped to me so they don't fall off!"

If you would like to support Milly, you can do so here.

Field Day readers have been clamouring (ok, one reader mentioned it in passing) to hear about how I've been getting on with Tim's cats, Nutmeg and Parsley.

For those of you who don't know, I've been introduced to the world of cat ownership this week after I offered to look after Tim's beloved girls while he was on holiday.

I'd never had a pet before (I'm told by my FW chums that my goldfish, Arlo and Ezra, don't count as proper pets), so I was looking forward to spend time with Nutters and Parse, imagining cosy evenings reading by the fire while they curled cosily on my lap.

While I've had a fun week, it's safe to say looking after N&P wasn't quite as idyllic as I'd imagined.

Continuing my battle of animal tastelessness with Matthew Naylor, I had collected these pearlers yesterday to compete with the regular 'Wednesday Wig' he features on his blog.

I was fairly sure they would beat whatever Matthew could throw at me. I mean, just look at them. I can't tell quite what expression the one on the right is trying to convey. Anger, disgust, or (heaven forbid) sultriness? Either way, it's terrifying.

Tim will be proud - I've come across a big cat story.

Unlike some of the other big cat's he's featured here, this one's a genuine, bona fide spot.

A farmer in Essex is letting a cheetah loose on his land in the hope it will see-off rabbits who are playing havoc in his crops.



Boumani the  cheetah, who comes from Eagle Heights wildlife park in Kent, can reach 70mph and wildlife park bosses hope the farm visits will reveal whether captive cheetahs can be taught to hunt.

So far Boumani hasn't managed to catch himself any dinner, but his keepers hope the experiment will lead to hand-reared cheetahs being released into the wild.

Apparently there's a six-foot fence around the field so he can't escape, but I don't think 'd fancy hanging around the farm while he's in action...

Following a post I wrote yesterday, it's been pointed out to me by regular Field Day readers that this blog's the home of cats, rather than dogs.

While one irate reader even threatened to find a different blog if I continued to write about canines, I thought I'd take the risk of incurring the wrath of the Field Day gang by sharing this link.

It's about poor Marley the Labrador, who almost came a cropper after a frolic in a wheat field.

It's worth a look, if only to read about what's possibly one of the most bizarre agriculturally-related injuries I've ever heard of.

To try and even the balance of cat and dog content (and to pander to Matthew Naylor's love of whimsy and anthropomorphism), here's a lovely photo to sign off with.

It's a Tuesday Tiara.

In Tim's absence, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to publish something that he'd think twice about putting onto his blog.

Fear not, it's not another creepy picture of a dog in a mini-skirt (that was Monday's madness), this is something I thought our female readers might enjoy...

This is Ginger, a pig who has proved he's got an eye for fine jewellery after he swallowed a £1500 diamond.

Matthew Naylor has once again been making digs on his blog about the often whimsical content of Tim's blog.

In Tim's absence I thought I'd prove to ol' Gob of the Wash that Field Day can carry sensible content about rural life. And here it is.

I just tried to get into the right frame of mind for taking over Tim's blog by sitting at his desk.

Hoping that using his computer would somehow give me some Field Day inspiration, I instead found my fingers glued to his keyboard thanks to a gloopy pink and white substance he seems to have spilt on there.

Has he been eating marshmallows? I dread to think what else it could be. Anyway, the gloop and the already mould-covered mugs mean I'm back at my own laptop.

Luckily, Tim's house isn't anywhere near as messy as his desk, which I'm very grateful for because I'm staying there this week to look after Nutmeg and Parsley.

Just in case I forget to mention it later - I'm going to be here next week, so won't be blogging. It's one of my favourite counties: Somerset.

Two guests will be stopping by to blog on Field Day, though - the man who knows everything about blogs (although, worryingly, is a fan of camping) Adam Tinworth, and a previous contributor, Caroline Stocks.

Caroline, incidentally, will also be looking after my cats, Numeg and Parsley. Wish her luck.

Yuo know I've said before you learn something new every day.

Well today it's that the colective noun for ladybirds is a "loveliness".

I acquired this little gem of information from this piece in the Daily Mail saying how we're now experiencing the biggest invasion of them since 1976.

Who says beekeeping is only for those in rural areas - it seems it's becoming popular with town and city dwellers, too.

I think this is fantastic - a 70ft sculpture of the Big Ben clock tower, made from over 500 straw bales.

Thirty five teams battled it out at this year's 12-hour Endurance Lawn Mower Race in West Sussex.

With their pimped garden machines, the annual event sees brave teams of three race around a 0.8m circuit, with chicanes, hair pin bends and a couple of long straights.

And just to make it even more gruelling, the all night race requires them to keep going non-stop from 8pm until 8am.

The race begins when, with a twitch of the starter's flag, the drivers run to their mowers in a "Le Mans"style start to what is twelve hours of bone shaking, mud, sweat and tears.

Lots more on Benson in the press today - including this piece in the Daily Mail featuring lots and lots of photos of men clutching said fish and smiling.

Is it just me, or does anyone else think Tony Ashworth looks a bit like Benson?

A major exhibition focusing on the vital contribution of the Women's Land Army opens in Sussex this autumn. 

More about Benson, the giant carp (including a short video), on the BBC.

This is all getting a bit silly now. I've seen headlines saying the angling world is "in mourning" and others referring to it as "the people's fish". It all feels a bit Princess Diana-ish.

As for his future, well, he's been bunged in a freezer before being stuffed. Maybe all the grieving anglers could, guinea pig-style, eat Benson.

Depending on your age and sensibilities, you will find this either very funny or very upsetting. It's another one of those wonderful Daily Telegraph slide shows - this time of a guinea pig festival in Peru.

What's funny/upsetting is that the first few slides show the aforementioned animals being dressed up/pampered (which is all part of the tradition), before the last ones show them being cooked.

Funny, I'd say. Definitely funny.

Forget crop circles, they're so yesterday. It's rice paddy murals we're interested in.

These Japanese ones (there's a slide show of 11 on The Telegraph's website) were created by planting different varieties of rice, each with their distinctive own colour.

There's something terribly idiosyncratic - very British, somehow - about this: how an obituary of a fish can make it onto the front page of a national newspaper.

But that's what's happened today: a fabulous picture of Benson, Britain's best-loved carp (1984-2009) adorns the front page of The Times. More on the iconic creature here.

I saw some of this woman's work at the Game Fair and really liked it.

Emma Stothard works with willow and wire, making lifesize sculptures - either for indoors or outdoors.

Just come across this - a piece by blogger Exmoor Jane taking Liz Jones, a national newspaper columnist, to task over her comments about Exmoor. It's nicely put!

Remember the story about the commanding officer who banned sprouts from his ship? Well the much-maligned veg has found an unlikely ally in the form of none other than Prime Minister Gordon Brown. He recently disclosed he liked them as a child.

"I never had a problem eating my greens and my favourites are probably sprouts," he said, talking about his childhood in a contribution to a new charity cookbook, Haste Ye Back, by Sue Lawrence.

Reminds me of a former PM, John Major, who once mentioned that peas were his favourite food - a comment that Spitting Image never let him forget.

German shepherd breeders have been criticised by the Kennel Club...

Enough about big cats. Here's a small cat-related post just to annoy Mr Naylor. There's more on Casper, the bus travelling cat here.

Here's an interesting profile of a 'big cat hunter' in The Scotsman.

There's been a bit of a renaissance of interest in this in the last week or so, after that video footage was shot in Argyll.