Two new roles put plenty on my plate
20-year-old Harriet Wilson is going into her second year at Harper Adams, where she is studying for a BSc in Agri-Food Marketing with Business. Back home she manages her own herd of British Blue cattle on the family’s 300-acre farm in Haughton, Stafford.
As if my diary wasn’t full enough, I have now taken on two new roles since October. The first being Staffordshire YFC’s competitions chairman along with Toby, a fellow Eccleshall YFC member. Since day one we have been kept extremely busy travelling the lengths and depths of Staffordshire for go-karting, silage judging, pool, volleyball and various meetings.
Another position I have taken on is press officer of Harper Adams Student Union. My new job description includes; gathering information for news stories and liasing with the college’s press officer to ensure that the SU are in the local and farming press whenever possible, writing news stories for the SU website and taking pictures for the SU Facebook page. My first duty was to capture the Agric Block Fixture weekend on camera. Friday night saw the arrival of students from Newcastle, Nottingham and Reading. Even though the weather was awful and most of Edgmond was flooded, we had a fantastic turnout of rowdy Agrics for what many would say is the best weekend of the year.
The bonfire was lit that night and there was a fantastic display of fireworks and lasers. Saturday saw the inter-university hockey, netball, football, shooting and rugby competitions. I am extremely pleased to say – and rather smug about the fact – that Harper secured first position in every competition; with our fourth year lion and lioness teams also doing very well.
As well as being victorious, the whole day was fantastic. We wined and dined in our very own members marquee (a makeshift gazebo) with roast beef and plenty of port to keep us warm. Harper lions put on a spectacular display of rugby against the Harper second team. The lions started the match with a performance of their very own haka, which was swiftly matched by the Harper seconds when they pulled a “moonie” whilst slapping their bum cheeks. The weekend ended on a high with the Bavarian Stompers entertaining the contingent of students with their Oompa band. Dancing commenced on tables and steins of beer were on tap.
My second job came on Tuesday morning, at 9.37 to be precise. Whilst taking advantage of a lie-in during reading week I received a phone call from Harper’s sports and societies coordinator to tell me that the rugby team were on the way to pick me up. Half an hour later I arrived at the Kuhn warehouse in Telford to take pictures of the rugby team while they handed over shirts as a way of saying thanks for their sponsorship.
Another highlight this month was my friend Jenny’s 21st party, where we were all tasked with making a speech. I am not sure what the funniest part of the night was; the fact that Izzy printed off the wrong speech, trying to break into Becky’s house to print off the other speech, or Jenny’s reaction when she found out that we had organised her very own Blind Date show and hand selected three of the finest bachelors from Eccleshall YFC.
As a family we had a fantastic weekend at the English Winter Fair where we achieved champion and reserve champion prizes in the carcass competition. My British Blue heifer also did well and I gained third place in the ASDA Young Handlers Competition. My sister and I also competed in the National YFC Live and Carcass Stockjudging along with team members Matthew and Lowri. We gained first place in the beef team, second overall and I gained a third individually.
In running with my friend Joe Williams’ description of this column being my “ego boosting diary”, I have so far succeeded in writing about YFC experiences and stockjudging. However, considering I was in Canada this time last year, I have definitely lacked content on the topic of ‘my jet setting lifestyle’. That said, I am due to have an initiation to the Student Union shortly so perhaps I shouldn’t speak too soon – I could be left stranded anywhere.
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COLHW