nufsaid

How farming can butter up journalists

The past few weeks have been very quiet in Farmers Weekly Towers. At one point, there were so few people in the office that I was worried I’d got confused and accidentally come to work on a Sunday. The supply of serious news always tail off during...

Posted Aug 17 2011, 01:36 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Farmers Weekly, Agriculture, farming, media, cows, Weird, Yvonne, butter, NFU Mutual, bavaria

Making a statement

So my efforts to resurrect my blogging career failed miserably. I have an excuse though – I’ve been busy buying my first house. I’ve decided this is the one and only time I’m going to do such a thing. Not only have I found it incredibly...

Posted Aug 09 2011, 10:48 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: London, clapham junction, riots

A-maize-ing

Today, I discovered that I like flying in helicopters over farmland. Sometimes my job’s pretty good. Read More...

Posted Jun 13 2011, 09:51 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Agriculture, farm, ag, maize maze, farmland, maize, helicopter

The mega WI

“You youngsters like things big,” the old dear in the back of the taxi said to me yesterday morning, sucking in her cheeks. “We prefer small things – small businesses, small farms. “Whole villages will be ripped up to make...

Posted Jun 09 2011, 09:17 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Agriculture, Communication, farming, farm, Food, ag, WI, mega farm, factory farm, womens institute, large-scale farming

An attempt at resuming normal service

Avid fans will notice I’ve haven’t been hangin’ around here much lately. I’ve been lacking a bit in the creative-writing inspiration front so I thought it was best to steer clear until my writer’s block disappeared. I’ve...

Posted Jun 08 2011, 09:00 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Communication, Nuffield, report, writing, blog

Naked ambition

I have an confession to make. If you were at the Farmers Club lunch in London yesterday listening to me speak, in my head you were starkers. Yep, that’s right – completely nakey. Even the tablecloth didn’t spare your blushes. Imagining...

Posted Apr 05 2011, 01:25 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Farmers, Agriculture, Communication, London, farming, Nuffield, Farmers Club, emu, public speaking, naked

Toilet break

I only ever come to Brussels for work-related stuff, so tonight I decided to see a bit of the city and leg it around the touristy spots before the sun went down. It turns out the place is titchy, and unless I managed to miss a massive chunk of the city...

Posted Mar 28 2011, 09:45 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Weird, Travel, Europe, Brussels, mannekin pis, belgium, tourists, chips

The language of the CAP

I can’t remember any German when I need it, but every time I come to French-speaking Brussels it seems to be the only language that leaves my mouth. Having got off the Eurostar I couldn’t even seem to remember how to ask where the taxi rank was in English...

Posted Mar 28 2011, 09:21 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Agriculture, Communication, farming, NFU, Government, CAP, Europe, German, dacian ciolos, Brussels, french, language, common agricultural policy

Mercosaur sighting #2

I wonder if the artist who drew the illustration for page 20 of this week’s issue of Farmers Weekly had seen my Mercosaur picture. Coincidence? Read More...

Posted Mar 17 2011, 09:52 AM by NufSaid

Filed under: Farmers Weekly, Weird, Mercosaur, Illustration

Doing porridge for a farm photo

When I was on holiday in Florida a couple of years ago, I managed to convince my friends to pull our hire car over so I could stop off to take some photos of an orange grove. Not being farmer-types, they had a bit of a whinge about the delay. They couldn’t...

Posted Mar 09 2011, 04:43 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Agriculture, farming, Weird, America, United States, Politics, farm, Food, ag, photography, law, Florida, farm access, photos, prison

The EU reporter’s job is safe in my hands…

Today I had to write a story about Mercosur. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered it’s actually a group of South American countries who want a trade agreement with the European Union and not what I thought it was…. Read More...

Posted Mar 07 2011, 09:32 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Politics, EU, Europe, trade, Mercosur, south america, dinosaur

The funny side of farming

I managed to hold it together until the stereo started blaring out “Where’s your sausage gone?” to the tune of ‘Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep’. It was at that point – stood outside Downing Street in front of a 16ft, shiny...

Posted Mar 04 2011, 09:21 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Farmers, Agriculture, London, farming, Weird, Celebrities, farm, Food, Government, pigs, BPEX, giant sausage, sausage, pig

Sausage signings

Tomorrow I’m going to be spending seven hours in central London with a load of pig farmers, an ex-Atomic Kitten, an ice-skating Gladiator, a 15ft sausage and a load of marker pens. I am a serious journalist… I am a serious journalist…...

Posted Mar 02 2011, 05:39 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: London, farming, Weird, Celebrities, Food

A possible hairy situation for the NFU

Dear oh dear. I can’t image the NFU team are a bunch of happy bunnies at the moment. Having given DEFRA secretary Caroline Spelman a telling off this week for not taking farming seriously enough, this morning it’s emerged government plans for a badger...

Posted Feb 18 2011, 08:33 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Agriculture, farming, NFU, Gwyn Jones, Peter Kendall, Politics, Food, badger cull, badgers, DEFRA, Caroline Spelman, ag, bovine TB, National Farmers Uniona

The day I met a proper journalist

Had I not chosen a career path which had taken me down a bizarre route into a niche avenue of journalism, I would have like to have become a proper writer on a national newspaper. Like John Pilger, perhaps. Or Jay Rayner. Y’know, Jay Rayner. The...

Posted Feb 16 2011, 08:48 AM by NufSaid

Filed under: Agriculture, Organic, farming, Celebrities, Food, Television, journalism, TV, Jay Rayner, knorr, marco pierre white

The DEFRA love-in turns sour

After the glamour of the Soil Association conference in Manchester last week, this week I’m at the NEC in Birmingham for the National Farmers Union’s annual meeting. With no general election on the immediate horizon, union president Peter...

Posted Feb 15 2011, 06:24 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Agriculture, Conference, farming, NFU, Peter Kendall, nfu conference, Politics, farm, Food, Government, food production, DEFRA, Caroline Spelman, ag, Food 2030, Hilary Benn

Chewy and viscous

I promise to blog about the Soil Association conference properly at some point (I’ll be putting my ranting hat on – be warned), but in the meantime I thought I’d share this with you. One of the rather nice perks of going to the SA conference...

Posted Feb 14 2011, 05:55 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Farmers Weekly, Soil Association, Organic, Food, chocolate, green and blacks, baking, cakes, recipe

Orange you glad I’m the one covering this conference….

I’ve come up to Manchester for the Soil Association’s annual conference. I thought, having spent the last few months in hot countries, that I have a decent sun-tan compared to most people. I hadn’t counted on some of the lovely ladies...

Posted Feb 08 2011, 04:27 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Soil Association, Weird, fake tan, Manchester, tan, orange

“It’s starting to blow a bit”

If I was living in Queensland I’d be starting to wonder who I’d annoyed. After much of the southern part of the state was declared a disaster zone earlier last month thanks to some of the worst flooding ever seen, northern Queensland is now...

Posted Feb 02 2011, 08:39 AM by NufSaid

Filed under: Agriculture, farming, Travel, Food, Australia, weather, Marty, bananas, barramundi, Queensland, Flooding, Innisfail, Cyclone Yasi, Anna Bligh

Settling back in

I’ve avoided blogging for a week or so, partly to give you a rest and partly because I didn’t trust myself not to just whinge about the fact that England is BLOODY FREEZING. In just 24 hours on a plane I lost 35 degrees. Seriously, I don’t...

Posted Feb 01 2011, 04:02 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Farmers Weekly, London, farming, Travel, Australia, CAP, sun, FW, spring, weather, hobbit, shoes, iced coffee, cold

The cast (and a thank you)

I’ve gone on about how great it’s been to visit my Nuffield friends, but special mention has to be made to the families who’ve not only put up with a random English girl turning up on their doorstep, but made me feel incredibly welcome...

Posted Jan 20 2011, 12:05 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: Nuffield, Travel

The end is nigh

So this is it. After three countries, 101 days, 41 different towns and cities, seven changes in time zone and more than 100 blog posts, I’m on my way home. I’ve met some amazing people along the way, visited incredible farms and businesses...

Posted Jan 20 2011, 11:43 AM by NufSaid

Filed under: farming, Nuffield, Travel, farm, Australia, fishing, Grand Prix, flood, Flooding, Tim Tams

A water slide: Climbing in rock pools: And a beach-side barbeque special guest (even if the locals did insist on spoling his presence with all the ‘vermin’ nonsense): Not a bad way to spend a lazy January afternoon, eh? Read More...

Posted Jan 18 2011, 06:12 AM by NufSaid

Filed under: Australia

Jelly bum

When it comes to the sea, I’m a massive girly wimp. Whichever ocean I’m in I freak out about the thought that – regardless of distance – somewhere in the water there are sharks. And jelly fish. And those hideous scary anglers with...

Posted Jan 17 2011, 03:33 AM by NufSaid

Filed under: Australia, jellyfish, sting, stinger nets

Water, water everywhere

Some more flood photos, this time from a friend of a friend’s farm near Rockhampton, another of the areas to have taken a battering this week: Note the pig on the shed roof on this one: Most of the flood waters have receded now and the clean-up...

Posted Jan 15 2011, 11:06 PM by NufSaid

Filed under: farming, Food, Australia, Queensland, floods, Flooding, queensland floods, rockhampton

This Blog

Syndication

Recent Posts

Tags

Archives