Blogs

With the Covid-19 virus still causing mayhem and hardship throughout the UK, it is at least encouraging to see things move forward and start to open up in England. Our Scottish leader is very popular, although she is taking a very cautious approach to leading Scotland out of lockdown.

I am writing this with a broken heart, having just had to have my young dog Kip put down. She was only two and a promising young bitch with the kindest, sweetest, nature of any dog I have known.

This month, Roger Evans tells us about how lockdown has curtailed his over-the-hedge inspections of his neighbour’s activities, and how at home he is waging war on the profusion of docks and nettles.

Having been a Farmers Guardian diary writer for a good few years, I am not sure if writing on the back page is a promotion or a relegation.

They say every day is a school day and inviting the general public into your farmyard on a daily basis is certainly an education.

It is getting dry. Locally, light land is practically burning up, heavy soils look to be about 10 days behind and last year’s bumper silage crops look like they will be needed.

I am now an expert (almost) in all manner of virtual meetings. I’ve also been made very aware of how poor my connectivity is on the farm.

It is hard to believe that only three months ago the country was battered by floods week after week, with news channels covering evacuating communities by boat whose homes were under water. All that after the wettest February on record.

The weather is fantastic and it would have been great if agricultural shows, events and festivals which usually occur had been able to take place. The irony of having fantastic weather on the Easter and May Bank Holidays, when people cannot or should not be going anywhere due to lockdown is a double blow.

In the unlikely scenario that I ever appear on Mastermind, my specialist subject will be the complete works of Henry Brewis.