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Clarkson's Farm
Jul. 7th, 2024 08:45 amHe's not a pleasant man, but he makes good TV. Here's a taster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW-iVG0_D34
Badly misinformed about badgers, but on a general level this is a fascinating snapshot of English farming, bucolic and brutal together. I'm not surprised it's a hit and would recommend it to many including my in-laws, particularly the MIL. She would love it if she could get past the opening bits, where Jeremy Clarkson is bringing a somewhat arsy Top Gear attitude to farming, only to be knocked back to reality by acerbic farm hand Kaleb Cooper and despairing land agent/agronomist Charlie Ireland.
The show manages to swerve away from sitcom, though sometimes it's very funny. Not easy to be a farmer especially now that Brexit has KO'd grants from the EU, but often farmers don't want to talk about that; plenty of them voted for it, despite warnings from the NFU. Honestly, there's no telling some folk. Brexit still hasn't lost its allure for some benighted souls in this country, hence the re-emergence of the ghastly Farage. Some are still hoping for a Brexit which, if done right*, will magically take us back to 1904. Thankfully it seems that many farmers are past that delusion provided they're not teased about it. No-one likes being reminded of their mistakes. For this reason - and for the badger culling nonsense - I'm not always sympathetic. But this show really does illuminate the heart and heartbreak of the industry.
I've been thinking about what we would do if we decided on a bit more land.
The answer might be not to decide on a bit more land.
I could no more run a livestock smallholding than fly to the moon. Bees would be good though. I can count this years bees seen in our garden on both hands. It's been cold and wet for sure, but still. Having said that, when I went to the local meadow path/nature reserve, I saw a beautiful bank of flowering brambles, and every one of those blooms had a bee on it, so maybe it's not so bad.
* Brexit Done Right is perhaps the most moveable feast in British politics.
Badly misinformed about badgers, but on a general level this is a fascinating snapshot of English farming, bucolic and brutal together. I'm not surprised it's a hit and would recommend it to many including my in-laws, particularly the MIL. She would love it if she could get past the opening bits, where Jeremy Clarkson is bringing a somewhat arsy Top Gear attitude to farming, only to be knocked back to reality by acerbic farm hand Kaleb Cooper and despairing land agent/agronomist Charlie Ireland.
The show manages to swerve away from sitcom, though sometimes it's very funny. Not easy to be a farmer especially now that Brexit has KO'd grants from the EU, but often farmers don't want to talk about that; plenty of them voted for it, despite warnings from the NFU. Honestly, there's no telling some folk. Brexit still hasn't lost its allure for some benighted souls in this country, hence the re-emergence of the ghastly Farage. Some are still hoping for a Brexit which, if done right*, will magically take us back to 1904. Thankfully it seems that many farmers are past that delusion provided they're not teased about it. No-one likes being reminded of their mistakes. For this reason - and for the badger culling nonsense - I'm not always sympathetic. But this show really does illuminate the heart and heartbreak of the industry.
I've been thinking about what we would do if we decided on a bit more land.
The answer might be not to decide on a bit more land.
I could no more run a livestock smallholding than fly to the moon. Bees would be good though. I can count this years bees seen in our garden on both hands. It's been cold and wet for sure, but still. Having said that, when I went to the local meadow path/nature reserve, I saw a beautiful bank of flowering brambles, and every one of those blooms had a bee on it, so maybe it's not so bad.
* Brexit Done Right is perhaps the most moveable feast in British politics.
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