“James Herriott has a lot to answer for” – Dorset Island Discs

13 May 2022

David Sidwick is about to celebrate his first anniverary as Dorset’s Police Crime Commissioner. He shares his top eight music choices with us.

David Sidwick Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset

David Sidwick was elected Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset in May 2021. David was born and raised in Dorset, and his working life has been spent in the pharmaceutical industry. For nearly two decades, his company STAC Consultancy facilitated the education of more than 17,500 secondary care consultants
in areas such as chronic pain, epilepsy, dementia and multiple sclerosis.

£5,000 for magic
While on holiday in the US, David and his wife visited a key shop – which offered magic tutorials as a side line (of course it did – Ed). David had always been keen to learn, and he immediately signed up. The owner of the shop then provided David and his wife with tickets for the Magic Castle in Los Angeles – a venue only open to registered magicians, and their specially invited guests. The Harry Potter- esque experience of visiting this clubhouse of the Academy of Magical Arts cemented David’s love of magic – and lead him, years later, to being paid £5,000 for his magic skills. In fairness, it wasn’t a big show: he was working with a training company who were struggling to enliven a course on organisation and planning for pharma sales reps – David pitched the idea of doing it via a magic routine, and they accepted!

Dinner dates
Apart from politicians, David can put on his CV that he has had dinner with Sir Terry Wogan, Sir Patrick Stewart, Raymond Blanc, Dan and Peter Snow, Rick Stein, George Lazenby – and Q!
His favourite dinner date? “Sir Terry Wogan. By a long way. What a lovely, lovely man. He just got slightly squiffy with my wife! Lady Wogan reassured me it ‘happens all the time’.”

And so to David’s eight music choices, along with how and why they stuck in his life:

The Quartermasters Stores
My parents ran an off licence, and their only time off throughout my childhood was Sunday afternoons (2-7pm!). This meant I spent lots of my free time with my grandparents, and treasured Sunday afternoon
trips with mum and dad. The Quartermaster Stores was the song we always sang in the car, and hearing it takes me right back to sitting on the back seat, heading home from a day in the Dorset countryside.

The James Herriott Theme
I grew up determined to be a vet. Until the age of 21, it was all I wanted to be. But just before my final exams, I was very unwell – I did the exams, but underperformed and failed to get the grades. Reassuringly,
I was offered a place at Bristol to study Anatomical Science, with the plan of applying again to switch courses the following year.
However, in the meantime James Herriot appeared on TV, and the world and his wife suddenly wanted to be a vet. Competition was so fierce I never did get my vet placement and after finishing my degree I joined the Pharma industry.
James Herriott has a lot to answer for.

Hallelujah Leonard Cohen
In the year 2000 my wife walked into a bar where I was drinking… and I fell in love. She is a huge Cohen fan, and this will always remind me of her. She’s supported me through three long years of full time campaiging to be PCC.
We fit.
I love her to bits.

The Gambler Kenny Rogers
I love a song with a story, and this is just a great tale of redemption! I’ve learned over the years that I’m just a visual learner; it’s one of the reasons that I often struggle with classical music, it’s difficult to absorb unless I can see it visually too.

Jerusalem
For me this just resonates with everything I love about the Dorset countryside. In my Pharma rep days I would drive the length and breadth of the county, hunting down tiny villages to find the local GP surgeries. I developed a deep love of the special, quirky, often hidden parts of our county. It’s that feeling that drives one of my main policing commitments – I’m aware that we really need to get things right for the enormous rural part of our county. Until this year the Rural Crime Team has been effectively a token gesture – it has now trebled in size, and is being properly funded.

Every Breath You Take The Police
Oh, this song just screams STALKER, doesn’t it? I know many perceive it as a love song, and Sting says it’s for his daughter… but to me it’s just a personal representation of one of the most nasty crimes, and one which has only got worse as modern technology has developed. I am determined to change the victim experience of stalking in Dorset – I have installed an independent advisor to help victims, and this year I
asked the police to scrutinise the Stalking Protection Orders, how they’re used and to be certain they are correctly resourced. In times past this was one of those crimes which was often shrugged off as ‘nothing we
can do’ – and that is simply no longer the case.

Bohemian Rhapsody Queen
Okay, I can’t sing a note. I really can’t. But I don’t care – I’m a proud lover of karaoke, and this is the one I sing! No one ever faulted my ambition…
In the movie of the same name, Freddie Mercury’s life is openly intertwined with his drug use, and the song segues nicely as a representation of my work on drug issues. Dorset has one the top ten areas of opioid and
cocaine use in the UK. That’s not a stat I’m proud of, and we’re working from many angles to ensure we don’t stay on the hit list. It’s not a simple solution, obviously, but recently five PCCs working together saw
an operation take £400,000 of drugs off the streets. In Dorset with Operation Viper we’re addressing County Lines, drug dealers, and anti-social drug users, but there’s still so much more to do. Apologies, slightly off my Bohemian Rhapsody track!

The Bright Side of Life Monty Python
Because we all need some JOY! We have to keep looking forward, staying positive. It’s a silly, fun song, but also it’s about a philosophy. I think we need to strive to be Winnie the Pooh, not Eeyore.

And if the waves were to wash all your records away but you had time to save just one, which would it be? Monty Python – if I’m stuck alone on a desert island, I’m going to need some cheering up.

My book
The Lord of the Rings. It’s so much more than the classic tale of good vs. evil. My favourite part of the book(s) – I’m taking the complete collection in one volume and you can’t stop me – is the part the movie franchise entirely skipped. It’s a testament to our countryside, and a cry against industrialisation. The part when the hobbits return to the Shire is one of the most powerful and resonant.

My luxury item
Robinson Crusoe, the board game. I love board games (I have an occasional slot on Hope FM as their resident board game fanatic) – it’s a family activity, and a slight obsession. I have a collection of 120, and I just love playing them. Unusually you can play Robinson Crusoe as a one player game (handy on my island), and I thought it might provide some useful hints and tips on survival too.

Weaving willow magic at Springhead

Editorial team

12 May 2022

A story full of humour, pathos and energy, based on ancient of willow farming, is just one of Artsreach’s ‘must see’ events this year, says Fanny Charles.

Willow planting, growing, harvesting and weaving. It’s one of Somerset’s most ancient industries, and it remained at the centre of life on the Somerset Levels until the middle of the 20th century. Whispering Willows, a magical open-air show by Somerset based Wassail theatre company, is a moving evocation of the changing life of a willow worker, coming to Springhead Gardens, Fontmell Magna, on Saturday 11th June as part of the 2022 summer programme from Artsreach, Dorset’s rural touring arts charity.
It’s 1929. Morris has been planting, harvesting, basket making and drinking tea on his Somerset willow farm since before he can remember. Every year the pattern repeats itself. Plant, harvest, weave.
Plant, harvest, weave…

…she’s a complete nuisance!
One day he pulls up a particularly large piece of willow with a girl clinging to the end of it! She eats too much, breaks everything in his workshop and is a complete nuisance. But as time moves on, they teach each other the ways of the willow. Planting, harvesting, weaving… the cycle continues, and all is well until the chaos of the Second World War and the invention of plastic threaten to destroy the farm and their livelihoods. Can they find a new use for willow before it’s too late?
Pack a picnic and join Wassail in Springhead Gardens for a beautiful, non-verbal story that’s suitable for
all the family, with puppets crafted from Somerset willow and an evocative original soundtrack. It’s a story full of humour, pathos and energy.

Also showing locally…
The Exchange at Sturminster Newton has two very different Artsreach events – a visit by contemporary dance company New Art Club on 14th May, and the stars of tomorrow’s stage, Bristol Old Vic Theatre
School on tour with Vanity Fair on 30th June. New Art Club’s Cupid’s Revenge is a comedy dance theatre piece, exploring love in all its many joyful, tragic, infuriating and hilarious facets.
One of the greatest English novels, Vanity Fair is a brilliant satire on early 19th century society. It is a tale of intrigue, survival and sexual politics starring the irresistible but deeply selfish Becky Sharp and sweet natured Emmy Sedley tumbling their way through the exploitative and hazardous playground of the English upper class in war and peace.

Stomping bluegrass
Stomping virtuoso bluegrass trio Old Baby Mackerel will rattle the rafters at Winterborne Stickland’s Pamela Hambro Hall on 1st July and Marnhull village hall on 8th July. The band’s songs dramatise the small-town fascination with locomotion, the trials of murderous drunks and the veneration of whisky and bootleg liquor.

Lucky pigeons
A new name on the local summer scene, Brainfools come to Stalbridge village hall garden on Sunday 14th August at 2pm, with Lucky Pigeons. A young businessman struggles with the demands of city life and, after losing his job, takes his frustrations out on a group of pigeons. Karma soon returns however, and the man finds himself turned into a pigeon, where he quickly learns about the playful world of this misunderstood animal. The show is performed by skilled circus and aerial performers.

by Fanny Charles

New markings for Yewstock School

Editorial team

12 May 2022

Yewstock School in Sturminster Newton have recently given their school playground an exciting new look with colourful markings to replace the previous tired, old designs. The surfaces now contain decorative games that invite the children to be active whilst having fun outside.

Next to the new playground markings are (l-r) Clive Padgett (Yewstock Headteacher), Jana Hounsell (Geveko), Fiona Wing (Geveko), Karl Whittick (PE Teacher), Bryan Trim (Yewstock)

The new playground markings are bright and engaging, and include a new basketball court, mini roadway, snakes and ladders, activity trail, compass, hopscotch, and phonics and numeracy activities. These have all been very generously provided by Geveko Markings who specialise in using materials that minimise the risk of slippery surfaces, and make play areas safe for children.
Bryan Trim of Yewstock school said: “We are extremely grateful to Geveko Markings for so generously providing their time, resources and design skills to produce such fantastic, fun markings. The pupils at Yewstock School will enjoy them for years to come!”
Jana Hounsell of Geveko Markings said “We are very pleased that the children enjoy having fun with
the games. It is our pleasure to give something back to the community.”
Yewstock School is a day community school for children with Profound and Multiple, Severe, Moderate and Complex Learning Difficulties.

Walk the beautiful Deverills and Downs above Mere | 12.5 miles

Laura

12 May 2022

In between the A303 and Warminster is a stunning area which is often overlooked. Head up there (hit Longleat and you’ve gone too far) and you’re rewarded with the broad rolling downland and extraordinary wide views of the ancient landscape that is the West Wiltshire Downs AONB.

To follow this route using the Outdooractive App, please find the route here.

This is a longer hike than we’ve shared for a while – but set aside a day, pack a sandwich and treat yourself, it’s a total stunner.

One word of warning – the start of this is immediately and moderately stiffly uphill; if like me you hate that straight out of the gate, do think about reversing the route!

All the Dorset Walks we feature have been created and walked recently by ourselves, so you know you can trust them – we aim for unpopulated routes with as little road and as many views as possible! You can always see the route and follow it yourself via the free Outdoor Active app – see all our routes here.

Local family business are finalists in national business award

Editorial team

11 May 2022

Husband and wife team Mervyn and Sue Rose have run Rose Engineering from Sturminster Newton for the last 35 years.

“We’re immensely proud to have been selected as a finalist for the South & South West’s Family Business of The Year Award” said Sue Rose.
Founded in 1986 by the husband and wife team, Mervyn and Sue have now been joined by their son, Tom Rose, who brings a new generation’s energy into driving the family business forward.
The Family Business of the Year Awards, established in 2012 by Family Business United, are now in their 10th year of celebrating the UK family business sector, recognising the diversity of family firms across the country.
Managing Director Tom said,
“We’re so pleased to recognise the hard work that my family puts into our business. Taking on the role of Managing Director in the past 18 months, during a global pandemic, has been a real challenge. But to have remained in business and fully operational during this time is testament to the hard work of the whole team.”
Spokesman for Rose Engineering, Anita Beaumont, said “We’re proud of our growth and of the hard work all our teams carry out. This [award] is a great way for this to be recognised.”
Paul Andrews, founder of FBU and organiser of the upcoming awards explains, “Each year it is an honour to celebrate with some of the very best of British family firms. It is a pleasure to champion the sector and to celebrate the collective contribution that family firms make in terms of jobs provided, income generated and wealth created.” He adds, “Each year we are amazed at the nominations received and and there are always some real gems that are fabulous ambassadors for the family business sector.”

An air drop of life jackets for Broadmayne!

Editorial team

11 May 2022

The pupils and staff of Broadmayne First School were excited to welcome an unexpected visitor to their school field this week, in the shape of a helicopter! Piloted by Peter Faulding, the visit was fun, but with a serious message.

Peter Faulding presenting life jackets to the children of Broadmayne First School

Peter is the Chief Executive at Specialist Group International, which supports rescues, both privately and alongside police and fire services across the UK. Peter was involved in a sadly unsuccessful attempt to rescue a drowning child. Consequently he created the Lucas Dobson Water Safety Campaign, and he flew into Broadmayne to speak to the children about the importance of water safety, and to deliver eight children’s life jackets.
The children and staff also had the opportunity to watch the helicopter in flight, and have a look inside it. Headteacher, Helen Collings said “Living so close to the coast, and with our own swimming pool on site, water safety is really important to all of us at Broadmayne.”
The life jackets will be available for families and the local community to borrow from the school to help keep children safe near the water, whilst allowing them to take a full part in water-based activities.

Ballet Under The Stars’ Matt Brady | Random 19

Editorial team

11 May 2022

Matt Brady, creator of Ballet Under The Stars at Hatch House as Director of The Covent Garden Dance Company is celebrating the event’s return this summer, after a three year absence.

Matt Brady, creator of Ballet Under The Stars at Hatch House as Director of The Covent Garden Dance Company answers 19 random questions

On 22nd, 23rd and 24th July audiences in the beautiful 17th century walled Dutch garden venue just
north of Shaftesbury can enjoy an incredible line-up of dancers – many of them Principal dancers from
companies including the National Ballet of Ukraine, The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Paris Opera
Ballet and Staatsballett Berlin. Xander Parish returns to the Hatch theatre this year dancing with his wife,
Anastasia Demidova.

1. What’s your relationship with the Blackmore Vale (the loose North Dorset area, not us!)?

I have lived in the area for nearly 40 years on and off, it’s very much my base and where my parents settled so it’s really home. One of my enduring memories of the Blackmore Vale was in my early twenties, I used to exercise horses for a Point to Point stables owned by the trainer John Duffossy. John used to have a copy of a magazine rolled up and would clip me round the ear with it every time I turned up late to ride – which was quite often! It didn’t make me arrive any earlier so he was always waiting for me.
As a child I would spend much of the holidays fishing on the Stour for pike. Long days of walking river banks
and desperately trying to catch the monster pike! A lot of time was also spent riding in the Stourhead woods on the badly behaved ponies of many friends, being thrown off frequently and having to walk home.

2. What was the last song you sang out loud in your car?

That’s a tough one! I’m not really sure … but I have a vague recollection of singing Zero by Imagine Dragons VERY loudly with my stepson Jack not so long ago and the dog hiding his head under the blankets in the
Land Rover.

3. Who is your celebrity crush?

It’s a secret … In case they are reading this or if I meet them!! (if I had to say then the genius that is Jodie Comer is wonderful …but so is Scarlett Johansson … both so talented and brilliant!)

Ballet Under The Stars Matt Brady at his opening night speech

4. It’s Friday night – you have the house to yourself, and no work is allowed. What are you going to do?

Hahahahaha … That is between a man and his four walls. But realistically …probably something really boring like DIY… I have a passion for restoring and making things. I recently built a cabin on the lake. Very proud of that. Love staying in it when it is not rented out. (see it on Insta @the_Bruton_BoatHouse 😉 )

5. What was the last movie you watched? Would you recommend it?

I actually had time to watch two movies one Sunday night recently; ‘The Gentleman’ by Guy Ritchie – one of my fave directors – followed by ‘A Good Year’ by Ridley Scott. Love this movie, I’ve seen it so many times but it re-ignites my love or France and living there, the crackling heat, the effortless shabby chic. I lived in France for three years in my late teens and early twenties, it was one of the happiest times of my life.

6. What is your comfort meal?

Mac ‘n Cheese, I make a really delicious one, it’s an old recipe and I love it.
I do have a second choice – Heinz Ravioli on toast …with grated parmesan on top.

7. What would you like to tell 15yr old you?

STOP WORRYING ABOUT EVERYTHING!
Oh… and finish your studies!

8. The best crisps flavour?

I love a Pringle. But also love prawn cocktail Walkers… Difficult to choose. Actually, Quavers also have a
strong place in my life.

9. And the best biscuit for dunking?

This is random, but probably a Fig Roll? Does that count? Or is it a roll excluded?
VIP Choccie Hobnob, if so.

10. What shop can you not pass without going in?

A great old fashioned fishing tackle shop. I spent so much of my childhood on rivers and lakes in the shire, fishing and walking. There were some really wonderful old school tackle shops when I was a kid round here. They were always filled with amazing curiosities and inventions, spinning lures and hand-tied flies … It was what I spent my pocket money on. There was always something new to buy to try and catch that legendary monster pike that lurked in the deep pool beneath the weir on the Stour!

11. What book did you read last year that stayed with you? What made you love it?

I re-read Captain Corelli’s Mandolin … It is one of those books.
My father gave it to me years ago and said you must read. I then gave it back to him when the was fighting the Big C (a battle he lost in 2016) … It gave him great joy again and always gives me great joy.
And yes, (spoiler alert) I cry like a baby when Carlo dies.

12. Cats or dogs?

My amazing dog Panda, who’s three, is staring at me right now, so what can I say? Tibetan terriers are great at sulking, so my hands are tied. He’s always there for me and always happy to see me.

Covent Garden Dance Co's Matt brady, founder of Ballet Under The Stars

13. What was the last gift you gave someone?

Flowers to my amazing mum. She is going through a really tough time at the moment fighting bone cancer. She is just amazing.

14. What’s your most annoying trait?

All of them? The most annoying is maybe driving my PR mad by always having a million things happening all at the same time. And usually she is on the phone having to listen to me do them! (she is long suffering!)

15. Tell us about one of the best evenings you’ve ever had?

Honestly? The Tenth Anniversary celebrations of Ballet Under The Stars at Hatch House in July 2019. It sounds self-serving but after 10 years of struggle to keep the dream alive, it all came together in such a spectacular way that made everything worthwhile. The whole team felt it. We were already sold out for 2020 just months after that 10th anniversary show. It was a testament to everyone’s amazing work and artistry. Covid unfortunately had other ideas, obviously, so it is great to be back producing our flagship show at Hatch House this summer.

16. What’s your secret superpower?

Never giving up? When putting on live events and shows you always have to think on your feet, it is something you develop over the years. But what you really need more than anything is grit – the ability to not give up. Even when it’s got really tough. Stopping is not an option.

17. Your favourite quote?

“Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope”. Martin Luther King Jnr from his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in Washington DC on August 28th, 1963. So much wisdom from one man, it’s difficult to choose one thing. It is about never giving up, it is about when things look bad or insurmountable … there is always a stone of hope.

18. Chip Shop Chips or Home Baked Cake?

Chip shop chips! Lots of salt and vin – Mere Fish and Chips is great! I always pop in there to grab
some on my way to see friends.

19. You have the power to pass one law tomorrow, uncontested. What would you do?

I’d pass a law to allow me to pass a law every year uncontested, so I have more time to think about
what law would really make a difference!

interview by Laura Hitchcock

After a three year absence, Ballet Under The Stars at Hatch House is back this summer. On 22nd, 23rd (SOLD OUT) and 24th July audiences in the beautiful 17th century walled Dutch garden venue just north of Shaftesbury can enjoy an incredible line-up of dancers – many of them Principal dancers from companies including the National Ballet of Ukraine, The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet and Staatsballett Berlin. Xander Parish returns to the Hatch theatre this year dancing with his wife, Anastasia Demidova.

For more info and booking – https://bit.ly/BVHatchHouseBalletStars

Beautiful spring turbans!

Editorial team

11 May 2022

Originally a wildflower from Asia, Europe’s love for tulips meant that some bulbs were worth more than a house during the height of the Dutch craze for the plant, as Charlotte Tombs relates.

The tulip was a wildflower originally growing in Central Asia. It was first cultivated by the Turks as early as 1,000 AD.
Mania in Turkey struck in the 16th century at the time of the Ottoman Empire when a particular Sultan demanded certain flowers for his pleasure. The name ‘tulip’ comes from the Turkish word for turban which makes a lot if sense when you consider the shape of both. Tulips remained popular in Turkey, thereafter and in the early 18th Century the tulip era really began. There were tulip festivals and it became a crime punishable by exile to buy or sell the tulips outside the capital.

Some of this year’s Dorset-grown Northcombe Flowers tulips – sold by the stem, bunch or bucket!
Image – Charlotte Tombs

Constantinople to Amsterdam
The flowers arrived in northern Europe in the 16th century. Their introduction was thought to be by a botanist from Vienna, Clausius, who became the director of the oldest botanical garden in Leiden. He was friendly with the ambassador of Constantinople who sent him a samples of this wonder flower. This is believed to be the start of the bulb fields in the Netherlands today. At this time the tulip was being used for medicinal purposes but by the beginning of the 17th century they were gaining popularity in gardens and the bulbs were beginning to be sold for unbelievable amounts of money.
Hybridized flowers were being bred to be very decorative, and in the autumn of 1636 some bulbs were reaching larger amounts of money than a house in Amsterdam! Things came to a crash in 1637 when people came to their senses and stopped buying the bulbs for such high prices. Throughout the 17th and 18th century interest remained high in these bulbs and the Dutch became the true connoisseurs of this incredible
flower.
It was discovered in the 20th century that the frilly petals and flames on the flowers were actually caused by a virus – this has now been bred out of them, and the fancy tulips are now genetically stable although some are deliberately bred to retain this look.

This year Charlotte planted nearly 2,000 bulbs of 25 different varieties of tulips – she treats them as annuals, as returning flowers are always inferior (her assistant was VERY helpful).

Close planting for longer stems
This year I have planted nearly 2,000 bulbs with 25 different varieties. I plant them very closely together so I can get a longer stem (they fight for light and go upwards) which is more saleable. I treat the bulb as an annual and all the spent bulbs are composted. There are some varieties that will come back year after year but the flowers are smaller and less well-defined. British grown tulips are amazing and far superior to the supermarkets ones which are generally mass-grown imports.Some tulips are even scented but this has been bred out of the imports.

by Charlotte Tombs

Charlotte offers Workshops through the year – please see northcombe.co.uk for further details.

War and water (or lack of it) | Voice of a Farmer

Editorial team

10 May 2022

Rising costs due to the Ukraine war combined with dry weather spell challenges for farmers, says James Cossins.

Silaging on Rawston Farm in the late 1960s

As has been well publicised April was a very dry month, with only 33mm, or one and half inches, of rain recorded in the month at Rawston Farm. The winter crops seem to be surviving well, with the oilseeds well out in their yellow flowers. The spring crops desperately need a good drink, however, or yields will be reduced considerably. We are currently sowing maize, our final crop of the spring.
With the current high cost of fertiliser, we have put a cover of farmyard manure on the fields before ploughing. We hope this will give the crop a good boost to its growth without having to add extra fertiliser.
The cattle grazing enjoys the dry weather whilst the grass continues to grow. There is little poaching of
the fields, and they are able to utilise the grass to good effect. The milking cows have certainly benefited from going out to grass, and we have been able to save on feeding silage and reduced the amount of
bought-in feed that they require in the winter.
We now look forward to silage- making, aiming for good quality feed for next winter. Getting the balance between quality and quantity can be challenging, and there is a trend towards cutting more often to improve the quality. Sometimes the quantity can be sacrificed if we don’t get sufficient moisture for the following cuts.

Fun and games
In my youth I was very involved with the Young Farmers Organisation, my local club being Blandford – in fact this is where I met my wife Barbara, who was a farmer’s daughter. I have recently been recycled into being involved again with Blandford on their advisory committee.
Each year there is a County Rally where all the clubs in Dorset compete with each other in many varied events. I was asked to help with the field events, which involved tractor driving, quad bike handling, tying a
load of straw bales, to name a few. A great time was had, with all competitors thoroughly enjoying
themselves. The Young Farmers movement is a tremendous organisation to belong to where young people can have lots of fun, meet new friends and learn about life in the countryside. The name ‘Young Farmers’ may be a little off-putting, but anyone under the age of 26 can join in. I am sure by looking at social media or the YFC website you will be able find the details and contacts of your local club; see what goes on and
maybe join in!

Shortages predicted
The effect of the war in Ukraine seems to be having far-reaching consequences for our everyday lives now. With energy prices sky high it seems food prices and availability are being affected. Vegetable oil (in the form of sunflower oil) is being rationed in some shops, with home-grown oilseed being looked at as a
replacement. Harvesting oilseeds in the UK will take place in July, and hopefully making up for any shortfall. Maybe in the UK we should look at the possibility of growing more sunflowers. It is also predicted that there
may be a shortage of eggs in the summer, with many producers deciding that it is uneconomical at the moment to produce eggs, due to high feed costs. I think the Government needs a wake-up call on food security for this country and not rely on imports to make up for any shortfall.
Finally, let’s hope for some rain for farmers and gardeners whilst we are in the growing season and not to save it up for the harvesting!

by James Cossins

Sponsored by: Trethowans – Law as it should be

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