|
15/6/08
Crisis after mini-crisis seems to be a normal condition of life on a farm. Incidents, trivial in themselves, seem to pop up as swarms of irritating gadflies, nipping away at an otherwise tranquil existence.
All the crops look well, and the exciting anticipation of a bumper harvest and full silos has yet to be tempered by attacks of drought, fungal disease or insect pests. Monitoring crop development is the main activity which allows me to walk the farm regularly, shedding a few pounds, enjoying the beauty of this countryside and mentally paddling around with my thoughts and dreams.
So much has happened since I last wrote, that the cliché is true, I do not know where to start.
Our builders have nearly finished the post Buncefield repairs to the house. Living in a building site for six months has been an interesting if piquant pleasure with dust clouds and bangs punctuating the restoration. Only the Insurance Company needs to be persuaded that the repairs are essential and they seem to be putting obstacles in the way of every new tile, trowel of plaster and coat of paint.
NFU Mutual Insurance were wonderful when they put the damage to the farm buildings right in a week, but their household division, and irregular loss adjusters, have (in my experience) been less than supportive. Eventually, these battles will have been fought and I will be able to share this wonderful house again with family and friends.
Life at school has been carrying on at its surreal best. Young people are, in my opinion, being betrayed by the social engineering, consultants, dubious academics and edu-babble speakers who seem to be beloved by our tottering government. We are thrashing around, changing data collection (to avoid unfortunate historical comparisons), and trying to achieve meaningless inflated pass rates for often discredited examinations.
I would much prefer to give ALL of my young people a solid foundation in numeracy, literacy and social skills. ‘Tools for Life’ would be a great gift from one generation to the next, allowing individuals to modify their individual learning to their ever changing personal circumstances. However, our politicians seem to be much more concerned about self justification and political ‘point scoring’ to allow the nation’s ‘learners’ any meaningful personal development.
Our annual works outing to ‘Cereals 2008’ in Lincolnshire was a great success. Understanding the latest developments in farming is greatly enhanced by this opportunity to leer at seductively displayed new machinery, and to chat over corporate entertainment to people usually met by email or telephone. The kindness offered to Dad, who at 86 still enjoys an agricultural show, was magnificent as he was offered chairs to watch the world go by whilst Derek and I rushed from stand to stand over the extensive show site.
Yesterday I took Dad to the funeral of a local friend. Old people filled the church and we gave Jean a good send off. Unfortunately, I had to go back to school in the afternoon so I was not able to attack the magnificent hospitality offered back at the grieving family’s farmhouse. She would have been proud that her children were continuing here generous hospitality. Happy stories filled the house as we all remembered nearly forgotten times spent together.
Angry dog walkers seem to be filling our fields lately. Rights of Way are clearly not for them as they allow their, usually large and aggressive beasts, to roam unchecked, terrifying our carefully nurtured local fauna. I have taken to recording the exchanges on my mobile phone so that I have evidence of the obdurate aggression used to justify their trespass.
Nothing was found during the recent ACCS inspection to prevent us being awarded our CMi Certification. Great rejoicing that we had once again demonstrated that we farm to independently certified high standards. Assurance is one of the success stories of our industry and we should explain the process much more to our customers as many seem to be surprised about how much record keeping and monitoring is needed to ensure that food is produced and stored, to verifiably high standards.
It looks wonderful outside in the garden; a cup of coffee and a newspaper in the shade of the honeysuckle seems to be a good move. Ranting is over for another day as I can enjoy the simple and solitary pleasure of a few minutes peace in an English country garden.
|
|
|
|
|
You can return to my home page by clicking
My Home Page |