The arrival of March has brought some much needed drier weather and it always surprises me how quick the land can dry out with a few sunny days.
It’s blowing a hoolie outside just now and for some reason windy weather always reminds me of that episode of Postman Pat when Mrs Goggin’s undergarments get blown off her washing line and land on Pat’s face.
I used to love watching Postman Pat as a child, mainly because I loved Ted’s tractor which was always gleaming and he never seemed to be harassed! I bet he never even lost a ewe at lambing time – I mean, come to think of it, of all the episodes I watched I can’t remember Pat ever having to draw in to let the knackery lorry past.
As daughter Alice is only eight months old she won’t take much notice of the woes of the lambing this year but Morag tells me I’ll have to start watching what I’m saying. Apparently, from now on I will just have to say that a recently deceased sheep has ‘crossed the rainbow bridge’. I hope I don’t have to pay a toll!
Lambing time is such a family affair with everyone mucking in, and in years to come I probably will unashamedly be asking Alice’s teacher when the Easter holidays start so I know what date to put the tups out.
Apparently, from now on I will just have to say that a recently deceased sheep has ‘crossed the rainbow bridge’
Yes, I know it can be a stressful time, but with tempers flaring but I think all families should spend a little time in a lambing shed ….its definitely a bonding experience, and if you can get through that you can get through most things.
Maybe if the Royal family had a few sheep to work away at they wouldn’t be so divided. And if they were a proper farming family this latest rift would now mean that Harry and Meghan would no longer be able to go to Harbro to buy stuff and stick it on the farm account.
One of the many benefits of living and working in the countryside is that you can switch off the TV and the laptop off and escape all the day-to-day nonsense… celebrity bust-ups, Piers Morgan, Donald Trump – basically everything that happens south of the Tay.
Now, don’t get me wrong, the use of social media has played a huge part in aiding my comedy career, but it can be a dangerous tool too and you can easily get sucked into it. I saw an interview with the England rugby coach Eddie Jones who summed up social media perfectly as modern day toilet graffiti on your phone screen, and that’s when it becomes harder to escape it.
I loved the recent series of This Farming Life and Armadale sheep farmer Joyce Campbell is a great ambassador.
There was one clip where Joyce got a bit emotional when livestock farming was getting a particular battering from various different groups in the papers and on social media. I thought here we all are, working in some of the most beautiful parts of the world – usually in total isolation doing a job we love – getting angered by nonsense that comes through a mobile phone that is small enough to fit in your pocket.
Sometimes it’s better to switch the phone off and leave it in the tractor tool box.
I have to admit, I am just as bad at reading opinions and taking it personally. In February I was fortunate enough to have a pilot episode of a sitcom I co-wrote called The Farm air on BBC One. It was a big opportunity and one myself and co –writer Chris Forbes had to get it right. And whilst we have received a decent response, it certainly didn’t please everybody with a few negative comments on my Facebook page.
Now that’s totally ok and I’ve nothing against the people that take time to write these comments – in fact it’s useful as we want to get it right. I think it’s called “constructive criticism” but it doesn’t half pierce you when you read it, despite all the positive comments I always seem to focus on the negative ones. I guess I should have learned as a comic you need to have a thick skin and I should have that by now – I’ve certainly stood on a stage plenty times where half the folk are laughing and the other half aren’t. You’ll never please everyone.
That’s why I’m so glad I’ve got a real farm so I can put the phone away and go to the plough for the day, far from the madding crowd.