Chairmans Chat 2024

Hello all Country Linkers,

It's still wet here in Oxfordshire!

On a recent visit to market, I thought I'd have a quick cuppa and went to the café. For some strange reason it was empty. I decided to watch some fat lambs being sold so took a shortcut through the empty cattle ring, about 1 hour after the cattle would normally be sold. Outside, I noticed 2 young people - one wearing headphones and the other with an aerial poking out of her back pocket. I thought this was strange and walked on into the ring only to be confronted by a tv camera. I 'turned casually' and watched a few store cattle being sold, and noticed another tv camera on the other side of the ring. I headed off to watch the lambs being sold (by the lady who normally sells the cattle). I was advised by the Stow Ag rep that apparently a certain Mr J Clarkson was buying some store cattle.

Adjourning to the (now busy) café I saw the tv crew in residence, and an old school friend of my brother talking to Jeremy. He was congratulating Jeremy on buying a Simmental and looked forward to seeing Jeremy chasing it around his farm on the tv. On reaching the front of the queue the counter manager said, "Tea or coffee?" In honour of our illustrious guests, I replied "May I have a caramelised macadamia oat latte." With a withering look, and a smile, he repeated "Tea or coffee?" I paid my £1.00, took my tea, and joined some old friends.

I've watched the weather change during the last month - from very changeable and mainly wet, to a couple of weeks or so of hot, dry, weather and then back to changeable again.

On my daily walks with Daisy the dog I walk through the middle of a 50 acre field which is split one third wheat and two-thirds wild bird seed. The bird seed comprising wheat, barley, oats, 2 types of poppy, crimson clover, fiddleneck, along with various other flowers. It looks a lot like the dredge corn we grew back in the 1960s. I'm not convinced about the long-term viability of this policy.

The water meadows near me had dried sufficiently, after being under water three weeks ago, for some big bale hay to be made and snatched. There are a few ruts and uncut patches left, but most of it was cut and baled. Oilseed rape has been sprayed off, and we're now waiting for some drier weather. The barley has turned and the wheat has started to turn, although bare patches and ruts still remain from the winter.

Some maize that was previously used to fatten cattle and now goes to a digester plant, is tall enough for Daisy to get lost in. I've seen a barley crop cut and crimped, and the field has been cultivated. On my way to Rugby Livestock Market I passed a field being cultivated with the cover crop being ploughed in.

I was hacking away at a few thistles today when the Red Arrows flew by, a field away. Upon checking with my daughter, they were on their way to the Silverstone GP ten or so miles away. My daughter managed to get a photo on the second pass as I didn't have my camera when they turned near my house to go back.

Since the AGM at Telford I have managed to visit 5 other clubs.

I've enjoyed meals organised by Dennis at Worcestershire, and Phil at Staffordshire, made a brief visit to Hoveringham Vintage Vehicle Society show in Nottinghamshire at the invitation of Tim and Michele Robson who had a stand there to promote Country Link (see report from Notts on the Events page), I've attended a couple of Quiz nights with Northamptonshire - where Rodney introduced a potential new member, and finally attended John Lawton's birthday party near Hinkley in Warwickshire. I must thank John for inviting me and Rodney to an excellent and very enjoyable evening. We were all entertained very well by John's son Jack who is a professional singer and, as luck would have it, they were all celebrating Leicester City FC winning the championship that same day as well.

At the AGM I asked everyone there to try and bring along someone new to a meeting. If every single member did this (and those people decided to join) we would easily double our membership very quickly. I would urge everyone reading this to try to bring someone along to a meeting, a walk, a meal, or a BBQ.

If you're not already a member, and reading this, please do get in touch with your local group and come along to a meeting or event. Contact details for each group are on the programmes page.

Finally, in my June Chairman's Chat I mentioned the Handbook as a source of help and information. This can be found on the Documents page of the website or follow this link: https://country-link.co.uk/documents/Club_Handbook_2024ver.pdf

Dick Stephens - Chairman

Hello all Country Linkers,

Wet! Wet! Wet!

I was thinking about what I was going to write whilst pondering the inequity of life. I'd been soaked to the skin (twice) while feeding my very good friend's llamas and emus at his wildlife sanctuary. Feeding them sourdough pave, kalamata olive bloomers, and luxury fruited hot cross buns - not just any hot cross buns... Before going home to a bowl of generic cereal for my breakfast.

Hello - I am your new National Chairman, Dick Stephens, elected at the AGM held on the Sunday afternoon at the recent Spring National Weekend in Telford. I am going to try to visit every group during the next 6 months to see how the national committee can help your group.

So, let me introduce myself.

I was born and brought up on a small farm on the Fosse Way in Warwickshire. We had suckler cows, sheep, and Christmas poultry, and grew dredge corn and potatoes. We also did some local contracting.

Aged 16 I joined the local Young Farmers Club. At the age of 26 I was ineligible to enter any competitions. Around this time a gentleman by the name of Will Bond wrote into Farmers Weekly to ask what we could join after Young Farmers. The following week there were more letters sent in on the same subject. Out of this Country Link was born and was sponsored by FW for some time afterwards. That was almost 40 years ago and I have been a member on and off ever since.

I was first a member of Warwickshire group, then I met my fist wife and moved to Northamptonshire. Finally, I joined Oxfordshire group where I met my second wife, and where I am still a member.

Now semi-retired I keep 50 ewes and their lambs, and I sell any spare hay to local horse owners. The lambs are all sold at livestock markets - which I urge you to support. The livestock markets set the open market prices which, in turn, prevents the supermarkets having total control of our produce.

We've finally had a few dry days and I managed to mow the lawn. I was contemplating baling it when it rained again!

During daily walks with Daisy the dog I have seen the crops around the locality being battered by the inclement weather this winter and spring. It is mostly rolling landscape on the edge of the Cotswold escarpment. The water meadows at the bottom of the valleys have had more water lying in them than I have ever seen before, and after 2 inches of rain last Saturday evening some still have water lying on the surface.

The crops on the slopes have suffered badly. Six inch deep runnels can still be seen where the tramlines were set, and bare patches are visible at the lower ends of the fields. Many of the footpaths across the middle of cropped fields have ended up 20 feet wide in places as the walkers try to dodge the mud.

On a more positive note, the lambs are growing well, and locally the oilseed rape is 4 feet high and in full flower. The wheat and barley crops are patchy but what there is is looking well. The grass is having a very good year, even if cattle have had to be kept inside, and it is just getting away from my ewes and lambs.

I would like to thank Caroline, Robyn, and Roy for an outstanding National Weekend at Telford. Everyone had a good time, enjoying the two dinner dances, and Sunday evening quizzes. The hotel was excellent in all respects. The trips were all well organised and, according to friends, all were very interesting and informative.

I went on three farm visits. The contrast between the wholesale potato business, with a self-propelled harvester, and the attention to detail required for the retail business at Shropshire Petals was fascinating. The high-tech planting machinery, including a robotic planter, I found amazing.

During the afternoon we visited a farm that had diversified into distilling, and retailing, gin. Again, this was very interesting. On the Sunday I visited a large dairy farm milking 1800 cows in a rotary parlour, with management needing to be totally on top of their game.

Caroline's report should now be on the website, along with plenty of photographs in the Telford photo Gallery.

I would urge all groups to think about hosting a national weekend in their area. Lots of help is available.

Please also send your programmes and reports to Vicky so that they can be uploaded to the website - this is, after all, our showcase. Please use the email address nottscountrylink@yahoo.co.uk to send anything to Vicky, and please make use of the website to show what your own club does.

To anyone who has't been to a national weekend - please come along and try one. You will meet a lot of like-minded people, and enjoy dinner dances, quizzes, optional fancy dress, and visits to local places of interest. There is always a good choice of visits and there should be something for all tastes.

Finally, I would like to thank Peter Hunt for all his hard work over the last four years, first as Vice-Chairman, and then as Chairman.

Hoping you all have a dry and sunny June.

Dick Stephens - Chairman

Hello all Country Linkers,

I hope you all had a good Easter Holiday. Lorna and I went to visit my sister in Italy which was very enjoyable, and it was good to have a break from the rain here in the UK!

Now that the clocks have changed, and the evenings are becoming lighter, it would be good to get some better weather so that we can all start to enjoy some outdoor events again.

It's good to see that most programmes are being updated, and uploaded to the website, on a regular basis and I'm always impressed with the different things each club chooses to do. There's a good variety of walks, visits, and meals on offer.

In Nottinghamshire, our regular evening meetings are on the first and third Wednesday of each month. However, to try and encourage more people to come along we also have a coffee morning on the 5th Wednesday, about 4 times a year. Maybe your own club could consider holding a daytime meeting occasionally as some members may find a daytime meeting more convenient.

During March we held our planning meeting for the summer programme. Several members turned up for a meal, and a few more came along later to join in for a drink and chat. This was followed by a pub night at The Gleaners Inn, Calverton - our normal meeting place.

For our first meeting in April, we joined in with the Radcliffe-on-Trent Local History Society for a talk about the history of Radcliffe's pubs. There was a short introduction about the history of pubs in general, and the difference between an ale house and a public house. This was followed by a detailed talk about the history of each pub in the village (there has been several over the years), along with the names of the landlords over a long period of time. One pub in particular had a succession of landlords with the surname Hallam and our member Sue Hallam wondered if they may be related in some way.

Peter Hurt, our national president, organised a dinner dance in March which was held at a local golf centre. This was attended by several Nottinghamshire members, as well as Rodney from Oxfordshire. Derbyshire members often come along to this event as well but unfortunately, due to a change of date this year, were unable to make it.

A few of us met up the following day when we visited the Nottingham Transport Museum at Ruddington and then went into the city of Nottingham to visit the Galleries of Justice. These are two really interesting museums if you should ever get the chance to visit. See the photograph of me standing with my head and wrists in the stocks!

The National Committee had a successful meeting on 24th March, held at Leek Wootton village hall. It's always good to catch up with fellow committee members as well as discuss the main business of Country Link itself. We have received nominations for the posts of Chairman, Treasurer, and Secretary ahead of the AGM but, to date, no-one has been nominated for the role of Vice-Chairman. Nominations or proposals for Vice-Chair will be taken from the floor at the AGM in Telford. If you would like to be considered for this role please put yourself forward, or talk to a member of the committee.

I would remind all of the clubs that there is £500.00 per club available to help with the cost of advertising locally. This can be an advert in your local press, a show guide, small items that can be carried away such as pens or pencils, or you could consider having a stand at a local show.

I'm now looking forward to the National Weekend in Telford and hope to see some of you there.

Peter Hunt - Chairman

Hello all Country Linkers,

Hopefully it's not too wet in your part of the world.

Nottinghamshire Country Link has had a busy February. At the beginning of the month there were enough members from our group to enter 2 teams into a fund-raising quiz, for another organisation, at Hoveringham village hall. We didn't win but it was an enjoyable evening, great to catch up, and the included curry supper was very good.

Our first programmed meeting was a talk by Pam Farquhar. Pam spoke to us about the role of military dogs both past and present, she covered the history of military dogs and how dogs have been used by the military in different countries. She also spoke about some of the dogs themselves as she has taken in a number of retired dogs and rehomed them herself. These dogs often need specialist handling due to the experiences encountered as working dogs. Of course, explosive detection dogs have saved numerous lives.

This was followed by pancake night at Peter Hurt's. It's a good opportunity to sit and chat with other members. There's always an excellent turnout for this (annual) event, and everyone enjoys their pancakes! Peter provides the eggs, Michele makes the batter, and Tim cooks the pancakes. Roma and David provide hot roast pork and cobs as well so there's always plenty of food to go around. It's a real team effort.

I have included a couple of pictures of people enjoying their pancakes, and of Tim preparing to toss a pancake. It is much harder than it looks to get a good action shot!

Our first meeting in March will be a planning meeting for our Spring / Summer programme. I am certainly looking forward to the (hopefully) better spring weather and the start of some outdoor meetings again.

I've noticed that some clubs are coming towards the end of their programmes so I'm sure that most of you will be having planning meetings too. Please remember to send the updated programmes to Vicky so that she can have them put on the website. I do know that Vicky does chase up the clubs as their programmes are coming to an end, and she will have programmes taken down once their last meeting date has gone.

The National Committee will be holding our next meeting this month, focussing on preparation for the AGM. If you have any ideas, suggestions or comments you would like raising at the committee meeting please contact your area rep who will include them in their report at the meeting.

The AGM will be held at the National Weekend in Telford during May. The positions of National Chairman, National Vice-Chairman, National Treasurer, and National Secretary all come up for re-election at the AGM. If you wish to stand for one of these positions, or nominate someone else, then the nomination forms need to be sent to Liz Goodwin by 15th March. The forms are available for download from the website country-link.co.uk/documents/Nomination-form-January-2024.pdf and completed forms should be sent to Liz on the following email address: nationalsecretary@country-link.co.uk

The National Weekend in Telford is now sold out, and I am looking forward to visiting this interesting part of the country. Hope to see many of you there.

Best Wishes

Peter Hunt - Chairman