FARM RADIO IS AT THE CROSSROADS!
If you enjoy
your visits to this site or if your enterprise has been
featured here with positive effects, please could you
take a moment to tell us. We need to be able to
demonstrate your support in order to attract the
resources to take Farm Radio on to the next stages of
development. Statistics are one thing but nothing
is as good as personal testimonials.
Do you think
that you may have something to contribute to the future
of the site? We are planning to start up a
steering group that will have a rôle in the development
of this site and would welcome expressions of interest
in this from our visitors.
e-mail
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Poem by
William Percy Withers - "Grandpapa's Days"
Somerset
folk singer George Withers - the uncle of Farm
Radio's Margery Hookings, reads "Grandpapa's
Days", a poem
by his late father William Percy Withers, 1894-1970.
Percy fought with the North Somerset Yeomanry in
World War I where he saw service in the Somme and
lost many dear friends and comrades. When the
war ended, Percy took up a farm tenancy in Barton
St. David, Somerset, before moving to farm at Donyatt, near Ilminster, in 1920.
Click on the bale to listen
(27/05/09)
Further poems from
William Percy Withers:
"The Mendip Hills",
"Memories",
"Farewell to Pottery Farm",
"The Things I Love",
"Yet Another Spring Song",
"Ode to an Onion"
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Would you
like to see the name of your
enterprise/business/organisation here . . . ?
Contact us to find out what we
can offer.
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Bringing the
cinema to your village - "MOVIOLA"
The film "Morris: A Life with Bells
On" played to packed audiences in village halls across
Dorset. Due to the vagaries of the film industry,
Moviola was the only organisation showing this
quintessentially English comedy film in the UK. Farm
Radio’s Margery Hookings went to Yetminster to talk to
Moviola administrator Christina Walkley about the film
and finds out more about Moviola and why it’s so
popular.
www.moviola.org
Click on the bale to
listen
(27/05/09)
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Would you
like to work with Farm Radio?
Are you
considering an oral history or media based project for
your community? The Farm Radio team has many years
experience of all aspects of community media work, audio
and video production and
has a long record of involvement in such projects so, if
we can help in any way,
contact us.
Also, we are always keen to find
new volunteers to train and support as correspondents
for Farm Radio.
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Higher Ground
Meadow - Natural Burial
Joanna and Peter Vassie have come up
with an imaginative use for 12 acres of pasture on their
farm in Corscombe. They are converting it to a natural
burial site. John Holman went to talk to Jo about the
idea.
www.highergroundmeadow.co.uk
Click on the bale to
listen
(19/05/09)
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Andrew
Frampton at Buglers
Andrew Frampton went to the opening
of Francis Bugler Ltd.'s new premises a while ago and in
his inimitable style went digging for the story behind
the story, starting with managing director, John Bugler
. . .
www.buglers.co.uk
Click on the bale to
listen
(19/05/09)
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 ANNOUNCEMENT
Learn practical
skills on organic farms
The Soil
Association, supported by the Daylesford Foundation are
launching 300 Organic Farm School courses over the next
two years.
The Organic Farm School offers hands-on courses in
growing your own food, rearing animals, cooking and
rural crafts. Participants will learn practical skills
direct from organic farmers, growers and producers with
personal experience. Courses include bee-keeping,
chicken keeping, vegetable growing, cider making, bread
baking, willow weaving, hedge laying and many others.
The Soil Association hopes to reach over 3,000
individuals - from young families and gardening newbies,
to allotmenteers and wannabe smallholders - encouraging
a reconnection of urban and rural. The courses are not
only a fun day out on an organic farm, they offer a
chance to rediscover the precious knowledge of our
grandparents.
Whether you want to skill up and make that step towards
making your life more sustainable, learn how to live
closer to the land, or get inspired and try something
out as a possible career option, the Organic Farm School
has the right course for you.
For more
information
click here
For an article
on the Daylesford Foundation
click here
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The Wessex
Ridgeway Trail, Part 1, Ashmore to Shillingstone
The Wessex Ridgeway Trail stretches
62 miles from Ashmore on the Dorset/Wiltshire Border in
the east to Lyme Regis in the west. To mark the
opening of this route for walkers, riders and cyclists,
which is the culmination of much hard work by Demelza
Hyde and her colleagues from
Dorset Countryside
(the countryside service of Dorset County Council),
Farm Radio team members created an audio journey in five
parts along its length, meeting the people who live and
work there and celebrating the scenery, flora and fauna,
history, archaeology and culture of the area.
This is the first part and takes us
from the village hall at Ashmore with its famous duck
pond to the school at Shillingstone.
To find out more about this trail,
click here
Click on the bale to
listen
(11/05/09)
|
 Would you
like to work with Farm Radio?
Are you
considering an oral history or media based project for
your community? The Farm Radio team has many years
experience of all aspects of community media work, audio
and video production and
has a long record of involvement in such projects so, if
we can help in any way,
contact us.
Also, we are always keen to find
new volunteers to train and support as correspondents
for Farm Radio.
|
|
Would you
like to see the name of your
enterprise/business/organisation here . . . ?
Contact us to find out what we
can offer.
|
Heart of the Vale, Soul
of the Town, Part 8, Stan Harris
It is now more than ten years since the livestock market at Sturminster Newton closed down, bringing to an end 700 years of tradition.
We were involved in a project gathering views and ideas on video from the users
of the market as part of the effort to keep it open. The realisation of
what the closure meant to the people who used it was part of the inspiration
behind the concept of "Farm Radio". So, therefore, it seems fitting to
post some of the footage that we shot here.
I was thinking of calling this section "Where Are They
Now?" but, given the age of some of the contributors and the passing of time,
the answer to that would be all too obvious in so many cases. However, it
would be great to
hear from
our listeners with any stories of the subsequent adventures of the folk
featured here so we could follow up their stories. Perhaps we should call
it "What Happened Next?" Video shot and edited by John Holman.
Click on the bale to
view (11/05/09)
Click for
Part 1, Pat and Ted,
Part 2, Ian and Paul,
Part 3, The Auctioneers,
Part 4, Ernie,
Part 5, Clar,
Part 6, Jenny and the Pigs,
Part 7, The Drovers
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ANNOUNCEMENT
The Halfmoon Inn
Beer Festival, Clayhidon
Friday 22nd,
Saturday 23rd, Sunday 24th
and Monday 25th May.
If you're at a
loose end over the May Bank Holiday why not visit
The Halfmoon Inn Beer Festival at Clayhidon in the
underrated and under-visited Blackdown Hills.
They are featuring 30 local real ales,
10 live bands and hog roasts. Visit the
Halfmoon Inn's website for where to find them.
Whilst you're in
that neck of the woods why not arrange to visit some
of the local food producers featured previously on
"Farm Radio"
"Tracey Mill Trout Farm - Free Range Trout?!",
"Carol Farley of Gaddon Springs Farm",
"Ruth Strange of Beech Hayes Farm",
"Janet
and
Edward East of Yellingham Farm",
Kath Gigg - Cheese Gig
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Heart of the Vale, Soul
of the Town, Part 7, The Drovers
It is now more than ten years since the livestock market at Sturminster Newton closed down, bringing to an end 700 years of tradition.
We were involved in a project gathering views and ideas on video from the users
of the market as part of the effort to keep it open. The realisation of
what the closure meant to the people who used it was part of the inspiration
behind the concept of "Farm Radio". So, therefore, it seems fitting to
post some of the footage that we shot here.
I was thinking of calling this section "Where Are They
Now?" but, given the age of some of the contributors and the passing of time,
the answer to that would be all too obvious in so many cases. However, it
would be great to
hear from
our listeners with any stories of the subsequent adventures of the folk
featured here so we could follow up their stories. Perhaps we should call
it "What Happened Next?" Video shot and edited by John Holman.
Click on the bale to
view (28/04/09) Click for
Part 1, Pat and Ted,
Part 2, Ian and Paul,
Part 3, The Auctioneers,
Part 4, Ernie,
Part 5, Clar,
Part 6, Jenny and the Pigs
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ANNOUNCEMENT
Grassland UK returns!
May 7th.
Grassland
UK 2009
brings
the
livestock
farmer
all the
latest
innovations
and
ideas in
the
current
market.
The Show
continues
to grow
and
expand
in
response
to high
demand
and
planned
new
features
for
2009.
Seminars
covering
topics
to
improve
profits
from
grazing,
silage
and
manure
management,
plus
advice
for
those
in
Nitrate
Vulnerable
Zones,
has
been
organised
by
the
British
Grassland
Society
and
DairyCo
for
Grassland
UK
on
May
7th.
The
sessions
will
all
take
place
in
the
seminar
marquee,
where
visitors
can
also
find
the
BGS
and
DairyCo
stands,
starting
at
10.30.
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Asparagus
at Red Barn
Take a trip on the A359 heading
south towards Yeovil and, just before you come to
the bridge across the Yeo at Mudford, you will see a
green sign bearing the legend "Fresh Asparagus".
Turn right here and after a quarter of a mile you
will come to the Red Barn Farm Shop. Every morning
through the asparagus season you will find, Clare
Bartlett, her sister-in-law Kathryn Bartlett and
their colleague Elaine Spencer-White bending over
cutting their latest crop of asparagus.
Not wishing to interrupt the
work, John Holman spoke first to Elaine whilst she
was working her way down a row . . .
www.asparagusatredbarn.co.uk
Click on the bale to
listen
(28/04/09)
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ANNOUNCEMENT
A new 4-part
series made by Bristol-based
Available Light Productions "Mud, Sweat and
Tractors - The Story of Agriculture" starts on BBC 4
on Wednesday April 15th. , the first episode is
entitled "Milk". This series includes archive
footage, some of which we supplied.
For details
and timings of further episodes, click
here
(14/04/09)
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The Seed Company - An intensely
local success story
John Holman went to talk to Ken Tuffin,
Managing Director and Paul Roberts of
Pearce Seeds who looks after their newish baby, The Seed
Company. The main purpose of the visit was to find out
how the development of the Seed Company's product, Rape Seed
Oil was going but, firstly Ken and Paul filled in a bit of
detail about the parent company and as they put it on
their website they're "really rather nice people to talk
to!" The rape seed project is a fascinating one and an
exemplar of how, with a bit of creative thought, energy, and
cooperation between local enterprises, ideas can translate
into exciting opportunities for the area.
The Seed Company
Pearce Seeds
Click on the bale to
listen
(09/04/09)
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Poem by
William Percy Withers - "Ode to an Onion"
Somerset
folk singer George Withers - the uncle of Farm
Radio's Margery Hookings, reads "Ode to an
Onion", a poem
by his late father William Percy Withers, 1894-1970.
Percy fought with the North Somerset Yeomanry in
World War I where he saw service in the Somme and
lost many dear friends and comrades. When the
war ended, Percy took up a farm tenancy in Barton
St. David, Somerset, before moving to farm at Donyatt, near Ilminster, in 1920.
Click on the bale to listen
(06/04/09)
Further poems from
William Percy Withers:
"The Mendip Hills",
"Memories",
"Farewell to Pottery Farm",
"The Things I Love",
"Yet Another Spring Song"
|
Would you
like to work with Farm Radio?
Are you
considering an oral history or media based project for
your community? The Farm Radio team has many years
experience of all aspects of community media work, audio
and video production and
has a long record of involvement in such projects so, if
we can help in any way,
contact us.
Also, we are always keen to find
new volunteers to train and support as correspondents
for Farm Radio.
|
|
Would you
like to see the name of your
enterprise/business/organisation here . . . ?
Contact us to find out what we
can offer.
|
The Royal Smithfield Christmas Fair
- Part 7, Waitrose
Click for
Part 1, The British Pig Association,
Part 2, Richs Cider,
Part 3, Dr. Phil Hadley of Eblex,
Part 4, Nick Hunkin,
Part 5, Jonathan Barber of the National Sheep Association,
Part 6, The Sausage Club
Geoff Pagotto
visited the Royal Smithfield Christmas Fair and recorded
seven stories for Farm Radio.
The term 'Food
Security' has entered the farming vocabulary in recent
years, but just what does it mean to the buyer. Geoff
Pagotto talks to Waitrose Supermarket's Agricultural
Manager, Duncan Sinclair to find out their point of
view.
www.waitrose.com
Click on the bale to
listen
(03/04/09)
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