Horse Racing in Fewston !!!

Saturday night saw the locals gathering in Fewston Hall for a night of Horse Racing.
Kevin Wilson was MC for the evening. 6 races were to be run each race with 6 horses. The horses were all auctioned off by local auctioneer Ian Smith from Wharfedale Farmers Auction Mart before the race and then you could place your bets. £1 a go !!!
Denise and I were asked to spin the wheels for one race, its a simple game, whatever colour the wheel stops at and whatever number, that horse on the table moves forward. There were a couple of 'move back 3 spaces' on the board and I think everyone landed on them at some point. Chris had a couple of winners, I had one winner and received the princely sum of £2.50 !! I'll spend it wisely!!
At the half way point a Pie and pea supper was served and at the end of the evening its fair to say it was a fun evening and a great way of raising funds for the village Hall.
All in all about £900 was raised towards the hall refurbishments. I think its a night which may be repeated next year!!

International Wool Textile Organisation Visit

Last week we had the pleasure of hosting a farm visit for a delegation of members of the International Wool Textile Organisation, the China Wool Textile Association and the Australian Wool Testing Authority.
They were all in the UK to attend a conference in London and had then travelled north to visit the Wool Warehouses in Bradford to learn more about what happens to wool once it leaves our farms. Then they came here to see where to raw product begins.
We talked about what we do on the farm ehre with the sheep, the different breeds and the 'farming year.
We got Jill to do a sheepdog demo and then we went up the land to meet the cows and then onto the moor to show where some of the sheep live.
When they left us I was presented with an absolutely beautiful chinese silk scarf, a prcelain memory stick decorated in chinese writing and a '100 mile rug'. The rug is made from wool which has grown and been processed in North Yorkshire which means it has traveled only 100 miles in its life. Its beautiful!!
The delegates (top picture R to L) are Ms.PENG Yanli- President China Wool Textile Association, John Lambert- Consultant to International Wool Textile Organisation, Mr. Robert Wang – China Project Manager- Australian Wool Testing Authority, Chris Ryder, Elisabath van Delden – Secretary General International Wool Textile Organisation, Priyanka Kapoor- Marketing- International Wool Textile Organisation, Ms.SHUQIN Zhang – Assistant to President China Wool Textile Association

Farm Stay AGM and Bradley Burn Farm Shop!!

After our big night out on Monday it was soon 6am and I was up and off to the Farm Stay UK AGM which this year was held at Slaley Hall near Hexham in Northumberland. Unfortunately Ive not been to the last couple of AGM's so it was a great chance to catch up with the many friends I made around the UK during my time on the Farm Stay Board of Directors. We had a lot of laughs, an awful lot of food and I wouldnt have missed it for anything.
After a fab breakfast yesterday morning I set off for home. I headed over the moors into Weardale and went along to Wolsingham to visit Bradley Burn Farm Shop. This is the brainchild of the Stephenson family and is run by Christopher and his wife Jill. Christophers Mum Judith was on the Board of FS UK with me and we sat in their wonderful restaurant ,within the shop, and talked for ages. We started off with coffee but were still talking at lunchtime so we had really tasty homemade soup and the most delicious cheese scones Ive ever had!!
If you ever find yourself in Weardale go and have a look in the shop. Its packed with local and regional food and theres a big map on the wall with pins in denoting each of their suppliers locations. They even had Mackenzies of Blubberhouses Bacon!!

Deliciously Yorkshire Awards

On the 14th November Chris and I, with our friends Richard and Denise, went along to Rudding Park Hotel to the Deliciously Yorkshire Awards.
DY are the regional food group responsible for promoting Yorkshire Food.
The dinner was a feast of delights all sourced from the shortlisted finalists. We started with Champagne and canapes of Moss Valley smoked pork, Ramans Kitchen beetroot relish on Shepherds Purse Cheese, Yorkshire Crisps and Blacker Hall Pork Fettle and Basil Sausages. Yum!
We sat down to a dinner of 'Whitby Seafish' smoked salmon served with 'WS Bentleys' Micro salad and 'Yorskhire Organic Millers' spelt bread.
The main course was Roast 'Swillinton Organic' Chicken with 'Monks Folly' Potatoes and 'Parkers Veg' root vegetables.
The trio of desserts were 'Birchfield Dairies' Rice Pudding with Mercers Strawberry Conserve, Yorvale Lemon Meringue Icecream and 'Burtree Puddings' Golden Syrup Pudding.
Those who had any room left then enjoyed a trio of Shepherds Purse Cheeses. I had to pass at this stage as I had seen on the menu the coffee still to come with 'Sciolti' Chocolates and 'Miniature Bakers' wonderful Chocolate crisps and Snaps.
After the dinner Nigel Barden of Radio 2 and Nick Stafford of Hambleton Ales began the presentation of the awards.
Chris and I were shortlisted in the category 'Best Yorkshire Breakfast' and were absolutely chuffed to be announced as the winners!!! We had to go up on to the stage for the award and all I could think was' please dont trip, please dont trip!!' We were presented with our award by Nigel Pulling, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Agricultural Society who were the sponsors of our category.
So now we have a lovely plaque to put on display and great memories of an amazing evening!
(and in case you are wondering I didnt trip!!!)

Sheep scanning already!!

It doesnt seem like 5 minutes since we were scanning sheep last winter in the snow and the freezing cold. I usually do this job with at least 2 jumpers on, plus a vest, tights, ski socks jeans overall, coat and gloves its a wonder I can move really!!! Yesterday couldnt have been more different. It was a gloriously sunny warm autumnal day as John Barnes scanned the first 130 ewes.
These Mule ewes , and a few Blue Faced Leicesters, are due in the first couple of weeks of February (Chris decided it would be a good idea to have some early lambs!!!)
The scan went well and with 70 having twins and thirty odd having triplets it looks like it could be a busy week or so!
The local cows must have thought they were missing something as they all had to come and watch over the wall. So nosey!!

Woodland Management

At the moment its hot and sunny here and for 1 October, most unusual. Bess and I are still doing lots of walks locally and at the moment there are lots of changes going on in the woods.
Yorkshire Water are currently undertaking a Management plan of the woodlands round here and slowly are restoring them to Ancient Woodland areas.
The non native species of tree, mostly pine, are being taken out. Replanting will them take place with the predominant tree species being Sessile Oak. Any trees already in the woods that are native to UK will be left to naturalise.
It should look really good when its regrown, not sure ill still be around to see it though!
In the meantime it looks like the Orcs from Lord of the Rings have just crashed through!!!

Barn restoration 2

Theres been much activity this last week as the preparations for the barn restoration take shape. Thursday was a brilliantly sunny day and a great time for tackling the shrubbery which has grown up over the last 20 years.
Dad came along and armed with loppers and a chainsaw he and Chris cut everything down. We loaded it all into the tractor bucket and it got taken away. Then as we were in full flow we cleaned out the small out houses near the house. The main barn is just about clear and three skips later I think it s a job well done. Very therapeutic too!! The only thing is it all looks rather bare now!

Emmerdale

Weve had a great afternoon out today. Chris and I went with some friends for a tour of the film set of Emmerdale.
Its a purpose built village on the Harewood Estate and not open to the public. We know the man who sources many of the props for the soap and he showed us round. Nigel is responsible for getting onto set any animals you might see, farm props, vehicles and so much more.
Its surprisingly small and compact in the village and looks so much bigger on the TV.
We went into Paddy Kirks house! They actually film in here and it was tiny. The living room especially so. We wandered round the vet practise and back out. We went into the cafe and The Woolpack but these are just used for storage, make up, wardrobe etc and the internal scenes are filmed in studios in Leeds. We wandered into Pollards B&B but have to say I didnt pick up any tips!!!
It was a really interesting afternoon and a new family coming into the soap were just filming their first scenes. Look out for a battered old green camper Van. I cant say any more than that!!!

Barn restoration - Part One

After about 3 years of ups and downs its finally looking like our Barn restoration project may be going ahead. A meeting a week or so ago saw the builders about to be instructed and it was all systems go.
Chris and I have a lot of work to do clearing out the sheds and finding somewhere to store all the 'junk' thats accummulated. Well Chris says its his toolshed workshop but really alot of it is junk!!Why do we keep all this stuff?
I have lots of plants and shrubbery to remove so that the building can be repointed, Im getting Dad down to help me with all that but goodness knows where everything is going to go.
The ugly bulk hopper for cattle feed has also had to be removed and that was yesterdays task. Chris's cousin Stephen and his son James came to take it away to their farm.
I couldnt resist taking some pics and wondering if I should label them Danger Men at Work!!

Walking the dog

The recent spell of decent weather, along with aquiring Bess, has meant lots of long walks. This time of year its wonderful to be out and about and especially up on the moor.
The Heather is in full flower and looking beautiful and the views on a clear day are endless. Bess bounds around like a puppy with seemingly endless amounts of energy. Really cant say the same for me but I do enjoy it!!!

The top picture here is taken looking over Thruscross reservoir, and the bottom picture is looking down the Washburn Valley towards the farm which is too far away for you to quite make out.

Our newest family member - Bess

With great excitement I set off on Monday to collect my new best friend, and here she is!! This is Bess, shes 3 years old and just the best dog ever!!
I had considered getting a puppy but didnt think I would cope very well with poop and chewing and general madness until it was trained. This dog has been working as a gun dog at Cuckavalda Gundogs and has been expertley trained by Jack Peckitt.
Weve been out for walks and she stays at heel, she loves to dive into the River and have a swim around and she knows shes not allowed in the kitchen. We always leave the door open from the hall so she can see us but I just have to ask her to 'stay there' and she does!!! Its brilliant.
This afternoon she had a bath and a good brush and shes looking good!
Right now shes watching Friends with my niece Rachel!!

Moorland Flowers

Now im into blogging I seem to be taking my camera everywhere with me and a couple of days ago I went with Chris up to the Moor to see the cows. Its fair to say everything is in full bloom but one thing we noticed in abundance was the little pink flowers, its just a carpet of pink in places.
However neither of us knew what the little flowers were so I sent the photo to Marion at FWAG/Nidderdale AONB and asked what it was and she has told me its Wild Thyme.
Before the farm went into the Environmental scheme, Higher Level Stewardship, we used to run more sheep on the moor than we do now. Now the head count is much less we are noting more and more of nature bursting back to life.
Thyme is a low growing plant up to 2 cm tall with creeping stems up to 10 cm long, with oval evergreen leaves 3–8 mm long.
The strongly scented flowers very in colour from lilac, pink-purple, magenta, or a rare white, and has a scent ranging from heavily herbal to lightly lemon, depending on the plant.
Its really beautiful to see it all !!

Pheasant chicks

How cute are these latest additions to the farm?? Hatched only 24 hours ago they are Pheasant chicks.
They were hatched, and are being lovingly looked after, by one of our Light Sussex hens who was feeling broody. She is a very protective mother and keeps them close all the time, sometimes you just cant see them as they are tucked up right into all her feathers.
At present they are in a run in one of the barns but will soon move outside. They will stay in the run, nice and safe for a while yet.

Great Yorkshire Show - The Wilsons of Blubberhouses

This week the Great Yorkshire Show took place in Harrogate. Its a
fantastic show, held over 3 days, and this year attracted amazingly large crowds.
The special guests on Wednesday were Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.
My friend Daphne, Hearts and Flowers Florists, was commisioned to do a presentation bouquet for the Duchess, Yorkshire White Roses of course, and buttonholes. Quite an honour.

Daphnes husband Kevin, and son James, were busy in the sheep lines showing both Mule lambs and Dalesbred sheep. Chris helped Kevin with his lambs but unfortunately they didnt get placed.
However a very different story in the Dalesbred lines as Kevin won the Championship with his homebred Gimmer Shearling (a female sheep born last year, sheared once!). A tremendous acheivment, well done Kevin!!
James spent his afternoon in the Sheep Shearing competition. James is an accomplished shearer, has even spent winters in New Zealand shearing, and this year, not for the first time, he won the competition. Well done James. We are just hoping his prices arent going up on the strength of this!!
All in all a tremendous day for the Wilson family. I always knew I had talented friends, but now it seems they are famous too as all this got a mention in yesterdays Yorkshire Post!!

Hay baling!

Aside from the shearing its also Hay baling day. The weather has been so good the grass has dried very quickly. Chris has turned it three times and today we once again called on the services of our good friend David Pennock and his tractor and baler.
As we drove into the field to see how he was getting on it smelt absolutely fantastic, theres just nothing to beat the smell of new good day.
Tonight Chris will put the bales onto the trailer and take them and stack them in the barn ready for winter.
Hmm now theres a thought..winter. Best not to persue those thoughts right now I think .....

Christy Harker - What a star!!

Today has been so hot, almost tropical, and it was the day that the shearers came to town once more.
They have done most of the sheep on the farm at Fewston a couple of weeks ago but today there were 350 waiting for them here at Scaife Hall. I did go round and say Hello and take some pics but then hastily retreated back to my housework and ironing, which for once was preferable!!
The second picture shows some of the lambs which have been seperated from their mothers for the day to ease handling of the ewes. Theres an awful lot of shouting going on but they will soon be reunited.
Christy has done a fabulous job wrapping all the fleeces into the wool sheets and now they are ready to be sent away to the Wool marketing Board depot in Bradford.
Thanks Christy, you did a fab job!!

Schiefelbusch Farm Visit

Our last visit before leaving Germany was to Sciefelbusch, a family run farm, home of Albert and Helga Trimborn.
What an enterprising place this was. They diversified 25 years ago and began a farm shop which over the years has expanded to include a cafe which they started 3 years ago.
The food they produce is sold through the shop and served in the cafe and they are very much into the ethos of local food and they now employ 15 people.
We had a meal in the cafe before we left which was supposed to be a simple supper but turned out to be a feast of Chicken and Asparagus soup with crusty bread followed by cakes and waffles served with whipped cream and there were bowls of Cherries and the sweetest strawberries I have ever had. They even smelled of strawberry as opposed to the tastless ones we seem to get in the supermarkets!!!
They had a herd of dairy cows, they produce beef, veal and Pork, 6000 hens for eggs, 1200 geese, (they were so cute!), they grow crops such as Asparagus, strawberries and flowers and the farm is open to visitors with play areas for children and a large Maize maze. There are also 4 self catering cottages.
Very hard working people and their farm is a great place to visit if you are ever in the area www.bauerngut-schiefelbusch.de

Germany Trip

This week has been lovely. We took a few days off and travelled to the Rhine Region in Germany. We go every year with a group of local farmers, to different areas either into Europe or in the UK, usually for about 3 days, and we have a great time.
We started our trip with an evening flight from Leeds to Dusseldorf, where we stayed over night. On Tuesday we headed to Cologne where we had a city sightseeing tour, including the madnificent Cathedral, followed by a vist to the Lindt Chocolate Museum. Oh the smell of chocolate was divine!! There were samples of course and the usual shop where we managed to spend some money!!
After this we had lunch and then headed down into the Rhine Valley for a visit to the Lambrich Vineyard where we tasted 4 of their 23 varieties of wine.
Our coach then took us to Wiesbaden, a beautiful spa town, where we stayed for two nights. We had several visits in the area, to Open museums, shopping, a Rhine river cruise and a farm visit. The people , the food and the hotel we all wonderful but then we had to head back to Leeds last night and back home to a huge pile of Mail, email and phone messages. Reality soon kicks in!! This morning its back to business as usual and getting ready for my next B&B guests!!

Rod Stewart!

Oooooooo allow me to indulge myself.
Last night I saw Rod Stewart! Wow!. Ive always wanted to go and see one of his concerts so when friends rang and said would we like to go there was no hesitation. Chris grumbled a bit about him being old, but I pointed out so was he but I still look at him !!!!
A group of us went to Elland Road (home of Leeds Utd Football club) and after being seriously ripped off over a very mediocre burger and a beer we then had two hours of Rod.
Our seats were a way back but you could see him but I decided that before we left I just had to see the whites of his eyes. So off i went right to the front, and ooooo there he was. Eyes twinkling, looking lovely.
Thats it I wont say any more.
I had a fab time !!!!

Washburn Valley Show

Over the last few months Chris and I, along with a small committee, have been working on an Exhibition all about The Washburn Valley Show, Butter Making, and sheep sales which used to be held at The Sun Inn and The Hopper Lane. The sales were big events attracting buyers from many miles away as well as locals.
The Washburn Valley Show ran from 1906 to 1973. It was started by a small group of local farmers, who called themselves The Washburn Valley Tenant Farmers Association who got together and in 5 weeks planned the first ever show. It was attended by 800 people which when you consider the means of transport that would be available in 1906 it was a considerable number.
The show moved around 6 sites in the locality and was a tremendously popular event. Sadly as with lots of things it ended in 1973 due to lack of funds.
For the exhibition we were loaned all kinds of memorabilia from car stickers, catalogues, scrap books full of press cuttings and even the original Minutes book. We have had a great time looking at all the nostalgia , its been really interesting.
All the items are on display for all to see every weekend during June and July so go along and have a cup of tea, or lunch and see our exhibition at the same time!.
As a thank you to all we held a preview day on Thursday and invited all those who had helped, or loaned things etc and during the afternoon we served tea and scones and in the evening the second part which involved wine and nibbles!!
It was a long day but really enjoyable, although I was glad to get my shoes off at the end of the evening!!

Belted Galloway Sale, Thirsk.

Today Ive been let out, on my own, with the Landrover and trailer and a blank cheque to buy cattle. Brilliant!! Its never happened before !
Well I say on my own, I did take my friend Denise with me.
We went to Thirsk Auction to the Belted Galloway Cattle sale. Chris and I had perused the catalogue and decided on a few that sounded ok on paper, mostly heifers which have never calved before.
There was a cow for sale with the most adorable little bull calf, only a month old, and I really wanted to buy her. However I decided to drop out of the bidding at £1150 and it made £1175, shame really.
However later in the sale there were a couple of heifers that I liked and these I did buy. You cant go all that way towing a trailer and come back with it empty!!
So the photos arent very good but here are todays purchases Crystal Clove from Cumbria and Maybeck Aimie from Whitby.
When we got back we put them in the field with some other youngstock, we cant put them with the cows as the bull is in there and we dont want them to become acquainted just yet! In the field already were 3 heifers and our one male calf, Arnold, who didnt seem in the least bit impressed that he has to share with even more girls!!! ( just in case you wonder why hes not interested, and Ill whisper....hes been castrated!!)
So for a first off buying trip it seems that my farmer is happy and I may even be let out on my own again!!