As far as I can remember, this time last year it had already started to rain and it did not stop until well into April. What a difference it makes to work in these near perfect weather conditions we are currently enjoying. Although the nights are becoming increasingly chilly, the warm days ensure the seed bed is warm and the with the heavy dew perfect growing conditions will give the crops a good start.
Dairy farmers are now harvesting some very impressive crops of maize. Not only is the maize harvest plentiful this year, the ideal growing conditions and ample sunshine will have resulted in a high sugar content. At a time when milk prices continue to be squeezed by retailers, dairy farmers need all the help they can get. If the cattle can produce milk from high quality silage which is a relatively inexpensive food source, hopefully the use of expensive concentrates can be kept to a minimum.
The occasional showers have ensured the grass is still growing. The Sussex bullocks are once again content with their lot and have stopped asking to be moved each time they catch sight of me. I have for now shelved the plan to supplement their diet of grass with hay for the time being, but no doubt in due course they will be looking for a little extra.
I was somewhat taken back when it was suggested to me last Friday that ‘not since Oliver Cromwell has the British Constitution been so recklessly and wantonly torn asunder, as David Cameron has achieved through his mishandling of the Scottish Referendum’! Some may consider this sentiment a little harsh, but when one stops to consider the fall out following the fiasco of the referendum and the mishandling of the process over the past two years, it is difficult to defend.
The newspapers and airwaves over the weekend were quite rightly full to bursting with accusations and indignation as it dawned upon them just what had been promised in a moment of panic in those final days, by of all people Gordon Brown who had been handed the baton of the ‘Better Together’ team by the Prime Minister.
Mr Salmond and his fellow band of Scottish Nationalists are putting on a good show of being disappointed having lost the YES vote. But I suspect none of them are quite so disquieted or angry as the millions’ of British voters who have watched in disbelief at the incompetence of senior politicians whose prime task should be to defend the Monarchy, the United Kingdom and our Constitution.
It is little wonder that the British Electorate, and reading between the lines, certain sections of the media, are increasingly questioning the competence of the Prime Minister.
I am informed that had David Cameron listened to the many warnings he received over the past two years from intelligent, concerned senior Scots and businessmen, things could have been handled very differently. Not only did he ignore their warnings that Alex Salmond and the YES team had the upper hand and were a real danger, he also failed to acknowledge or reply to their communications. I wonder if he will now find time to apologies for not only his lack of manners but also his poor judgement.
There is a feeling that nothing much has changed since 2010 when David Cameron and his shadow cabinet refused to listen to the increasing volume of concern amongst the grass roots, regarding Britain’s membership of the European Union. Had he done so then he would not be facing the prospect of Ed Miliband and Ed Balls walking into Downing Street by default following the General Election next May, as the traditional Tory electorate turn to Nigel Farage and his UKIP party, in the belief that they will miraculously protect the UK from further interference from Brussels.
There are some who tell me that as long as David Cameron leads his party they cannot bring themselves to vote Conservative. It will be interesting to see if this view grows or if these disaffected angry conservatives who are unhappy by his handling of all things European and the Scottish Referendum, will be swayed by the new distraction and prospect of Home Rule for the English. Also, it will be interesting to see if his back bench MPs and conservative candidates, call for his resignation at the party conference. The word is that the party is unelectable with Cameron as leader!
The referendum has resulted in making an awful lot of people very cross and concerned for the future of Great Britain and just what direction Scotland will take next. No doubt time will settle the dust but unfortunately in this case it is highly toxic. The Genie is well and truly out of the bottle, and for all the talk of ‘devo-max’ for Scotland and ‘home rule’ for England, things will never be the same again.
They say a week in politics is a long time, and people move on and forget yesterday’s news. In this case it will surely run and run.
Carola Godman Irvine
Dairy farmers are now harvesting some very impressive crops of maize. Not only is the maize harvest plentiful this year, the ideal growing conditions and ample sunshine will have resulted in a high sugar content. At a time when milk prices continue to be squeezed by retailers, dairy farmers need all the help they can get. If the cattle can produce milk from high quality silage which is a relatively inexpensive food source, hopefully the use of expensive concentrates can be kept to a minimum.
The occasional showers have ensured the grass is still growing. The Sussex bullocks are once again content with their lot and have stopped asking to be moved each time they catch sight of me. I have for now shelved the plan to supplement their diet of grass with hay for the time being, but no doubt in due course they will be looking for a little extra.
I was somewhat taken back when it was suggested to me last Friday that ‘not since Oliver Cromwell has the British Constitution been so recklessly and wantonly torn asunder, as David Cameron has achieved through his mishandling of the Scottish Referendum’! Some may consider this sentiment a little harsh, but when one stops to consider the fall out following the fiasco of the referendum and the mishandling of the process over the past two years, it is difficult to defend.
The newspapers and airwaves over the weekend were quite rightly full to bursting with accusations and indignation as it dawned upon them just what had been promised in a moment of panic in those final days, by of all people Gordon Brown who had been handed the baton of the ‘Better Together’ team by the Prime Minister.
Mr Salmond and his fellow band of Scottish Nationalists are putting on a good show of being disappointed having lost the YES vote. But I suspect none of them are quite so disquieted or angry as the millions’ of British voters who have watched in disbelief at the incompetence of senior politicians whose prime task should be to defend the Monarchy, the United Kingdom and our Constitution.
It is little wonder that the British Electorate, and reading between the lines, certain sections of the media, are increasingly questioning the competence of the Prime Minister.
I am informed that had David Cameron listened to the many warnings he received over the past two years from intelligent, concerned senior Scots and businessmen, things could have been handled very differently. Not only did he ignore their warnings that Alex Salmond and the YES team had the upper hand and were a real danger, he also failed to acknowledge or reply to their communications. I wonder if he will now find time to apologies for not only his lack of manners but also his poor judgement.
There is a feeling that nothing much has changed since 2010 when David Cameron and his shadow cabinet refused to listen to the increasing volume of concern amongst the grass roots, regarding Britain’s membership of the European Union. Had he done so then he would not be facing the prospect of Ed Miliband and Ed Balls walking into Downing Street by default following the General Election next May, as the traditional Tory electorate turn to Nigel Farage and his UKIP party, in the belief that they will miraculously protect the UK from further interference from Brussels.
There are some who tell me that as long as David Cameron leads his party they cannot bring themselves to vote Conservative. It will be interesting to see if this view grows or if these disaffected angry conservatives who are unhappy by his handling of all things European and the Scottish Referendum, will be swayed by the new distraction and prospect of Home Rule for the English. Also, it will be interesting to see if his back bench MPs and conservative candidates, call for his resignation at the party conference. The word is that the party is unelectable with Cameron as leader!
The referendum has resulted in making an awful lot of people very cross and concerned for the future of Great Britain and just what direction Scotland will take next. No doubt time will settle the dust but unfortunately in this case it is highly toxic. The Genie is well and truly out of the bottle, and for all the talk of ‘devo-max’ for Scotland and ‘home rule’ for England, things will never be the same again.
They say a week in politics is a long time, and people move on and forget yesterday’s news. In this case it will surely run and run.
Carola Godman Irvine
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