The humble sandwich without its fillings, which is mostly provided by farmers, growers or fishermen, would be even humbler, empty and pointless. And of course without arable farmers those slices holding it together would not exist.
The sandwich is a good metaphor to describe certain divisions of our society. The slices of bread, depict on the one side those who like to control, and on the other, those who thrive by being controlled.
The filling, which is without doubt the interesting bit, adds the taste, is sometimes ambitious, surprising and makes the thing worth eating. In there you find a huge diversity of textures and combinations of flavours, sometimes originating locally, nationally or internally.
Whilst thinking about the ongoing saga regarding food standards, the US Presidential election, the fast approaching time when we withdraw from the EU on 31 December, and some impending local issues, I considered that in simple terms, the sandwich symbolises nicely people we deal with daily.
We all know individuals who thrive on controlling others and calling the shots, either for passion, party politics, personal elevation or pettiness. We meet them in all walks of life, including politicians, businessmen and women, community and charity contributors, and indeed in some families. Some use these qualities for the good, unfortunately others do not.
Those who blindly allow the former to control their lives, tend to drift contributing little, and too often consider the world owes them a living. They are easily manipulated and we find them everywhere, disturbingly increasingly within the farming community.
If we were to illustrate this class of person in agricultural terms, they would be the proverbial sheep. Happy to follow without really knowing where they are heading, including over a cliff!
The people who fall into the ‘filling’ class, are by contrast the interesting ones. They are curious, unpredictable, difficult to decipher, but living and working life to the full. Without them the wheels of the economy, communities and the very engines of society would cease turning.
These are the people who make a difference and contribute to our everyday lives. Amongst them are people of all race, colour, intellect and abilities. They are free thinkers who are not compartmentalised, cannot be bullied, nor brain washed by the constant flow of ‘fake news’, bogus rhetoric and rubbish which is spewed out by much of the ‘so called’ independent broadcasters, media, and handful of celebrity narcissists.
It is clear that the national press and media are being encouraged to call the shots by driving the stories which undermine our legally elected democratic government, while supporting the hard line anti-establishment aims, by stoking up distrust and discontent.
The newspapers, airwaves and sadly farming journals, are full of it. They have spotted an opportunity during a time of national and international crises, to whip up unfounded doubt and decent, to fever pitch.
It is time to talk up Great Britain, recognise what a great country we are fortunate enough to live in. We should offer support to those working night and day to get the nation back on its feet, and allow them to do their job without groundless snipping from the side lines.
The New Year may bring in a new American President who clearly has little regard or respect for the UK, preferring to get cosy with Monsieur Barnier, and his Irish ‘friends’.
But as we finally cut ties to the EU completely, we shall escape the stifling and destructive control of Brussels. This will renew the energy and drive towards innovation, technology, trade, industry and much besides. Great Britain has a reputation for being one of the most pioneering countries on earth.
British agriculture leads the way and sets the highest standards of production and animal welfare, a policy which this Conservative Government continues to stand by.
The sandwich is a good metaphor to describe certain divisions of our society. The slices of bread, depict on the one side those who like to control, and on the other, those who thrive by being controlled.
The filling, which is without doubt the interesting bit, adds the taste, is sometimes ambitious, surprising and makes the thing worth eating. In there you find a huge diversity of textures and combinations of flavours, sometimes originating locally, nationally or internally.
Whilst thinking about the ongoing saga regarding food standards, the US Presidential election, the fast approaching time when we withdraw from the EU on 31 December, and some impending local issues, I considered that in simple terms, the sandwich symbolises nicely people we deal with daily.
We all know individuals who thrive on controlling others and calling the shots, either for passion, party politics, personal elevation or pettiness. We meet them in all walks of life, including politicians, businessmen and women, community and charity contributors, and indeed in some families. Some use these qualities for the good, unfortunately others do not.
Those who blindly allow the former to control their lives, tend to drift contributing little, and too often consider the world owes them a living. They are easily manipulated and we find them everywhere, disturbingly increasingly within the farming community.
If we were to illustrate this class of person in agricultural terms, they would be the proverbial sheep. Happy to follow without really knowing where they are heading, including over a cliff!
The people who fall into the ‘filling’ class, are by contrast the interesting ones. They are curious, unpredictable, difficult to decipher, but living and working life to the full. Without them the wheels of the economy, communities and the very engines of society would cease turning.
These are the people who make a difference and contribute to our everyday lives. Amongst them are people of all race, colour, intellect and abilities. They are free thinkers who are not compartmentalised, cannot be bullied, nor brain washed by the constant flow of ‘fake news’, bogus rhetoric and rubbish which is spewed out by much of the ‘so called’ independent broadcasters, media, and handful of celebrity narcissists.
It is clear that the national press and media are being encouraged to call the shots by driving the stories which undermine our legally elected democratic government, while supporting the hard line anti-establishment aims, by stoking up distrust and discontent.
The newspapers, airwaves and sadly farming journals, are full of it. They have spotted an opportunity during a time of national and international crises, to whip up unfounded doubt and decent, to fever pitch.
It is time to talk up Great Britain, recognise what a great country we are fortunate enough to live in. We should offer support to those working night and day to get the nation back on its feet, and allow them to do their job without groundless snipping from the side lines.
The New Year may bring in a new American President who clearly has little regard or respect for the UK, preferring to get cosy with Monsieur Barnier, and his Irish ‘friends’.
But as we finally cut ties to the EU completely, we shall escape the stifling and destructive control of Brussels. This will renew the energy and drive towards innovation, technology, trade, industry and much besides. Great Britain has a reputation for being one of the most pioneering countries on earth.
British agriculture leads the way and sets the highest standards of production and animal welfare, a policy which this Conservative Government continues to stand by.
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