4 Village Voice February 2017
Country Living with Robert Parker
I THINK we will be heartily fed up with Brexit and its consequences long before we finally leave the EU, whenever that may be. These consequences are very worrying for agriculture along with many other industries, and we are in for a period of great uncertainty. Most people know that farmers throughout Europe receive some form of subsidy and I make no apology for that. I actually dislike the system but, as things are, we just could not stay in business without some form of help. There is another way of looking at this though, which puts the whole thing into perspective. The majority of our suppliers are global companies who sell to all the farmers in the rest of the EU as well as here. These multi-nationals know how much we receive per acre and price their goods so we can afford them and achieve some
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sort of profit. If our subsidy disappeared their prices would decrease pro rata, and the same could be said for a lot of our other input costs. Rents for land, for instance, would soon drop if the market changed. There are other worries as now we are in a very global market and the world is a very small place from a trading point of view. Some other emerging countries are taking up food production in a big way and the global suppliers are courting them for business, at the same time overlooking our market. Strange times. n What a dreary dank month January has been with very little severe frosts that we used to expect a few years ago. Rainfall throughout the winter has been very low, which is welcome, but the pessimist in me thinks it will even itself out over the year. Please let us not have a wet summer.
Dog poo ‘putting us in dire streets’
Packed to the laughters
l John Newton (left) with Tom Wrigglesworth.
ANOTHER packed house at the Royal British Legion for the regular Festival “Funhouse” comedy night welcomed comedy giant Tom Wrigglesworth as headline act. Not only is he massively tall, he now ranks amongst the comedy luminaries with his regular Radio 4 “Hang-ups” slot and his numerous TV appearances. Shown above with “Sarf London boy” John Newton, who compered the show with a good catalogue of one-liner jokes, Tom took us through his recent attendance on a speed awareness course, his brush with the higher echelons of society, and occasional fractious dealings with jobsworth officials. Supporting Tom was another
comedy celebrity, Nick Revell, who opened the show. Nick’s narration of a night out in Glasgow is probably the only time you will ever hear a catalogue of famous philosophies quoted in one sketch and his explanation of the dawn chorus will change your opinion for ever on sweet bird song! Also appearing were the Discount Comedy Checkout, a group of four young comics from Leeds, whose “improv” act cleverly exposed some of the very strange and worrying thoughts which pass through the minds of our local audience! The next show will be on March 31, featuring Paddy Lennox and Bill Dodds. – FH
MELBOURNE’S streets are said to be “dire” because of the persistent problem of dog fouling. Cllr Sheila Hicklin told the latest meeting of Melbourne Parish Council that dog turds on the village’s pavements was continuing to be a bad problem – with parents having to clean up foul shoes because their children had stepped in dog poo on their way to school. She said: “It is increasingly getting worse within and around the village. The streets of Melbourne are dire. I have never seen anything else quite like it.” The problem of dog fouling has infuriated some people in Melbourne so much that they have taken to spray painting poo on the pavement in green so as to highlight the issue. Many other parents have frequently voiced their anger on the subject on social media. Last month the Village Voice reported how dog owners were being encouraged to sign up to a pledge by South Derbyshire District Council. The responsibility for dealing with dog fouling lies with the district council and not the parish. South Derbyshire’s spokesman told us that dog owners were being invited to sign up to the Green Dog Walkers Pledge which involves promising to clean up after their pets, encouraging others to do the same and giving other walkers extra doggy bags if they do not have any. – LS