Accessed via the internet – www.farmradio.org.uk - is aimed at people working on small family farms and anyone interested in the countryside. It is run by south west rural media charity Trilith and includes volunteers among its programme makers.
CHARCOAL burners, fencing contractors and bringing up pigs are among the diverse topics explored in edition 40 of Dorset and Somerset Farm Radio.
This month’s offerings include James Crowden talking to Norman Purchase about cider making, unusual field names in Halstock, pigs in Somerset and Dorset and a live discussion from Brymore School featuring the future voices of farming.
New programmes can be found by clicking on the hay bale on the home page and then clicking on the signpost for Somerset or Dorset programmes. Programmes can be listed to again by looking in the archive section.
For a full list of programmes, please see below.
General
The Dorset Coppice Group The first of Farm Radio’s Tales from the Wood sees Geoff Pagotto talking to Mandy Joyce, who heads Dorset Coppice Group's inspirational Living Classroom project. He caught up with her at their new permanent educational building, situated at the top end of Bonsley Wood.
Charcoal Burners Charcoal burners are elusive characters hidden in the depths of woodland with only the whiff of smoke giving away their whereabouts, but Geoff Pagotto managed to find three taking a break from harvesting their charcoal and he heard exactly what the motto ‘A woodland that pays is a woodland that stays’ really means.
Charles Buckler and Major Beef and sheep farmer Charles Buckler for Pear Ash Farm, Pen Selwood, is passionate about horse power - single horse power and Geoff Pagotto caught up with him and his 15 year old, 18 cwt Shire horse called Major as they cleared up some felled timber.
Thomas Hollis’ Field Names One of the claims to fame of Halstock and Corscombe, two villages near Beaminster, is the unusual naming of some of the fields. Where else would you find a Confucius, Socrates or Plato, a Toleration, Constitution or Education? They were named by political philosopher and author Thomas Hollis (1720-1774), who was a great benefactor to American colleges, especially Harvard. After taking the farm track through Brutus and Cassius, Margery Hookings talks to historian and farmer’s wife Pam Lemmey.
Truffle UK People are prepared to pay huge amounts for truffles. Colleen Jackson talks to Nigel Hadden-Paton of Truffle UK about this mysterious and highly prized fungus. Nigel is a great enthusiast and, with his truffle hound, Teaser, an enthusiastic hunter of the truffle. Who knows, perhaps they may be growing on your land.
Just Woodland Friends It’s not always easy to meet that special someone. And if you live somewhere remote and tend to catch up with the same people in the pub every week, it can be hard to meet someone new. Just Woodland Friends is an introduction service especially for country people. It was originally an agency for farmers wanting a housekeeper. But it soon became clear that the farmers weren’t looking for help around the house, they were looking for love. So the emphasis changed, and Just Woodland Friends is now responsible for many people finding their other half. Two such people are Lucy and Ian. Lucy’s marriage to her Bridport farmer husband had ended. Ian had had his own farm, and had also worked as the head tractor driver on the Rushmore Estates at Tollard Royal. His marriage had broken up as well. But a few years on from their first introduction through Just Woodland Friends, they now live happily together near Honiton in Devon. They told Ali Grant their story.
Joss Vining at the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show A final glance back at the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show, 2007 from Farm Radio’s Joss Vining.
Beating the Blues One in four people will have a mental health problem some time in their lifetime. Margery Hookings meets primary care mental health development worker Silvia Hardisty to learn about new computerised treatment for depression, which helps people to take control of their condition. Silvia’s key message is ‘don’t keep it bottled up – talk about it’.
Home Farm Revisited When Farm Radio’s Sarah Worrall visited Marlene Belbin in the spring of 2005 to interview her about her shop on the family farm – Home Farm at Tarrant Gunville – it had been open for about two years, and parts of it were still in development. Marlene’s husband Rodney had also been finding it a little hard to adjust to the change. Now, another couple of years on, Ali Grant decided to find out how things are going
John Bright Fencing Margery Hookings talks to John and Bridget Bright about their extraordinarily successful fencing business, near Bridport, which started as a very humble enterprise.
Bill Moore Country Crafts are all the rage at events like Sturminster Newton's Cheese Fair and Geoff Pagotto was taken by the enthusiasm of the man behind The Mary Rose exhibit, Bill Moore, he hears how Bill battles with authority to get his message across, particularly to young people.
Burton Bradstock pig project Twenty families in Burton Bradstock, near Bridport, have been rearing their own pigs in the corner of a field loaned to them by a local resident. Margery Hookings meets policeman Tim Farrell, one of the driving forces behind the project, and is joined by his wife Danielle and family as they try to tempt the pigs with a mud bath.
Pumpkin Olympics What do you do when you’ve got a few pumpkins that aren’t fit for sale? Turn them into a skittle alley of course. That’s what Kay Price from the Ansty Pick Your Own and Farm Shop, did about seven years ago. And the Ansty Pumpkin Olympics was born. It’s now a firm fixture in the calendar at this family run business on the Wiltshire/Dorset border near Shaftesbury. Ali Grant took her family along for a spot of pumpkin football
Joss Vining at the Sturminster Newton Cheese Fair Joss Vining presents this final visit to the Sturminster Newton Cheese Fair, late last summer.
Norman Purchase, Part 3 Whilst cider production was common in the past in Dorset village, Norman Purchase recalls the time when Netherbury had a flourishing local cider-making industry on a larger than typical scale. This interview was recorded by James Crowden as part of the production of his book, Dorset Man.
SOMERSET
Trilith Archive Film Trilith, the charitable organisation that brings you Farm Radio has been involved with a vast range of community-based media projects over the years. One abiding area of work is with archive film of Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire. Have a look here at a video about this work, specifically in Somerset.
Brymore School Discussion This is a bit of a new departure for Farm Radio - a live discussion, with an audience, recorded at the unique Brymore School at Cannington. The panel consisted of members of the school’s own Young Farmers’ Club and was chaired by the manager of the school farm.
Ron Fouracres Sheep dog and handler trainer, Ron Fouracres is a man who loves training his collies to work his flock of about 150 sheep on the Somerset Levels. He lives in Glastonbury, has some land in the Street area and has been Chair of the Somerset Training and Trialling Club for a number of years. Caroline Woolley met him one November day at his ground near Street which is entirely surrounded by roads and is adjacent to a housing estate. Not the most ideal spot to train dogs as it is inclined to be noisy. However as you will find out he has his own methods of dealing with the noise.
Putting the “fun” back in “fungi”. In late October Colleen Jackson joined local expert, John Wright and 24 other mushroom enthusiasts on a fungus foray in Yeovil Country Park. John has recently written a book called Mushrooms which is the first in the River Cottage Handbook series of essential books about food and the great outdoors.
Blood, Sweat and Steam! One of the largest one day outdoor shows held in Somerset every year is the Langport Stem Rally. The fascination with steam brings people from all walks of life from far and wide to this event organised by the Somerset Traction Engine Club. The club’s been running for around 50 years and the current chairman’s Andy Melrose, a keen steam buff himself. Farm Radio’s John Burgess complete with welly boots, knotted scarf and oily rag caught up with Andy at the show and asked him- ‘Why is it that people are still fascinated by steam and preservation year after year?’
The Rural Women's Network - Somerset works under the umbrella of the Community Council. Geoff Pagotto met up with project worker, Debbie Frankland, to find out how the Women's Network set about the vast task of helping rural women with virtually any need they might have.
The Orchard Pig The recent increased popularity of cider drinking – especially amongst younger people - has been a godsend for one small farm-based company situated amongst the orchards at West Bradley near Glastonbury. Starting with a few Gloucester Old Spots - the farmer’s favoured orchard grazer – and a desire to improve on Somerset’s image of wurzels and scrumpy, Neil Macdonald and business partner Andrew Quinlan, have combined pigs and apple growing into a modern, high-quality business. As Neil explains, The Orchard Pig hopes that its fresh approach to an age-old tradition will help restore the viability of small-scale cider and apple juice production in Somerset, and will go some way to showing the world that the county is more than ripe old scrumpy sold in a bucket at the farm gate...
Own a Pig Somerset smallholde, John Corsan turned the recent Foot and Mouth restrictions to his advantage and his Own a Pig scheme has been a runaway success as Geoff Pagotto found out.
Martock Producers’ Market Markets continue to play an important part in the identity of our towns and help add vibrancy to the community – just as they have always done. The popularity of farmers’ markets in the last few years underlines the value people place on these occasions – a value that isn’t restricted to just the buying and selling of fresh produce. The Martock Producers’ Market is a fine example of that other important ingredient: the chance to meet and greet your fellow neighbours – and catch up on some news and gossip, of course! From its small beginnings of just a few stalls, the Saturday morning monthly market in Martock now boasts 17, evidence of the demand for fresh, wholesome produce that comes direct from the surrounding countryside. Martock resident Jenny Broom – together with husband Tony, make a point of stopping by every second Saturday of the month to ensure they get the first pick of what’s on offer…
John Alvis, Part 1 It's been a momentous year for the dairy industry and in the first of two interviews Geoff Pagotto talks to leading Somerset farmer John Alvis about what the recent milk price increases really mean for farmers.
