At the end of July as I drafted my September article, I realised that it was the sixth successive day of sunshine. This was itself, a minor miracle as I doubt we had even two successive dry days from April onwards last year.
The sunshine allowed us to dag the sheep one day and shear them the next. Just in time for a visit from the Bee Inspector who left proclaiming “all is well!” Unlike many government officials the Bee-Man actually adds-value as he takes the lead in opening the hives whilst passing on his knowledge of bees. Next day, it’s off to Ross Market with lambs where the auctioneer worked hard to get a few extra pounds from the supermarket buyers. Back home again, I turned the muck heap, did a bit of mowing, and spraying and the following day visited the Royal Exchange at Hartpury. This is now owned by an old friend who has given it a makeover, an excellent menu and first rate chef.
Once again I sit at the keyboard. July has gone and most of August. September looms and another publishing deadline approaches. We are now preparing the buildings for winter shelter and next year’s lambing, and our tup Hovis is casting a lascivious eye at the girls as he eats his energy building food. September is also the month when, with a group of friends, I take delivery of a batch of ‘Christmas Birds.’ These are the chickens we feed with a special diet of local fruits, apples, grapes, wheat, corn, grass and milk, and are bound for the festive table. The largest cockerel to-date has been 23.5lbs long-leg, and the thought of carving one of these uniquely flavoured birds brings additional pleasure during Advent.
However, earlier mention of shearing made me remember that some people do not even realise wool comes from sheep. Anyway, given that most of Gloucestershire’s 400 Churches were built with money from the wool of Cotswold Sheep, people still think raw wool is worth cropping.
I bet that the person who buys 100 grams (3.5oz) of 2ply knitting wool doesn’t realise that they have paid £209.75 for the average fleece, nor do they realise that the farmer will get only £1.33 if he is lucky. Most will get closer to 70p which explains why breeds which do not need shearing are attracting interest.
If the politicians are right and the world is really short of oil; why not encourage wool’s use in applications where it can replace man-made fibres which are made from oil? There is a huge replacement opportunity as in 2011 Europe used 54m tonnes of synthetics, but only 1m tonnes of wool. Mind you, I have stopped expecting too much from those woolly-minded politicians who seem to spend their days talking to each other in between their luncheon dates with pressure groups.
Talking of leaders however, I am beginning to warm to Justin Welby the new Archbishop and Francis the new Pope. I like leaders who are not afraid of ‘leading.’ Because, even if you occasionally disagree at least you know where you stand. They, at least, appear clear-minded and not woolly.
A bit like Jesus I suppose. He was clear thinking, in fact so clear thinking that the establishment thought him a revolutionary and got rid of him. In fact, so clear thinking that none of us can really follow all of his teachings. Following his example is so difficult that even when we try, we become open to the charge of hypocrisy! Mind you, I still think it’s better to be called a hypocrite, rather than have a head full of woolly minded standards without clear values. I much prefer the man whose beliefs are clear but who has the honesty and humility to admit when he is wrong.
Talking of clear thinking however reminds me of a management technique used to help people clarify their objectives or targets. It is called Meta Planning and involves writing a single phrase or sentence on one of those little sticky ‘Postits.’ The yellow stickies are then stuck on a large board to spark group discussion.
A Sunday school teacher in Wisconsin tested the technique and asked her nine year old class to write a clear message to God. Two of their Postit messages follow:
| Dear god instead of lettin people die and having to make new ones why dont you keep the ones you got now
Jane |
| Dear God thank you for the baby brother but what I prayed for was a puppy.
Ruth |
View from the Pew 