teenagers, pop concerts & being stretched

Gosh, it seems awhile since l last sat down and wrote about the daily happenings here on the coast. I must offer my profuse apologies as it would appear that time is slowly slipping away somewhere. Days seem to be merging into one. Groundhog Day? The tourist are out in force, grabbing every day of sunshine as if it was their last. Tractors are out, racing about harvesting winter wheat & ploughing stubble. Blackberries are ripening & the summer visiting birds are starting to gather on the wires or in huge flocks swooping into the fields.

Foot & mouth has now passed from headline news to some where deep inside the dailies. It may have slipped down the 'sensational' listing but we farmers are still having to live with the miles of rules & regulations churned out by defra. We are having a major problem in as much that we can't bring 2 week old calves through to this farm due to movement restrictions & space is now at a premium for these youngsters on home farm. One strange thing is that our human summer visitors don't seem to be aware that there has been a potential countryside catastrophe. Few have asked if a] we are still open & b] if the footpath is open. Some of the regular children, usually small girls, have noticed that the little heifers are not in the barn & can be heard asking parents 'where are they?', if l'm withing earshot l explain that they have been turned out in to a field away from direct contact with people, l also explain why. BIO SECURITY!

Since the onset of august we have been extreamely busy & now with the bank holiday approaching, calm steady breathing exercises are needed at regular intervals. As things are going, more like brown paper bag on head & a few deep breaths. Last weekend our baking lady married, monday she had broken a bone in her heel. Signed off for 3 weeks.

This coming weekend sees Leeds Fest, a weekend of mayhem, loud music & beer. Somehow, someway. the boy team' have manged to grab the whole weekend off, l don't how they manged it, l have a feeling they booked tickets first then informed me afterwards when my mind was not in full control of my faculties. So, dear customers, if you come for an ice cream over the bank holiday weekend, please be patient because we will be rather transparent due to being very thinly stretched. We have been roping in friends with the promises of free cappuccinos & cowpats especially as we are due to be attending Hull Global Food Fest & Sewerby Hall as well! Never a dull moment here as they say! Still smiling!