Lucy first contacted me back in March 2020 to discuss the possibility of a photoshoot as part of a collaboration: this was way back when Corona was still just a beer in a bottle and being locked in your house for months on end was something that happened in disaster movies. Whilst I have a photographer who I have worked with for many years I was incredibly excited to work with Lucy having seen some of her work and the beautiful moments that she has captured. Deep into the first month of lockdown we met via a video call to discuss the practicalities for the photoshoot. The Covid pandemic definitely was going to throw up some challenges. Lucy spent time talking me through the photoshoot. After spending time looking at my Instagram Lucy had ideas for the different shots she would like to try and capture. She was also keen to discuss any ideas I had so that she could to try and incorporate those into the shoot. As Covid restrictions were lifted we were finally able to get a date in the diary for Lucy to come and visit us for the photoshoot. After a final phone-call and a…

Hi, it’s been a while, how are you? I am sorry I haven’t written for a while, I seem to go into a bit of a hole when the birds are not in. I find it difficult to write, well unless I am pissed up or pissed off. The two generally go hand in hand! So international women day in March completely passed me by, I have no idea how but it did and some of the amazing people who I have met during my time running the out and about social media accounts said some lovely things about me. Agriculture and the rural economy has to be one of the few places I have found where women empower women, where women celebrate each others’ achievements  and where women actively seek to build each other up.  Many of you will have read my blog post ‘integrity’ where I talked about my time in the corporate world and what the final straw was that finally gave me the balls to walk away. What drove me away was the inequality I faced as a woman in a predominantly  mans world. As much as the company dressed up the fact they wanted women…

I have been following the #Februdairy debate over the last few days with great interest and I have one question… When did freedom of speech end and tolerance to the views of others end? At what point did it become ok to tell people what they should eat, and shout down, threaten and abuse those who choose not to follow your views? I am not normally one to wade into the middle of a national debate  but you cannot miss the out and out war that is happening between farmers and those who believe that only plant-based foods should be eaten (vegans) on social media platforms and even national TV right now. Before I write further I will state my case and say now I am #teamdairy all the way. I have friends involved in the industry and have seen, and experienced first hand what goes on on dairy farms. I have never seen the cruelty to animals that extremists would have the public believe is happening. Quite frankly, I love cheese, cream and meat and there is no way I would ever give them up! I like to know where my food has come from and how the animals…

It’s about 11pm, unusually I’m not sat writing with a gin in hand, but I am sat in bed with my laptop (I know really sad). I’m catching a few minutes of writing time before the day ends and tomorrow arrives. I’m in the midst of the six weeks holidays and my role as a farmer has had to take a bit of  a backseat along with any time for myself; as I now have become a fully fledged holiday park style children’s entertainer! The spotlight has well and truly been on agriculture over the last few months and some pretty high profile twitter campaigns have flagged up many questions for the farming community. One that came up over and over was how do I get into farming or agriculture if I am not from a farming background? As a first time farmer myself I wanted to share my experiences of joining the agricultural world for those who are thinking about a career change themselves. As a former Banker, no I did not cause the banking crash of 2008, and a city dweller; deciding to spend time shoving your hands up dead turkeys backsides to make money is not the…

It’s Sunday, I’m sat doing a bit of admin and I may possibly be enjoying a glass of grown up grape juice, kids are outside in the apple and plum tress gorging themselves on fruit. I love this time of year, the kids self feed, winner! So at Out and About this week will officially kick off turkey selling season, the prices are set and will be uploaded to the website, the letters to our stockists will be prepared and applications for farmers markets completed. Like it or not Christmas is on its way. But something else is happing this week, Wednesday 12th September is the NFU’s Back British Farming day. It’s  a dedicated day on social media where farmers and others connected to the agricultural industry talk about what they do, why they do it and why they love it. It’s aim, to connect the public with how their food is produced and ask them to back farmers in these uncertain times. So whilst looking for inspiration about what I would like to say on Back British Farming day, I was flicking through my Instagram feed and I came across a lady who cleans her house and videos it.…