Chairmans Chat 2025

Hello all Country Linkers,

Happy New Year everyone.

Oxfordshire Country Link had an enjoyable Christmas Dinner on 18th December, followed by a visit to Worcestershire for their dinner dance on 20th December. Sixteen people attended. We all took to the dance floor with enthusiasm, with the last member finally leaving the dance floor at 12.30 am.

I've been suffering with the flu since Boxing Day which rather spoiled my short birdwatching sojourn to North Norfolk. I'm recovering slowly but this isn't helped by the freezing weather and frozen pipes!

I took a leisurely drive to a village near Holt on my way to Norfolk to see pink-footed and Brent geese, short-eared owls, marsh harriers and the like. I noticed the changes in the landscape en-route. From the rolling countryside, and mixed farming, of North Oxfordshire and West Northamptonshire, to the slightly less rolling landscape, arable land, and building site of East Northamptonshire. Then on through the Nene Valley, flooded land around Oundle, and into Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. I knew Peterborough as the home of Perkins engines as we had all Massey Ferguson at home. It was also home of the East of England show, the last of which was held in 2013. The last event at the showground was an equine event in 2022, and the site is now destined for housing.

I visited the show twice. The last time was many years ago with another Country Link member funnily enough, we stopped at the NFU stand for tea and biscuits. We were served by a gentleman in a tweed suit, chatting to him I asked if he was in farming, he said "not exactly". He was more of a grower and supplied 80% of the asparagus for the British market from his farms in East Anglia, and farms in several other countries around the world.

Leaving Peterborough I headed on to Whittlesey and into Fenland. The contrast with the rest of my trip was startling! Entering the flat landscape of dykes, ditches, fences (instead of hedges), lorry and container parks, vegetable packhouses, and wind turbines all the way to King's Lynn. The roads are raised above the silt land although in some parts they appear to be sinking.

I stopped off at Welney, a WWT centre, where I spotted a short-eared owl, a barn owl, and tree sparrows, all while enjoying tea and cake in the second floor café. It is sited on the One Hundred Foot Drain built in the 17th century. It was built by a Dutch engineer to bypass the River Great Ouse for the 4th and 5th Earls of Bedford and in exchange for 90,000 acres to relieve flooding. It had to be completed by Parliament as more work was needed and they had to settle for 40,000 acres. It is tidal even though it's 19 miles from Welney to King's Lynn and the sea, and it still functions despite the best efforts of the Environment Agency.

Travelling from King's Lynn to Holt the North Norfolk landscape is not so flat, and it gently rolls towards the sea, I noticed a lot of sugar beet in the Fens and Norfolk. I was surprised to see quite a few sheep grazing, and lambs being fattened, behind electric fences on land previously used for spring barley. When I first became a regular visitor to North Norfolk, some 30 years ago, a lot of coastal marsh land was grazed by sheep and cattle, and winter migrating birds. Since then most of the animals seem to have been banished in favour of birds, and arable land changed to solar panels. It seems to me that with 9 million people starving to death in 2023 that some people in authority may have got their priorities wrong!

Due to the failure of junior management, I arrived back home to be greeted by frozen pipes. At this time of year, and at the first hint of a freeze, the water pipes that feed the troughs need to be drained by hand after use to ensure they can be used the next day.

This place runs on buckets, string, small bales, and small bags, so carrying buckets of water becomes a way of life. In the freezing conditions however, even wearing work gloves, I had to limit myself to 30 minutes at a time. While you may feel like carrying on for longer I have found it can be a hard price to pay. A cup of tea in between allows the hands to warm up before carrying on. I have acquired a very lightweight and very warm pair of gloves which I wear when walking Daisy for an hour or two, although I have a feeling they wouldn't last for 2 hours working outside.

Some members have asked me how tall was the tree that took down the power lines. I'm not exactly sure but the two poles that had to be replaced are 11 metres in length. If you look at the photos with the 'chat' from August 2024, the one taken behind the baler shows the tree and pole in front of the tractor.

For those of you who are worried about my lack of cultural activities I managed to get to the Birds exhibition at the Natural History Museum where I learned that feathered birds have existed for more than 100 million years, and they survived the mass extinction of the dinosaurs.

I was also treated, by another member, to a Ben Elton concert on his first tour for over 20 years. I can thoroughly recommend it.

I am slowly recovering from the flu/virus that is going around. As the nights are drawing out, and it was not so cold today, I managed to catch and treat 8 sheep with foot problems.

It seems I spoke too soon about the Environment Agency. I have just heard that the area around Welney has flooded.

Don't forget there is still time to book a place for the Spring Weekend in Kent. This is a place that we haven't been to before and there are some interesting visits to look forward to. Follow the link below for the information and booking forms:

• Information
• Booking Form
• Info for pet owners

Dick Stephens - Chairman