May & June

The great thing about our lovely country is if you don’t like the weather, then wait a minute and it will usually change! Weather forecasting is not an exact science but we act as if it is and complain when the forecast doesn’t match reality. As a farmer I have to be flexible about what I’m doing so I send our dog out every morning for a pee and if he comes back dry then I know it’s not raining!

We have just had a fabulous Easter with our Aylesbury Vale temperatures reaching almost 20 degrees, which in April is almost unheard of. This may have something to do with global warming but the warm sunshine certainly cheers people up. When the sun shines we all have so much more energy so are we all solar powered? When it’s dull and gloomy we tend to stay in and eat comfort food. Two weeks before Easter it was actually snowing here, I had to see it to believe it. That’s why I love our British weather and certainly enjoy the challenges of what comes our way.

The Cherry blossom is out in abundance throughout the Vale and looking exceptionally picturesque along with the Magnolias too. Not long now before the
Rhododendrons are out, not many around here as the ground is too acidic, but they should be out soon around Woburn and Ashridge area.

I’ve just seen a badger wandering around the field looking for grubs, not uncommon but not in broad daylight! Certainly not one that’s not bothered about me walking up to within 10 metres of it! Badgers are nocturnal animals and never seen in daylight, even though we have four badger setts within 400 metres of our house.

The Bank of England says inflation is running at almost 7%. In my opinion it’s more like 27% as everything seems to be going up. The tool for curbing inflation is normally raising interest rates but this will affect our mortgages giving us even less money to spend. It seems that if fuel was sold at over £2 a litre we would still buy it, as we are still getting fuel shortages and with not that many electric vehicles on the road, but with the electric prices almost doubling, it will obviously cost lots more to run these vehicles too.

I think it’s very sad that our national newspapers think that our Prime Minister eating cake with a few work colleagues is front page news (was he bending the rules again?) whereas the destruction of Ukraine by Russian forces only makes pages 5 or 6. This is as close to World War 3 as we’ve been since the Cuban missile crisis in 1962. Are we seeing a version of Fredrick Forsyth’s “The Devil’s Alternative”? Or is there an even more sinister agenda being played out?

Ukraine is the bread basket of Europe with its fertile land producing copious amounts of milling wheat that has risen from £150 to nearly £400 a tonne along with fertiliser from £250 to £1,000 a tonne. This could easily double the price of bread, pasta and flour, so be warned. As wheat is the staple food for chickens, then add eggs to the list of expected price rises. At writing all free range hens have been moved inside to avoid catching bird flu, so a small saving to be made on buying cheaper non free range eggs for a few weeks. With labour costs rising too, expect to see a more limited menu from most restaurants with poorer
customer service and be prepared to pay more.

And now some good news! The Oak trees have come into leaf before the Ash trees and the rooks are building their nests high this year, which both forecast a great summer. With COVID rates falling and another booster being offered it’s finally time to socialise. May Day will have past when you read this but there’s the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee to celebrate in the first week of June. A four day bank holiday from Thursday to Sunday – it’s going to be very special. Our village is organising a street party with live music, Morris dancing, afternoon tea, Bake-off, Maypole dancing and even a fun dog agility show, so take a look and see what’s happening around you. I remember celebrating the silver Jubilee in 1977, so let’s hope whatever you do will be a most memorable occasion. With Putin threatening nuclear war and with your money not going to be worth so much at the end of the year, you may as well spend it now and have some fun

Enjoy Your Summer

The Countryman