What your wellies say about you...

It was only going to be so long before I had to start talking about wellies in order to live up to the blog's name. Wellies are a countryside staple. You can wear them on the farm, on the yard, to the shops and depending on the situation, at balls with formal dresses. I am a strong believer that you cant go about your life without owning a pair (or six) of wellies. But when you’re under the scrutiny of welly connoisseurs, you’ve got to get it right. So what do your wellies say about you?

1.    Le Chameau-

      Le Chameau are the top of the range when it comes to wellies, there’s no faulting their impeccable quality and aesthetic. Wearers of Le Chameaus can often be seen pairing them with a Schoffel and/or black lab on their shoot or yard. They are a classic wellington boot perfect for every occasion and I’m sure aggie students will agree...

2.    Hunter-

The original staple wellington boot, worn by anyone and everyone. These can be seen on the feet of almost anyone in the countryside, they are a classic boot for anyone to wear. Theres no going wrong with a pair of tall, green original hunters.

3.    Joules-

Fashionable and functional boots, often worn by part-time countrysiders and equestrians. They may not stand up to the pressures of toe-squashing horses or cows, but are perfect for walking the dog or visiting a game fair. A quality welly in a pretty print.

4.    Muck Boots-

Muck Boots are brilliant for those of us (and there are a good few) who have experienced the gut wrenching feeling when your boot gets stuck in the mud and you just have to let it go before you are drowned too. The muck boot is great for farmers (or equestrians with particularly muddy fields), although I think they are a boot that is never really clean again after you take it out of the box.

5.    Steel Toe Wellies-

Ideal boots for farmers, particularly livestock farmers, and anyone who makes a habit of being trodden on by large animals. Another variety of boots that will probably never be clean again, but an undoubtably essential one to many people.

6.    Farm Shop Own Brand-

      The unofficial uniform for any farmer, cheap and cheerful but undoubtably good value for money. There is nothing wrong with a good pair of Countrywide wellies (other brands are available!) and they should be embraced. 

*All Opinions are my own, not sponsored and are not intended to cause any offense.

Saying Goodbye to the Defender: The End of an Era

The Countryside loved it. The Queen Loved it. Even James Bond loved it. There is no doubt that the Land Rover Defender has been one of the most iconic and quintessentially British cars, definitely in my lifetime, and that there are many people across the country who will be sad to see it go today.

If you have caught some of the news from today’s farewell, you will have seen that it had quite the send off, and many would argue that is well deserved. The Defender has been around for 67 years now and it has served many people as much more than just a car. Among the fleet of over 2 million of the cars there have been military vehicles for the army, navy and air force; fire, coastguard and mountain rescue vehicles and also, probably the most common use: their widespread use in the British countryside as portable hay sheds, tack rooms and sometimes unintentional menageries.    

So whether you own an incredible modified 90 or a classic Series 1, I would love to see some of your fondest Defender memories, so if you would like to email or tweet them to me my links are:

·         woesofwellies@gmail.com

·         @woesofwellies

* all opinions are my own

** images sourced from here and here 

Two Hunts, One Day...

On Saturday we drove out to follow the Croome, as we usually do. It was a particularly cold day so I dressed in lots of layers! We met at the venue and were provided with delicious refreshments. Chocolate brownies never go a miss in my books, even at 10 in the morning! We listened to the huntmasters speech and watched (and took photos!) as they took off cross-country. From there we followed for about half an hour before stopping for a quick tea break. Why does tea always taste better from a flask in the countryside? My Aunty had brought some bacon turnovers and sausage rolls from her local bakery so that kept us going for a while but we eventually got cold and decided to head back to the yard to check on the goats and horses, and to muck out. 

When we were just about to leave the yard, we heard some hound music. We were too far from Croome so it couldn’t be them, we guessed it had to be the Worcestershire as they tend to hunt nearer our yard. After standing in the field and trying to get a glimpse of them we decided to head back home, taking a slightly scenic route to try to find the field. We took a couple turns down small roads and came across a shoot, we figured they wouldn’t hunt too near them so turned back around and headed the other way. We turned down a small road to find lots of cars stopped and parked on the side, a tell-tale sign. So we pulled over and walked down the hill until we came across the field. They were a very friendly hunt and we got some nice photos. They were taking off cross-country so we grabbed the gate for them, one of the ladies was very greatful as she appeared to be on gate duty and didn’t realise how many there would be. She seemed very pleased not to have to hop off and back on again. Overall it was a great day with some bonus hunting!  

Why You Should Join the National Federation of Young Farmers

As I have been a Young Farmer for just over a year now I thought I would share some of my thoughts about the organisation and give you my top 7 reasons why you should join the National Federation of Young Farmers.

1.    You make new friends- I have been a member for just over a year and I have already made some great friends within my club. All the people in my club are so nice and welcoming to new members and you really will make friends to last a lifetime.

2.    You meet people from all backgrounds- Yes a lot of Young Farmers are livestock or arable farmers, but you also meet midwifes, tree surgeons, nurses, students etc. Anyone can be a Young Farmer, so don’t think that just because you’re not a farmer you can’t be a young farmer!

3.    You learn new things- I have recently been to an evening where I learnt about Stockjudging, it is something I would have never thought of doing before Young Farmers, but I am already thinking of having a go this year at county rally.

4.    You try new things- Last year I got involved in the cookery competitons with Young Farmers, I wouldn’t have done this without the organisation and I enjoyed it so much I want to do it again this year.

5.    You achieve things you might not otherwise- When I competed in the junior cookery at my country rally last year I never thought I would place, let alone place 2nd and then end up going on to compete at the Royal Three Counties Show and place 2nd there again.

6.    You get involved with charity- Its always nice to give something back and with Young Farmers you will plan and execute charity events as a club, its a great experience and its fun too.

7.    You can travel to amazing places- I haven’t gone travelling with YFC yet but there are some great experiences from AGM in Blackpool or Torquay to Skiing trips and Canadian Exchanges.

If you are aged 10-26, live in the UK and think you might be interested in becoming a Young Farmer. You can find information at http://www.nfyfc.org.uk 

New Years Day and Resolutions...

Happy New Year everyone! I hope your new year has started well... I began the new year with a morning following the hunt. They met in a lovely town centre and there were plenty of spectators out to see them turned out so smartly. Considering it was supposed to be quite wet and cold it turned out to be quite a nice day...

We didn’t follow for long as most of my family was out with us and eager for a trip to the pub! We ended up at a nice pub near my Aunty’s house and had a carvery, it was lovely although I don’t think any of us needed a carvery that close to Christmas!

This year I have decided to make some New Years resolutions which I don’t usually make (as I know that I won’t keep them) but this year I am determined to make and keep some resolutions!

Firstly, to be more organised and manage my time better. This is particularly important this year as I am doing my GCSEs. In my first step to being more organised I have ordered this weekly planner from Liberty. Hopefully this will come soon and I can get started, but I am looking forward to colour coding my events and getting organised from school work to young farmers events. Lets see how long that one lasts...

Next, I want to read more. By this I don’t mean read more Farmers Weekly or Horse and Hound... Although I probaly will! But I want to read more books. One that I have been trying to finish for a while now is Tales from the Tail end: Adventures of a Vet in Practice by Emma Milne, I have read probably half of this book, but then exams came around and I lost momentum. However what I have read of it is very funny and I look forward to reading more.

Those are all of my resolutions for now, I don’t want to start too many projects that I will probably never finish... But I am definitely going to make an effort to keep them.