Time to defend our title of Jimmy's Farm UK Sausage Producer of 2009

We'll be at Jimmy's Farm this weekend for their Sausage and Beer festival, defending our title of Jimmy's Farm UK Sausage Producer of 2009. Tony Hadley and the Sausage King are judges again - and it's a blind tasting again so hopefully we'll still come out on top!

It will be a great weekend as they lay on music and activities for all the family while being able to buy cooked and fresh produce from some really great producers. And unlike last year we're getting some help in the form of my sister and her husband. So we might get a break!


In other news, my Carpentry & Joinery Course at the specialist construction training centre Able Skills in Dartford is going really well and I've already whizzed through half of the assessments in the first two weeks! I am not sure how i am quite going to stretch the rest out over another eight weeks but there you go, apparently I have a talent I never knew about!!!

Better late than never!

So, where to start.
The only and most obvious answer to that is: Sorry for not writing sooner. Although life has been more that a little topsy turvy it is of course no excuse for not spending five minutes jotting a little something down.
I am fully aware of how disastrous I have been at writing the blogs and should have realised it would go this way after my exploits trying to write a diary when i was nine. (one enthusiastic week of writing and i ran out of things to say!!!)
I was very embarrassed recently when I remembered I should be writing a blog and the last post was from my sister wishing everyone a happy new year!

I thought I might give a little short list of the relevant points in my/the farms recent history...

1. My wife and I almost emigrated to Uganda to start a large scale farm. We planned to import a rather better quality breed as the image below is an example of the native breed which, even when undernourished, seemed to put alot of its energy into growing horns!

2. We have been breeding some excellent Red Polls, particularly Ronald, who is hopefully going to be a champion Bull!

3. I have decided to take up carpentry as a secondary source of income!

4. I have trained for and completed the 3 Peaks Challange which consists of walking up Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdonia in under 24 hours, raising £2,025 and doing it in 21 hours 38 minutes - not bad!

5. My sister has been persuaded to help and currently she and her husband are enjoying doing Linton Farmers Market on the first Saturday of every month.

We have also been battling on with the day to day routine on the farm and taking some happy snaps on the way!



I hope you are all well
Jim