I’M flabbergasted,’ declares Jeremy Clarkson, the notoriously outspoken motoring journalist, and presenter, when asked if he ever thought he would end up making one of the most popular and talked-about television series of this year—about farming. ‘I honestly thought it would serve up a gentle disappointment to fans of Top Gear and The Grand Tour, who have watched me for years, but it’s gone berserk.’
He is talking, of course, about Clarkson’s Farm, Amazon Prime’s eight-part programme documenting Mr. Clarkson’s hapless attempts to farm the 1,000 acres he’s owned in the Cotswolds village of Chadlington, Oxfordshire, since 2008.
Despite being dismissed by The Guardian as ‘eight hours of a buffoon screwing things up for our supposed entertainment’, the series—which details Mr. Clarkson’s travails, from buying a tractor (opting for a 10-ton Lamborghini, which everyone mocks for being too large) to being forced to hire a local contractor, Kaleb Cooper, who’s soon chastising his employer for making a right mess of drilling a field by going freestyle with the tramlines—quickly became one of the streaming giant’s biggest hits. Watching Mr. Clarkson chase his herd of 76 ‘sheeps’ on their frequent bids for freedom or trying to have a conversation with Gerald Cooper, a dry-stone waller with an impenetrable local accent, it’s easy to see the program’s comedic appeal. However, by poking fun at his own lack of knowledge and skill, Mr. Clarkson —an often controversially forthright character, sacked from Top Gear by the BBC after a fracas with a producer—has brought the harsh realities of farming to a much-needed wider audience.
Denne historien er fra September 01, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra September 01, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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All dolled up
Automata made in 19th-century France provided inspiration for the work of American artist Thomas Kuntz and a vintage dolls' house, furnished with period-appropriate pieces, stars in a charity auction
Just keep walking
ALMOST 30 years ago, a chap called Ian Bleasdale wrote a guide detailing all the walks on the Greek Island of Paxos. He and his wife, Elizabeth, had fallen for the island's rugged charms and, after many visits tramping its networks of old paths, decided to share their knowledge with like-minded souls.
Delicious drupes
THERE is a peculiar magic in growing almonds. However often you see their soul-lifting, frost-risking flush of white blossom and however often you collect a basket of homegrown almonds, it's hard to lose the sense of glorious impossibility, that somehow you've cheated geography and climate.
It started with a blank canvas
The garden of Patthana, Co Wicklow, Ireland The home of T. J. Maher and Simon Kirby An exquisite small garden is rich in colour and texture and has been imaginatively extended, as you would expect of a painter's domain, reports Jane Powers
Escape to 'God's own country"
Yorkshire folk are rightly proud of their county's magnificent landscapes and rich architectural heritage, but incomers looking to settle there face strong competition from local contenders for picture-perfect country houses
By the light of the harvest moon
As autumn's whisper reminds farmers to reap their crops, inspect your produce for a suggestion of the winter to come, says Lia Leendertz
Building blocks
We can expect fireworks: Labour’s draft plans for a new planning policy contain subtle, but devastating amendments that bear closer inspection
Friends in low places
As special as orchids, as beautiful as bluebells and as important as oaks, our ground-hugging mosses are worth a look down, says Mark Cocker
Talk of the ton
During the golden age of gossip, the fashion choices of the Regency elite were frequently the scintillating subject of the scandal sheets, finds Susan Jenkins
Slopes of hazard
Skiing, ironically, is the safest thing you can do in St Moritz, says Rosie Paterson, who traces the Swiss resort's love affair with adrenaline-pumping winter sports back to a Victorian bet
