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ISLEOFMANEXAMINER

Tuesday, September 14, 2021 www.iomtoday.co.im

julie.blackburn@iomtoday.co.im

DEFAhas advisedthat the ManxWildlifeTrust, the deliverypartner for thenew AgriEnvironmentScheme will beholdingmeetings inRamseyandCastletown toexplore the scheme in moredetail. TheRamsey meeting isonOctober5 andCastletownwill beon October6.Officersof the Trust arealsoavailablenow for face to face farmvisits. PleasecallDavidBellamy on266447oremail david@ mwt.im. Thehotnews from Oxfordshire is that Jeremy Clarksonhasplans to convert the lambing shed onhis 1,000-acre farminto arestaurant. Clarkson bought the farmin2008 andtookover its running in2019, amovewhich wasdocumented inthe hugelypopularNetflix series ‘Clarkson’sFarm’. Henamed itDiddlySquat after theamount of income it generated.However the farmshopheopened has attractedhugevisitor numbers and longqueues, causingcomplaints from local residents about the increaseof traffic. Clarkson recentlyhostedapublic meetingwithvillagers atwhichhepromisedto takemeasures tocurbthe numbers andalsorevealed his idea forarestaurant. Asurvey intheUKby the CountrysideAllianceat theendof 2020, found that 66%of rural shops sawan increase insales since the start of the pandemic.Nowsomeof thesebusinesses,which kept theircommunities suppliedduring lockdowns, havebeenrecognised inCountrysideAlliance Awards, alsoknownas the ‘RuralOscars’. These include BestPub, theCotley Inn inSomerset,whichoffers foodmade fromingredients primarily sourcedfrom withina25-mileradius. The full list is atwww. countryside-alliance.org/ NEWS IN BRIEF

First Manannan sheepdog trial later thismonth draws an international field

IanKelly, secretaryof theManannansheepdog trials committee,with twoyoungstersGypandBellacurrentlybeing trained

point for charitable dona- tions. Refreshments will also be available and organ- iserssaythateveryonewillbe mademostwelcome. More informationwill be available on the Manannan Sheepdog Trials page on Fa- cebook.

opscourt, Farm amid some spectacular scenery.’ Thetrialwill be judgedby NormanChristian fromBal- lavitchel, Crosby. The event s t a r t s at 9.30am. Admission is free but there will be a collection

‘The two-day trial will be split into twofields. On thefirst day the quali- fying trial will take place on Saturday in a field adjoining themainroadoppositeBish- opscourt, then the final will take place on the Sunday in a field further up on Bish-

tee, Ian Kelly, said: ‘The trial hasbeenkindlysponsoredby NFUMutual, andhasattract- ed competitors fromall over the United Kingdom includ- ing the Isle ofMan. Thetrialwill seebetween 25 and 30 top-class dogs tak- ing part.

The inaugural running of the Manannan Sheepdog Trialswill takeplace at Bish- opscourt Farm, Kirk Mi- chael, on September 25 and 26, courtesy of the Crowe family. Secretary of the Manan- nansheepdogtrialscommit-

Learn an old craft at Andreas show T his year’s Andreas Produce Show is onSaturday, Sep- tember 25 at An- dreas ParishHall from1pm. making classes and a fantas- tic raffle. And if you’re askingwhat is a ‘suggane’, the answer is that it’s the ropemade of twisted strawthatwas used

to tie down the thatched roofs of cottages and farm buildings. Evenwhen thatch was replacedby slates, sug- ganewas still twisted on the majority of the farms for ty- ing down the stacks of hay and corn in the yard. A lanketwas also a straw rope, but used to tie the back legs of sheep and cattle, to prevent themfromjumping over hedges andwalls. Jo added: ‘Wewould to make a specialmention and grateful thanks toPamKin- radewhohas stooddown fromthe role of secretary af- ter an incredible 34 years.’

The show is the old- est running produce show on the island, having been founded in 1901. Showsecretary, JoBrew, said: ‘We have classes in all the usual categories: pre- serves, confectionery, home- brew, honey, butter and eggs, vegetables, roots, potatoes, grain, fruit, flowers and plants, floral art, crafts, pho- tography andWomen’s In- stitute, aswell as a children’s section. All proceedswill be donated to local charities. ‘Refreshmentswill be available on the day, together with suggane and lanket-

The2019AndreasProduceShow

F ood Drink Festival &