New River Cottage series!

[Hilary B]

He suffers from bouts of depression and has spoken publicly about it.

Here's a link.

Great shame, his anarchic streak really added an edge to the program. I often used to think of Kate being there as his minder, to rein him in. But Chris Packam's not too bad, he's got a bit of rebel in him too. Anyone who can make references to the Prodigy and the Stranglers in a nature program can't be all bad

Wishing Bill all the best for a swift return to form.

Yep!

Last night was a strong example of why he was needed. Chris just couldn't control Kate's 'gooeyness' over the realities of predation. Bill has always taken a 'sympathy but no nonsense' approach to such things, which is MUCH better!

[Mac]

Hi All, this site really is starting to control my life Not only do I take all the advice from here and go home and practice it in the garden, but now I'm planning my tv watching/recording schedule from here too! Dilema, SW, rugger, Hugh Kill-and-Cook-it-all????? And as much as I'm missing BO from SW, when the Pack-man called Kate "Babe" last night, the look on her face was a corker! She looked fit to burst!

[NOG]

Dissapointed....if i wanted to watch people eat with their mouths open and talk with their mouth full and tell poor jokes and puns I would have tea with the in laws..

He seems to b too smug.

[snake the squadie]

i didnt realise it was on i was sat watching the bloody aprentice as i thought there was sod all on

[di]

Most of you probably know by now,I'm a bit of a Hugh fan!...most of the programme I really enjoyed,however......must admit to being a little confused that after the whole Chicken Out campaign he was condoning keeping Dairy Bulls in indoor conditions...not a blade of grass in sight & certainly no sunshine on their backs!????
I admit that they looked fairly content,but fail to understand how it's any different from the barn reared freedom food chickens?

[Solitaire]

I was a bit disappointed

[Hilary B]

Most of you probably know by now,I'm a bit of a Hugh fan!...most of the programme I really enjoyed,however......must admit to being a little confused that after the whole Chicken Out campaign he was condoning keeping Dairy Bulls in indoor conditions...not a blade of grass in sight & certainly no sunshine on their backs!????
I admit that they looked fairly content,but fail to understand how it's any different from the barn reared freedom food chickens?

Rearing them in open fronted barns, with plenty of fresh air, is quite a good compromise compared to killing them off at birth. The brothers of the next generation of laying hens still get fed to snakes, hawks and small carnivores in zoos. Would you prefer that the brothers of the next generation of milk cows go the same way?

[NOG]

The brothers of the next generation of laying hens still get fed to snakes, hawks and small carnivores in zoos. Would you prefer that the brothers of the next generation of milk cows go the same way?

Now I would like to see that....you would need a big hawk to pick up a cow..

[di]

I'd agree that it's "quite" a good compromise,but what I meant to get across is how is it any greater compromise than rearing chooks in spacious barns???

Got to go with NOG tho'...would be seriously impressed to watch a hawk devour a cow!

[lavender lou]

Me and the other half really enjoyed the programme and we are both wanting to try the veal too.

But we actually thought he was a little drunk in certain parts of the program, but then again i'm not surpised with all the wine he makes!!!!

[rana]

we actually thought he was a little drunk in certain parts of the program, but then again i'm not surpised with all the wine he makes!!!!

He wouldn't of got drunk on that gorse flower wine - it would barely have contained any alcohol with so little sugar in the recipe. Looked good though.

[vikkib]

I'd agree that it's "quite" a good compromise,but what I meant to get across is how is it any greater compromise than rearing chooks in spacious barns???

I got the impression it was a good compromise that was still commercially viable. He is a pragmatic bloke and understands that something has to be financially do-able for producers to consider doing it.

From what the farmer said they wouldn't keep them outside with their mothers as they would loose their dairy income from the milk that would be drunk by the calves whereas they could control their intake when they were separated.

Not entirely sure why they couldn't be kept outside but just separated from the mothers though. Maybe there was more to it than the milk consumption.

[TEB]

I got the impression it was a good compromise that was still commercially viable. He is a pragmatic bloke and understands that something has to be financially do-able for producers to consider doing it.

From what the farmer said they wouldn't keep them outside with their mothers as they would loose their dairy income from the milk that would be drunk by the calves whereas they could control their intake when they were separated.

Not entirely sure why they couldn't be kept outside but just separated from the mothers though. Maybe there was more to it than the milk consumption.

Not sure but if they are outside eating the grass then this affects the quality of meat, so they are kept inside and fed milk and a ceral diet, bovine cornflakes

[pdblake]

He wouldn't of got drunk on that gorse flower wine - it would barely have contained any alcohol with so little sugar in the recipe. Looked good though.

That's just what I thought.

There's a lot of gorse a long walk away so I might try this, though I might give it a bit longer in the demijohn and use a bit more sugar

[Sinta]

Hi! Yep, haven't posted in ages, but very much a lurker here Thought I'd pop up and put my 2 pennies in.

I think the program was alright, but goodness, where did all the bad puns come from?!

As for veal, I think it was the best compromise. I'd rather have young dairy bulls brought up in such an environment portrayed in the program for veal (than how white veal is made). From a personal point of view, I'm a big fan of veal. Growing up in the continent it's very common in the menus. Until last night I didn't know at all how most places made veal or the conditions the bulls lived in. Maybe because I was just a child, but I thought they were just young bulls grazing in the pastures with their mother. I was appalled! I'm now glad to know there's an alternative.