On the Isle of Lewis, crofters still work the old way: one man, two dogs, a flock and the Atlantic wind. Watching Leslie and his collies, Bruce and Jude, round up sheep across the moor, I was struck by how little command was needed. After a whistle and a word, Bruce and Jude’s instincts took […]
How come it takes a local pub committee a few hours to decide on next week’s local ales, menu specials and roof repairs, yet it takes a local council many months to decide on pothole repairs? Some may object to my rather silly question: pubs and councils are too different to compare due to their […]
‘You are neither dealing fairly by the farmer, nor yet by the country at large.’ – so thundered Richard Cobden to the House of Commons in 1843. He was objecting to Britain’s infamous Corn Laws: tariffs which protected the income of wealthy landowners by jacking up the price of imported grain. Yet Cobden could just […]
