Hoots & Havers by James Irvine Robertson

I was once a member of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and kept what was then an extremely rare Gloucester cow who bullied her way to top of the pecking order amongst the Friesians who made up the rest of the herd. She calved another little Gloucester and I milked her. She yielded...

 

I hear that the tom-toms are saying that the House of Bruar has found a buyer in the shape of the immensely tall denizen of the Dragon’s Den. I doubt it. I have been part of various local grapevines in my time and the one in Highland Perthshire has always seemed to be the most...

 

Highland Perthshire is not the centre of the world. Nor is South West France where I now live. In fact this region is considered the hickest part of the nation. In English terms it’s the equivalent of Norfolk and none of us have any skin left on our knuckles. We’re...

 

France is a foreign country; they do things differently here. And from my blurry perspective most things they do are no better than they’re done in the UK and often worse. For example, as a rule of thumb it will cost an employer the same amount in tax and social charges as the wages he...