There should be an investigation into how EU money is being used in Britain it’s certainly not good for farming.”Another victim of foot and mouth are the annual ridings, the historic pageants in which thousands of riders take to the streets and surrounding countryside in Borders towns such as Hawick and Selkirk. Thousands of tourists and “exiles” return to see them every year. Hawick has just announced that its ridings will be cancelled this year, for the first time since the Second World War.David Steel won’t be opening his house to visitors as he usually does at Easter. “We’ve cut back on visiting and are trying to reduce unnecessary trips into the countryside. We’re not panicking yet, but it is a grim time.”I drove out of Edinburgh to the city bypass.
Where I’d crossed the fields near Bonnyrigg a new golf course is under construction. Is this the future for the British countryside? It was a sight I saw again and again in the Borders. Where sheep had grazed, now fresh green grass sprouted, interspersed with manicured bunkers A lucrative, trouble-free environment.. Andrew Welsh is still the shepherd at Carcant Manor near Heriot. He gets up at six each day to look after 450 sheep, all of which have been born and raised on the farm. Five years off retirement, Andrew has been a shepherd all his life, working in Argyll, Australia and New Zealand. “Sheep prices had just started to rise last year after BSE,” he told me.
“Now the bottom’s dropped out of the market and there’ll be no exports either.”
Andrew Welsh is still the shepherd at Carcant Manor near Heriot. He gets up at six each day to look after 450 sheep, all of which have been born and raised on the farm. Five years off retirement, Andrew has been a shepherd all his life, working in Argyll, Australia and New Zealand. “Sheep prices had just started to rise last year after BSE,” he told me. “Now the bottom’s dropped out of the market and there’ll be no exports either.”Andrew stared gloomily into his drink. We were the only people in the bar of the Dug Inn near Heriot. I’d seen few cars on the main road and none on the lanes at all.
The Borders always seem empty but last week they were deserted.”Farmers over 60 will give up, that’s for sure The future is very precarious Their bed-and-breakfast income will disappear, too. If you ask me, foot and mouth was around in England long before the time we’ve been told There’s a lot we’re not being told about, if you ask me. It doesn’t matter what Tony Blair says, the countryside is closed down. In the future cattle and sheep should be slaughtered in the country where they were raised We should ban meat imports and protect our own industry.
Nothing good’s come out of being in the EU.”I left Andrew pondering his uncertain future. A mile down the road a flock of sheep were munching on swedes, oblivious to their fate. The B road to Gilston was blocked by bales of hay with traffic cones on top. A large home-made sign read, “Please stop and dip your footwear”.