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Necklace worth £22 from www.blondierocks.co.uk

TERMS & CONDITIONS:

Official Promotion Rules:

1. Competition open to UK residents only.

2. Individual promotions are being run on both Facebook and Twitter - one winner will be announced per competition.

3. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook or Twitter.

4. All entrants and participants offer complete release of Facebook and Twitter (entrants/participants release Facebook/Twitter of any kind of responsibility).

5. Competition Dates: Start: 10:30pm Friday 28th August 2015 - Finish 10:30pm Monday 31st August.

6. Winners may choose between Silver or Rosegold coloured falling hearts necklace.

7. Winners will be announced on Tuesday 1st September 2015.

Time to Unplug?

Tales from the Day Job...

In the age of the tablet, it seems we've all become maybe far too reliant on modern technology, (she's says writing this on her iPhone on the tube), but I've witnessed a couple of conversations recently, which I'll be honest makes me worry about future generations.

Standing in a jewellers doing the day job recently, a group of teen girls decide they've had enough of standing waiting to be served and so sat themselves down on a large box that was waiting to be put back in the stock room, now this on its own made me wonder, it wouldn't have even occurred to me to do something like that when I was their age, my mum would have given me 'that look' ..but the conversation that followed left me actually speechless...

'Yeah, I'm gunna get a boob job, then I'm gunna marry a rich old man.. and be famous, because of the boob job, then once I'm rich, I'll leave him and move on to the next one'

Now I admire the ambition and forward thinking and a boob job has certainly crossed my mind more than once, but seriously? Are these kids for real?

Another conversation overheard on the tube; A young family sat together and one of the young women happened to be reading a paper (yes actually reading!!) which featured a poll of what children want to be when they grow up, the list went: 

1. Rich 
2. Famous  
3. A Movie star 

...this prompted the young women to ask the kids in the group, to which they replied 'a footballer' and 'that famous Toby Star off the telly' (I have no idea who this is or if he's an actual person), then a young teen stated, 'well I'm gunna work for two years then take early retirement'

It seems that in a world full of technology and easy options, we're losing what it is that makes us human, I don't mean to get all deep, but how many of us now rely entirely on the sat nav and don't even own a map anymore, let alone carry one in the car?

We have a generation of parents who aren't able to cook a meal from scratch.. So what hope do their children have? and I recent survey showed that 3 out of 5 British kids have never heard a cow moo?

Modern technology is amazing, without it you wouldn't be reading this very article but I do think we need to unplug ourselves from time to time... go outside, maybe talk to each other over dinner! If one day I'm lucky enough to become a parent, I want to teach my kids to peel a potato and cook actually food and show them that if you want something in life you have to work for it, it doesn't come gift wrapped from the surgeon as after care for your boobs!

Emma Gray.. Sheepdogs, Celebrities and Cabin Fever

After taking on the biggest challenge a young shepherdess could imagine, Emma Gray discovered she's made of tough stuff and forged a successful career including writing a book, becoming a tv personality and of course running her own farm.

Emma was kind enough to share her time with us and we talked, sheepdogs, dodgy generators and her new tv series ITV1's Flockstars..

As we know you're a farmers daughter, did you know you wanted to farm from a young age?

Yes I think I remember going to the mart with my dad and someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up and I said 'I want to be a blacky farmer..' Obviously I went through fits and starts not knowing what I wanted but it had always been there.

Before becoming a solo shepherdess and taking on Fallowlees, you were engaged in your early 20's right?

I got engaged at a very young age, just 19 and suddenly had an epiphany, everyone was telling me; I’ll be getting married and having kids and baking and knitting, I just thought I can't cope with this, he was a really lovely guy but the timing just wasn’t right.

What was your parents reaction when they found out you wanted to solo shepherdess?

My parents reaction when I first split with my fiance was actually a little annoyed, I didn’t really have any direction and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, I just knew I didn’t want to get married.

I was working as a shepherdess for 4 years when I saw an advert for Fallowlees and I just thought, that would be the perfect relationship, taking on the farm has actualised me and I feel I have become a bigger person and have become complete.

I have been very lucky.

When you took on the farm, did you ever think what am I doing? Has there been a lot of work at Fallowlees?

Yes there was an awful lot of work, the farm was dilapidated when I arrived and I'm not from a rich family so had to make do and mend, I have no mains power and had a really temperamental generator (bloody thing), I had to learn to approach mechanics, so I could tinker with it when it went off, I think when you're by yourself it makes it feel worse, being snowed in as a child, I was with my family and so it didn’t feel quite so isolated, but here I’d end up with cabin fever, talking to the dogs.

And how many dogs do you have at the moment?

12 ..I think, yes 12!

You wrote a book after your first year, had you always wanted to write or where you inspired by your experiences?

Yeah I wrote the book after the first year, I really enjoyed writing it, it wasn’t difficult as everything had happened so I just needed to remember it and I’d kept lots of diary’s. I’m an avid reader so I think that helped and English was a strong point at school!

You've also appeared on a few tv show's including Countryfile and Robson Green's: Northumberland, how did this come about?

The tv work has snowballed to be honest, once you get out there, you start to get approached more,. Obviously it started with Countryfile, (I have no idea how they found out about me?) – then Robson Green and then a clip appeared on youtube and that’s how the flockstars team found me. – it was difficult for the media to find someone who has the skills as a shepherd, but were also comfortable on camera and flexible with availability.

As you mentioned, your most recent venture was Flockstar's how did you find working on the show?

I absolutely loved working on the show, it was great fun, very different and very difficult, with really long days, we’d start shooting/training at 7:30am and finish at 7:30pm. I’m not great at doing lines and the celebs were struggling with the sheep/dogs and so what took hours to film, actually only appears as 1 minute on the show, but I loved the guys. Also the director may see something but then the other crew would miss it and need to see it again, they'd also have funny requests that maybe weren’t something the dog's could do.

The whole crew actually had a crash course in sheep handling and learnt a lot about the dogs, they were really good by the end of it.

There were a few negative comments about the show, some even before it had aired, it must be frustrating to work hard on something and have it knocked down?

Yes, I found some comments really hurtful, we worked a long time and very hard on the show, it's only supposed to be entertainment and not taken too seriously, I can't believe people would criticised something before they've even see it. 

It should be taken as intended a light hearted entertainment show.

Could you see any of the celebs making it within the world of Sheep Dog Trials?

The celebs took it very seriously, they were all very competitive by nature and worked hard and are very driven. It's hard to say, but I was really impressed by both Brendon and Lee,  Lesley did a great job, but I think she realised she wouldn’t want to be out in the middle of a field, it's not really her cup of tea.

Unfortunately, Lee Pearson was not well matched with his dog, so that was frustrating at the start, but they came on so well together.

Did the training take place at Fallowlees?

No, all the training was actually shot over 6 weeks in Bexleyheath, London at Woodlands Farm. It was so weird to be the country bumpkin, on a farm but with cars going by, it's polar opposites to my normal life. The whole experience was so different, the hotel even had a McDonald's downstairs! One night me Lee and the boys decided to go into London and got a McDonald's, it was so bazaar, driving around London in a range rover eating a McDonald's, then Lee said ‘check that box under the seat’ and it was his Olympic gold medal!! ..I actually got a bit teary, it was so surreal and spectacular.

Was it difficult to watch someone else, especially a complete beginner work your dogs?

Yes was really difficult to see someone else working my dogs, I have crafted them over a long time, the dogs are very stoic and sometimes a celeb would give a command and the dog would just look at me like what is he doing? the celebs would say 'that was the dogs fault', but I’d have to tell them, ‘no it was yours’

Sheep dog training and breeding is obviously a huge part of the farm, is that the most rewarding part of your job?

Definitely, I love training the dogs, taking them all the way through, it's my most favourite thing to do, to be honest that is more lucrative than the farm, as we know farming is struggling at the moment and there's no cost involved in training, just my time, but with everything else, if I want to sell a lamb, I need to feed them and look after them, the dogs have very much supported the farm, especially at the beginning,

If I needed to pay a bill, I could sell a dog; it’s always difficult but that’s also what they're here for. There are of course dogs I wouldn’t sell, but it stopped me going bankrupt in the early years.

So you advertised for a husband a few years back, how did that come about?

Nooooo! (in a very strong Scottish borders accent) ..A journalist advertised on my behalf, she came to visit to do a story and took pity on me, she said ‘oh, you’re here on your own, we need to get you a boyfriend’, then advertised in the local press for me.. I was mortified when I saw it and a bit put out, people always looked at me and thought she’s farming by herself, she needs a man.

But I have now been with a guy for 10 months and he’s a keeper, he looked after the farm whilst I was filming Flockstars and has two dogs of his own, including Gyp who appeared on the show. He’s from Scotland and we met through tinder.. that's how everyone meets nowadays isn't it? ..oh and he’s a fireman.

Obviously every day is different but when you're not shooting tv programmes what's involved in your average day?

Yes as you say everyday is different but at this time of year, for instance today, I will get up and let the dogs out, get them cleaned out then have breakfast. Then get the lambs in, tag them and load them at lunch time – then this afternoon I’ll be training dogs.

I get to train dogs every day.

Do you get much chance to spend time with family and socialise?

Yes, I’m a big family person and get to see my folks every fortnight, it's only an hour and half away so not too difficult to get there and I get to socialise quite a bit, it's mainly around the country calendar so seeing people at shows.

You're obviously making a success of Fallowlees, so what are your plans for the future?

Aww thank you, well I’ve taken on another farm, but I have to travel over to it, so ideally I'd love it to be ring fenced, but to be honest my main dream was to not work for other people and I’ve now achieved that and started working for just myself last October, I felt it was really hard working for someone else, because as you know with farming when your somewhere else something needs doing at home and vice versa, so I wasn’t doing anything properly. But really I've achieved my dream of having my own farm.

It’s been baby steps but I’ve got there.

Life before Harvest

With Harvest now in full swing.. at least until the rain decided to put a dampener on things! I couldn’t help thinking to myself (whilst hurriedly dropping off dinner to the combine and simultaneously walking the dog)  how many normal people out there are completely oblivious to the phenomenon that is harvest.. that long awaiting time in the agricultural calendar that brings both trepidation and sheer excitement.

With the lead up to harvest turning even the most relaxed farmer (not that there are many) into a twitchy, nervous wreck… are we ready, are we not.. is it too early, am I too late, being on combine watch.. like lemmings at the top of a cliff.. who’ll be the first to launch themselves into the hell.. sorry I mean joyous occasion that is harvest.

I myself, as many other farmers wags have a day job, my daily life couldn’t be any more different to donning my boots and getting stuck into whatever task the farmer has bestowed upon me and its these colleagues that start me thinking about ‘life before farming’ when my evenings weren’t full of packing up dinner (I’ve become quite a specialist at transporting culinary delights across a part cut field) or jumping on a tractor that needs taking back to the yard (the farmer doest quite have enough confidence in the ‘townie’ tipping the trailer alone just yet) or maybe the sitting up at 2am not being able to sleep, worried about the boys working all night, just because the dew hasn’t dropped yet!

But I  wouldn’t change it for the world, as the lights in the village houses go out with the blissful ignorance that none farming households enjoy, I couldn’t imagine life any other way, so yes having a day jobs great, but farming that’s a way of life and I love it.

Jade Holland Cooper - Farmers Daughter to Fashion Royalty

In 2008 Jade Holland Cooper was a farmers daughter with a love of the British countryside and a passion for design and fashion, with no formal training yet seeing a gap in the market for fashionable country clothing, Jade set about starting the brand Holland Cooper, from its seemingly simple roots, selling hand made tweed skirts at Badmington Horse Trials, Jade has developed the brand into an international success with a very British passion at its heart...

Jade has very kindly taken time out of her busy schedule to speak with us..

As we know you are a farmers daughter so where did the inspiration/idea for the brand come from?

"Although I had inspiration from my mum, being a fashion designer (before I was born), I actually turned down the London College of Art to study International Equine and Agricultural Management at the Royal Agricultural College as these were closer to my heart, however I soon saw a gap in the market for fashionable country clothing, everyone was looking the same, wearing the same, I wanted to create something fashionable and more fitted. Initially I sold pieces to friends, I quit my degree, created a business plan and went from there."

  

What or who are your creative/design influences?

"My parents, they are both incredibly creative, hard working business people and taught me from a young age that you have to work hard to succeed. Also my design influences would be Alexander McQueen and Ralph Lauren, who creates a timeless fashion appeal from the age of one to eighty; I aspire to create that lifestyle brand." 

Are you still involved with the family farm, does your father still run the agricultural side of things?

"Yes, this is still very close to my heart and so I am very involved, I even attend all the board meetings, I’ve always wanted to be a farmer and my boyfriend Henry is also a farmer."

You have a very unique selling point: You! and have incorporated yourself as the face of the brand - Is that really important to you and will this continue as the brand grows further?

"It was more by default it happened like that, I enjoy attending the shows and being at the coal face of the brand, that’s what I love about it; the brand is me and I am the brand..
 
I also think it makes a difference to people when they get a personal meeting with me, I'm at Harrods every week, where people can make an appointment to meet with me and so they get a really personal service."

Being the face of the brand we’ve seen a little negative feedback from images particularly on your Facebook page, is this something you’re able to cope with well, do you just see this as part of being a public figure?

"You can’t please everybody, you’ve got to be confident in the path you are walking and shouldn’t be side tracked, it’s a waste of time as everyone has their opinion, the brand is successful and if it wasn’t then of course this would be something I would need to look at, but if people don’t like what we’re producing they can always unclick. People always focus on the negative; you should take heed of the positive."

You're clearly becoming a role model for aspiring young business women & designers, do you have any words of wisdom or guidance for them? 

"People think things aren’t achievable, but it’s important to remember, laziness has started to creep into society, in order to achieve your goals and if you have belief and talent, you have to work bloody hard and be dogmatic in your process and act as if nothing will get in your way, then anything is achievable. I was told when I started I would fail and I wouldn’t have a degree, I chose to believe I will not fail, I wanted to break away from the mould."

You were heard at the Royal Highland Show saying 'a lot of companies want people with experience but aren't willing to give people that experience' Is this something you’ve experienced yourself and is this an integral part of the Holland Cooper brand?

"As I had never really worked for another business (only really bar work), I haven’t experienced this myself, but I noticed quickly as an employer that experience is expected, so from the start of the business I set-up an internship, we’ve had people from all other the world, once they have completed their internship with us they have experienced every aspect of retail, taking ownership of tasks with a hands on approach.. they’re not just making cups of tea."

We’ve seen your launch of tassles this season do you have any plans on expanding the range further into accessories, will you become a very fashion/seasonal trend brand?

"We have lots of exciting collections that we are expanding on, one of which I cannot talk about at the moment, but we are launching a luggage range and expanding the Gold Label exclusively for Harrods, which will take us to another level with prices starting at £1000. We’re also launching our own shop fit into Harrods this autumn/winter and will even be launching a range of dog collars." ..we are particularly excited about the dog collars here at AgriWAG’s.

"We have also expanded our manufacturing, taking on another new factory and continue our important focus of Handmade in London."

You have of course remained based in the County/outside of London; is this really important to you and the brand?

"I enjoy the best of both worlds, I am based in the countryside in Oxford which I love but also spend time every week in London, I am a country girl at heart but also love the lifestyle and fashion of the city."

I believe you enjoy a few country sports and believe you now shoot?

"Yes, I do shoot, we teamed up with Rachel Carrie of Femme Fatales and Rachel insisted I had to start shooting, I started about nine months ago and love it, I’m able to forget about everything when I’m on the clayground. There is still a perceived look/image of women shooting and we are looking to turn that image around."

You must have been very busy over the past few years, has this interfered with your social life/seeing friends?

"It was incredibly hard to start with, all my friends were at uni and I was working 7 days a week, usually finishing at 2am and starting again at 6am; I did that for two years. I guess I do still work 7 days a week now as I never really stop working, I must be a nightmare to live with.. but it’s a great business to be in and I get to meet great people."

What are your plans for the future.. Will you be taking over the farm? 

"For Holland Cooper I’m looking to expand into the oversee market, with a focus on Japan and the US markets but for now we are concentrating on UK and Ireland, with Europe next on the agenda and then plan to expand after that.

And yes, my dream is to one day take over the farm.."

Gran: The Traditional Farmers Wife

So my original inspiration for creating AgriWAGS came from 'Gran' not afraid to speak her mind or tell it like it is, I first met gran in May 2013, having already been scared half to death by my boyfriend about gran being the archetypal farmers wife, I entered the pretty little Northumbrian cottage with some trepidation. 

In fact the entire weekend had been a baptism of fire, meeting the parents, meeting more friends than I remember, attending a wedding (where I knew no-one) and of course, meeting Gran, all in one very frantic busy weekend.

After a good cup of Northern tea, one of Gran's 'cupboard special' creations and a catch-up between grandmother and grandson, attentions turned to me...

Now bare in mind we'd been to a wedding so my hair and nails were looking better than normal, when Gran turned, with a wry smile and said, 'so you think you'll enjoy being a farmers girlfriend then? as a wave of mild terror swept over me and before I had time to reply she said, 'Well, don't you worry about your shoes or your nails, as long as he's got food in his belly and a clean shirt on his back you'll be fine'

Alastair turned to look at me with a look of mild horror yet extreme amusement.. I simply smiled (giggled nervously) and said 'of course no problem' 

And that was that, I'd been told, he looked like the cat that got the cream and as for Gran, well after feeding him a Sunday roast on the combine that harvest, I think it's fair to say, she's happy I'll make it with my farmer :) 

Not bad for a townie ..or so they tell me! 

Welcome to AgriWAG's..

Welcome to AgriWAG's..

Well I guess this is it, after much procrastinating over the past 12 months, I finally have the blog up and running.. 

12 months.. what has taken so long? I guess I wanted to have a clear direction for the blog, to know what it is that I want to write about and what I want to give to you.. the reader.

So as the name suggests, I wanted to create an online world for all you agricultural ladies out there, being a future farmers wife, I've discovered the interesting and amazing world of british agriculture, rural life and country sports, I've met some great people, many of whom are now great friends and so I wanted to share my take on being a farmers wife (to-be) and bring you interesting stories, updates and interview's, with a mix of country fashion and trends and maybe just a little gossip.

 

I hope you like my little ramblings.. many of which will include both 'the farmer' and our handsome farm pup, Purdey.. happy reading.

Clare x

...the original AgriWAG