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Simon Reeves in Cornwall

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Simon Reeves in Cornwall

Postby dennispc » Sun Nov 22, 2020 11:30 am

We’d recorded Simon Reeves in Cornwall, watched the second one last night. Fascinating, particularly the farmer who’d introduced beavers to his farm.

Also, having covered the struggle farmers have in the County, he filmed a sheep farmer who’d stopped using pesticides and fertilisers, to concentrate on quality rather than quantity. He had doubled the size of his flock and was making a profit. Sold his sheep to a local butcher who said we should eat less meat but pay more for it.

Figures quoted highlighted UK's love of cheap food, cheaper than most European countries and percentage spent on food lower as well. Mostly I think our food isn't expensive. Bought a white cabbage from Sainsbury's - 0.75K was 60p. I bet the producer's didn't get much of that.

Following comments about Aldi etc., I checked their meat producers. They tend to use local producers to keep transport costs down. Also, no butchery counters etc., so less staff.

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Re: Simon Reeves in Cornwall

Postby Earthmaiden » Sun Nov 22, 2020 11:52 am

I adore Simon Reeves so also enjoyed his Cornwall programmes. It certainly brought home a lot of issues good and bad. The beaver bit was breathtaking.

It was interesting about the 'love' of cheap food in the UK. I have little idea about poverty levels in other European countries but it does seem that here an awful lot of people are struggling to nourish themselves and their children and that things have gone horribly wrong somewhere (I'm sure we all have opinions where but the big thing is to try to put it right
).

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Re: Simon Reeves in Cornwall

Postby scullion » Sun Nov 22, 2020 1:56 pm

there was a very good result of the programme - the chap who ran the food bank received over £160,000 in donations - he says it's taken the pressure off for a couple of years.
the beavers are just up the valley from a friends smallholding, the other side of truro, they've been there for a few years now. the location was kept secret for a long time so they could become established.
the village that used to be prone to flooding is the one i go to for ceramics meetings (sadly not since march).
it was good to see the success of the project which was an experiment to see its efficacy before being rolled out to other sites in the county.

you will have had a long view of our local beach in the beginning and end credits.

it was a good couple of programmes. it showed the life of many folks in the 'hinterland' that's often invisible to visitors - possibly like many holiday destinations.
we were one of the poorest eu regions - which means we are now one of the poorest uk regions. i don't hold out much hope that we'll be getting the same sort of funding, in the future, that we had from the eu.

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Re: Simon Reeves in Cornwall

Postby dennispc » Sun Nov 22, 2020 2:34 pm

Sorry earthmaiden, I shouldn't have used the word 'love'; we've had our struggles over the years, although I don't come from food producer stock, it does seem there's constant pressure to produce food ever more cheaply.

Thanks scullion, good news about the food bank.

Most of our holidays when the kids were young were in Cornwall, mostly North Cornwall, in the days when it was a low cost holiday - Padstow, Boscastle, Mother Ivy's Bay, St Agnes and so on. When they'd grown up and we went out of season, it was sobering to see how quiet it was.

I hope they don't get forgotten after December 31st.

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Re: Simon Reeves in Cornwall

Postby Earthmaiden » Sun Nov 22, 2020 2:41 pm

Dennis- I think that love was absolutely the correct word to use. Greed is as abundant here as poverty.

Wonderful news re the food bank funds Scully. Leads on from a recent conversation here re Children in Need. There is money out there which people are willing to give if they can see how it will be spent rather than just 1p or 2p added to tax which, as in the news today, goes in the wrong pockets.

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Re: Simon Reeves in Cornwall

Postby dennispc » Sun Nov 22, 2020 2:46 pm

Earthmaiden wrote:Dennis- I think that love was absolutely the correct word to use. Greed is as abundant here as poverty.


Thank you, another reason Aldi/Lidl are cheaper is they don't have shareholders. Sainsbury's shareholders have done well, a high proportion of the business rate relief they got has been given to their investors. In contrast to other firms, some of whom, have given back to the government furlough money.

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Re: Simon Reeves in Cornwall

Postby Pampy » Sun Nov 22, 2020 2:50 pm

I watched both episodes too and loved them. It was heartening to learn about the beavers and also the chap who ran the food bank. That he was speaking to Simon the day before his wife's funeral was testament to his - and his late wife's - commitment - truly inspiring. I've never been to Cornwall but would love to visit - even more so now having seen some of its beauty.

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Re: Simon Reeves in Cornwall

Postby scullion » Sun Nov 22, 2020 2:54 pm

dennispc wrote:When they'd grown up and we went out of season, it was sobering to see how quiet it was.

i have to say that those of us not in the holiday trade love it out of season, few of us go to the beach in the season (maybe that's why the plague numbers were fewer than anticipated after lockdown1) although the downside is the closure of some cafés and restaurants etc. the blue bar usually closes for january - which is when the revenue for the beach cafe goes up (they don't close, thankfully, and have quite a good local clientele allegiance).
the decrease in traffic is good, too - and at least the beach car park is free from the end of october to the beginning of april!
re the local suppliers - i've bought strawberries that come from a farm about eight miles away, from the local aldi in the past.

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Re: Simon Reeves in Cornwall

Postby jeral » Sun Nov 22, 2020 6:22 pm

I hope we'll hear more about the beavers in a few years' time. They were banned (routinely killed as a nuisance) in the US as apart from being prolific, they could cause "pools" (or side lakes) that deprived the river flow along the remaining run to the delta. I read about five years ago that some were being reintroduced as part of the biodiversity planning initiative, presumably paying attention to specific locations where damming is advantageous.

I was lucky to visit beautiful Cornwall many times as ex OH was from Torpoint. I gather its economic struggle is similar to Scotland, i.e. youngsters moving to big towns. Maybe, like Poole, it could become an EU doorstep financial centre?

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Re: Simon Reeves in Cornwall

Postby scullion » Sun Nov 22, 2020 9:44 pm

jeral wrote:Maybe, like Poole, it could become an EU doorstep financial centre?


do'e mean smugglin, my bird'‽‽‽

jeral wrote: I gather its economic struggle is similar to Scotland, i.e. youngsters moving to big towns.

yes, but those big towns are upcountry.
cornwall's county town, truro - one of the biggest down here has a population of around 25,000 and the conurbation of camborne/redruth (and surrounds) has about 45,000. the latter being one of the poorest in the country with the collapse of mining and it's associated engineering.
our daughter and son in law both moved up country for uni then work - as did our son, to london, last year - although one good thing about lockdown was that he came back to his house down here to work.
with the change in working patterns that the new situation has thrown up maybe more of cornwall's young will be able to find (digitally assisted) work and stay in cornwall.

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Re: Simon Reeves in Cornwall

Postby KeenCook2 » Sun Nov 22, 2020 10:07 pm

Scully, when did you move to Cornwall, or have you always been there?

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