by ALICE KIMBER
from Kimber’s Farm Shop

WHAT a difference a week makes – the rain stopped, the sun shone, the grass grew, first cut silage making is done and most of the maize is planted, having spread some of the winter’s manure on the maize ground.

The grass has motored out of the ground, just like the lawns and churchyard do at this time of year. The quality of the grass crop in May is generally the best of the year for milking cow silage. We hope we have made what’s needed for next winter’s dairy ration.

Now our dairy cows can at last go out to pasture day and night – once the silage fields regrow the rest of the herd will follow.

The farm shop played host to a filming team a couple of weeks ago. We were contacted and asked if the film crew could use our shop as a set in a short film being made to highlight bereavement in young people. We were pleased to help.

About 35 people turned up, including Ben Whishaw, who played the main character. The amount of kit was amazing, as was the detail they went to with light and so on, blacking out the windows and doors and even the rooflights.

They started preparing to film while we were still open, which amused and surprised our customers! The film will be previewed at the Cannes Film Festival. We were location four and the last day of shooting.

Ben Whishaw is the voice behind Paddington and was Q in Skyfall, the Bond film. Now this week we learned he has won a Bafta.

They were a nice bunch of people.

The Coronation was celebrated in style here at Charlton Musgrove, owing to the hard work of a committee of inspired villagers.

We had a top-notch tea party, with delicate sandwiches and dainty cakes, served on real table clothes and bone china crockery on Sunday afternoon, complete with skittles and so on. Our son-in-law Danj made a full-size Charles and Camilla, minus their faces, where people stood behind and posed. In the evening we had a live band and a Kimber Old Spot hog roast!

The weather was kind and a lot of villagers past and present attended. Our parish council gave a good donation and the village hall waived the fee, making it possible.

We even had a ‘princess’ attend! Mabel brought Stavordale Firefox Princess to the party for the children to see. Mabel has been halter training this pedigree Shorthorn calf, who really enjoyed the attention and was very well behaved. I’m sure King Charles would have approved!

We are hoping to get away for a holiday, which reminds me to say, please don’t be tempted to bring back plants, cuttings or seeds from abroad. Our native flora has suffered from pest and disease from foreign sources and invasion into the countryside by invasive plants. Just now, the Spanish bluebell is flowering and, as pretty as it is, it is displacing our very special native bluebells, of which we have the greatest numbers worldwide.

Our native bluebells have a flower stem that drops over at the head, whereas the Spanish bluebell has a straight, erect flowering stem, fine in the garden but definitely not in the countryside.