Dearest London
It was happily refreshing to see you once again last week, with the perspective of travel and a change in life pace, I saw you with a renewed sense of wonder. You facilitate such stimulating beautiful conversation. The diverse experiences of your people feeds informed discussion and the nature of the thinkers you harbour allows for movement in beliefs and considered debates. If only you could facilitate a more practical approach to life within your walls we might see different kind of progress.
That’s not to say folk in the country are narrow minded but in my limited experience often seem to have made up their minds, and have a confidence in their innate convictions. Nor come to mention it, do I believe that everyone in the city has an open mind. I know I am fortunate to find my place among other liberal free thinking people. Perhaps if I stepped into the city on a weekday and tried to discuss new ways of farming I’d rethink. (Will I ever stop sitting on the wall?)
The immediate consideration this led me to is whether the countryside (and I’m talking specifics here) needs the city to prosper? When it comes to food production and consumption, decisions affecting the way the food is produced or more particularly regulated often come from Whitehall, or even Europe. I’m not going to pretend to understand the intricacies of these relationships, though I hope to learn more (note to self – must speak to Lucy about DEFRA), but I can’t help thinking that it’s a dysfunctional way of going about things.
Hertfordshire may not be typical countryside and London certainly isn’t a true representation of all urban conurbations, but they are the places I know and draw my debate from. Church Farm is not only a working farm but the home of Agrarian Renaissance. The conference in January will run alongside the Farming Conference in Oxford providing farmers who are interested in an alternative way forward with a forum for discussion. This was a huge part of my motivation for coming here above other places, and I believe it sparks an interest with most of the interns here. In part Tim is ‘training’ a future generation of farmers. There are speakers and delegates here who have the nous and intellect to be able to shape agricultural policy, the problem then comes when there is debate among the farming communities of this country.
Whether or not I am a country or a town mouse is still difficult to say. I have never felt healthier than I do right now, or perhaps more at peace with myself. Coming back into town did remind me what I was missing and I do so long for that constant questioning and debate , but I didn’t yearn to be back in that space. I can’t help dwelling on this missing link that provides a platform on which the city and country can stand on an even platform without either believing they have the upper hand. Perhaps all I have learnt from this consideration is that I need to learn more. I want to understand how famers interact with regulators and how the supermarkets have created a system where they have such control. Also, I must remember to continue debate regardless of my location, there are plenty of people here who would be happy to join in and I resolve to visit more often.
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