Countryfile- sweet nostalgia and why I love it (Countryfile)

Member Name: theabster

Product:	Countryfile
Date:	16/11/08 (76 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An wonderful programme for country dwellers and countryfolk wannabees alike!

Disadvantages: It becomes half hour long in the Spring :( . I get bored by the National Trust properties zzzzz.....

There is something about Countryfile for me that is sweetly nostalgic. The entrance music that runs alongside sweeping images of arable fields, tractors and combines. Ahh, an hour of rambling countryfolk, barber jackets and welly boots is so wonderfully refreshing for people like me, trapped in suburbia.

I am studying for an MA in Sustainable Development and hope to go on to work in sustainable agriculture (i.e. an excuse to be a farmer), so I can almost justify my obsession with Countryfile. I think I have watched it since I was about 10 years old and it may have had some influence on my degree choice....

In July this year, Countryfile celebrated 20 years on British television and offers a one hour insight and discussion of topical farming and rural issues every Sunday morning at 11am on BBC1(or 11.30am for half of the year and sometimes on BBC2). The Telegraph reported around the time of the 20 year anniversary questioning whether just one hour a week for the only programme solely dedicated to rural issues was enough, since 1/5 of the UK population rural dwelling.

The same BBC team also create Farming Today, a daily broadcast on Radio 4 on weekdays at 5.45am - for just 15 minutes. It is presented by Charlotte Smith, a regular face on Countryfile. I seem to remember that a few years ago, it started at 5am and went on for an hour- an unfortunate loss, I think. As our countryside and farming practices literally shrink before our eyes, it seems the documenting of this downfall is following suit.

Neverthess it is really easy to keep up with both of these programmes now that BBC iplayer is so efficient at ensuring even radio programmes are available for at least 7 days after they were broadcast. It means for those pseudo-countryfolk like myself, who don't actually get up at 5am to tend the sheep, can at least pretend to be knowledgeable.

And I'd like to point out that it isn't just farming issues covered in Countryfile, nor on Farming Today for that matter. Countryfile often covers topics as varied as stonemasonary, wind farms, odd sporting events, national trust properties and wildlife conservation. They've even covered the incidence of suicide among British farmers. The broadcast of Farming Today I listened to today was about fox hunting and the need for an amended legislation and to what extent buying locally (e.g. from farm shops) could actually be worse in terms of carbon emissions than buying from the supermarket. It is interesting stuff and both programmes always examine the issue in a logical way, a slight bias towards what is best for the countryside (we don't mind that) and a bite of humour to finish.

On Countryfile you get a nice mix of presenters too- John Craven, Adam Henson (the farmer), Charlotte Smith (the one who went on maternity leave), Michaela Strachan (the wildlife one), Ben Fogle (the posh one), Miriam O'Reily (the Irish one)....etc
They even have Jo Brand judging in the annual BBC Countryfile photographic competition and a calendar of the photographs supporting Children in Need.

There is also a BBC Countryfile Magazine available, which is available for around £30.00 for 13 issues. I haven't ever read the magazine, but I'm tempted to start a subscription.......


Countrfile is a great programme that isn't afraid to talk about naff things (that actually end up being really interesting) and it can actually spur you into caring (at least for the rest of your Sunday) about the fate of The British Countryside and the farming community.

Their fate is literally in our hands and it is our informed consumer choices that directly affect whether they stay in buisness.

Summary: Remember, 11am every Sunday morning on BBC1! Enjoy!