Round table
licked them first) and that’s so nice in com- parison to the rubbish you can eat. Arthur I like going into fields and seeing things growing—this is England for me, that you can see these things in their natu- ral state. Being able to pick a radish or something is lovely. Will Importing food is all very well, but I don’t think it should reach the point where you can’t see things growing here. It’s not helping our farmers. Sasha You have to have some things imported—like for medicines—that would- n’t grow here.
What do you think about genetically modified crops? Jess Carrots used to be lots of different colours and then they used something to make them orange, but I don’t know why you need to go to that bother. Charlie If you’re a carrot, you should stay a carrot. It’s like people—you shouldn’t try to change yourself. Will I wouldn’t want to see a potato the size of my head. Sasha If you put bug killers in crops, it can destroy a food chain because insects are eaten by birds. Clara I think it’s fine as long as, fingers crossed, they’re not lying. If you see something that looks big and juicy and looks nice, that’s fine. What’s the worst that can happen? Tara It’s fine to get a bit more milk or eggs out of an animal, but not if it’s making them unhappy or putting too much pressure on them. The Belgian Blue cow now has so much muscle, it’s uncomfortable. It’s overruling welfare.
Some villages, such as Kingsclere (down the road from Cheam), have good village shops. Do you think that’s a good thing?
Will As long as you know the food is coming from a reliable source, it doesn’t matter where you shop. Sasha If you reduce the size of the shop, stuff will have to be kept in the storeroom and then you’d have to wait. Some people have specific agendas because they might be on their way to a meeting, so super-
markets are useful for busy people. Charlie We have a holiday home in the Borders and, a mile outside town, they built a Sainsbury’s, so our family view is to get to the little shops as often as we can. They’re more friendly and you can have a chat about football scores. Freya The food is better quality at the smaller shops as they don’t have to stock as much stuff. The people are more helpful and friendly. Supermarkets are useful as you can get everything, but you can’t trust the people in there not to sell you bad things like horsemeat. Minna If you’ve run out of milk, you don’t want to be driving miles and it’s a bit embarrassing just getting one thing in a supermarket. In a small shop, you see the same cashier all the time. Clara Every Saturday morning, my father goes and gets the sausages from the village butcher’s and it’s a real community feeling.
Wind farms—who thinks they’re a good thing? Arthur I think they’re great, but they’re so ugly for what they give us. It’s a massive sacrifice because you’re ruining that part of the countryside. We shouldn’t have masses of them. Tara I thought they were quite cool when I was young. Charlie There’s one near a motorway and I think that’s fine because it’s in a weird area, but they should be in a rubbish field where no one goes. Will If they were going to build one near me, I think it would be cool. Clara They have to go near someone. It’s unfair to say you don’t want it and then it goes near someone else’s house. Minna I went to Scotland and, when we got to the top of the glen, there were about 100 wind turbines and they completely ruined the fact that we were in a lovely old house. There are resources that don’t have such an effect on how things look. Sasha You have to sacrifice the countryside to power your house. Would you give up lights? They’re there for a reason. Freya When there’s no wind and they’re sitting there not even turning, you wonder what the point of them is. And there was
What do you want to do when you leave school?
Jess An author—books are a different world and you can let your imagination run away
Freya I don’t know yet, but I want to do something I’m passionate about
Sasha Casino owner
Will I’m definitely thinking about being a millionaire Arthur Something that lets me travel
Minna Woman cricketer [this was greeted by approving applause] Anna Something equestrian Tara Equine vet Clara In the City, with my own business
From left: Charlie, Sam, Minna, Tara, Arthur and Clara. Above: The group with headmaster Mark Johnson in the refectory 26 School Life, Spring 2013
www.countrylife.co.uk
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