Aroundtown MEETS
heaters wouldn’t shut off. They cost us £80,000 but they were a blessing in disguise as the electric is always tripping out in Cawthorne so it means we’re never without a power supply,” Richard says. But a power cut has been the last of their worries this year. The coronavirus pandemic means the farm was forced to close its doors for only the second time in 30 years, the previous being in 2001 during the foot and mouth outbreak. For somewhere that relies heavily on visitors, particularly in the springtime when new life brings increased interest, the lockdown period was a difficult time for all and one that was hard to adjust to.
But they couldn’t just stay cooped up, brooding over the bad situation. The show had to go on. Animals can’t be furloughed – there was work to be done.
The team ramped up their social media presence, sharing lockdown livestream with their hundreds of thousands of followers across the world for 132 consecutive days. From lambing during lockdown to how to trim a cow’s feet or why horses need protecting from the sun, their live videos showed the real and raw aspects of farming in an honest and heart-warming way.
They even received recognition from the Prime
Minister, winning a Commonwealth Points of Light Award for lifting the nation’s spirits, and also won The Telegraph’s Lockdown Lift Award following 10,000 votes.
“The livestreams really gave Robert and David a purpose and helped their mental health through those strange times. There were so many baby animals being born that we thought it was a pity not to share those amazing moments with people at home. It also helped raise our profile at a time when it would have been so easy to disappear and we’ve now got a worldwide following with fans in Australia and America,” Richard says. Along with 7.30am daily broadcasts from the farm, the team were also going out to the nation every Tuesday night for eight weeks as part of Channel 5’s This Week on the Farm. A spin off from the popular Springtime on the Farm, for which Cannon Hall has been the host farm for three series, the weekly summer show let viewers have a gander at farm life during lockdown. Due to restrictions, most of the filming was done by the Cannon Hall team on their phones or by Farmer Dale who is a hobby videographer, with outstanding results.
“He’s good with a shovel but even better with a camera,” Robert laughs.
The show predominantly featured Robert and David’s escapades with viewers falling for their broad Barnsley quips, brotherly banter and country charm.
The weekly episodes saw David wrestle with a 100kg ram named Arnie to shear him of his winter wool, the brothers called out to rescue a deer from the M1, and Robert’s pure excitement to see newborn calves charging about on grassy pasture for the first time.
Robert and David also took a trip down memory lane, reminiscing and recreating those childhood memories of growing up in the ‘60s and ‘70s when the farmyard and neighbouring country park was their playground.
The boys are long out of handmade shorts and ankle socks, their knees no longer grubby from those glorious innocent days, but they showed they still had a knack for exploring the countryside, going fishing, camping under the stars and building dens and tunnels.
Plus, they are brothers just two year apart after all, so the competitiveness has never really left them, either.
When once Robert would have coaxed his younger brother David into his get-rich-quick schemes such as asking visitors to the nearby museum to stroke baby chicks for a penny, he’s now betting his baby brother he can’t beat last year’s sheep shearing time – and saving money, too.
“Once upon a time, the wool cheque would pay the bills for months. But now it costs more to get a contractor in so we have cheap labour with Dave doing it instead,” Robert says. Both of the On the Farm programmes have truly made for wholesome television, the unscripted and relaxed style of filming a breath of fresh air and hopefully a follow-up will be in the pipeline.
But in the meantime it’s back to business as usual – well, almost – now the lockdown restrictions have been eased. But I’m sure that as they discover the new way of working, the Nicholsons will do as they’ve always done and take everything in their stride.
Please note: due to Covid-19 restrictions, some of the farm activities stated here are not currently available. Please check website for details.
Fern and Bonnie
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