Life on a Victorian farm...coming to a living room near you!

CountingDown · Post by **CountingDown** » 09 Jan 2009, 21:32

I always thought the BBC was just communist propaganda

Vortex · Post by **Vortex** » 09 Jan 2009, 21:57

As mentioned on the program: "Book Of The Farm" ... on-line here .. and also downloadable as a PDF (38MB!).

(I couldn't find a real paper copy to buy)

http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&i ... &ct=result

Jakell · Post by **Jakell** » 11 Jan 2009, 03:39

Excellent program, full of good practical information. I suppose if we substitute wood for the coal being burnt, even the machinery would operate post peak oil

zigspider wrote:
andrew-l wrote:Damn - IPlayer TV only available in the UK

I'll have to put my tech-head on and try and work out a way around that
(ironic really - the amount of technology I'm using to try and view a programme on Victorian Life)
have the same problem here. Am downloading from
http://extratorrent.com

Jerry

Thanx for the above link, even though I have no idea how to make use of it

Jakell · Post by **Jakell** » 11 Jan 2009, 03:41

Vortex wrote:As mentioned on the program: "Book Of The Farm" ... on-line here .. and also downloadable as a PDF (38MB!).

(I couldn't find a real paper copy to buy)

http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&i ... &ct=result

Thanx for this link too, I will definately be printing this one out.

SunnyJim · Post by **SunnyJim** » 11 Jan 2009, 08:17

Not the only book in town! Try also the journey to forever's small farm library.

http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library.html

CountingDown · Post by **CountingDown** » 11 Jan 2009, 10:32

That's a great link - fascinating set of books,

Thanks Jim

Jakell · Post by **Jakell** » 11 Jan 2009, 11:28

Jakell wrote:
Vortex wrote:As mentioned on the program: "Book Of The Farm" ... on-line here .. and also downloadable as a PDF (38MB!).

(I couldn't find a real paper copy to buy)

http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&i ... &ct=result
I love the convoluted writing style in the book. Years ago I would have found it irritating and want to get to the nitty-gritty, but I now view it as appropriate to the subject matter ie unhurried, thoughtful, less dogmatic.

I often note how 'new agers' have seemed to have made organic gardening their own, and the impression is given that they have almost invented it. I like to point out that it was the norm for thousands of years until the first third of this century - sorry, last century

JohnB · Post by **JohnB** » 15 Jan 2009, 22:07

I'm dog sitting in a house with broadband and a telly, so I saw part one a few days ago on the web, and have just watched part two on the telly. Not a bad programme. Not sure I'll be able to see the next part though.

OrraLoon · Post by **OrraLoon** » 15 Jan 2009, 22:21

RenewableCandy wrote:From the people who brought you Tales From Green Valley (farming in 1620), comes farming in 1885
Yorkshire post Farming Pages wrote:This time, the same team has spent a year bringing 1885 to life on the Acton Scott estate in Shropshire...

The filmed record will make a six-part prime-time tv series, Tales From A Victorian Farm, which is lined up for BBC2 in 2009.

...The programme will explain the impact of science, which popularised the four-stage crop rotation known as the Norfolk system
I thought it pre-dated the Victorians. Well you live and learn!

It's all good stuff. But in the meantime brace yourselves for 'Life in a Scotch Sitting-Room'

biffvernon · Post by **biffvernon** » 15 Jan 2009, 22:51

Jakell wrote: I often note how 'new agers' have seemed to have made organic gardening their own, and the impression is given that they have almost invented it. I like to point out that it was the norm for thousands of years until the first third of this century - sorry, last century

It used to be sort of organic because that's all there was, rather than because folk knew it was best. Where chemicals were available - arsenic, strychnine etc., the were used with gay abandon. Let's not get too dewey-eyed about the Victorians.

JohnB · Post by **JohnB** » 16 Jan 2009, 00:43

And some of the machinery used in tonight's programme wasn't exactly people friendly. It was all cutting edge technology at the time though. A lot of people had also been put out of work by the new technology. Organic growing is about producing food with minimal harm to people and the planet, while Victorian farming was about survival. We should be taking the best features from farming from all ages. Sometimes hi-tech is appropriate, and sometimes a horse or simple hand tools.

Jakell · Post by **Jakell** » 16 Jan 2009, 01:19

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I still feel feel I have to explain sometimes that organic gardening is not new. I think the postwar gardeners have a lot to answer for. They're the ones who really fell in love with chemicals and completely ignored the previous generations efforts. Some allotments on my site haven't had anything (compost, manure) dug into the soil for forty or fifty years, the best ones are probably the neglected ones, ie with some weed growth.

Ben · Post by **Ben** » 16 Jan 2009, 01:43

Perhaps a bit less information and a bit more “reality TV window dressing” in this one, but still worth a watch.

One impression I took from tonight’s programme was that, partly due to all the rapid change taking place, many Victorians had a feeling of insecurity and took refuge in inventing and reinventing many traditions and indulging in nostalgia, some of it Christmas-related. I suppose this might also partly explain the Celtic Revival, the Pre-Raphaelites, ‘The Golden Bough’ etc.

Today we also live in very uncertain times. Perhaps this explains ‘The Dangerous Book for Boys’, heritage railways, Hornby/Airfix marketing to adult hobbyists and nostalgic adverts: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv4c4ER8P ... annel_page. This is a trend I expect to continue.

Four days to do the Laundry!

JohnB · Post by **JohnB** » 16 Jan 2009, 02:38

Ben wrote:Four days to do the Laundry!

I do my laundry by hand with one of these

hang it out to dry under my awning, then stuff it in my clothes cupboard. More like 40 minutes work than 4 days! Although it's only for one person.

Modern clothing is a lot simpler, and I suppose different materials mean that ironing isn't needed. But it shows that simplicity doesn't mean going back to "the good olde days".

RenewableCandy · Post by **RenewableCandy** » 16 Jan 2009, 13:49

OrraLoon wrote:
RenewableCandy wrote:From the people who brought you Tales From Green Valley (farming in 1620), comes farming in 1885
Yorkshire post Farming Pages wrote:This time, the same team has spent a year bringing 1885 to life on the Acton Scott estate in Shropshire...

The filmed record will make a six-part prime-time tv series, Tales From A Victorian Farm, which is lined up for BBC2 in 2009.

...The programme will explain the impact of science, which popularised the four-stage crop rotation known as the Norfolk system
I thought it pre-dated the Victorians. Well you live and learn!
It's all good stuff. But in the meantime brace yourselves for 'Life in a Scotch Sitting-Room'

Don't tell me they're repeating Rabb C. Nesbitt!

PowerSwitch

Life on a Victorian farm...coming to a living room near you!

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Re: Life on a Victorian farm...coming to a living room near