Devonshire June July 16

Shearers all wear special
clothing. Double skinned
trousers so that the lanolin
doesn’t penetrate and irritate
their skin and cause grease
boils, a belt to support their
back, special moccasins which
are made of suede or leather
so that they don’t slip. The
shearing equipment is also
expensive to buy and maintain,
the machine, the handpiece,
combs and cutters etc. So in the
next breath, Miles said would I
please check all the equipment
in the shed and could I also
make that our dear friend
Richard had sharpened his
combs and cutters and could I
order a new pair of moccasins.
The telephone conversation
then got heated as I told Miles
that they he should have left
everything in order after last
year, not think about it a week
before we were due to shear - it
all fell on deaf ears.
“Love you mum” Yeah... boys !
The next bit of the equation
of course was the weather
as you cannot shear wet or
damp sheep. The forecast
looked good and so the boys
set off and arrived ready to
work. Well Miles was ready
to work, but his two friends
turned up looking like they
were going to the beach. White
trainers, shorts, baseball caps
and Polo Ralph Lauren shirts!
First job was to explain they
were here to work and then
dress them appropriately. The
first lad, James, was huge (he
was certainly going to loose a
few pounds over the next few
hours). The second lad, Rob,
was Spanish and seemed so
excited. The barn was set up
in advance, the sheep were
all in ready and Miles was
soon setting up his shearing
machine. James was given the
task of pushing up the sheep
into a small pen for Miles so
that he could just keep pulling
sheep out to shear without too
much delay. Rob was going
to work with me rolling the
fleeces and placing them into
the large white wool sheets - a
technical job, making sure
no rubbish such as straw,
daggings, or bits of twig are in
the fleece. A clean well rolled
fleece is so important.
We were ready to roll. James
made a fantastic statement as
he was pushing the sheep up
for Miles:
“Think of all the sheepskin rugs
you’re going to have.”
Lesson No.1 followed.
“If only, but fortunately for the
sheep we don’t kill them when
we shear, we only take the wool
off you numpty”. They both
laughed.
Rob was also ecstatic... in a
perfect English accent, he said
“I have never seen sheep
being peeled before”. What a
wonderful description.
The job was successfully
completed. Miles looked half
dead, smelt worse but was
smiling as his friends saw a
him in a different light - a lad
dedicated to shearing my sheep
with the minimum amount of
stress as possible for the sheep,
and me of course.
After hot showers all round and
a return to the white seaside
clothing, the boys were gasping
for a well deserved pint. I
searched for some cash for
the boy’s drinks, but as usual
I had been robbed by some
member of the family and so
told the boys to tell our local
landlord that I would settle the
bill tomorrow. Off they went, I
went to bed happy after a job
well done. No flystrike. Never
quite sure if the sheep really
appreciate being shorn, but I
certainly do.
Janet East is the proprietor
at Yellingham Farm, also
running a Farmhouse B&B
establishment
www.yellinghamfarm.co.uk
01404 850272
The next evening after the boys
had set off, we went to the pub
for a swift half to settle the bill.
Armed with £30 and expecting
change, our landlord produced
the boys tab and looking
sheepish (dreadful pun), he
said that £30 wasn’t enough.
I thought he was joking but
when he replied to say that
loads of Miles school friends
were also in the pub, and that
Miles generosity was second
to none, I realised that it would
have been cheaper to pay them
all a wage.
Miles... You know you promised
you wouldn’t shear next year - I
agree - you’re too expensive to
“Peel sheep”!
FARM CALENDAR
JUNE
• 2nd vaccination for lambs
• Shear the ewes and rams
• Hopefully make hay when the weather
turns good
• Enjoy watching the swallows return and nest
– cover everything up in the sheds!
• Start the massive job of cutting up and
removing a huge Oak that came down in the
winter.
• Clear ditches as the ground dries up
JULY
• Make hay if not achieved in June
• Wean lambs towards the end of the month
• Put ewes onto fields where hay has been taken
– helps to reduce milk quickly
• Careful check on ewe’s udders after weaning
• Cull out ewes not considered fit to lamb
next year
• Check lambs for worms – send off dung
samples
Gus enjoying a bit of heat and anticipating dinner
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