New Forest

[Clover]

Just spotted a programme on Channel 4 tonight at 7 o’clock about the New Forest. Looks interesting but I thought Daisy might like it as it is her neck of the woods.

[Plantaholic]

I expect she would

[Daisy]

Clover - many thanks. I shall certainly have a look.

I've just checked, and it's the first of 4 programmes about the Forest - tonight is Autumn.

It's always interesting to see what film makers, writers etc pick up on when they come to the Forest. It's definitely different from anywhere else in the country!

[Gemini]

Sounds interesting Clover

[Enfys]

I must look out for that too as we are just up the road, thanks Clover 🌻

[Daisy]

Thanks again, Clover. It was very interesting, looking at Commoners' way of life - mainly an 'old timer' who's been running animals on the Forest all her life. I had to laugh at the two ponies who went up to her farm 'asking' for a snack or two, and she sent them packing like two naughty children. There was also a 26 year old who said he's one of only 12 farmers under 40 on the Forest. Commoning, where people have the right to keep animals on the Forest, is an endangered way of life. Commoning rights are attached to specific houses, and even in our 1960s estate there are two or three houses who have Forest rights. There must have been cottages or small farms on the land before our road was built and the Rights have to be passed on to the replacement houses.

As it was autumn, they also showed the pigs being turned out to eat the acorns (and the beech masts which they didn't mention), and some of the very strange-looking fungi we get at that time of year. They showed a family trying to find a foster-mum for a foal who had been weaned, but hadn't got enough experience to be on the Forest on her own during the winter. The 10 year old daughter of the family was very knowledgeable.

There was also the rut - stags fighting for the right to have a 'harem' of hinds to mate with. I've never managed to see this happening, although we can sometimes hear them roaring, and the antlers clashing.