NEWS on the foot and mouth front remains depressing, although you have to search for it now as it rarely makes the headlines.

Despite there being an average of five cases a day, we continue to be bombarded with calls to open up the countryside and patronised by a Government that does not even see the need for a Minster or Ministry of Agriculture anymore.

Come back Nick Brown, all is forgiven, at least you looked concerned even if you didn't do anything. Now the politicians do not even try to appear bothered anymore, just prance about in designer wellies, fetchingly tailored overalls and scented dips.

It has altered our life dramatically. Our route back from Scotland for our holiday was planned not to go through any hotspots. Friends and visitors no longer call on spec. Arrangements for a surprise party for an uncle now include finding parking places off-farm for visitors and telling them not to wear open-toed sandals as they will be required to dip their shoes in disinfectant.

This came as a revelation to three of our London visitors. "You mean they are still worried about that foot and mouth thing? I thought it was going to go away when the weather got warm." So did we all, so did we all.

An invitation we received to a car treasure hunt contains bold headlines that there is no necessity for anyone to get out of their cars during the hunt and go searching for clues off the road. How sensible. How thoughtful. We might stand a chance of getting somewhere with this hunt as I know that John has rung the organisers (close friends of ours) to check that none of the areas the treasure hunt goes into are sensitive. He has been assured they are not, so at least we know where we aren't about to go even if we don't know where we are.

Ever optimistic, and keen to take advantage of the good weather, we have been haymaking this week. We had hoped to be making use of the latest farm purchase, a 33ft steel trailer bought at a commercial auction. Our other two trailers are about done and struggle with any heavy loads of hay.

John has a tendency to 'tighten' up the pressure on the baler to cram as much hay as possible into each bale. "By Jove these are heavy," Geoff commented. Or less printable words to that effect.

Coming back home with a load of bales made from verge side hay, a tyre on one of the old trailers went down. The load listed dangerously over, fortunately to the verge and not roadside.

It was the last straw. Or hay. So now out go two 15-foot trailers and in comes one 33-footer. It has the added bonus of being licensed to carry 20 tons, so we can now safely go and fetch a load of fertiliser, whereas our two present trailers struggle with anything over a few tons. I hope I am never expected to drive with the thing behind me.

I am a dab hand at ripping gates off with the two trailers we have got now, so I would probably take out the whole hedge with anything bigger.

After due consideration, John has decided to keep the better of the two oldies for carrying the odd load of seed corn, or bag of fertiliser, down to the fields. And presumably so I can still be of occasional benefit to the farm.

Updated: 09:22 Thursday, July 19, 2001