Diddly Squat: Home to Roost by Jeremy Clarkson
Blurb
It’s been another memorable year on Diddly Squat Farm – will the chickens finally come home to roost?
—-
Welcome back to Clarkson’s Farm.
So, that went well . . .
The spring barley crop failed.
Just like the oil seed rape.
And the durum wheat.
Then the oats turned the colour of a hearing aid and the mushrooms went mouldy.
Farming sheep, pigs and cows was hardly more lucrative. Jeremy would be better off trying to breed ostriches.
But in the face of uncooperative weather, the relentless realities of the agricultural economy, bureaucracy, a truculent local planning department and the world’s persistent refusal to recognise his ingenuity and genius, our hero’s not beaten yet. Not while the farm shop’s still doing a roaring trade in candles that smell like his knacker hammock, he isn’t.
On the face of it, the challenges of making a success of Diddly Squat are enough to have you weeping into your (Hawkstone) beer, but misery loves company and in girlfriend Lisa, Farm Manager Kaleb, Cheerful Charlie and Gerald his Head of Security Jeremy knows he’s got the best. And it’s hard for a chap to feel too gloomy about things when there’s a JCB telehandler, a crop-spraying hovercraft and a digger in the barn.
Because as a wise man* once said, ‘there’s no man alive who wouldn’t have fun with a digger . . .’
*Jeremy
Review
I do love the Diddly Squat books and TV series and have read all the previous books so I was very excited when this book came out. These books are always short and sweet and can easily be read in one sitting so I always find them the perfect breather from the chaos of the run up to Christmas.
This book had me laughing out loud whilst reading it. However, it was also really interesting and thoughtful. Clarkson really highlights the plight of farmers in England from the red tape they have to deal with to the changing climate, to how little money they make from their produce. He also highlights quite a bit about the plight of the average pub owner.
I really found that in this book Clarkson has realised that in farming he can’t please everyone and so has decided to make certain decisions and deal with the consequences. He can’t farm and be environmentally friendly to both the soil and the air so he has to decide which one to choose.
I know these books are just compiled from the newspaper column that Clarkson writes and is just another money spinner for him but I thoroughly enjoy them and find them excellent accompaniments to the TV series. I give this book a full 5 out of 5 Dragons.
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About the author
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born April 11, 1960) is an English broadcaster and writer who specialises in motoring.
He writes weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The Sun, but is better known for his role on the BBC television programme Top Gear.
From a career as a local journalist in the north of England, he rose to public prominence as a presenter of the original format of Top Gear in 1988. Since the mid-1990s Clarkson has become a recognised public personality, regularly appearing on British television presenting his own shows and appearing as a guest on other shows. As well as motoring, Clarkson has produced programmes and books on subjects such as history and engineering. From 1998 to 2000 he also hosted his own chat show, Clarkson.
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