Devastating to see dog so hopelessly lost on farm on the M62 - Jill Thorp

The kitchen is back to being full of muddy boots and soggy waterproofs and the glorious long, sun drenched days of summer a distant memory. The rain has lashed down for what seems like weeks and Stott Hall has reverted back to resembling a battlefield from World War 1. The grey leaden skies are oppressive and some days it’s hard to force yourself to go outside and start the jobs. The clock change being the reminder that our beautiful Mediterranean summer is well and truly over and the long dark days of winter lay ahead.

We usually manage to escape the annual bombardment of deafening bangs and shrieks of bonfire night, but this year we weren’t so lucky. Small family bonfires with jacket potatoes, parkin and tooth snapping toffee seem to have been replaced with war zone type rockets and general carnage. Catherine wheels are no more, replaced instead with bigger, louder more toxic fireworks. I spent last weekend reassuring the mares up on the hillside, hoping they wouldn’t panic or worse still start to colic through stress. It’s difficult to understand the concept of setting fire to so much money when we are apparently on the brink of a national if not global recession, not to mention the irony of the world’s cop27 climate summit opening on the day of this annual tradition, celebrated by many different countries. Setting fire to everything we can get our hands on and filling the air with mini bombs full of harmful chemicals really does seem absurd in light of the world’s precarious balance of irreversible environmental destruction. The airborne pollution rises dramatically with damage being caused to not only countless wildlife, farm animals and pets but also the environmental impact on rivers, lakes and waterways.

It’s heartbreaking to read about the number of horrific injuries and deaths as well as all the family pets that go missing during this long drawn out. period. One such terrified soul found its way to our house last week, overcome with fear and certainly beyond anyone’s help. It was devastating to see a dog so hopelessly lost, blinded by panic and unreachable. Paul had found her one night, running down the drive, eyes wild and staring. She’d frozen in the headlights of his wagon and quickly spun round heading back up onto the moor in the direction she’d just come from. We all searched for a good hour and despite another brief glimpse when our torchlight caught the reflective strips on her harness, we couldn’t get near enough to help. It’s distressing to see but of course extremely worrying for us having a stray dog tearing through our sheep. Perhaps it is time to accept that the future of bonfire night and firework displays need to be seriously addressed. We’re told we are now teetering on the edge of a worldwide environmental catastrophe and whilst the enjoyment of a good blazing bonfire is not in doubt, we really do need to question if the damage to our environment and the countless animals and of course people seriously affected by these new overbearing fireworks is actually justifiable.