Rachel wastnage

I absolutely loved this. Once I started watching it, I couldn’t stop and had to force myself to turn it off and, well, lead my own life. For all his faults, I’m a big fan of Jeremy’s and love his humour and passion for all he does. As Jeremy knows from his Top Gear days, getting the right team is crucial and the alchemy must make TV gold. Well he’s done it again. Jeremy is joined by a core team with the just the right amount of knowledge, quirkiness, grumpiness and humour, that they nearly the steal the show. And Jeremy lets them. It was a stroke of genius to take on 21 year old Caleb Cooper to help run the farm - big hearted, stunningly unworldly, but good at what he does, a hard worker and unwittingly so funny. A total sweetheart. In contrast there is “cheerful Charlie” Jeremy’s land manager who is the voice of good sense and often harsh realities and clearly can’t quite cope with Jeremy’s gung-ho way of doing things. Finally “head of security and wall builder” Gerald, a delightful old boy, with such a strong country bur…he may as well be speaking Russian. He makes no comment, but Jeremy’s quizzical looks speak volumes. Taking it all in her stride is Jeremy’s charming girlfriend Lisa, who has the trickiest job of reining in Jeremy when needed and taking no nonsense. Of course, the real star of the show is the farm itself; the beauty of the land, the disobedient sheep, the hens that rarely lay eggs and of watching a novice learn to farm his land, (in a Lamborghini tractor of course) with all the highs and lows that brings. Most sweetly, Jeremy’s child-like delight at growing “a thing” and more heavily, his constant race to beat the weather. If you didn’t know before, this programme shows how tough farming can be and that even if you’re an expert, you can’t control the weather and being at its mercy can be heartbreaking. The programme is just packed with good things - including showing Jeremy’s softer, more emotional side - and is an absolute gem…I highly recommend it!