Western Morning News, The

Your Daily Stars

Sometimes it is easier to toe the line, to make close ones happy. This week's line up sees changes being made and agreed to which may not be as easy to change back, so think carefully. Phone me now to hear how Venus favours confessions tonight. You're flirting for the sake of it but just make sure you are not hurting anyone's feelings in the process. You're reputation has been so very good recently so don't undo all you've achieved. Call now to hear how unexpected visitors will be welcome.

Trescothick Happy with a Home Start for Somerset

Somerset open their 2011 season with three LV= County Championship matches in the first two weeks. They entertain Warwickshire at Taunton on April 14. Then they go to Lancashire, followed by Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. Having ended runners-up in the Championship by virtue of the fact that Nottinghamshire won an extra game, the Cidermen will be pushing even harder this year to win the only title that has eluded them since they were formed in 1875.

Birthdays

To Continue in France

Country Notebook

Exmoor in the rain. Well, what's new? You have to shrug off the rain on Exmoor because it is the second wettest place in England. But I was up there one very cold day recently when the rain constantly threatened to turn to sleet. Every fifth rain drop was turning white by the time it hit the ground. And up there in the clouds at Hawkridge we saw the gravestone of Ernest Bawden - a man who most certainly would have shrugged off this blip of bad weather with the merest contempt. Ernest was a le...

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The Island Village Where They Know the Real Meaning of Christmas ; in the Penultimate Article in the Vital Village Series, Martin Hesp has Travelled Far From the Parishes of Our Shires to a Wild and Lonely Island Out West

The Scillonian isle of Bryher is said to be the last place in Europe to celebrate Christmas every year - there's a tradition among the 83 islanders that you don't go crazy with the tinsel until Christmas Eve - and the idea of emulating the seasonal mainland consumer frenzy is simply an anathema on this remote but picturesque lump of rock. But does that mean Bryher folk are a miserable lot who prefer to close their doors and become an Atlantic-borne bunch of Scrooges? Not a bit of it.

Website Shows Best Practice in Shed Design

Dairy farmers can see for themselves how the design and maintenance of buildings that house livestock can affect the health of the herd in a new video on the DairyCo website. "The design, layout and management of buildings can have a significant effect on many areas of milk production," explained DairyCo extension officer, Richard Davies. "We've made the video to show how straightforward it is to make some simple observations that will highlight any areas for improvement.

Renewable Energy Pitfalls Highlighted

More than 140 delegates, mostly Cornish landowners, attended a seminar at the Royal Cornwall Showground on renewable energy. The event was co-hosted by accountants Winter Rule, solicitors Stephens Scown, chartered surveyors Stratton & Holborrow and Cornwall Agri-food Council.

Stroke Club Cheque

Burns Night Supper

Farm Schools Initiative Copied Nationally

At Last Some Good Sense On Disease Cost Sharing

Suppose you are a manufacturer making cars in this country and suddenly there's a generic problem with all the imported Volkswagens and you are told you will have to pay to rectify it. Or suppose you are a private car owner and your garage wrecks the engine while carrying out a repair - and tells you that you have to foot the bill for it.

Earth Centre to Be Major Renewable Reference Point

In years to come the name of Bicton College could take on a national significance ... not just as a centre for land-based studies on a wide spectrum, but as the first point of reference for farmers wanting to know more, and seek advice, about renewable energy options. Scarcely a week passes without one form of consultants or another announcing a seminar or workshop in the Westcountry on an aspect of renewables - how landowners can make money from this alternative form of farming, and warnings...

Cross-Compliance Guide Will Update On New Rules

A fully updated and easy-to-read version of the Guide to Cross Compliance in England will be landing on farmers' doorsteps before Christmas. This guide provides a user-friendly summary of the European Commission's cross-compliance rules. It outlines why farmers need to meet these rules to receive the European funding which is administered by the Rural Payments Agency. The new version applies from January 1 and it replaces all earlier versions of the guide.

Competition for Mechanics

Top agricultural mechanics are being sought by the Royal bath & West of England Society to compete in a new competition. Spokeswoman Julie Kitching said: "Do you have an outstanding mechanic working for you who you would like to nominate, or are you yourself a hard working mechanic? " The 2011 Agricultural Machinery & Equipment Show is launching a new competition, The South West Agricultural Mechanic on February 2. Miss Kitching added: "This is your opportunity to put forward your recommendat...

Birthdays

BIRTHDAYS Don Johnson, actor, 61. Joe Jordan, former footballer and coach/manager, 59.

Bleak Days Are Tough Times ; Nature Watch with Trevor Beer

Cold, wet, windy bleak day, raining sideways and the old sciatica had gotten my back and right leg, caught me unawares as any sufferers from the problem will know. So leaning on a bit of a wooden fence I watched the field below. A fierce squall of rain struck and then a voice, "braving the weather? It is going to get worse. I'd get home out of it if I were you." A fellow hurrying up the wood path with a black and white collie paused, told me he'd seen an odd bird in the area of the Dripping W...

On This Day

1654: A meteorological office in Tuscany began daily temperature readings. 1832: Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, French engineer who built the great landmark that bears his name for the Paris Exhibition of 1899, was born. 1890: Chief Sitting Bull, Sioux leader, was shot dead in a scuffle with Indian police. 1939: The premiere of Gone With The Wind took place at Atlanta, Georgia.

Sam's Storm Image Earns Praise in Competition

This dramatic image of waves hurling themselves at the impervious Cornish coastline attracted the attention of judges in a major national photography competition. Amateur photographer Sam Carnell was the man behind the lens and captured the beauty of Botallack cliffs, St Just, near Land's End, in a raging storm. Sam, from Hayle, West Cornwall, a local thatcher and keen surfer, fought off competition from more than 10,000 other participants to make the final twelve and be awarded a trophy in t...