My father stands apart from the rest of the crowd next to the auction ring. It is as if the other people in the barn-about 300 in all-let him have his space, maybe out of respect, maybe out of fear of contagion. They look at him when one of his cows gets a good price, and glance away when a grinning dealer in a tie books down another as a bargain. My father’s face doesn’t change. But everyone knows what he must be feeling.
It’s a warm day in June, a time when the year is running round and the cows should be grazing in the fields. The velvety pastures beyond the farm are almost a clich? in their postcard prettiness. The hedgerows in the twenty-acre are filled with dog rose blossom, the oil-seed rape is like a yellow haze along the brook and the grass on the hillfield flushes green for the second cut of silage. (Yes, I know, but it really is like this.) For the 58 years my family has lived in this part of Leicestershire, the summer has been a season of growth and work and harvest. But not this year. Today we are selling our farm.
We have hung black plastic sheets between the stanchions of the barn to create temporary walls, and stacked tiers of straw bales for people to sit on so that the building looks like a small amphitheatre. The air smells of tobacco and coffee. Our 120 cows, 80 heifers and 40 calves, all scrubbed, trimmed and brushed so they shine, bellow from the pens outside. Clive Norbury, the auctioneer, a young man with a bright red face, stands on a podium clutching a microphone.
If you are a subscriber, please log in »
This article is available to subscribers only
Subscribing to Prospect is the most reliable and convenient way to receive the magazine every month, and offers the best value.Why not subscribe?
In Print
Delivered straight to your door each month, starting at just £18 for six months. All print subscriptions now come with a free online subscription which includes complete access to our searchable archive. Buy a subscription now »Online
An online subscription offers you complete and unlimited access to the entire website, including our searchable archive of every back issue of Prospect, and a PDF edition of each new issue: all this for just £24 per year. Purchase an online subscription »Renewal
Renew an existing subscription »Institutional access
If you are a library, business organisation or any other large institution that needs a multi-user licence, you can obtain institutional access.Trouble Subscribing?
You can simple call or email our subscriptions bureau. Email: prospect@servicehelpline.co.uk Telephone UK: 0844 249 0486 Telephone Overseas: 01795 414 957
Share
Subscribe to post comments
Print
