Hannah Jackson AKA the Red Shepherdess has always been at the forefront, championing farming and all those who work in it. Seven months ago life changed, and Hannah and husband Danny welcomed baby Blake. In this Farmers Guardian Christmas special, online editor Emily Ashworth visits Hannah to talk all about her new role as a mother and the growing farm. And, of course, Hannah's love of the festive season.
Hannah Jackson AKA the Red Shepherdess has always been at the forefront, championing farming and all those who work in it. Seven months ago life changed, and Hannah and husband Danny welcomed baby Blake. In this Farmers Guardian Christmas special, online editor Emily Ashworth visits Hannah to talk all about her new role as a mother and the growing farm. And, of course, Hannah's love of the festive season.
Farming simulator is coming to the UK giant's software. The creators of the globally successful simulation game will attend Alabama 24 in Birmingham in January to watch the e-sports phenomenon Farming Simulator League take place on UK soil for the first time, or try out the multi-million selling farming simulator. 22 for yourself. Free tickets are available. See you on the virtual fields. You're listening to the Farmers Guardian podcast. Redhead, Love Shape bestselling author. Yet you may have guessed that this Christmas special I'm Catching Up with Hannah Jackson, aka The Red Shepherdess. I went up to see Hannah a few years ago and have kept in touch ever since. So it's super nice to go back to visit her and meet the new addition to the family little baby Blake. We sat in the kitchen, chatted, have a cup of tea. We kept it very real. And there's dogs flooding around and baby Blake in the background. But isn't that just what Christmas is all about? Let's start with the best thing, which is Blake. Yeah. How? What? How does it feel being a new mum? How does it feel? Kind of looking maybe back at this time last year and the journey that you've all been on because it is, you know, quite an experience. Yeah, it's an experience. I mean, God, it's life change, isn't it? When everyone tells you it's going to be life changing and that things will never be the same. But it's like the best thing is that by having a friend, like, I feel like a whole new person still like me. That too. I just like because much of my life now, like she's always been in like, what did we do? What if we talk about what we do? What did I think before she was even there? Because she just occupies, like, 100% of people, doesn't it? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we absolutely just. Yeah, we fall in straight into it, and we are so, so in love with her and being like a, like a family. And it's so lovely and. Yeah, well, I guess this time we would have been, what, about 18 weeks? And we'd only just announced it really, to kind of let the world. Everyone close to us knew. But yeah, we had the sad loss of three before her, so it was always quite a anxious first trimester. As soon as I could feel like I could chill. Yeah, that's when I was like and I couldn't really start to enjoy it now. But yeah, it's like. Like she's always just been new love and she's such a good baby. Thank God. She's a very cute, happy baby. And Kevin, you know what? I just. I was, like, exactly such a good baby, because, honestly, I was probably just. I mean, you have said she stopped sleeping, so diligently. Self. Yes. Yes. I think she slept 3 to 4 months. Amazing. And now just her at night. Night. And I just love that you obviously, you know, you've you've always had quite a social media presence as well to be able to share your journey with people. And obviously it's personal to you, but you know that there's other people out there who are kind of connecting to your journey. Yeah. And connecting to the kind of grief that you've been through, as well as connecting to the joy that, you know, getting through. Is that is that important to you too? Because you're very real. Yep. So important, I think, to sad. The first one we lost the first one, it was very, very early loss and we didn't speak out much. We didn't even tell my family at the time. We just kind of I was a bit but I was very far mindset for it. Yeah. Like this happens. Yeah. Evan and I could do if I could kind of get past it was really early. And then when obviously when we lost the pop score, which just one that was really wild and on Instagram and that's when, yeah, there was a whole different kind of grief because it was nine weeks and you've got all these hopes and dreams and then don't before and then of a suddenly there was like this, like the world came crashing down into a hold, you know, I mean, and that is impossible to hide I think. Yeah. And it makes me so, so, so sad to think this people do just hide that and sit with that and have to go through that on their own, not just as a couple. And I think the only reason the pull of me and Dan through was the fact that we could open up to people and people understood what we were going through and not situation. And it's like I remember my dad saying, like when I wrote the post about Pot Lose and Popsicle and put on Instagram, my dad even messaged me. And you know what? Like even seeing you go through it now, reading your words, I've got so much more of an insight into how you feel. How because it's hard. It's meant to try and explain to people and see how it's so important and I just urge anybody who ever goes for it to just talk and open up. Because once you do, you realize actually the so many people that go through or connected to it, this is somehow some way which is also so sad as many thought. Yeah. And then I think then that made me think a lot though that as well about when Blake came, how I was going to share Blake and yeah what because I know that there's a lot of people that will still be going through some of the things that we went through or people that are just starting their journey and but we decided to kind of use it as a bit of a shining light and a glimmer of hope. And I think hope I think people realize that because we have shared mean, so open and honest about how low it's been, how hard it's been at times, people really just completely understand like the joy and the love ness and at the same time a lot like the fact they're obsessed with it as it should be. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So it was a tricky one at first. Yeah. But I think Yeah, I only get the nicest of messages, which is so, so kind. And I always say to anybody that if I ever have one or two people that have struggled, I just said the other seriously, just leave the page and just don't so you don't have to deal with it. I said to anyone, if anyone or any kind of topic you might think doesn't get to you and hit you and emotionally just walk away from it, leave it and you can come back to a new in a better place. Yeah, Yeah. So because at the end of the day it's so respecting of everybody's Yeah. Own is an X you know. And I think I remember putting something on about and somebody had commented saying you know this page is about find the latest one and I think it did reply was quite a lengthy hard path to say I like how you know why why do people feel the need to you know, to be able to comment on somebody else's kind of life. And I know that you've very open about it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I know. And that was again know the battle off faced is because I felt obviously with social media without that presence you feel a lot of pressure to keep turn up as the person that you were in my case, the person that I was like what everybody came here for originally and it's really hard to find. Like I was struggling to be like, I just want to get from comes on all the time, all the time then to the days, obviously to even go down to the farm. And I was doing it and I was, well I like f once is going to leave and blah blah. And honestly, it's just my shake my head to wobble and be like, actually the people that matter and the people that have been here and watch the whole journey kind of fold out from the beginning. So I'm not the person I was even at the beginning either. That will stick through this too, and realize this is just part of the journey. And now, now I am. I have lot another job basically, which is farming. I'm being a and everything else in between. But yeah, there was a lot of pressure to kind of keep showing up as the person that I was actually I wanted to, I was fully accepted of the person that I am now. I just needs to let go of people's expectations. That makes sense. Which probably weren't right anyway. Yeah. And I thought, I think no matter what job you do as well, you have to make that transition into being involved. Yeah. To get that balance right and yeah, you know, be able to kind of move forwards. That's hard anyway. Yeah. Obviously, you know with what you're doing it's, there's no maternity, there's nothing to say. Yeah. So actually you probably found a whole new audience. exactly. Yeah, absolutely. And it's a funny one isn't it. Because like, obviously it's no maternity at the time off, which at some point is absolutely amazing because it gives you this sense of purpose, It gives you the motivation to make sure you go outside and you do things. And I'm so grateful that we've got the track. Stone Blake can come with me everyday. That makes it so much easier and that at the same time. So some days you are so inaccurate and you look at other people that have got like the full maternity leave and you just think, wouldn't it be nice to be nice? But then I would never in real terms, I'd never actually switch. I absolutely love that. I still get to hold onto a piece of me through this intense journey of becoming a new mum. Like, I think it's probably saved me a lot of times, being able to just like, get her in the tracks, to get her in the career, take the dog, and just sometimes I just go she just for say, good work and she just because it's a little bit I mean, like doesn't have to have an actual purpose like farm it's quite in the window anyway, which is nice, which has been good for this as well for bake for So it's just good for her as well to get outside fresh air, breathe change of scenery. So is up about London not doing this is what this is for so that can be kind of tough on kicks up because yeah I know I keep like two options thinking well is this part of the state and that it's out. We are actually just sat around Hannah's kitchen table eating cake so it's not like she's just got my you know whenever you speak to people who have, you know, like grown up children and they've got to have that thing and of bringing the kids up. Yeah. It's like, you know, you must be actually excited to see Blake grow up here with something that you and Don have created as well and have that kind of fall experience absolutely honest out of I was obsessive was when I was growing up. Mum, dad took me everywhere where there's animals, the world's come and put any zoo, any kind of like kids form like we were there all the time, animals in our house all the time. This was just what was always a dream for me to be able to bring up kids of like where they can just run for miles or they can get muddy and it doesn't matter where they can play in the rain, like they can be like with animals all the time. Like it's a dream come true. And yeah, it feels super special that we've created it and built this up together. And God, yeah, I'm like, You worry. You don't want to rush the milestones away, but I cannot wait. So we're there and Blake's the first sheep, or she's like, got our own little dogpile of feet and she's working the dog in the field. She just put him on off the sheep and she spends like, I literally cannot wait just to see it on Fox. She there's no way she can't be on a moment with me. And I think it's tough because now I'm thinking, my God, what if she's not? I know I'll be like, on his heart. Really? Great. I'll drop that girl and you obsess like you should see. What? The dogs, She's the same. And they're so good with her. Like, especially make up my red Collie is obsessed with her. And, like, when we go out, we take all the dogs out, like, every morning, the night, and he'll just stand by us and, like, walk with us The whole time. And I'm not. It's not. So even Fraser doesn't do it. Yeah. Yeah, it shocks me. But he just like she thinks she exists and it's fun to mess up first. It's like, it's like breaking into the popular place. He's too old for that. And it's, like, really taken to, like, the fun with this little person here and it's so, so nice. But yeah, so that's been another really special thing to kind of watch like those the animals interact with and how they've been the goats, the thing that they were Ibrox City, Home Care just about. well I mind, that's why I had it exactly like I was feeding them biscuit. This is using the problem. That is what they but it's not making it likely to do them again. But yeah. No I'm Lexie. I cannot wait to just kind of. Yeah. Let it be able to just run around. It's not to worry and just, just enjoy it outside and just like the sheer fact of like how simple. Yeah. Like resilient farm and make sure, like, not even like, just like if you follow yourself, just give up. But like, one of the best things I ever heard once I got to got dogs and they grew up like Simon and somebody in their family died. A life and death is a hard thing, isn't it? I was asking spoke to of day about how, like when you're from a town, things like that, life and death is like a really quite it's not very spoken up by which is quite an intense thing when you go for it because really the only thing that you see dies your dog or your family members, isn't it? Whereas farming may just build up resilience and get you almost used to the fact that this is path of life and these things happen. So my, my God to a lost member of the family, to him, I'm sure it's that mean the dead man's going to come pick her up on a fault. Absolutely. Also. So I was in stitches. I was like, it's brilliant. It it's like it's the simplicity of the fact that, you know what? Like, that's what they see. Like, she's died, but, you know, like, do it, like, super. I mean, they were all set, but like, it was just the simplicity of it. Like, the dead man just comes and gets anything inside now and then we've just the dead man is like, honest to God, absolutely horrified. It was the funniest thing in my life. Also. It was I was still grief about. I was like, you know what? They're like, This is like, exactly what? Like, I loved The Lion King. I'm a little for Surf of Life. And I think they teach that lessons, things like that. And I was like, That is eight lessons What Blake will learn, Colonel, that suddenly things die no matter what we do to try and help them. Sometimes it's like it's new and like they just learn such viable life lessons. Yeah. Yeah. Earlier than what most people ever get a chance to do. It goes along together. Yeah. You know, So, yeah, in terms of the farm and let's move on to the farm side of things. A lot of things have changed since I last came to see you. Yes, I think we decided it was three years ago. And so what's new? Because you've got it out on a pumpkin patch, you've got a new farm. So you want to just tell us a little bit about yourself and a little bit of a whirlwind time and yeah, we got the new farm. We moved in. we were, we were onto a farm in December, didn't move into the house, kept our house. We just finished renovating and it well, actually, if we back onto this land anyway so it was perfect and Yeah. And it just means that we have gone now from farm farming on a yearly basis of like 60 acres now on tenancy. 400 acres. And, and it's so nice to finally after what, ten years of from on to start farming and learning all these things, it's so nice to finally have somewhere that we can implement, not land and actually create a really good system of our own and talk about on the farm is a lot of work to do. There's not many walls or fences or boundaries that are very stock proof. So we've got a lot of jobs like that and weeds and everything to tackle where somebody had a tendency for three years for us. But previous to that it was just out by just grazing lands for farmers everywhere. So and it wasn't massively invested back into all of after that much. So yeah, there's heaps to do, but it's very exciting and numbers have gone up now. So now we've got 400 sheep and a few new hobby animals like alpacas and goats because, well, I know we're still working on band, Let's get Pony for Billy and thinks Jim is acceptable and I like Jim's massive Christmas come coming. well I have said I said if it doesn't turn out by her first birthday last couple months and yeah so that to me is it and it's nice to kind of put our own stamp on it and now we can start doing things that I'm passionate about, which is connecting people back to farming and food and the land. So we also opened up the pumpkin patch, which was this is the second year it's done now and that honest to God it that is so such a wholesome October. I love it like it's so nice to like that the what we were just saying well basically about place like you open the gates and the kids can just run around the field, the safe, they can go pick pumpkins up. They like to like twist them off the vines so they understand like how they grown and that we don't just get them from a crate in the supermarket like this chucked us to climb on and hay bale straw bales like, take it, take folks on. It's just like a full experience, but it's just it's so nice just to watch kids scatter in not mind. Unlike mums and dads, let them get dirty. Does it matter? And would you like tatties and sweets and all that kind of thing when if they're ramblers to share. Which is as, as well. Yes. We, we don't do it at the farm, we do it a little bit more centrally located in Norfolk which is by opposite the airbase. So that was really good, which is mega because people would be getting the pumpkins and watching their it's like take off alarm, which in a way was kind of like amazing. But then you also got our shit, but also someone's worst after something at the same time. So it's a bit of a flat out little step. We, we expanded it like three times a month from the first year and we ran out six days ago, which was just ridiculous. So how did you grow this year out? The must have been over. There must've been about 3000, I would think. the issue with the pumpkins, the frickin I keep saying to everybody because they're easy to grow out of, like the sun dissolves. Yeah. Like the real sensitive souls, like anything can affect them. So you don't really have a no harm and you're going to get off each vine. So, I mean, we actually, we went in bucket and had an extra 500 in there of the seeds being like six pumpkins off the vine sometimes. So yeah, it's a little bit touch and go. I'm like offset. What's not obvious. no this not the grown pumpkins. I knew nothing about pumpkins still to this day, like the canopies and the vegetation grow like over top of them. So until basically two weeks before pumpkin picking, like you can't even really tell how much how you Yeah, you just got like you go underneath, you look underneath and it's quite a few there now it's like, yeah, there's quite a few of them. When all died back I was up, my God, that was a lot of kids. But yeah, but let me be quick and let everyone support it very well and it was really nice. We try to keep it as affordable as possible and that's the important thing for us, is that we make sure that actually everybody can come and pick a pumpkin and just have a good time. So we've got big ones, little ones, small ones. You can come to the pot tonight and pick what you really want. Like doesn't really matter. And there's no entry fees, no parking fee, like Hutchins, just a quick like just keep it chilled. And that's the main thing is to make sure that people just get on the farm, which is what's so important. So we've got that. And then here at the farm this year, we were going to do it last year, but obviously Blake came and it was all there was a lot of things and we're doing like alpaca walks fell onto sheep dog days where anybody can come in like a sheep dog. And you know, after being such a great idea, I think that's something that people are genuinely interested in Money questions all the time, like, can I come? Can we come? And we did that actually, this thing you anyway, we like teams people but yes, close people just want to come love go. And so we'll do that as well. And then plus next big project is and we have got a 38 foot long shepherd's lot going in so people can actually come and stay on the farm and really kind of experience life on the farm and just get involved. Like not really involved necessarily, but just soak in the atmosphere and also have a nice chill. And so yeah, it's quite cool. The middle bit of section of it looks like me, maybe it slides out to eight four actually. So you get like an extra waddling routine, which is nice. And I'm like a roll top bath which looks out over its place. Yeah, it's nice, but let's say for the Fells and I'm going to do a hot tub outside as well. But yes, so that's the next thing that's currently being done, which is very exciting. And we're calling it booze Hideaway, which is what we've nicknamed Blake, which she was baby when she was in my tummy. Yeah. And so, yes, that's the next kind of chapter next thing going. So it's a lot to sit still too long. I can see that. Yeah, but I'll. Pops, Bless you. So but I love that though, because she's obviously, you know, she's only a baby, but she's in the mix of it. And I know you're going to be her people. Yeah. Role model, you know, I think. Yeah. You know, of course you are. You know, I think and it's nice to talk about all this still because actually you know what you say your main passion is still connecting people. Yeah. So doing these, all these little bits on the farm. Yeah. Kind of bring it back full circle and it's really nice to hear. Yeah. No, it's so nice because like, I was like that person that like. And it's stupid to even, like, think it now. Like, I didn't know the difference between having straw before I start farming. I'd never been on the farm, ever. I've decided I was going to farm I don't know of into pet farms. Yeah, yeah. And yeah, there's so many things like I used to cull sheep to me instead of had them away. I thought it would just come to me like a dog of a shout with them like so many things. And like I shot them with a mindset of looking out for British produce because it wasn't the thing that was ever risen to me all yet or ever talked about. So yeah, so this is feel like it's now finally we're in a position where now it's our turn to kind of try and build that bridge up and close the gap and try and get people excited about British farming and food and, and it What do you do with the sheep another day? Do they go through meat boxes or so you know, we did do a few meat boxes and honestly, it depends on the trade. Is it okay? Yeah, which sounds a bit bad, but the abattoir we use is an hour or so away in Southlake, so we've got one like close that we can. Okay. What's the one out of interest. It was one gone block life it was called. So Yeah well the thing isn't it that close it not. Yeah well these guys are really nice. They've been like the about she's got the appetite and they've tried it for years and they let me walk right through the full thing and took them down and it was actually very, very good and Yeah. So we sometimes we do occasionally do them through there still as well. But in the end, like last June this year the tradesman that got it was, we were getting out priced on the bottom, we saw it before the market. That makes sense at bottom. Yeah. Mark It was getting exclusive trade as it is if we were taken down. Yeah. That's get done by the time we took off the time and the fuel and up to box and bought again. I love it because it gets it's not that bad. And feedback from people that I'm saying it's the best the, but it tastes so much nicer and it's not like you are going to like it makes it even more worthwhile. That makes sense. Yeah. I mean, I think it's probably something we'll try and push to get a bit more of again this year, even if it is a bit more of an effort. Do you think there is and because just again, going back to our last Met, you know, we had a conversation about talking about which produce to people who understand and then obviously COVID hit. Yes. Do you think there genuinely is a shift towards because it definitely was a shift. Yanukovich and the the sudden quite scary thing is how quickly how form but how quickly they break. That's it. And I think that was one of the biggest worry wasn't it thought about for for that period of time. Everybody was outside in the countryside. They were seeing a fall and a bit more. Also, farmers really stepped up to the plate and getting food out to people, especially like in communities like ours and like rural communities like that, like getting by. The shops were open on the weekend. They're delivering packages, food and vegetables, nothing everywhere. It was absolutely amazing. And people lost it. But like you said, I think that was biggest worry was how fast will this will be forgotten about? And it's like the same thing I just this it we clap every Thursday. Yeah. Yeah. Do people still love them the same as you? Yeah. So yeah, I mean, I think, I think we've gone back to where we were fork overs, but I do think what we have to do is an industry is really consistently spread out the message everywhere about what we do every day and that's why it is so good. But it's just little and that's just little individual insights, isn't not? I think as an industry we need to do loads more to have a consistent thing all the way throughout the year to be like British farm and British farm and British farming, British farm instead of being on the back foot. But I mean, so what is it like? What do you even do? And the government is so frickin like, ready to throw you under the bus any point. Every single one of them. Yeah. Yeah. Like it's just it feels like an ongoing battle sometimes, isn't it? I'm very positive person, but I am sick to death of having government say, yeah, Australian. Me? Yeah. Got this saying get that in. Does matter. What was the last thing about Labor wasn't it. Again for me like a spring fruit and yeah. What on earth like. Yeah like and you just that's where you think isn't it. Like what. But where does our voices go. Like because I feel like we do, I feel like right now most of our industry is probably the loudest it's ever been, but we just I don't understand how we're so ignored. We're at the bottom of everyone's party list. I guess it's how you boost it back up. That wasn't it. But I forget it takes a crisis for it to happen. Unfortunately, it's such a strange conversation because it almost feels like we're doing everything that we can. So we're not only shouting about our social media, we were doing all the new incentives, which actually in some cases vilify everybody now. And so that's still the side of things that people have changed the businesses, people have lost support payments. Yeah. And then can't quite figure out where they fit anymore. So why do they go? Yeah. And then you have the you know, we need some support from top down somehow. Yeah. But that's, that's noodle noodle brain. Sorry guys. I know. So it kind of, it just, you know, if you like, you said you're a very positive person. Yeah. You've got all your little businesses. that's it. You could quite easily feel very lost. Yeah. I mean, I think that's the reason why I keep so many little businesses as well, is because and just to keep the business resilient so if the farmers are cautious for even a little while, the rest of the businesses will hold it up while it needs to. But I mean, then you sit and think, you know, why do we need to do that? That's why we need to do that. Well, I mean, it's it's what everyone is able to do, really. Like we haven't got choice of. We there's not many, many farmers, really, when you look at the grand scheme of things that I'm making that are solely living off the profit of the farm, which is so sad, like you just wonder what would have happened to get to this point. Don't people? It's just the fact that we're bottom of the list. And so the sense of the building has entered the room. Hello? yeah. You living and I just wondered. I mean, I know that she's very, very. But like we were just saying about, you know, we need to kind of tell our farming message. Yeah. The other thing we need to do is get into schools. Absolutely, Don't we, Blake? Yes, we do teach everybody how. How can we keep that going? Because it feels like we're all it's quite stop start. Is it that sort of stuff? Yeah, totally. Yeah. And I feel like actually most times every time it's in schools when the farmers take their time off to go and do it, which again is a time where it's we haven't got much time off. We Yeah. And it takes a lot for farmers then go do that. I mean I guess it's kind of our students in some way, but what we're gonna do is get in the curriculum don't we. Because I always say like when I've been into school before, it's so rewarding. Like the kids are upset, but they want to know all about it all. So they go home and and educate the two generations of them. Like I had a message that if I said this last time and I had an email once from a mum and she said, Ah, just want to say thank you so much for coming to school yet. And I, we were shopping and my little girl said to me when I picked up a lamb, she said, that's not that. The British flag. And I was she's like, Natalie said it before, and I was like, and boom. So suddenly going home and having these discussions on the dinner table and yeah, that's so you're like Killen. You get everybody. You got in a big audience just by getting these little babies of not babies, these little children's heads like a So can I feel like a sponge Aren't there? It's amazing. It is, isn't it? Daisy? Are you going to teach all your friends about farming? But that's the thing, you know, I guess that's what social media is about as well. Yes. Goes back to what we were saying before. You can change one person's mind or a thought process or even just the fact that they're going to think about it. Yeah, that's kind of all where they are. It's not about changing. We're never going to change. Yeah, you don't have time. You don't have to change every single person either. Like it's absolutely fine. Like people can have this in many reasons to not eat meat, for example, or anything else. But I think as long as people in other parts of British. Yeah, that's the thing. Yeah. I'm trying to even like get people to eat a little bit more like seasonally we've tried so odd to do that over the last few years. Now just to try and eat a bit more seasonally, it's actually hard to have her now. Would you baby love women because you want to get everything? Yes. It's only England old, but yeah. No, I think if we can get it into schools and actually I mean, I'm sure surely it can be easy through science, through even maths evidential You can and I know I've spoken to some people about kids and I'm very good rural schools to DuPont farming all the time, which is so good. But then I have send messages from people who teachers are really pushing their opinion on kids about, Yeah, me or about, well, mostly about me. Let's talk about Christmas, what's going to happen at Christmas time with you guys? How do you spend it? What do you eat? Tell me all about the food on the table and region as well. Yeah. Yeah. my goodness. This baby is obsessed with food. That so I know. As obsessed as we are with Christmas in the summer. Yeah, Christmas is a very big time in our family. It's huge. We love all about it and normally love doing the same this year. So normally, like, even like my dad now. Sorry, Father Christmas. Actually most of the Christmas loves, they, like, come over with, come to bed at Christmas Eve. Everyone goes back to their houses. Yeah. Leave the door open and they come in and leave. Stuck it outside the bedroom door still now. And so we wake up and it's there. So we'll have Blake's little stocking at the door ready to. And then. Yeah, we have this Balanoff family right? And when we get to Belfast, it's still we go for joke. I've had the belt, as I said, all my 20 minutes out. Obviously now I have to go cross the road, get the belt for Mum and dad. About to go to Holly's and my colleague up at the bell and I have to run around the house. Then we go there and then we go take the stockings. We and that's beds. Open the markets. What we've done since we were tiny and then we have to go over all the presidents. And then the best focus is a super chill, super, super chill. And we just eat and play with toys. Do you have a lot of turkey? We have turkey. We have to he be fast sometimes with him? Yeah, we do. LAMB On what we don't get done sometimes, but we normally do. LAMB In between the Christmas time, yeah. And get we always get that from Norway, from Constance, which is like a local box of here. And then we use our own lamb as well, which is nice and yeah, and you just sit and we play games on the evening and so you like to watch all your stories, what your family's playing. Please do you Olympics. Holly makes them all of she is she will says she goes through all and takes off all of the games and puts them in and it is the most competitive. Well, last she just this God awful one where it was like all these chocolates. Claudia you just go concerned the podcast. Well potentially I guess was like this it was like all these chocolates but one of them was a chocolate covered Sproul. Whoever got the sprout had to pretend they didn't, and they had to guess what That tree sprouted up. Make sense. What I had sprout before trying to eat a raw sprout, corn and chocolate and like not anyone, I'm too hard plastic and did it hardcore. I know mummy and all our Christmas Eve I forgot Christmas Eve. We have this amazing thing in our local village at the Dominican. You are. So I'm giving you a set and it is called the Walk in Nativity. So cute. We meet at the bottom of the village and then there's a donkey there, a mary and Joseph, the kids. And then we start the ball, sing a Christmas song. And we got to the pole first pulled knock on the door, and in the end, the vicar, the next pope. Then we get to the top, take a little service about standing up again. Now, don't you year when we get not you know, this year Blake is the angel. I bow how close it is, baby Jesus. Yes, you are good. So you're going to be in the Nativity, which is again on the singles. I've always said like I can't wait to have kids in that Portland TV. I was going to say like, the fact that you can explain to anybody that when you were able to involve your own children in your renditions, like it just gives it an extra layer. Yeah. And then you realize, you know, when you look at your own parents, what they. So yeah, it's silly. Yeah. It's so crazy, isn't it. Like obviously in that absolute element. Yeah. Like that scene in a whole different like because he's like I me a lot like I just didn't recognize like the development stages the way that I do now. And now it's this, I think this was, you can take a step back and just see it, you know what I mean? And but I know a very, very, very, very exciting Christmas. Do you guys have any, like special recipes or different foods that you already know? The Dom and James is my sister's husband. Demand that for a start, I have to go on cocktail. Okay. She's the mom to spice is bacon and he's literally not it's not really that special about it. We kind of educational. Vocational. Yeah very traditional. So of course on Christmas Day we also have to go around the farm. Now, I know a lot of farmers like to get those jobs out of the way first thing, and they do that first before any presents and things like that. However, we are a little bit different. We like to get up at first thing and I mean like I'm bringing that, that it like cool, it's a seven waking up. One of them are doing all our presents, having a nice lovely morning together, a little bit of breakfast and normally by about half, nine, ten we are ready to go out and around the farm and I think that's the lovely, amazing thing about sheep farming is it's very flexible. All our animals are currently outside as well, so there's not inside waiting to be fed or cleaned out or anything like that, which is very good. So yeah, normally me and Dan go and do the rounds like a lot of Christmas hot this year. Obviously we're going to be out in the truck Stir and Blake, he's going to be joining us. So I'm super excited to do our first little kind of family shepherd in together. And it's so lovely. We always take like nice little treats in that round for all the animals. So of course, Jim, the horse gets left covered since we have some very special pet sheep that are still here with us. We've got the alpacas and the pigs and the goats. They all get lovely little snacks. The sheep even get some feed this time for on Christmas Day, just to kind of spread a little bit. Christmas joy. Everybody get but spoil on this day like they should do. So yeah, very excited that Blake will be coming along with us for the first time and. Yeah, it's just Mark's marks another milestone to snap in alone, another memory to add to the box. So just to finish off, you know, you look at kind of what you can, you know when you started social media, his whole farming journey and now look where you are. Now you've got Blake, you've got his farm, beautiful house. What d what goes through your head? Yeah. I mean, I always make sure that I because sometimes my, my issue downs issue is that we, we look so far ahead sometimes in terms of what we want to achieve more than we want to be better all the time. Want to push to be the best we can be. That's actually like right here now is everything we ever want it? Yes A year ago, yeah, we wanted our own farm. We wanted that. We wanted our family. What? Blake And like you, just sometimes we get for a little bit. But remember to, like, soak in and actually get given ourselves a pat on the back and be like, we did it. Yeah. Yeah. There is that saying isn't that that quote? And it brings me back to you know, kind of grounds me. You know, everything that you have now is everything that you want, you know, is it exciting? And I mean, I'm so proud that we've like we've got and we're at this point on that it feels amazing and it feels amazing so that we did it together, even though we like only half my journey, it's been what we've done, but it's been like the biggest changes have been like, Wow, we've been together because there's two people that can fit into the change. And even though down to five, we only. So I got such an amazing business that way. This is all also his dreams. Not to want to build this farm and let go of some of the fairy stuff and just keep some of it on and yeah, just be around here with the dogs and the family and yeah, yeah, we have this lifestyle. So yeah, yeah, it's amazing. It's amazing. And I would never change you ever, ever, ever for the world, would we? I mean, we wouldn't. you did a part for maybe a couple more babies. Yeah. I love talking to Hannah all about her new farming and family life. I hope you enjoy this episode, too. And of course, there's another fantastic episode next week with social media star farmer. Well, but all that's left to say this week is Merry Christmas to you all. For all of us here at Farmers Guardian.