Cattle and Horses Keeping Michael Young at Heart
In the second of this two-part special on Michael Poland, Island Life talks to the successful Island businessman about two of the greatest passions in his life – cattle and horses. On the large acreage of conservation land near Wroxall where he and his wife Carolyn have their Island home, magnificent Highland cattle graze freely, and Michael likes nothing more than to be out there with them, calling to each one by name. “Both here and at our home in Oban, Scotland I have the freedom to walk out of the door and walk amongst my cattle. I love that and it is important to me,” he said....
Read MoreMichael Puts his Success Down to Good Fortune – and the Odd Risk!
Michael Poland feels he has been blessed with good fortune through the many facets of his active and highly interesting life. But it takes more than just the occasional slice of good luck to achieve what he has managed to achieve. He has seized the moment, taken the occasional risk, and used his vast knowledge to lead a life that has embraced insurance, farming, conservation and highly successful ventures into the worlds of horseracing and cattle breeding. He and his wife Carolyn enjoy the trappings of a magnificent farm house surrounded by a large acreage of conservation land near Wroxall, a...
Read MoreRight said Fred: ‘I am the Village Idiot’. But oh, no he isn’t!
The front door of the farm house swung open and there to greet me was a man with his unkempt hair hanging down over his ruddy face. “Hello,” he says. “They call me the village idiot.” But even after that somewhat surprise introduction, it didn’t take me long to discover that Fred Colson might live in a village, but he is far from the idiot he, and maybe others, like to make him out. Island born and bred, he lives in Chale Green, and not only farms a total of 1,000 acres in various areas, but is also a cattle dealer, property landlord and owns three fishing lakes with nephew Colin....
Read MoreEnd of an Era
Den Phillips was born in a nursing home at Freshwater on the 12th May 1928. After being born Den returned home to Compton Farm a fortnight later and has remained there to this day. His father, a farmer since 1907 originated from Barnsfield. He came to live on the Island in 1926. Den was one of 9 children and he has fond memories of sitting round the table, all 12 of them (including his fathers sister) before the war. Dens father unfortunately died in 1956, and gradually all Den’s brothers and sisters got married, most of them deciding to move off the Island. In 1956 the family were not sure...
Read MoreSmall Island, Big Challenge
How the Trust is working with the Isle of Wight’s farmers to help them manage their land for wildlife and remain profitable. The Isle of Wight is England’s largest offshore Island and one of the richest counties for wildlife in the south east of England. This is in no small part due to the way the Island’s farmers have recognised the value of their land for wildlife and managed it sympathetically. Despite the pressures of modern life and the big changes in the agricultural industry after the second world war, farmers on the Island have largely resisted more intense agricultural...
Read MoreWhere Mammals Thrive
1. COMMON DORMOUSE The common dormouse is an internationally rare mammal species, yet it can be found in 70% of the Island’s woods, as well as in scrub on heathland, reedbeds and bramble scrub. Populations of dormice occur at Eaglehead and Bloodstone Copses, Swanpond Copse and St Lawrence Undercliff – all Wildlife Trust reserves. The dormouse’s success on the Island is down to the climate and good coppice management, which combine to supply it with a wide variety of species to feed on throughout the year and a good supply of hazelnuts to fatten up for the winter. The Trust has played...
Read MorePuppy Parade Proves Great Success
This year’s Isle of Wight Fox Hounds Puppy Show held at Gatcombe in early June was again a great success and over 150 guests sat in the sunshine, reviewing the fox hound puppies born last year. The work which Huntsman Stuart Trousdale and his wife Zoe put into the preparation of the kennels and Hounds for this important day is phenomenal. The flowers bordering the freshly mown grass, and the stables and kennels crisp in their new coat of white paint looked stunning. There are 28 and a half couple (57 hounds) currently kennelled at Gatcombe. Seven and a half couple puppies were on parade...
Read MoreBeach Buddies
Thank goodness for the typical British Summer, bringing us back down to earth after the hype of climate change and global warming, which raised our hopes of long sunny days and hot, ‘chest-baring’ temperatures. Still, this shouldn’t put you off enjoying our Island beaches which are ideal sites for playing, exploring or just watching the sun set, as it still does every evening, albeit sometimes behind a thick blanket of cloud! What ever happened to good old fashioned family fun, where you went down to the beach to kick a ball round, re-enacting last year’s FA Cup Final or...
Read MoreCountryside from a Steam Train
There are many ways of viewing the countryside around us, but few can be more nostalgic and romantic than seeing it from a steam train. I am lucky enough to have clients whose land is adjacent to the Havenstreet railway line, and when working there, love watching the spectacle of the highly prized steam train pass by, with it’s passengers leaning out of the carriage windows, absorbing the wildlife and countryside around them. What’s particularly good about train travel is that you get an elevated view of the countryside. Lorry and tractor drivers get this anyway but for the majority, cars...
Read MoreThe Changing Face of the Countryside?
It now appears that more money is spent on more people involved in telling us how to run the countryside, than actually work in the countryside. Unless you are a university graduate the time will come when you won’t even be considered as a volunteer, let alone for a career in any part of countryside management. In this issue Tony Ridd speaks to some of the key players involved in advising and maintaining the Island’s landscape. As we have learnt, farmers are happy to take on the role of ‘custodians of the countryside’, but they are tightly governed and manipulated into what they...
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