Wot, no workers?

Wot, no workers?

It appears that for the ‘charity’ arm of the Countryside Alliance the countryside runs itself. 

The Countryside Alliance Foundation front page states: ‘Many children and young people  know little about the countryside and rural way of life. Our programme of educational initiatives will introduce them.’

Fortunately they stay clear of showing some defenceless fox being chased for miles before being ripped apart in the name of ‘sport.’ 

Instead of which there is the COUNTRYSIDE INVESTIGATORS website.  None of which, of course involves looking at why so much of the Countryside is owned by so few people. The Foundation hopes that the young will ‘find it an exciting and informative learning resource in and outside of the classroom.’ 

Visitors to the site can find out how a farm, village, woodland and countryside estate are operated and run. Down on the farm it’s about ‘producing our food.’ This involves only the farmer, farm vet and gamekeeper.  

Best not let the young know about the tenant farmer or the (migrant) worker who picks -  for next to nowt - the crops, or the likes of the 30 employees who were killed on Britain’s farms last year when looking after the cattle or sheep. All easily disposable in the minds of those descendants of William the Bastard (Conqueror) who for too many years have controlled the Countryside. 


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Of course, this removal of the rural labourer is not unique in the history of the ruling class in the countryside. 

Even 18th century landscape painter, Gainsborough said “Damn gentleman, there is no such set of enemies to a real artist in the world as they are!” His favourite of all his paintings was ‘The Woodman’ , an old labourer standing beside a bundle of faggots. Such paintings didn’t sell and his heavy debts meant he would have found it unwise to ‘stray from the happy peasant’s cottage door to its wet and squalid interior.’ (the Long Affray by Harry Hopkins) 

Gainsborough stuck to the rich and their habitats, all suitably bathed in light. This at a time when more than 50% of the population of England lived in the countryside, and from which the wealth of the nation was ultimately founded. In the Netherlands, Van Gogh showed the faces of these people - the yokels, clod-hoppers and bumpkins - but not in England as to do so would threaten to reveal the naked weapon of class rule in the countryside.