Victory On The South Downs

“There was an unpleasant young farmer
Who went by the surname of Harmer
He ploughed up a field to boost his cash yield
And ruined the downland’s true karma”

At Offham in East Sussex, Farmer Harmer ploughed up a chalk grassland, which forms a Site of Special Scientific Interest, with rare butterflies and plants. His only reason for doing so is to plant flax so that he can gain an EU subsidy of £9000.

The first anti-plough camp was born, after a touch of digger-diving, and people started to restore the damage. Since then, victory! A Conservation Order has been served, there’s a camp on site to prevent further damage, and people are making it all ‘as right as rain’, though water is much needed. No Japanese cloud-bombarding (with Silver Oxide) here, so get dancing, and contact them on 01273-324455.