BBC Breakfast

we're just talking we're getting ready to get to this it's really important never wondered how you get a horse in a car in a few seconds so looking after nine children a thousand sheep on one of the highest most remote farms in England sounds quite a lot of a challenge last year's extreme weather we talked a lot about that meant adapting to some rather tough new situations for the yorkshire shepherdess Amanda Owen she's written another book about her experience delighted say she's with us now good morning to you morning yes yeah it was an impulse by pester power gets you everywhere at our house right okay so the children decided they needed another horse they needed another heartie I so desperately needed another horse and of course I gave in and then remembered that we hadn't got a trailer so yeah had to put it in the back of the Land Rover I think I hope you have we got pictures of said horse back yes yeah I mean I mean you know if there's one thing I like to sort of search people it's never given I've gone off so bit of muscle power so you picked up it's not an it's a it's a Shetland pony it's a Shetland it bit was heavy oh it's heavy built like a so I don't know most people know who you are and what you do I think they do yes because you've been on here before you how many but this is book number three number three and quite a few people will wander past you're in the good months of the year when the weather is okay people wander past your farmers well but give us an idea the family set up I mentioned the nine kids so so how does the sort of farm work how does it work I mean honestly we're kind of just everyone thinks almost really well organized it basically I just look from disaster to disaster like your average person I mean I have you know a set a set kind of things that need to go on every day now getting the kids ready for school all the rest of it but basically it's it's all about going with the seasons and what needs doing with the sheep and the cows so whether it's sheep shearing or lambing time or whatever sheepdog you name it I mean it's a big farm it's 2,000 acres and it's very much dog and stick very much dog and stick shepherding I love and I guess looking or to say Oh talking about your dogs as well because they're incredibly important yeah I can't whistle snakes honestly dogs all over the country organizations yes I've got there's no dog but I mean I didn't bring her today because she obviously wouldn't like it very much here okay she's a worker of working animal you know yeah but yeah I mean it's back to basics with us it's it's it's working outside in the elements all weathers and that's what I write about and for some weird reason it seems to have worked like it no exactly I guess it's maybe aspirational it's it's a dream for a lot of people to you know to leave the town the city behind and live in a countryside so just write about the people the characters and I mean I got a G in English GCSE I was rubbish I was so uninspired and it was all down to James Herriot and his books I loved reading them and he set me off on this journey and Here I am writing myself and in terms of the future because you don't own the farm on the farm you have bought somewhere on the same plots is that that is that a knighted eye to the future well exactly it was kind of like putting down my roots this is kind of like the third stage of suppose the third with the third book that was kind of like the time frame it was like how I need to be able to write about the the ongoing story and we got the opportunity to better to buy his own place so it's that story again hopefully aspirational house in the country and when I say doing it up but I use that word very youthful ISM doing it down more kind of you know just making it habitable and we're teen pictures now I mean you've had you know there are some tough tough weather conditions to deal with working the kids there looks a husband there he'll be he'll be tearing his hair out I guess because he's left in charge at the moment so we really just worked together all of us tell us about the weather has been particularly brutal and this this last it's being a kind of winter and yeah summer was very hot so we actually made quite a lot of crop but the winter before I was horrendous because it was a bad summer and then a bad winter so we had the beast from the east so you know it was really really tough conditions you know snow ice everything sub-zero temperatures but we get through it that's the thing that's what we do you just you know what's the next challenge it's going to come at you you talked about being away from home and yeah actually been on a speaking tour recently as well started it I'll write your on it at the moment of accent my eyes so it give us it who what you talked about this sort of it aspirational element to your lifestyle what sort of people come to that oh those who live in the city would love to have your life oh right okay all sorts people people from a countryside a lot of farmers all kinds of people the such cross-section is such a nice feeling to go and take a bit of Yorkshire air and a bit of our life to theatres all over the country and just talk to people about what we do what life like there the farming element that animals the family everything and never ever go anywhere and say this is how we should do it it's not about being sort of like a parenting guru quite often it's probably how you shouldn't do it really but it's it's literally just saying that there anything's possible you know there's a lot of people out there I'll tell you what you cannot do oh you won't have time to write a book oh you won't have time to do that but it's amazing what you can do and what about the children do you think some of them will stay in the countryside and work like you do some of them will I hope Edith's particular is very interested so smiles but Ravens add a good look Raven she has her a level philosophy exams she wants to do medicine biomedicine so they've all got different ideas and I just encourage them because I was driven and I knew what I wanted to do and I managed to get there and so will they but being part of a big family obviously you can't be a helicopter parent and havre the top of them they maybe have to be more independent you know do their own thing a bit so so that's what I try nice brilliant here enjoy the rest of the new book is called book number three it's called adventures of the Yorkshire shepherdess yes so come and see me I'm all over the place horse in the back of the car as well no that is all from breakfast we're back tomorrow from six o'clock now on BBC one it's time for a critical incident

Channel: Rob Davies

Views: 66,525

Rating: 4.7954545 out of 5

Keywords: Amanda Owen, The Yorkshire Shepherdess, BBC Breakfast

Id: riBuHsTRoak

Length: 6min 27sec (387 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 11 2019