Thought I would write a few lines this week about the farmers in our community.

Last Friday I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of farming folk in North Worcestershire.

Then, on Sunday, I was taking a stroll along the Severn riverside when I picked up the noise of a tractor.

Yes, on the day of rest, the local farmers were hard at it, using the dry spell to plant things like winter wheat - or was it spring barley?

I was brought up in the country, lived for a while in the town, and am now back in the country, but most of the time I haven't got a clue what the farmers are doing round out way.

Yes, I know when they are ploughing, and when they are reaping, and when they are sowing, but 'm never too sure what they reap, plough, sow and mow.

It set me to wondering how many of us do have a clue why that field has something yellow in it this year, something green next year and even something blue the year after.

I intend to take far more interest in my local farmers and their doings.

I have mentioned in the past those that gather in the Barmaid's Bosom, our local hostility (a hostelry that's not always friendly to visitors).

Last weekend, the talk got around to TV's Countdown and Professor John, retired headteacher, reckoned he was better than anyone on that show.

Prof John may be better educated than the rest of us Secondary Modern factory fodder, but we thought we'd challenge him.

The landlord found his daughter's Scrabble game, and we set out some rules and regulations, and the rest of us took on Prof John, with Slack Alice as Carol Vorderman and Landlord Alf as Richard Whitely.

It was neck and neck between the flab four and Prof John, until he came up with a word that had eight letters in it - and that none of us had ever heard of.

The one thing we were lacking was a good dictionary, so we ended up "phoning a friend".

It appears the word did appear in the dictionary so Prof John got the points, but by this time the game had subsided somewhat and it was agreed that the contest should be left for another date as we were all needing a comfort break.

To borrow from another game - give us a P, please, Bob.