"We've got these three fields, it's about six and a third acres and we've owned them for 14 years. Phil of course was a farmer before and I thought, well he'll be able to manage the land and it would be fine... but we'd never have livestock again after the dairy farm.
So we rented the fields out to our elderly neighbour, Frank, and they've had sheep on, but Frank's become really quite elderly now and he hasn't managed to keep on top of the 'thistles' - haven't been topping them - and he probably thinks that I'm absolutely mad but I've been out there for years on my own in the fields waging a major battle against the thistles.
I've been out there with my very heavy duty leather gloves and some little plastic bag.
I have been single-handedly pulling up every single thistle and our bottom field is really big... and I'm not winning with that one I'm sad to say, but the little field, I reckon I'm on top of that one. The middle field, its touch and go, it's quite exciting!
I have to get there before the flower heads are on but I'm never quite there on time. Once I start to see flower-heads forming its panic.
There's two aspects to it really. I've got to get the flower head off and get that into my bag, because I'm really scared that the seeds could still be viable.
The next aspect is that I've got to pull the rest of the thistle out and I've got to get the root out with it so it's a very careful pull. There's a certain knack to it without it snapping before you get the root... because I've beaten that thistle you see and it won't come back again hopefully.
I do get satisfaction when that sound - 'slurp' - when the white root slithers out, that's a really good feeling. I keep going; there must be some love to it somewhere I think.
I'm going to purchase a second hand ride-on mower. In a way its like cheating isn't it... it's like I've got a sport, you know a seasonal sport and I'm cheating by buying this ride-on mower.
If we win the war on thistles, will I miss my seasonal sport? This is what I wonder.
I get out there, I'm out in the countryside and I feel as if I can connect with the past, with land labourers who were out there toiling the fields, it gives me some connection to the spot and to all of those poor people working out there.
I haven't told friends, only my family know about this and Frank.
This has been a confessional, it's been quite therapeutic."
