the drinks are on us

[clangerman]

it’s that time of year again something not quite right about farmers drinking free scotch while we are the ones freezing on their rape so included box of chocolates this year that should fix it! lol 

[Dougy]

I've lashed out on a 1 ltr bottle of Jamesons for my now 1 and only perm. 

Saved about £100 not having to treat 5 or 6 others.  They fo get a load of bangers and burgers too. 

[old'un]

But what would it cost you if you had to pay for your shooting?

[Rim Fire]

i delivered my bottle yesterday i only bye for the one i got my tickets on as i shoot over 8ooo acres of land and i am not bying for all that lot 

[old'un]

8 minutes ago, Rim Fire said:

i delivered my bottle yesterday i only bye for the one i got my tickets on as i shoot over 8ooo acres of land and i am not bying for all that lot 

Yep, delivered my drinks yesterday, I also shoot over a fare acreage but I only buy for 5 farms now.

[clangerman]

3 hours ago, old'un said:

But what would it cost you if you had to pay for your shooting?

a perm is like sex beg steal or borrow for it but never pay! 

trend now seems to be down size have let some perms go myself as it’s bit of a struggle with age 

[marsh man]

I am now down to one bottle as a thank you , this is as much for the freedom to go walking on any part of the estate and then from February onwards to keep an eye on the various crops , I did have one farmer remark on when I dropped a bottle off , I should be giving you a bottle instead of you giving me one , he still took it and I never ever got one off him 

[Morkin]

14 hours ago, marsh man said:

I am now down to one bottle as a thank you , this is as much for the freedom to go walking on any part of the estate and then from February onwards to keep an eye on the various crops , I did have one farmer remark on when I dropped a bottle off , I should be giving you a bottle instead of you giving me one , he still took it and I never ever got one off him 

I've always thought they should be giving us a bottle👍, The farms I shoot now are very good to me, speak as ya find i suppose 😜👍

[marsh man]

My lif

4 minutes ago, Morkin said:

I've always thought they should be giving us a bottle👍, The farms I shoot now are very good to me, speak as ya find i suppose 😜👍

My life would had been a lot different without the long term friendship I have had with farmers and landowners , I look back now at all the twists and turns I have had in my longish life , shooting and farmers have been a huge part of it and at one time I would be buying up to ten bottles for Xmas boxes , well my wife used to get the them from Tesco's as she had a 10% discount card witch saved a bit , one farm where I still shoot duck on I have been going on for 50+ years , when the farmer was alive he treated me as part of him family and invited me as his guest on several good game shoots and when he passed away his wife gave me his shooting tweed suit , lovely , lovely people .

Then where I first started my pigeon shooting I used to give the head gamekeeper a bottle for Xmas , this would be in the late 60s early 70s , we became very good friends and I ended up working on the same estate several years later , he passed away two years ago at 94 years old , I worked on the same estate for nearly 30 years , now been retired for 17 years and was picking up on there last Friday , this all started off with Pigeon shooting and taking the land owners a bottle of drink .

Merry Christmas Everyone       MM

[Morkin]

I’ve got to agree with you M M,👍, I’ve spent all my spare time on different farms through my life, I’m now walking about , the best I can on farms I use to pigeon shoot on for the current owners Fathers, I give them , They give me, one farmer I did some Fox shooting for invited me as a guest to go with him grouse shooting in Yorkshire and high pheasant , it was an opportunity I would have not got to go with my earnings , very enjoyable experiences, 😜👍🍷🍷🍷

[ditchman]

8 hours ago, marsh man said:

My lif

My life would had been a lot different without the long term friendship I have had with farmers and landowners , I look back now at all the twists and turns I have had in my longish life , shooting and farmers have been a huge part of it and at one time I would be buying up to ten bottles for Xmas boxes , well my wife used to get the them from Tesco's as she had a 10% discount card witch saved a bit , one farm where I still shoot duck on I have been going on for 50+ years , when the farmer was alive he treated me as part of him family and invited me as his guest on several good game shoots and when he passed away his wife gave me his shooting tweed suit , lovely , lovely people .

Then where I first started my pigeon shooting I used to give the head gamekeeper a bottle for Xmas , this would be in the late 60s early 70s , we became very good friends and I ended up working on the same estate several years later , he passed away two years ago at 94 years old , I worked on the same estate for nearly 30 years , now been retired for 17 years and was picking up on there last Friday , this all started off with Pigeon shooting and taking the land owners a bottle of drink .

Merry Christmas Everyone       MM

who was that john ?

[marsh man]

3 minutes ago, ditchman said:

who was that john ?

The keeper was Roy Willimott , he was a top trialing man who judged on the big trials and was once the winner of the top English Labrador championship , he brought the large silver cups home to Park Cottage where he used to live , his boss who you knew ( L S ) wouldn't let him keep the cups in the cottage as he said they would most likely be nicked so they were kept in the strong room up at the hall , I bought two Lab pups off him and used to go on the rough marshes with him to do training sessions as he kept one from the same litter and both my dogs turned out very good dogs , even though he had two triple heart bypasses he was still picking up in his low 80s and then he just done a morning , I looked after the drinks and soup and I always made sure the picker uppers got some some soup and if they wanted something stronger then I found enough in what was a empty bottle , he passed away at 94 and his wife went last year who was just over 90 .

I will send you a P M who the farmer was , By the way , I had my Pheasant casserole tonight , done the two breasts in the pan first with Onion slices , only done root veg in the cooker , ( Turnip , Carrot , Parsnip and Spuds ) added a Chicken stock cube , put it on for two hours high and then on low till for two hours , it came out alright and the Pheasant breast was tender . for my afters I had a nice dish full of M + S Sherry trifle that I bought today , it is a family size and will last me a week or more , I have got a nice corn fed Chicken for tomorrow with all the trimmings .

All the best for Christmas Simon and THANKS for the tips on cooking 

[Minky]

On 23/12/2024 at 07:25, old'un said:

But what would it cost you if you had to pay for your shooting?

That is true.. BUT ... How Much would that farmer loose in crop damage /Loss. And I've been told that it is nice to have a friendly pair of eyes keeping a lookout over machinery parked up or left out on the fields and yards overnight. Over the years I've sent kids playing on machinery off.  Nicely advising them of the serious harm that could come to them and the damage that they could do to the machinery.   And the phone calls to the farmer about members of the caravan club floating about.  It generally doesn't need to get into a brawl. Just a lamp across the fields to show that someones on patrol does the trick.   How much is one day of downtime or not getting the crop off of the field worth to the farmer/ ot the farm business?  How many farmers issue out a slab or two of cartridges.?  They'd be put through the business account.  The cost of banger strings and gas cylinders nicked off of fields get run through the accounts.   On the other hand i have known of scrooge land owners who have volunteered to get cartridges then charged the shooters for them and then run the receipt through the books and claimed the vat back.  Scrooge. 

[Rim Fire]

What you don't realise is that one bottle keeps you shooting on that land he probably gets asked a dozen times in a year by shooters asking for permission he will never be short of others willing to shoot the pigeons or crows and all other pests 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

It has to be a two way thing.

My permissions were gained years ago and apart from a couple of fields being sold have remained useful and productive.

Rather than bottles at Christmas, I take the Farmers for a pint during the year.

[old'un]

11 hours ago, Minky said:

That is true.. BUT ... How Much would that farmer loose in crop damage /Loss. And I've been told that it is nice to have a friendly pair of eyes keeping a lookout over machinery parked up or left out on the fields and yards overnight. Over the years I've sent kids playing on machinery off.  Nicely advising them of the serious harm that could come to them and the damage that they could do to the machinery.   And the phone calls to the farmer about members of the caravan club floating about.  It generally doesn't need to get into a brawl. Just a lamp across the fields to show that someones on patrol does the trick.   How much is one day of downtime or not getting the crop off of the field worth to the farmer/ ot the farm business?  How many farmers issue out a slab or two of cartridges.?  They'd be put through the business account.  The cost of banger strings and gas cylinders nicked off of fields get run through the accounts.   On the other hand i have known of scrooge land owners who have volunteered to get cartridges then charged the shooters for them and then run the receipt through the books and claimed the vat back.  Scrooge. 

unless you can be on the fields 7 days a week we make very little difference, an extra pair of eyes is always useful.

[marsh man]

The freedom for me to walk anywhere over private land now mean more to me than the shooting , we have known each other for a good many years and they know I can be trusted , as you rightly say that keeping an eye out for any wrong doing is more help to them than me shooting a few Pigeons , we get very few requests for Pigeon shooting or vermin control so it is not like if I didn't do the shooting then someone else will , the trust is built up over a period of time and I know they would be very suspect if a stranger came along and asked to go shooting on a certain field , on ours we have got a few rearing pens and several release pens that can often hold a large number of game birds, so for various reasons they like to keep these area private and away from the general public .

I know if I wanted a few cartridges all I need to do is ask which I don't , having a permission can involve a lot more than just been given the freedom to shoot some Pigeons , they need us as much as we need them , but there is a difference in being treated with respect and trusted from the land owner , rather than just being used as a unpaid bird scare'r  MM

MERRY CHRISTMAS