food<\/a> that could be bought which was a real problem. People would think I was bulk buying and hoarding things. You could only buy two milks and I was going shopping once a week, for not only my family, but also for neighbours who were shielding.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLuckily we\u2019re in a farm situation so can rely on self-sufficiency to a certain extent but it\u2019s been a giant learning curve.<\/strong> We\u2019ve had eggs from the chickens, we\u2019ve made bread, used the dairy, picked rhubarb, looked at what we\u2019ve got on the farm and tried to make the most of the situation. There are jobs that the children have that I don\u2019t even think about. Morning and night, Eden sorts out the pet lambs, Violet is on with the calves and she knows what she has to do, Miles is sorting out the chickens, Sidney\u2019s on with the dogs. It wouldn\u2019t work if everybody didn\u2019t chip in and pull their weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe benefits have been taking the time to slow down and to really take note of nature and what\u2019s going on under our noses.<\/strong> Usually there\u2019s not enough time with so much rushing about, trying get to here, got to do this and get back for that! We\u2019ve watched curlew eggs hatch and I\u2019ve been able to ride my horse anywhere I want to because there\u2019s been no traffic. Wonderful! Of course, we know we\u2019re fortunate to have a big space and yes, I\u2019ve got nine children which probably sounds like a nightmare in lockdown, but we\u2019re not stuck inside without a garden, the weather has been great most of the time, so I\u2019ve opened the door and off they\u2019d go. I\u2019d often only see them when they were injured or hungry.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA typical day? There isn\u2019t one.<\/strong> It\u2019s always very much about the weather, from sheep shearing to making hay to clipping hogs (young sheep), at the moment I\u2019ve got another 800 to do, which will keep me out of mischief for a bit. It\u2019s like a keep-fit regime and it can actually be quite back-breaking. There\u2019s always something happening on a farm and if you\u2019re not working, then you\u2019re ignoring something. There are gaps in the walls to rebuild, cattle need moving, it\u2019s a constant ongoing thing. There\u2019s never a quiet time and the washing machine is ALWAYS going.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLots of projects away from the farm have had to be put on hold and are all stacking up.<\/strong> Usually throughout the summer months I\u2019m out and about talking at events about what happens on the farm, what it\u2019s like to be a shepherdess, the sheep, the countryside, nature and the environment. There\u2019s a real appetite for it. I spend months travelling here there and everywhere, including going to literary festivals, not somewhere I\u2019d usually hang out. Can you imagine? Me, a lass from Huddersfield who got an E in my GCSE English. I wouldn\u2019t be going to a literary festival. However, the point is, it\u2019s about what inspires you, what inspires me \u2026 which was always to be a shepherdess and in a roundabout way I\u2019ve managed to do what I set out to achieve. Hopefully inspiring other people to follow their dreams too.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s a year of two halves at Ravenseat.<\/strong> Usually throughout the cooler, wintry months I\u2019m out with the sheep and it\u2019s quite an isolating experience. Then there are six months, when the weather picks up and I\u2019m meeting and chatting with people who visit the farm and those I see at events. That\u2019s what I\u2019m really looking forward to when things start to get back to normal, the contact with lots of different people again.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHomeschooling has been interesting \u2026 in more ways than one.<\/strong> I can\u2019t say the children have logged on to their homework as often as they perhaps should have done, but do you know what, they\u2019ve learnt so much in many other ways. I spoke to the school staff last week about what the kids have done and what they haven\u2019t done. They are good teachers who appreciate just what the children have learnt and experienced over the last few weeks, from finding out all sorts of things about the world outside, where food comes from, and lots of PE has been happening, including running, horse riding and swimming. We\u2019ve been fascinated by the night skies with no aeroplanes flying over and have witnessed shooting stars and spotted constellations. The children have really benefitted in so many ways. Although I\u2019m not saying they\u2019ve got any better at their German or reached grade 6 in piano, but they have learnt a lot. It\u2019s such a hard time for so many parents with home tutoring, that I think if you come out of lockdown sane, then you\u2019ve done your job well.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhen it comes to filming Our Yorkshire Farm, I let the kids go with the flow.<\/strong> If they want to be part of it on the day, they film, if they don\u2019t, then that\u2019s fine too. You can\u2019t force a child to perform, they\u2019ve got to want to do it. The children often go off with the crew and it\u2019s not until I watch the series on TV that I see what they\u2019ve been up to. Some people say \u2018I can\u2019t believe your child picked up a wild rabbit\u2019 and I think, I didn\u2019t know they\u2019d picked up a wild rabbit.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIt\u2019s been a great opportunity for some of them to be part of other exciting projects too. Raven (eldest) has modelled for the designer fashion brand Burberry and Eden has been involved with Newsround.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The whole TV experience has been completely accidental and something I\u2019ve never chased.<\/strong> It\u2019s certainly made me busier. I can\u2019t sing, I can\u2019t dance and I guess I\u2019ve always been a bit of a slacker, but the whole experience is so enjoyable, if not a little hectic. I\u2019m a bit of an opportunist, if something comes along I\u2019ll give it a go. It started with regional TV and a report from broadcaster Luke Casey, then Adrian Edmondson visited Ravenseat Farm as part of ITV\u2019s The Dales programme. I was then asked to write a book, that led to writing three bestselling books and I\u2019m currently on with the fourth, although I\u2019ve only written one chapter so far. The publisher thought lockdown would be a great time for me to crack on with it, but it\u2019s not that easy to concentrate with nine kids at home and a zillion sheep!<\/p>\n\n\n\nI\u2019m the worst person to ask about a perfect Yorkshire day out, as I don\u2019t really do days out. <\/strong>But I do love eating fish and chips by the beach, looking out to sea in Whitby<\/a>. York<\/a> is a beautiful city too with its magnificent minster. Raven is at university there, we lowered the tone last week when I dropped her off, we had a moped on the back of the truck with a giant stuffed toy strapped to it. There is one place on my wish list I\u2019d like to visit though, which I can\u2019t believe I\u2019ve not been to yet \u2026 and that\u2019s The World of James Herriot museum in Thirsk<\/a> \u2026 back to James Herriot again!<\/p>\n\n\n\nOur Yorkshire Farm \u2013 Tuesdays 9pm on Channel 5.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nThis article was originally written for This Is Y magazine digital edition \u2013 July 2020. To view the full magazine, click here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome to Yorkshire’s This is Y magazine interviewed Our Yorkshire Farm‘s Amanda Owen in 2020. Below is the full interview with … <\/p>\n
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