Foot and Mouth

Back in 2001 I was contesting Morecambe and Lunesdale in the General Election and I saw at first hand the misery and devastation that the foot and mouth outbreak caused to the farmers in the Lune Valley. Whole flocks of sheep and herds of cattle were culled and the rural economy was decimated. The images of burning funeral pyres flooded back into my mind when I heard that a fresh outbreak had been discovered in Surrey. I sincerely hope that lessons will have been learned from 2001 and this outbreak is swiftly contained.
Yesterday Sue and I attended a garden party as part of the wedding celebrations of one of our neighbours. Unfortunately there was a steady drizzle falling throughout much of the afternnon but there was plenty of cover and we all had an excellent time with some suberb barbecue food (I especially enjoyed the bbq sweetcorn!).