Annoying the Country Folk (Controversial post alert)

I knew moving back into the countryside would bring up very different issues than living in the city, one of which is hunting and the whole 'Countryside Alliance'    So when the local hunt sent a card to the  house addressed to the previous owner saying they would be hunting in our fields I rang them and pointed out that we now owned the property and would not be allowing hunting in any shape or form here. Evidently I was not believed and the very next morning someone came to the door asking for the previous owner while refusing to say who they were.  No doubt they will try to find the person who bought the rest of the fields to get permission to hunt all around us.  I found it all rather menacing as he told me on the phone that 'no doubt I would be seeing them sometime'.  Many years ago we rented a winter let on a farm, early one morning the hunt turned up and I had to rush out to rescue my two terrified cats as the hunters laughed making lewd comments about my 'pussies'.  All very unpleasant and not an experience I would want to repeat.   It is a subject that people feel very passionate about on both sides, I have had chickens killed by a fox, I didn't blame the fox who was doing what nature intended, I blamed myself for not keeping them secure.  It is awful when lambs are killed by foxes but I don't believe using dogs to hunt them is the answer.  None of my farming uncles and cousins have ever felt the need to don the scarlet.  It may not make me popular with some local landowners but I will not be welcoming them.

Of course there is the good side of living in the Countryside, someone from the local village knocked on the door asking if we could store his camper van in our barn - it's surprising how popular having a big barn can make you ;)  When he discovered we are new to the area he went out of his way to tell us all the goings on in the village and dropped by this morning with all sorts of info about activities including the W.I.  My only experience of the W.I. was when I worked in Sheltered Housing and the lovely ladies from the local W.I. would come around with all sorts of things for our residents.  My immediate thought was I'm far too young for the W.I., and it's all jam and Jerusalem, but realise that I may be doing them a disservice.  Are any of you members and what are your experiences?  Would they welcome a left wing, gobby atheist?

Our local town recently elected a Mock Mayor after throwing the real Mayor into prison.  He processed through the town, in and out of the shops while people threw sprouts at him.   I have no explanation......but I love weird goings on.

In the evening the history of Penryn was illuminated onto the towns buildings.  Luckily my friend who is a born and bred 'Rinner'  did a running commentary for me which included the fact that the towns people hid a very infamous lady pirate.

Life has been extremely busy but came to a halt of the weekend when I came down with a horrible cold and spent most of it sleeping.  I hope you are all keeping well, there seems to be a lot of things going around at the moment.

Chickpea xx