Farmers work to get sheep pristine for Suffolk Show
Two farmers have put countless hours into washing, shearing and preening sheep ready for a county show.Stephen Cobbald, 80, is in charge of a farm at Acton Hall near Sudbury, Suffolk, and gets help from his farmhand Amy Byford, 20.The pair recently had to choose 28 of their 300-strong flock to present for judging in the upcoming Suffolk Show, but still have a few more days to ensure the sheep are looking baa-rilliant.This year's event, on Wednesday and Thursday at Trinity Park in Ipswich, will be the 64th time Mr Cobbald has presented at the show.
The pair explained they first started washing the sheep on Monday."We put them on the stand, Amy washes them and then you have to leave them two or three days. Then I start doing the trimming," Mr Cobbald explained."It's a big day - we've got 28 sheep to wash."
Mr Cobbald and Ms Byford look after three breeds of sheep - Suffolk, Texel and Southdown.Ms Byford, who started looking after sheep four or five years ago, said she found the upcoming showcase "exciting"."I prefer doing the lambs because they're easier to handle," she said."I quite enjoy washing them, getting them tidied up. They look a lot smarter when they're clean."Choosing the sheep was a difficult task, the pair said, but they kept a close eye on the herd over the year to decide which ones to present.
Mr Cobbald said the Suffolk Show was his favourite time of year."I hate to think about it, but the first time I went into the ring with a Suffolk sheep at the Suffolk Show was 64 years ago," he said."I've had a lot to do with the show over the years."It's a good show, it's a good day out for anyone who wants to come."Sometimes as farmers you forget that people can't get up close to animals and it gives them the opportunity... to see pigs, cattle, sheep."It's a great thing for them."
Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Love Island's Harry Cooksley and Ben Holbrough insist they WILL have sex in the villa - and have already warned families about romps airing on TV
Love Island's Harry Cooksley and Ben Holbrough have insisted that they WILL have sex in the villa - and have already warned their families about saucy romps airing to the nation. Semi professional footballer Harry, 30, and private hire taxi driver Ben, 23, are two of the sexy singletons looking for love on this year's summer series. In recent years, the Islanders taking part in the ITV2 series have shied away from talking about or 'doing bits'. But these two hunks don't seem phased by it at all - and have even spoken to their family about it. When asked about if would go all the way, Harry from Guildford, Surrey, said: 'Listen... It's not out of question. 'If it feels right then I will. I have briefed my mum as well. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'So yeah, if it feels right and it's the right time, I'm definitely open to it.' Meanwhile Ben from Gloustershire said: 'I can never say never. 'You know, you gotta take every day as it comes. 'Who knows... there's a girl and I was trying to bed with, and she's sexy... Who knows, cuddling every night, it could get carried away. 'The hideaway is there as well, so we'll wait and see.' He's also come up with a plan of what to tell his younger family members if they ever ask what was going on. He added: 'I've already told them [family], I'll try my best to keep it PG, I will try my best, because I know my niece and stuff is going to be watching as well. 'So I actually, I've got actually got to try. 'But there's nothing wrong with just putting a quick cover over... 'We're just having a cuddle. 'That's all it was.' It comes after their new co-star Sophie Lee revealed her battle with an 'incurable tumour' after a horror fire-breathing accident. Sophie from Manchester, has opened up about how she was forced to 'sign her life over as a medical guinea pig'. The author and motivational speaker had been working as a professional dancer and fire performer when she was 22 for 18-months before she suffered horrific burns to her face and chest during a freak accident in the United States. She was performing at a charity event in Chicago when the venue's air conditioning blew flames she was expelling from her mouth back into her face, leaving her with serious, life-threatening burns. The author and motivational speaker had been working as a professional dancer and fire performer when she was 22 for 18-months before she suffered horrific burns to her face and chest during a freak accident in the United States 'I'm very lucky to be alive,' Sophie revealed, before sharing that the burn 'escalated to become a keloid tumour'. The motivational speaker faced issues getting a diagnosis in England but when she was told she had a keloid tumour, she felt she 'became an international case study'. 'I found out that there was no cure in the world for keloid tumours. So you know, surgeons from around the world scrambling trying to find out the best way to cure keloid tumours,' she added. The Love Islander had intralesional cryosurgery twice, which involved liquid nitrogen being injected into the tumour to freeze it off and allow new skin to form. Sophie said: 'Then I went through stages of steroid injections to bring down any more sides of the scar because they didn't want to perform the surgery again. 'I was told that, you know, being a guinea pig, I basically signed my life over. 'There was no guarantee of success, of surgery or survival because of where it was. You know, there's always at risk of surgery.' The motivational speaker faced issues getting a diagnosis in England but when she was told she had a keloid tumour, she felt she 'became an international case study' However, the steroid injections eventually stopped working for Sophie and she had to then move on to chemotherapy injections. 'It was injected into my tumour, and you know, that took it out of me,' she explained. The horrific accident and journey treating the keloid tumour impacted Sophie's dating life and she had times where she didn't feel 'sexy', 'cute' or 'ready to have a partner'. She added: 'Which is why I didn't want to date, whereas now I've worked on myself.' As she enters the Love Island villa, Sophie is open to finding romance on the show and said: 'I've took time away from just embracing in the trauma and you know, now I'm a motivational speaker I feel like now I'm in a place where I'm ready to find my partner and find my person.' Sophie has since turned to modelling and influencing and has even written a book about her experience. She also works with Katie Piper 's foundation, which supports people living with burns and scars. The new series will kick off on Monday 9th June, one week later than previous years. The last season of the ITV dating programme - which was the second All Stars version - ended in February, and saw Gabby Allen and Casey O'Gorman crowned champions, before their split earlier this month. Fans will be happy to know that it's not long before they will get their Love Island fix. A post shared on ITV's social media featured a snap unveiling the return date, along with the caption: 'Mark your calendar, you're invited to this year's hottest meeting... 'Agenda: Initial coupling, strategic navigation of red flags, and identification of potential long-term partnerships.'
Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Love Island's Megan Forte Clarke has priceless response after being branded a 'Maura clone' - and reveals truth about her relationship with star of last series
Love Island's Megan Forte Clarke shared her priceless response after she was branded a 'Maura clone'. The energy broker and actress, 24, is one of the 12 new islanders set to step into the iconic villa on Monday. Originally from Dublin, Megan has been dubbed a Maura Higgins lookalike from the minute she was rumoured to be in the line up. She recently starred as one of the Ugly Sisters in Cinderella, but she's likely to get the pulses racing on the ITV2 show due to her sassy Irish charm, which sparks further similarities to Love Island legend Maura. Now, Megan has commented on the comparison and admitted it feels, 'Like unreal and like weird? Yes, thank you. Biggest compliment ever.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The energy broker and actress, 24, is one of the 12 new islanders set to step into the iconic villa on Monday. (L-R Harry, Blu, Alima,Tommy, Megan, Helena, Ben, Sophie, Meg, Sharkia, Dejon and Conor) Maura, 34, is one of the show's success stories, staying in the Love Island family after reaching the final with Curtis Pritchard on series five in 2019. She went on to become the social media presenter for Love Island USA and Love Island Games, before taking her talents across the pond to present Love Island USA: Aftersun. And ITV bosses are hoping that Megan can recreate some of Maura's Irish magic on the series this year. Megan also revealed she shared a connection with Harriet Blackmore who featured in last year's Love Island. 'I actually am friends with Harriet from last season. We worked together in Brighton for two years, so she's prepared me,' Megan explained. 'She's been telling me what to pack and stuff. So I feel like that's been a big help having her, I'm just excited, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I'm buzzing to get in there,' she added. Megan shared that they had a further connection to one another and went to the same university and went on to work together. Megan also revealed she shared a connection with Harriet Blackmore (pictured) who featured in last year's Love Island She said: 'So we actually went to the same uni, but not at the same time, which is funny, but we worked in flannels together in Brighton.' Megan has a distinguishing feature that won't go unnoticed, a Harry Potter-style lightning scar on her forehead, which she claims was a result of her 'slipping and falling down the stairs.' The actress already has a sizeable TikTok following and the social media platform is where she makes her comparison with unlucky-in-love Bridget. She said: 'I am the modern day Bridget Jones. Can I hold a man down? Don't be silly. Have I just been ghosted again? Absolutely. Am I still funny AF with great t*ts? Obvs.' NAME: Sophie Lee AGE: 29 FROM: Manchester OCCUPATION: Motivational Speaker and Author WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is fun, spontaneous, who has a lot of jokes and who is attentive. At the moment I'm only finding ones draped in red flags and 'do not cross' signs IF YOU WERE THE CEO OF SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? I'm the CEO of empowerment. I want women to feel beautiful and validated in themselves and feel their best self. NAME: Dejon Noel Williams AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Semi-pro footballer and personal trainer WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is beautiful on the inside and out, looks after themselves and is healthy CLAIM TO FAME? My dad being an ex-professional footballer. I've met all kinds of famous people through him. When I was younger it was weird because he was just my dad, but we'd go to a game and fans were asking for photos. I've met David Beckham, he was really nice. Megan Moore NAME: Megan Moore AGE: 25 FROM: Southampton OCCUPATION: Payroll specialist WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? I'd like to meet someone who is tall, with a nice tan, nice eyes and a nice smile. He needs to have a good fashion sense and a really good, funny personality that I can get on with HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE? Bankrupt, right now. But we're going to make sales and get on that corporate ladder and be booming. Profits, profits, profits! NAME: Tommy Bradley AGE: 22 FROM: Hertfordshire OCCUPATION: Landscape Gardener WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? A girl who is very ambitious, with a big personality, caring, but also someone that doesn't take themselves too seriously. I don't know if that's asking for too much, but I want a bit of everything. I haven't got a specific type in terms of looks, though. WHAT WOULD YOU BE CEO OF? Taking hours to do my hair NAME: Alima Gagio AGE: 23 FROM: Glasgow OCCUPATION: Wealth Management Client Services Executive WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? A tall man with a handsome face. You know when you just look at a guy and they have that Disney prince look to them? That's it WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? I think she'd hire me because I'm a good flirt. I always ask guys on a night out to guess which country I'm originally from. If they get it right, they can get my number. But they never guess correctly so it works really well if you don't want to give a guy your number. I'm originally from Guinea Bissau. If they're close and I really fancy them, I'll give them my number anyway. NAME: Ben Holbrough AGE: 23 FROM: Gloucester OCCUPATION: Private Hire Taxi driver WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? A tall man with a handsome face. You know when you just look at a guy and they have that Disney prince look to them? That's it HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE? Bankrupt. I'd have been out of business a long time ago. That's exactly why I'm here. NAME: Helena Ford AGE: 29 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Cabin Crew WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Somebody funny or Northern. I feel like Northern people have much more banter than Southerners. If you look through my previous dating history, you'll see I clearly go for personality. You can pretty much laugh me into bed. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? I would say hire but then quickly fire soon after. It would only be a temporary contract. NAME: Megan Moore AGE: 24 FROM: Dublin OCCUPATION: Musical theatre performer and energy broker WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously and has a sense of humour. If they're not bad looking, that's always a plus. I love a boy that's a bit pasty, like Timothé e Chalamet. I don't mind scrawny, or a bit of a 'dad bod'. I'm 5ft1 so any height really. CLAIM TO FAME? Me and my friends made a Derry Girls TikTok for Halloween and it went a bit viral around Brighton. Sometimes I get stopped in the street about it. I've also done Panto. NAME: Blu Chegini AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Construction Project Manager WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is family oriented, has a lot of love to give and a lot of love to receive. Personality goes a long way. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? She'd fire me, but I've got the charm to smooth things over with a girl. The fact I speak fluent Spanish comes in handy when it comes to flirting! Shakira Khan NAME: Shakira Khan AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Construction Project Manager WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is tall, charming, witty, with big arms, a good smile and just really funny. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE? Booming, but they're all frogs. It's a busy love life but I've not found 'the husband', I'm looking for 'the one'. I'm looking for the ring. NAME: Harry Cooksley AGE: 30 FROM: Guildford OCCUPATION: Gold trader, semi-professional footballer and model WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? The girl next door that makes me laugh and can hold eye contact with me. I don't think I'd go for the most obvious girl, I like a real sweet girl. CLAIM TO FAME? I'm the body double for Declan Rice. So when he does a shoot, any body close ups will actually be me. You'll never see my face, but you'll see my shoulder or chest, that kind of thing. NAME: Conor Phillips AGE: 23 FROM: Limerick OCCUPATION: Professional rugby player WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?Someone who is really sure of themselves, ambitious, a bit of a go-getter and good craic. I like dark eyes and I don't mind a dominant woman. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? Definitely hire. I ask girls if they want to go halves on a baby. It doesn't work, but it gets them laughing. It's an ice-breaker, not a serious question of course! NAME: Kyle Ashman AGE: 23 FROM: Stafford OCCUPATION: Water operative WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone that's fun, confident and just themselves. I'd say I'd be hired. I just go with it, find something to compliment a girl on and go from there.
The Sun
32 minutes ago
- The Sun
Doctor Who's demise is an overdue lesson for woke BBC – & a warning to other companies who've become slaves to diversity
SO farewell Fifteenth Doctor, off to fiddle with your sonic screwdriver in some woke utopia at the end of a Gallifrey rainbow. Doctor Who's demise has been an overdue lesson for its smug producers. 4 High on their own self-importance and right-on zealotry, they managed to ruin a franchise that was beloved by millions. As we revealed this week, audiences for Ncuti Gatwa's truncated Time Lord found it 'rubbish', 'boring' and 'woke' and complained producers had put social justice issues above quality. And who let them get away with that? Craven BBC executives terrified of appearing homophobic, transphobic or displaying some other LBGTQ+ phobia by pointing out how utterly crap it was, I suspect. They gave overbearing writer Russell T Davies far too much freedom and, in return, he turned the 62-year-old show into a pulpit for his own sermons on gender ideology. We can only hope that whoever gets the gig next lives on the same planet as the rest of us. Of course, the Doctor Who debacle is not just a lesson for the BBC. It is a vivid case study of what happens when you become so weak and battle-worn by the 'culture wars' that you roll over and let others do things in your name that just p**s people off. And it isn't the only casualty of this crisis of confidence. Just last month Jaguar, the British car brand once the ultimate status symbol of middle England, canned its advertising agency. We didn't need Jag fan Inspector Morse to work out why. Billie Piper announced as new Doctor Who as she replaces Ncuti Gatwa in BBC series Jaguar had allowed a pretentious advertising firm to reinvent the company with a Technicolor 'inclusive' ad campaign that would make Benetton cringe. The resulting backlash was an avalanche of derision. When it aired, I gave the ailing company the benefit of the doubt on these pages for at least having the balls to try something different. But I assumed — naively it seems — that a brand whose parent company recorded £29billion in revenue last year would have done its homework and formulated its new direction after listening to prospective clients. Apparently not. So the big cat of motoring became yet another dog humiliatingly wagged by its own tail. That disaster would follow this collective decision to let people, many who are essentially activists, determine how an organisation should behave was all too predictable. When the first drumbeats of wokeism started emanating from the US, social justice campaigners over here tuned in with great excitement. The Great Overcorrection began. Fingers were pointed, social media pile-ons were unleashed and all our political, educational, cultural and corporate institutions panicked. 'Is my leaflet about breastfeeding transphobic? Are my lessons racist? Is saying 'ladies and gentleman' a microaggression? Does my washing powder have white privilege? Oh God, what shall we do? HELP!!!' That help came quickly in the form of right-on diversity 'consultants' — cynical agents, who for a large fee, could ensure that you avoided what they deemed 'problematic' practices. Ideological madness Value systems were franchised out to strangers with agendas. Like the LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall, which charges £3,000 for companies to become 'diversity champions' and be advised (read 'bollocked') about gender issues by blue-haired busybodies. Everyone from the Bank of England to the House of Lords signed up to this hustle until they realised they were being conned. At one point £1.2million was given to Stonewall by public bodies. HR bosses lapped this stuff up, relishing a new level of importance, a world where they didn't just sign off maternity leave or work out how to sack people for shagging on the photocopier. Diversity, Equality and Inclusion departments mushroomed, not least in the civil service where, we learnt this week, £27million of taxpayers' cash has been spent on DEI officers. Thankfully, the worm appears to be turning. Just as Reform UK is purging its council DEI departments, smart private sector operators are starting to realise themselves that much of what they have been taught to be worried about is nonsense. They already know it is simply good business to be inclusive and respectful of their customers, employees, students or patients. But they also know there is a line — where common sense ends and ideological madness begins. So Stonewall is out (even the BBC has ditched it) and the fight back is on. People are finally, to coin a phrase, waking up. The Doctor is not the only one regenerating. THANK GOD IT'S FRYDAY HAPPY National Fish and Chip day, folks. There are few things more exciting in life than a chippy tea, right? Will it be a jumbo cod or haddock? Maybe they've got skate tonight. And what about a chaser of a crunchy saveloy or pickled egg? Decision, decisions. Whatever I choose, it will always be accompanied by a bag of chips so enormous Desperate Dan would struggle to finish the lot. And if 50 per cent of them aren't stuck to the paper I'm taking them back. I'm lucky I have a good chippy nearby. Many are dying out, forced to close thanks to energy costs soaring and Rachel Reeves' hike of employers' National Insurance. So if you haven't been to your local for a while, get yourself down there today . . . before they have had their chips. It's a jaw-dropping look, Si THAT squeaky-voiced youth who won Britain's Got Talent had some very clever tricks. But nothing as mesmerising as how Simon Cowell looked in a promo for the show. Simon, 65, hasn't looked like himself for a good few years but in an Instagram reel his hollow eyes and gigantic lantern jaw made him look utterly insane. And the teeth! They looked whiter than Liam Gallagher's mirror in 1996. What's going on? I like Simon and used to speak to him pretty much every day when The X Factor was huge. He's a pretty down-to-earth bloke and part of his charm was that he was just a normal-looking geezer (albeit one in weirdly high-waisted jeans) who had no time for showbiz tweakments. Now he looks like he's auditioning for Love Island. It's a no from me. WHAT A RIGHTS TO DO REMEMBER when the luvvies were in a tizzy over London's snooty Garrick Club refusing to allow women to be members? Folk like Stephen Fry and Sting demanded ladies be let in, despite having been members of this 200-year-old anti-oestrogen institution for many years. Well, the ban was lifted last year, the floodgates opened and a whopping, er, three women have joined – acting dames Judi Dench, Sian Phillips and Celia Imrie. What a result! Treble G&Ts all round. You can hardly blame women for giving it a swerve. Paying two grand a year for the privilege of sitting near the host of ITV's Jeopardy as he eats a coddled gull's egg in an oak-panelled library doesn't seem that much of a draw. ER, SO WHAT TAYLOR? NOW I confess I'm quite the fan of Taylor Swift's music – she has a good ear for a melody does our Tay-Tay. But please tell me why I should care that she's bought back her master recordings. The breathlessly announced purchase was treated as if she'd discovered the Holy Grail hanging up behind the bog door in her tour trailer. Unless I'm missing something, it was simply the culmination of her amassing so much cash that she was able to pay around £220million for the rights to her first six albums. And as she admitted herself, a lot of that loot came from fans paying eye-watering sums for tickets to her Eras tour last year. So will that make parents feel better about shelling out the price of a small car to take the kids to see their favourite pop star? No? Thought not.
