The first of a new series of County Calendar presented by John Noakes and his dog Skip. In the studio an interview with Peter Hole, Joint Master of the Holme Valley Beagles about hunting with hounds and Philip Wood, Huntsman who talks about training the Beagles. Next the first of a series of filmed reports from Marylyn Webb at the Chatsworth County Fair taking place in the grounds of Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. In this report an interview with Ray Shatwell from the Falconry Centre about...

The first of a new series of County Calendar presented by John Noakes and his dog Skip. In the studio an interview with Peter Hole, Joint Master of the Holme Valley Beagles about hunting with hounds and Philip Wood, Huntsman who talks about training the Beagles. Next the first of a series of filmed reports from Marylyn Webb at the Chatsworth County Fair taking place in the grounds of Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. In this report an interview with Ray Shatwell from the Falconry Centre about training and flying falcons. Back in the studio Michael Clegg provides details on his summer looking after two injured Sparrowhawks and a filmed report from the home of Mrs Claire Beam who is produces a dinner every night for local badgers. Back in the studio an interview with Paul Patchett, Badger Recorder for the Mammal Society on the dangers these creatures face. Finally, North Yorkshire writer Christopher Curtis reads one of his humous verse on the life of a gamekeeper. Credit: Country Calendar presented by John Noakes Title: Yorkshire Television Production Title: Country Calendar Title: John Noakes John occupies a chair along with his dog Skip as John introduces the programme and a new series. The film shows the full stage set which represents a country cottage living room, which John calls the snug, and is also occupied by beagles and members of a hare hunt. John outlines some of the features appearing in the programme for the coming weeks. Marylyn Webb will be reporting from Chatsworth House and she talks on camera and on location about future topics. John introduces the first item. The film approaches a building during darkness, lights show from a large ground floor room. John appears again promising that all will be revealed later in the programme. He moves on to the topic of hare hunting in the Pennines. Nearly forty beagles are present in the studio and are a complete hunting pack. One of the men in the studio with the dogs is joint master Peter Hole. Hunting hares involve the huntsmen on foot rather than a horse, as in foxhunting. Title: Peter Hole – Joint Master, Holme Valley Beagles Peter answers questions from John and then John asks huntsman Philip Wood who is next to Peter how they train the ‘hounds’ as they prefer them to be called. He explains that older hounds tend to ‘train’ the younger ones. Title: Philip Wood – Huntsman John asks if there is such a thing as the ‘boss’ amongst the hounds. Philip says generally not, the hounds all work together. Philip also says they don’t often catch hares the event is mainly to keep the hounds fit. He also says there are a good number of beagle packs in the country and this pack is about an average size. John asks about looking after a pack, the response is that they are ‘kennelled’ in small groups. John introduces the next item which is a report from the Chatsworth country fair by Marylyn Webb. The film shows a falcon flying over the country estate of the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. This is part of a falconry demonstration by the falcon’s trainer Ray Shatwell. A close-up of the Lanner falcon named ‘Thumbs’ follows. Marylyn sees the falcon up close and talks to its trainer. Title: Ray Shatwell – Falconry Centre Ray outlines the steps in training a falcon. The film shows him about to go through a demonstration flight as off camera he continues his discussion with Marylyn. The falcon leaves Rays hand and flies above the arena mainly in a circular flight. The crowd is treated to commentary as Ray puts the falcon through its paces by chasing a lure that is swung round to control the falcon, until finally the falcon is allowed catch the lure and eat. Marylyn asks Ray about the falcon’s welfare and feeding and also how it catches its prey in the wild. Michael Clegg joins John in the snug. Title: Michael Clegg – Curator, Yorkshire Museum Michael catches up with John talking about his Yorkshire television series Cleggs People. Michael tells of his adventures while bird watching. During the summer he was looking after two injured sparrowhawks, not an easy task as both had combative temperaments. A photograph shows the younger bird being handled. Photographs show the older bird who had a broken wing bone, but eventually recovered and returned to the wild. John returns to the beginning of the programme and the mysterious film. The film shows traffic in the dark with headlights on as they pass by the camera. The windows seen at the beginning of the film belong to a bungalow near Scarborough which attracts wild visitors. Mrs Claire Beam is in the kitchen preparing a special meal, which consists of shredded loaves of bread mixed with bacon rind and margarine. She puts meals on parts of the garden near the house which is well lit. she returns and puts food on a path near a bowl of water. General views follow of traffic on the nearby road. Mrs Beam watches for the visitors through the windows of the house door. Eventually a badger appears and starts eating the food. Mrs Beam talks about food the badgers will not eat, including peas and carrots. Numbers that come to feed vary but she has seen six coming to feed. In the studio John talks of the dangers badgers face from traffic and animal traps, with some setts are gassed by the ministry of agriculture as badgers are believed to be carriers of tuberculosis. But the worst attack on badgers comes from badgers being killed in their setts or captured for badger baiting. In the studio a stuffed badger is placed on the floor near to an expert on badgers Paul Patchett. Title: Paul Patchett – Badger Recorder, Mammal Society. Paul’s attempt to photograph badgers he says was often thwarted that’s when he decided to start a campaign to try and protect badgers and their habitats. He also records the number of local badgers which was once 500 in West Yorkshire but is now down to 100. Much of the reduction is the result of human interference and persecution. Photographs show a dead badger take from a sett, but it had originally been snared. Paul shows John a snare made from wire and a fearsome tool, a pair badger tongs used to drag badgers from their sett. Michael Clegg joins in, as he has watched badgers in the wild. Paul says he encourages badger watching, but he says not to overdo it especially when there are cubs about. Paul asks that if people discover or know of setts to get in contact. John moves on to the next section, a man who writes humorous verse about country pursuits. John holds a framed composition in his hands. Christopher Curtis from North Yorkshire write the verses and he recites one about a gamekeeper in the studio. Chris appears in the studio dressed as a gamekeeper against a backdrop of trees, cartoons by John Tickner illustrate the verse. John Noakes winds up the current programme and outlines the topics to come in the next programme, including a family that live close to a railway station but two miles from a bus stop. Credits: with Marylyn Webb, Michael Clegg, Christopher Curtis Editorial Assistant Mark Meysey-Thompson Director Charles Flynn Producer John Wilford © YTV Ltd 1982 Yorkshire Television Production