Worcestershire School Boy Displays Farm Collection At New Countryside Event

A Worcestershire schoolboy, with designs on becoming a farmer, is to share his unique collection of agricultural models with other children visiting Worcestershire’s brand new countryside event.

Dominic Lucas10 year old Dominic Lucas, a pupil at Kempsey CE Primary School in Worcester, has amassed a huge array of miniature farm buildings, machinery, cattle lorries and livestock animals over the last five years, and will be bringing it along to CountryTastic at the Malvern Showground on Thursday 27 March.

The one-day action-packed event for children up to 14 years old, is closely aligned to the government-led Year of Food & Farming campaign - an initiative which is currently helping to bridge the gap between schools and agriculture and reconnect the region’s youngsters – and their parents! - with their environment and the sources of the food they eat.

Dominic’s unique collection is one of many attractions which include cookery demonstrations and sausage making, pottery workshops, egg decorating, seed planting and milking, together with the chance to make barley bread, chutnies and jam, groom donkies and ride on a Shire horse dray!

Dominic has been interested in farming since he was just four years old, and is keen to have his own farm one day. His collection includes a home-made slurry pit, feeding troughs, chicken sheds, pig huts and fencing made out of silver birch twigs.

Part of Dominic's collectionHe also has 30 of his own ewes at his grandad’s farm at Blakeney in the Forest of Dean, and spends almost all of his free time caring for them.

He says: “I go to my grandad’s smallholding most weekends to help feed and clean the ewes and I help him deliver the lambs. I also go to all the livestock markets in the three counties and have even helped out some of the livestock hauliers now and then. I would like to go to agricultural college when I am older.

I have been collecting and building farm models for a long time, and save my birthday and Christmas money so that I can keep adding to the collection. I really want to share my hobby with other people, so I’m really looking forward to Countrytastic in March.”

Dominic is quite worried about the outbreak of bluetongue disease, and is keeping vigilant.

“I know all about foot and mouth because Grandad’s sheep, which didn’t have the disease, still had to be destroyed because they were near an affected zone.

Now I am looking on the Defra website to check on the progress of bluetongue and see if my sheep will be affected by the movements.”

CountryTastic, sponsored by Waitrose, Nelson Thornes and Worcestershire Education Business Partnership, and supported by Blue Peter gardener, Chris Collins, is an all-weather event, and children will receive activity worksheets featuring word searches, competitions and stickers.

Admission is £4.50 (under 3’s FREE). Gates open 10.00 am – 4.00 pm and there is plenty of free parking. There is also an indoor picnic area and on-site catering. Please call the Box Office on 01684 584924 or visit the web site: www.countrytastic.co.uk

If you would like to interview Dominic, or photograph/film him with his collection, then please contact:

Sharon Gilbert – Press & PR Manager
Three Counties Agricultural Society
Telephone: 01684 584929 (direct dial)
E-mail: sharon@threecounties.co.uk

Released: 28/02/2008