Minette Batters

Minette Batters0:01

BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.

Presenter0:04

Hello, I'm Lauren Laverne and this is the Desert Island Discs podcast. Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take with them if they were castaway to a desert island. And, for rights reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast. I hope you enjoy listening.

Presenter0:44

My castaway this week is the president of the National Farmers Union, Minette Batters. 70% of British land is agricultural, yet many of us feel estranged from the people who feed us. Representing them and articulating the challenges they face, which currently include COVID-19, Brexit and the effects of climate change, is her job. She's the first woman to lead the NFU, and when she's not tending to its 47,000 members, she's running her own farm in Wiltshire. She grew up there as the daughter of a tenant farmer who did everything he could to discourage her from following in his footsteps. It didn't work. She put aside a successful career in catering to return to the land more than 20 years ago and has no regrets. She says, sometimes in life you find you really want to do something and everybody you know and respect tells you not to. Manette Batters, welcome to Desert Island Discs. Thank you so much. So I know that you've been running your farm for just over 20 years. How much has it changed since you took over? I'd always wanted to.

Minette Batters1:42

To farm and never thought it would happen. And I started farming with really a very derelict farm with 15 suckler cows to my name, not a fence on the place, no buildings, no nothing, and all my friends saying, You're mad, don't do this. And the business now is so different. We're very diversified. We have a wedding business. I have upwards of 300 head of stock on farm at any one time. We have a pedigree herd of Aberdeen Angus and a pedigree herd of Herefords. My focus has always been on leaving the farm in a better state. And that's what every farmer's focus is: you know, how can we improve it? How can we focus on our soils, on our grasslands?

Presenter2:24

Yeah.

Minette Batters2:25

And that

Presenter2:26

That has been my ambition. What about the impact of COVID-19 on farmers? What have they been telling you?

Minette Batters2:31

COVID-19 was a story of two halves really. You know, we were the key workers. Our job was to feed the nation. And as farmers, we really rose to that challenge. You know, we weren't the heroes in the NHS, but we were the key workers. And feeding this country was such a monumental challenge, such an important job. And I had messages coming out of government at one stage in the beginning where ministers were terrified that there were empty shelves. Were we going to be able to keep food supplies going? And for farmers that were selling into retail, which is our Tesco's, our Asdas, our Sainsbury's, our co-ops, for farmers that were selling in there, that's where all the sales were going. But for all of us and our out-of-home eating, our Costa coffees, we don't at home have those things. We tend to have an S Cafe with a splash of milk. So for those farmers, dairy farmers supplying the out of home market, supplying the likes of Costa, they lost their market overnight. They couldn't furlough their cows, they couldn't furlough their workers, they were dealing with the perishable product. We saw growers supplying garden centres, you know, their only sale times are Easter, our Mother's Day, our the Maybank holidays. Those markets were lost. So those growers, you know, perishable product again, massive

Speaker 13:30

They could

Presenter3:51

Massive losses. What actually was selling? What was moving in and did anything surprise you about that?

Minette Batters3:57

Well, the interesting thing is, what we buy out of retail and what we eat out of home are different. So, what we saw with beef, for example, was everybody only wanting to buy mints. Mints was flying off the shelves, and you had chillers across the country that were just building up and up and up with steaks and joints. So, we worked very closely with all the retailers to drive these massive promotions saying, you know, have a steak night, have a treat night, and try and live at home as if you were when you were going

Presenter4:33

Now, it's been quite a year for you, but of course, you're here to share your music with us as well. Tell us about your first track today. Why have you chosen this, and what are we going to hear?

Minette Batters4:41

This is, I guess, the legendary Tom Jones. What an amazing man he is. And this is Green Green Grass of Home. And the song is about somebody who's on death row. But there is a particular line in it where he realizes that

Minette Batters4:56

This has been a dream. He's dreaming about the green, green grass of home and he wakes up and he's surrounded by four grey walls. Now for me, I'm traveling a lot. I'm abroad a lot and I wake up sometimes in a hotel thinking that I'm at home and realizing that I'm not and very occasionally thinking, and which country am I in?

Minette Batters5:18

That line is very apt, and just the green, green grass of home, that really reminds me of my home.

Speaker 25:25

And I awake and look around me.

Speaker 25:30

At four grey walls that surround me.

Speaker 25:35

And I realized, yes, I was only dreaming.

Speaker 25:43

For there is a gun.

Speaker 25:46

There's a shadow pot rate.

Speaker 25:50

On and on we'll walk at daybreak Again I'll touch the green

Presenter5:59

Tom Jones and the green green grass of home. So Minette Batters, you're the first woman to hold the post of President of the National Farmers Union. You were elected for another two-year term this year and among other things you're going to be dealing with Brexit leaving the EU, the recent concerns of the agriculture bill and then that's without even talking about the effects of the pandemic, concerns about climate change, what an intray you've got. What are your most urgent priorities at the minute?

Minette Batters6:26

It is all about, for me, making sure that consumers get access to the high quality food that they want. They really want to see animal welfare, environmental protection, food safety maintained in this country. So we've got to make sure that when we look at future trade deals, that we're achieving that, effectively, that those imports are produced to the same standards that we have here, and we're not importing food that ultimately would be illegal for us to produce here. That's really important.

Presenter6:52

Yes, and the agriculture bill on that front has been a cause for concern for many of your members recently. For those who aren't up to speed, where are things at with it now? And why are some farmers concerned?

Minette Batters7:03

I mean, I would say this is and should have been called perhaps to bring it to life the what is in your fridge bill, the what is on your dinner plate bill, because ultimately the agricultural bill will shape what we are eating, what we are buying for our families, what our kids are eating in school, what we are eating in the hospitals. It will shape the whole future of food. So it's been really important to make sure that we get a level of primary legislation that ultimately is going to allow our MPs to represent constituents. I'm delighted that the government responded to our asks that we needed to have this level of democracy, we needed to have scrutiny, and so we will now have a report on every single trade deal on all aspects of food that Parliament will be able to debate and scrutinise and ultimately will be able to say no, that is unacceptable. This Government made a cast iron commitment to the farmers of this country that they would not undermine them in trade deals. So I'm pleased with what we've achieved with the Agricultural Bill, but let's not forget this is about the food that each and every one

Presenter8:16

One of us eats. It's time for your second disc today, Manette. Tell us about this one.

Minette Batters8:20

This one is the proclaimers, we run a wedding venue and I listen to music in normal times every week of the year because we have music blasting out from our tithe barn. But this track, 500 miles, always makes me smile. It's just a shout out to all those businesses that are feeling the pain of COVID, our caterers, the people that run the bar, the people that do the security.

Minette Batters8:47

They're all out of work at the moment. They're all suffering.

Minette Batters8:52

We haven't had one single wedding in 2020 and that goes across many different farming businesses as well as to the challenges that we've all faced. So this track reminds me of the past and the good times and it reminds me of the times to come when the dance floor will once again be packed with people having the time of their life, getting married, celebrating. And I just really look forward to hearing this belting out again.

Speaker 29:21

But I would walk five hundred miles and I would walk five hundred more To be the man to walk

Speaker 29:31

Close and whales don't fall down I should all when I'm walking

Speaker 29:37

Cause I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the man who's working hard for you.

Speaker 29:43

Somebody

Speaker 29:45

And for the work I do, I'll pass almost every penny on to you.

Speaker 29:50

When I come back some

Presenter9:53

The proclaimers, and I'm going to be 500 miles minute batters. Hopefully next summer you'll hear that belting out of your tithe barn.

Presenter10:00

So you grew up on the farm that you now run, but you're a tenant farmer rather than a landowner. How did your parents get into farming? For my dad, I think it was really difficult.

Minette Batters10:08

He was one of three. His brother got left a small farm. His sister got left some money and he got a note saying best of luck. And so I think that was quite a guiding principle for him. He had to make his own path. And my mum came from Oxford. She didn't have a farming background. The rural life was something that she really wanted. They never thought they would farm in their own right, and they did. But they always told me that that wouldn't happen because they farmed effectively in partnership with my current landlord, so we had no succession tenancy. And I, again, had to make my own path into farming.

Presenter10:45

And did you feel that connection with the land? I mean, uh as you say, you know, growing up in a family where y you were conscious that this this wasn't a a place that you were going to inherit. Did you help out a lot and kind of fall in love with it, the place?

Minette Batters10:57

We used to do a lot of calf rearing and I used to do all of that before I went to school and when I came home and I was just passionate about it. No calves got sick on on my watch.

Presenter11:08

And yet he didn't think that women made good farmers. Why not?

Minette Batters11:11

He was old school. He just thought that it was too physical. And I think he worried that the farm would not be there for me and he wanted me to to get out and go away and get a different career.

Presenter11:25

And how much of that do you think was informed with the quite tough by the sound of it life that he was dealing with and managing?

Minette Batters11:31

It was difficult for him. I mean, he'd had two horrendous motorbike accidents. He was very paralyzed down one side. Living with somebody with head injuries is difficult because he was effectively trapped in a body that was not suitable for his temperament. And he and I were very alike, very driven people wanting to get on. And his body didn't allow him to do that. But he was loved by all our neighbours, by the people around. He was a charming man, but at home he was a taskmaster. It was all about getting up early in the morning, getting the work done. It was a driven life.

Presenter12:13

Let's tap some more music. Desk number 3.

Minette Batters12:15

Spring is such an important time of year. We are calving, we are lambing and Vivaldi Spring is just about green shoots. It's just about new life coming into the world. It's about hope. It's about optimism.

Minette Batters12:31

And it's about excitement for the year ahead, no matter what the winter has thrown at us. And Vivaldi Spring just explodes in your mind when you hear it.

Presenter13:45

The first movement from Spring Vivadi's four seasons played by Nigel Kennedy and the English Chamber Orchestra.

Presenter13:52

So, Minette Bassus, when you were growing up one of your passions was horses. Did you ever think about pursuing that as a career?

Presenter13:59

I really, really

Minette Batters13:59

Did it was a huge passion in my life. Indeed, many of my friends now comment: Goodness me, how on earth did you end up doing what you're doing? Because it was all about horses, and it was. We never went on holiday. We didn't have much money growing up. We didn't own the horses. They were often on loan. I loved racing. I worked for David Ellsworth in my teenage years. I rode out for him in his heyday. He was leading national hunt trainer, fourth leading flat trainer, one year, and leading national hunt trainer. So I got the chance to ride for him on the flat. I rode at Goodwood and I rode at Salisbury. And I also rode over fences as well. And I rode 30 winners in all.

Minette Batters14:44

It feels like a past life. It was a past life. I was very young then, but I look back on it as it was such an opportunity at that time. Why did you stop?

Presenter14:53

It was if you still

Minette Batters14:54

My dad again was, and he was right, you cannot make a career out of being a professional horse rider. To be a professional, you've got to be really, really top class. And I was good, but I wasn't really, really good. And he was adamant that you've got to get out, you've got to get a career. And that is why I actually went to catering college. I got a Court on Blur Distinction. And that was a passion very much driven by my mother, who is a brilliant cook. And that was what drove that sort of second part of my career. Horses never disappeared. They remained a key part of my life, but not on that basis.

Minette Batters15:33

We've got to make time for some music. It's your fourth disc. This is Super Tramp and give a little bit. Now, my oldest friend lives in Scotland now. Becky, I've known since we were three. So we don't get to meet up very often. Occasionally, it's in Glasgow Airport for a quick cup of coffee and a croissant if I'm up there. But she's one of those friends that we all have, that knows you so well, has always been such a solid person in my life, says it how it is. And this reminds me of the first concert that we ever went to, which was Super Tramp. We were.

Minette Batters16:12

I think 15 years old at the time, might have been 16 actually, but we went up to London.

Minette Batters16:19

The concert was at Earls Court, sadly, no longer. And this felt like a time when when we were out there, we were away from home, we were in London, we were going to our first concert and you felt like, yeah, we're a grown up, we're out, feeling like the new kid on the block and away we go.

Speaker 216:40

Give a little bit of your love to me

Speaker 216:48

I'll give a little bit, I'll give a little bit of my love to you.

Speaker 216:59

There's so much that we need to share So send a smile and show you care

Speaker 217:12

I'll give a little bit

Presenter17:14

Super tramp and give a little bit. So, Minette Batters, as you mentioned, you just quite casually threw it away there, but it is quite an achievement. You trained as a chef, and then after that, you ran your own successful catering company for many years before giving in to the lure of the land and taking up the reins on the farm that you now run. All your friends advised you against it. Why? And why didn't you listen?

Minette Batters17:39

I think they felt that you've got a successful career, you've got a house. Why would you want to take on a farm that you don't own, that has nothing effectively there, and you're not 18 anymore? I think that was the sort of coded language. But I felt very strongly that this was a life's calling. This is something that I'd always wanted to do, and I was never ever not going to do it. And now I think all those same friends think, well, yeah, she was probably right. It was a good thing to do.

Presenter18:13

You have two children of your own now, twins, Holly and George. Have either of them shown any interest in following in your footsteps?

Minette Batters18:20

They do, and there's a real danger for me and that I grew up being told that you will never have this, and there's a real danger that I don't say to them too much, you know,

Minette Batters18:30

you have the opportunity to farm because that was a really important thing for me that they would have the opportunity. And so I never say it to them. I just try and say, look, I want you to get the best education that you can. I want you to go out and

Minette Batters18:44

and do what you want in the world. I don't ever want them feeling that they have to come back to the farm. I have built a business that is there for them if they want to come back, but I really have to steal myself not to ever go there on it because I want them to follow their dreams. I want them to follow their passions in life.

Minette Batters19:04

And if that includes the farm, well that would be brilliant, but that's going to be their call, not mine.

Minette Batters19:10

It's time for your fifth disc today. What are we going to hear next? Christmas is massively important to all of us. For me, it's always been important. But on the back of what happened,

Minette Batters19:22

To my son George when he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes on the 16th of December 2009.

Minette Batters19:31

I have chosen Silent Night, which is sung by Salisbury Cathedral Choir. Now Salisbury Cathedral in itself is

Minette Batters19:40

Iconic to me. It is at the centre of the city. Whenever I come back from wherever I am in the country, you can see the spire. And if I'm on my farm, I can look south and see Downton Church, and I can look north and see Salisbury Cathedral. So when I look at what those buildings have been through.

Minette Batters20:04

It gives me hope that the future will be bright, it will change, it will have many periods perhaps of hardship throughout the journey of my life, but they are both of them as a church and a cathedral. They are buildings of hope and reminders. And this track reminds me of how important Christ's birthday is. It's always a time when I remember that my son pulled through his diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. And I just look at Christmas now in a very different light to what I have done previously.

Speaker 220:56

Lord is right.

Presenter21:41

Silent Night, Salisbury Cathedral Choir. So, Manette Batters, your twins are sixteen now. George was just five the Christmas he was diagnosed with type one diabetes. What happened?

Presenter21:54

Yeah.

Minette Batters21:54

So it was December. I'd had a chest infection. I was on antibiotics and George, to all intents and purposes, appeared to have the same thing. And I took him to our downtown surgery. So George was obviously very ill. He didn't have what I had, which was a chest infection. The doctor checked him out and said, well, look, I would take him home, keep him warm. And if you're at all worried, take him into A and E.

Minette Batters22:21

And within half an hour, that doctor had driven out to the farm and said, Look, I'm going to test him for type 1 diabetes.

Minette Batters22:31

And I'm forever in a day grateful that he came out, he tested him and he said, Right, take him into hospital right now.

Minette Batters22:39

And we drove in, and the doctor came in and looked at him. And within a couple of minutes, another doctor came in.

Minette Batters22:48

And before I knew it, the room was just full of of people, and ultimately George's body had shut down, his veins had collapsed.

Minette Batters22:59

and he was in a very bad way, but he was fully conscious and they were trying to get lines into him, so they were putting needles into his arms, his feet, and we got through to the following morning and I knew he was going to be okay then. It was just the most massive relief.

Presenter23:16

Beef.

Minette Batters23:16

Uh

Presenter23:17

Manette, it's time for some more music now. Disc number six, what are we going to hear and why have you chosen this today?

Minette Batters23:22

This is the eye of the tiger sung by Survivor. For me, this is about that forensic look at the tiger on the way forwards. It's about what leadership means to me. It's also about running. I've run in three marathons and raised over £50,000 for charity. So running is an important part of my life. I always remember the captain of the England World Cup team saying, You're going to leave your heart and soul on that pitch. And that is what I say to my team at the NFU. We're going to make sure that British farming has a thriving, profitable future. But you do everything. I want you to come off that pitch looking exhausted. And so this track is about that forensic eye of the tiger look on the future. And it's about empowerment. And for me, when I'm running and running the last mile of a marathon, I try and have this to get me over the line and to get me through it.

Speaker 224:21

It's the thrill of the fight rising up to the challenge of our rival.

Speaker 224:28

The last known survivor stops his freedom the night. And this worst tunnel star will be of the tiger.

Speaker 224:42

Plays the best, I'm not heat.

Speaker 224:47

Tough stay

Presenter24:51

Survivor and Eye of the Tiger. Minette Batters, vegetarianism and veganism are both on the rise. The numbers are small, but they are growing. Currently, I think about 2% of the UK population are vegan or vegetarian. Is that movement something that farmers have responded to and interested in?

Minette Batters25:07

We need to be growing much more of our fruit and veg here. So currently we're producing about sixteen percent of our fruit and about fifty two percent of our vegetables. So we should, with the maritime climate that we have, we should be producing much more of it here. But for me, it's about what are the best components of that healthy balanced diet. And meat and dairy have a role to play in making sure that we get the right nutrients in our diet. But every single one of us, no matter what age we are, we need to be eating more fruit, more vegetables. We work very closely with the British Nutrition Foundation, who are totally focused on how do you get the best calories out of what you are eating without it being just produced in a laboratory. I think we tend to forget the importance of nutrient density of growing things in our soils, which ultimately is what gives the nutrient density to what we are eating. It starts with the soil, really. Everything is about the soil and we got to focus and are focusing on farmers on ever

Presenter26:07

better soil health. Another big concern of yours as NFU President is mental health. What particular pressures do farmers face when it comes to their mental health?

Minette Batters26:18

I think one of the challenges now is that farming is much more independent. When I think of the farm that I grew up on, there were a lot more people within that community. Every farm had more people working on it. As we've mechanised and progressed, you've got less people. In many cases, you've just got the farmer doing all the work on their own. So they're isolated. They're isolated. And COVID, of course, has led to more isolation. So it's about outreach and it's about engagement and it's about getting people to talk and open up.

Speaker 226:28

Yeah.

Speaker 126:28

In that

Minette Batters26:48

and making sure, as with everybody, that the right help

Presenter26:52

is there for people when it's needed. I mean, how easy is that? You know, culturally, you know, you described your dad earlier as the the archetypal farmer, you know, you just get on with it, very tough, perhaps not willing to talk about his feelings.

Minette Batters27:03

Very much so, and I think it's been an identity that to a certain extent has underpinned farming, that we are tough, we can work in very isolated, very challenging conditions, and it would be seen as a sign of weakness. And the point I and many, many others, there are so many brilliant farming charities like Farm Crisis Network, RABI, the Addington Fund, who are doing so much to say, look.

Presenter27:04

I think

Presenter27:28

Look, we are there for you. Time for some more music right now, Manette. This is disc number seven. What are we going to hear, and why have you chosen this?

Minette Batters27:34

For me, this is just such a wonderful track. It's Bet Midler and it's Wind Beneath My Wings. And for me, there are two parts effectively to this track. There are always an amazing team of people. The team in the NFU that works with me, that gives me all the support. The experts that I work with are amazing and they keep me in the air. They keep the wind beneath my wings. And also to my mum, who throughout my entire life has been in the background, who's kept me airborne in all sorts of extraordinary situations. This is, I think, a lovely track that sums up the importance of my friends, my family, my work colleagues, the people that keep me in the air.

Speaker 228:23

Did you ever know that you're my hero?

Speaker 228:31

Everything I would like to be

Speaker 228:42

Let the go.

Speaker 228:47

You are the winner, my wave.

Presenter28:52

Bet Middler and Wind Beneath My Wings. Minette Batter's farming life then is well, you used the word vocation to describe it earlier, I think. It's vocation for you. And look into the future, obviously, you know, you're you're right in the swing of things at the minute, but one day when you come to retire

Presenter29:07

What happens? Do you have to walk away and how would that feel?

Minette Batters29:11

Uh

Presenter29:11

Ha.

Minette Batters29:11

I think for me and indeed the many farmers that I speak to, you know, leaving bricks and mortar behind is much easier than leaving the land. And I think that the culture, the heritage, the identity with where we farm is what farmers feel so passionately about and that deep and meaningful connection with the land. And that is very hard to sort of contemplate. I speak to many people who say, I don't mind leaving the house, that is fine, but I really fear for leaving the land. And in many cases, those farms will have been in families for generations. And so always stepping back from the land I think is difficult. And for me, farming was about where I farm in South Wiltshire and near to the city of Salisbury in an area that I love, that I am passionate about. So for me, it's about the community.

Presenter30:05

Well, unfortunately, of course I'm going to cast you away from all that. We're sending you to your desert island. What kind of island are you hoping for?

Presenter30:12

I'm hoping to go to a ready cultivated island. Just checking in case we needed a single.

Minette Batters30:18

Specific soil type. I'm relying on you to do the right thing to put me on the perfect island with all of that in place.

Presenter30:25

The biodiversity is already there. Absolutely. You do, though, need to be okay in your own company. I wonder how that'll be for you, someone as busy as you.

Minette Batters30:33

To be able to step back, to be able to read, to be able to reflect would be something that I would treasure.

Presenter30:38

Alright, well, it's almost time. One more disc before you go, though. What's that going to be?

Minette Batters30:43

I guess this final track means so much to me. I think my own faith has been about a journey, my commitment to the farmers of this country at this major time of reset. And so what I have chosen is I vow to be my country, sung by the very beautiful Catherine Jenkins. And it's my commitment to the farmers that I represent in my bid to do the very best that I can on their behalf.

Speaker 231:18

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above.

Speaker 231:29

In time, holy and perfect the service of

Speaker 131:33

Wait, no.

Speaker 231:37

I love the love that asks no question, the love that stands the test, that lives upon thee wonder, the dearest and the blessed, the love that liver folded, the love that pays the bright, the love that makes and dawned through fire sages.

Presenter32:20

Catherine Jenkins and I vow to thee my country. All right, Minette Bassas, I'm going to send you away to the island. I'm giving you the Bible and the complete works of Shakespeare to take with you. You can take another book of your choice as well. What will that be? My two children.

Minette Batters32:34

Holly and George, one of my favorite times when they were growing up, when we were going out for picnics, when we were exploring the farm.

Minette Batters32:44

was reading to them in the evening, we're going on a bear hunt and I guess it works for my life what the moral effectively of this story is all about and I hope it's worked for them because it is all about we can't go over it, we can't go under it, we'll just have to go through it. And in the splashing through puddles, going through long grass, climbing through brambles, you've just got to go through it. And I think it's been probably the mantra of my life and I hope it will become the mantra of theirs. It's certainly how I tried to bring them up that there's not always a way over or under and you just sometimes got to crack on and go through it.

Speaker 133:01

Well just

Presenter33:27

It'll be an appropriate raid on the desert island as well.

Minette Batters33:30

It will. What about a luxury item? What would you like? During this period of lockdown, I've obviously been at home and I really decided that I wanted to be able to make some bread, but I couldn't buy any flour. And there's a lovely friend of mine who's a member called Judith Jacobs, who runs a farm shop near Peterborough. I exchanged messages with her one day. I said, I can't buy any flour, Judith. I want to make some bread. And she said, I'll send you some flour. Within 24 hours, I had everything. And ever since then, I've been making bread. So, what I'm going to do is use my wonderful members to provide me with the brilliant ingredients. I'm going to pick up some butter and I'm going to make some bread. And I make it every week. And that's going to be my luxury item. And it's going to remind me of the brilliant farming businesses that I represent out there across the country.

Presenter34:27

Yeah. Now Minette, I love fresh bread. You can't get anything better than that, but obviously a bunch of ingredients going to the desert islands is just going to be too practical, so I'm going to have to push back on them.

Minette Batters34:36

I I knew you'd say that. So I'm going to bring all those ingredients together. I'm going to make it before I go, and then I'm going to take it with me. So the loaf itself will be your luxury item?

Presenter34:47

The loaf itself will be the luxury item. Oh, how lovely.

Presenter34:51

And finally, which of the tracks that you've played us today would you save from the waves if you had to? This again.

Minette Batters34:56

It's a really difficult one, but I think it's gonna be super tramp and give a little bit. Because if if you listen to the track, we all need to smile a bit more. We all need to give each other more time and more love. And ultimately, if we all do that, I think we really can.

Minette Batters35:15

recover from COVID, build the community spirit, and that is my hope. And I think that track is so very relevant to our time.

Presenter35:25

Right now.

Presenter35:26

Minette Basses, thank you very much for letting us hear your Desert Island discs.

Presenter35:30

Yeah.

Minette Batters35:30

Lauren, thank you so much. My life has been in boxes that I feel I have truly unpacked for Desert Islandists, and it's been the most enormous privilege. Thank you.

Presenter35:53

Hi, I really hope you enjoyed that interview with Manette Batters, President of the National Farmers Union of England and Wales. We've cast away many farmers to our island. We've sent the Shepherd James Reebanks and also Veg Box pioneer Guy Singh Watson. You can find their episodes in our Desert Island Discs programme archive and through BBC Sounds. And hey, if you fancy a bit more Tom Jones, he's there too. Next time, my guest will be another legendary singer, Sir Cliff Richard, making a return trip to the island 60 years on from his first visit. I do hope you'll join us.

Speaker 136:33

Hello, Louis Thru here.

Speaker 236:34

Hello.

Speaker 136:36

And I just wanted to hijack this podcast to tell you that I'm back with another series of my podcast, Grounded with Louis Thoreau.

Speaker 136:44

In case you hadn't noticed, COVID hasn't gone away and because of travel restrictions, neither have I. So I've rounded up the likes of Michaela Cole, Frankie Boyle, Oliver Stone, Sia and FKA Twiggs for another set of eclectic and thought-provoking conversations. Yes, I'm still grounded with me, Louis Theroux. Available on BBC Sounds.