Potty about potter y show or Countr yfile fan? Festival has the perfect line-up for you
WELL-KNOWN FACES FROM TV TO GIVE INSIGHT INTO LIFE WHEN THE CAMERAS AREN’T ROLLING
As we continue our countdown to Ashbourne Festival this summer, organiser TIM CHALLANS introduces some of the more familiar faces we can see this year
THIS year’s Ashbourne Festival presents two very well-known figures from popular television programmes.
Farmer Adam Henson is one of the presenters on BBC’S Countryfile and well known in the farming fraternity.
Keith Brymer Jones is a potter and ceramics entrepreneur who has made a name for himself as the emotional judge of The Great Pottery Throwdown.
The born and bred Londoner is also known as the judge on The Victorian House of Arts and Crafts but his real job, and passion, is ceramics.
The first piece of ceramics he made was a pottery owl, when he was 11-years-old.
The process of pottery gave him a sense of escapism and he knew that wanted to be a potter and, after a brief stint as the lead singer of a punk band, he became an apprentice at a pottery in London.
After his apprenticeship, he started his first studio in Highgate handmaking ceramics for a variety of retailers including Conran, Habitat, Barneys New York, Monsoon, Laura Ashley and Heals.
About 25 years ago, he began to develop his Word Range for the first time.
The Word Range has produced more than 500 products and it is sold in over 40 countries.
Keith’s design philosophy is a simple one – he likes to create stylish yet simple products that are pleasing to the eye, practical in the modern home and make people happy.
On June 22 in St John’s Church, Buxton Hill, Keith will be talking about his life and career and his new book ‘Boy in a China Shop.’
Meanwhile, Adam Henson is perhaps the bestknown farmer in the UK, presenting his own section in the BBC’S Countryfile to millions of viewers each Sunday evening.
However, farming and conservation are Adam’s first passions, and when the camera stops rolling he still has plenty of work to do. He also runs the nationally famous Cotswold Farm Park.
He was lucky enough to be chosen from over 3,500 applicants to become a TV presenter.
Since Countryfile has moved to its Sunday evening timeslot, he often presents from his own farm, giving him the opportunity to describe first-hand the life of a livestock and arable farmer in these difficult times.
The programme has gone from strength to strength and now regularly receives six to seven million viewers.
In his talk “My Life on The Land – Farming Food and Filming” on July 1, also in St John’s Church, Adam will be talking about his experience as a prominent farmer, the future of farming in Britain, and his passion for conservation.
Details of all these and other events are in the festival brochure, on posters around the area, on the festival website, social media and in more articles coming soon.
Tickets are on sale, and full information and links to buy tickets are on the festival website at www.ashbournefestival.org