ON SUNDAY

DEANO

I’VE reached a point in my life where gentler pursuits are quite enough to keep me happy.

A few weeks back, Mrs Deano got me a dry- stone walling course for my birthday – and what a marvellous time I had learning the rudiments of this ancient craft on the Lancashire- Yorkshire border.

One of my fellow trainees told me how she was a National Trust volunteer and – yes, I know, it’s my age – the idea appealed somewhat.

That is, until I saw what else the National Trust – those tweedy guardians of Middle England – have been up to.

A National Trust property in Rothbury, Northumberland, called Cragside has covered up paintings and statues “to highlight the marginalisation of women in art”.

Cragside is home to a large collection of artworks, including one by Turner and a number of celebrated pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries.

This is good stuff. Not the sort of shit modern artists spew out.

So people pay to see it. The going rate’s £ 50 a family ticket.

But as it’s the centenary of women getting a vote, paintings, prints, photographs and sculptures of men were draped in sheets or bags.

Now, how the c** ting F** K does covering up a portrait of a man celebrate women getting the vote?

As it turns out, the cover- up is not simply good art being covered up by sheets and plastic. The cover- up is art in itself, if “artists” Kate Stobbart, Rob Blazey and Harriet Sutcliffe are to be believed. Who knew? Once upon a time art was painting or sculpting something beautiful. Now it’s putting something in a f** king bin bag!

There have been reports that Cragside’s ‘ comments’ box had to be emptied up to three times a day because of complaints.

For the love of Christ’s wounds, what is it with these people?

We’ve just had half the National Trust go potty for gay propaganda – as though that’s got ANYTHING to do with historic buildings. And it’s only going to get worse. A National Trust spokesman said: “This temporary student exhibition at Cragside was not about censoring art or being politically correct, but to encourage people to look at the collection differently and stimulate debate.”

That’s bollocks- talk for “wind up our natural supporters.”

Do the NT high command hate their core fans that much?

If volunteering for the National Trust involves turning our bestloved bits of heritage into a playground for Marxist claptrap, think I’ll give it a miss.