Grunting Poldark gets the scything all wrong
HE’S had women all over the country getting steamed up – but Aidan Turner is now causing another section of the community to get hot under the collar.
While the girls may have been keeping a careful eye on the actor’s shirtless torso in Poldark, the farming world has been keeping a closer watch on his husbandry skills. And according to them, he just doesn’t cut it.
Turner, 31 – who plays 18th century Cornish soldier-turned-miner Ross Poldark – set hearts aflutter when he stripped off to scythe his way through a field in an early episode. But in a harsh critique, West Country experts say Turner’s technique has tarnished the image of their art.
Chris Riley, 56, who runs scything courses, said: ‘There was a lot of sweating and grunting going on but the only time you’d mow like that would be in a competition. Scything is an efficient and poetic way of cutting rather than the way it was portrayed on Poldark where it was this very aggressive, manly action.
‘Using a scythe should be a sedate, pleasurable activity. The fact he [Ross] had no top on was not particularly realistic – if you were in the field and wanted to protect yourself from the sun you wouldn’t take your shirt off.’
Simon Fairlie, who also runs scything courses, said he had never seen the show as he doesn’t have a TV. But he added: ‘Scything with a good tool relaxes the mind and attunes the body.’
Show producer Damien Timmer was quick to defend Turner’s field strip. ‘Ross does it in the book, he goes swimming, he washes himself clean. And he’s a farmer, and it’s very hot in Cornwall!’ he said.