Right now is the pre-lecture, which is great, because, in the pre-lecture hall, we have lots of amazing things to show you.
Including....
Including....
limited edition jam
limited edition merlberry jam
limited edition merlberry jam
@CavJamLady made from merlberries from our museum garden, only twelve jars in the world exist. Like the rings of power.
We know how reckless this is.
We know how reckless this is.
@CavJamLady There're also displays of literature and artworks from our collections, including many of our biggest hitters.
@CavJamLady
yes and ⭐for one night only⭐
we aren't just playing with fire, we're also playing with jam
yes and ⭐for one night only⭐
we aren't just playing with fire, we're also playing with jam
@CavJamLady come on in
@CavJamLady it's a nice atmosphere: people are talking to one another, chatting casually, catching up with old friends, sending tweets deep into the internet like a hellbent child with an unlimited supply of helium balloons
@CavJamLady ok now people are moving into the lecture hall
we didn't tell you what kind of things we'd livetweet we hope that's ok
we didn't tell you what kind of things we'd livetweet we hope that's ok
@CavJamLady someone is holding the door open like Hodor's best dreams
@CavJamLady people moving in large groups like a very chatty wave
@CavJamLady if anyone in the room is looking at these tweets blink twice
@CavJamLady in two mins' time it's going to be 19:19, which is wild if time is your thing, and if it's not it's about time it became it
@CavJamLady fun fact: if you give a lecture about garden furnishings it's not a lecture it's a SHED talk
@CavJamLady there's a really wild slideshow of images from our archive happening, and honestly we could watch it all night
and this is the best slidesow
and this is the best slidesow
@CavJamLady the lecture begins with an introduction by Uni of Reading's Vice Chancellor Robert Van de Noort. he says, among other great things: come look at our bees exhibition
@CavJamLady our speaker Jimmy Doherty (@jimmysfarm) has taken the floor! "Sorry for the delay and thank you for your patience - it's difficult to park a tractor in Reading"
....true
....true
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm Jimmy: "firstly, I grew up loving animals. I made a reptile house in our family home."
upvote
upvote
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm Jimmy: "my love for animals went on to academic studies, including zoology and etymology"
also more people just came into the room
👋 hello👋
also more people just came into the room
👋 hello👋
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm Jimmy says that after academia, he really wanted to return to a more tactile sense of being with animals. also says that this helped him learn how animals aren't just black and white
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm (*entomology)
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm Jimmy: something that's so essential about agriculture is developing and safeguarding genetic diversity, protecting rare breeds.
He asks: why?
The answer: because no one knows what's going to happen in the future. What the future might need.
He asks: why?
The answer: because no one knows what's going to happen in the future. What the future might need.
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm while tweeting we overheard
• a fantastic pig
• a courgette isn't just a courgette
• something about an Italian festival of courgettes (mamma mia)
• a fantastic pig
• a courgette isn't just a courgette
• something about an Italian festival of courgettes (mamma mia)
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm Harry Potter and the Italian Festival of Courgettes
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm In actuality, a courgette isn't just a courgette is a key theme: the importance of placing value on produce diversity for all kinds of reasons.
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm Jimmy: I brought along a deer friend of mine
Jimmy, we don't see a deer here. We're looking around. The camera turning wildly like a very dizzy ballerina.
Jimmy, we don't see a deer here. We're looking around. The camera turning wildly like a very dizzy ballerina.
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm Jimmy: can anyone do a good turkey impression?
we can't but we do a mean chicken in trousers
we can't but we do a mean chicken in trousers
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm Jimmy's now speaking about changes in what we eat, including the increasing prominence of diets like veganism. 'A sea of change'. A see-change diet.
What people eat has an enormous influence on agricultural practice and production.
What people eat has an enormous influence on agricultural practice and production.
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm This moves to heritage, with the example of Christmas dinners, where which meats are popular routinely changes. For instance, it hasn't always been turkeys. Goose was a popular choice at one stage. At another, people probably just ate sticks. Or keys. Honk.
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm right after this we're going to draft a blueprint for a new model of airplane that runs on purely green energy: a corjet
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm this isn't being covered by the lecture, but an interesting motion for what would be an incredibly cursed debate
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm we're being carried away by the winds of fascination, and it's full of birds - rare, rare birds
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm real life is very much like Pokémon in that both are full of rare animals and you get to wear caps backwards
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm Jimmy has asked if anyone has any questions about turkeys - and yet we can't stop wondering about the deer friend
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm an audience member asks a question about Brexit and the uncertainty it poses for British farms - which is a key issue in agriculture today, and policy always has been
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm another asks about how farmers could use technology to communicate with audiences from an educational point-of-view about the issues faced in farming/produce today
Jimmy says that one great way of doing this is through social media
hmmm ....never heard of it
Jimmy says that one great way of doing this is through social media
hmmm ....never heard of it
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm and an interesting counterpoint from another farmer in the audience - that these issues largely impact first generation farmers and producers, who've never worked in other jobs outside of farming. Jimmy agrees: building up this kind of digital literacy is key,
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm especially as economic demand changes
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm another interesting observation regarding the rise and threat of swine flu, from a member of the audience associated with the British Pig Association: that it's not pig farmers who can mitigate it, but the general public, who go on holiday and bring illnesses back
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm basically, education is crucial across the board - and also of course how that can be facilitated
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm aaaaand that's a wrap! A rare, rare wrap
@CavJamLady @jimmysfarm ⭐ thank you Jimmy and everyone for coming ⭐
