Farmer Jeremy Clarkson plowing his field with a huge Lamborghini: “There is no greater happiness for me now”

After his stunts in the very popular auto show maximum speed Presenter and talk show host Jeremy Clarkson chooses a new stage in his career: a television series about his experiences as a novice farmer in his sprawling home in Chadlington, near Oxford. The first purchase: a giant tractor from the luxury car brand Lamborghini.

Sitting by the wood-burning stove in one of his farm rooms, Jeremy Clarkson, 61, proves he’s still wonderfully tough. It instantly informs the presenter via the zoom connection. “It has been raining here for days on end. Even the ground was flooded. None of the camera crews could get this stove to work properly. I am surrounded by fetuses!”

Clarkson, who quickly let go of his anger, is now used to setbacks at his property in Chadlington, which he bought ten years ago for £4m (around €4.5m). Having given up his manager a year ago, the presenter, despite the apparent lack of knowledge and skills, came up with a plan to run his farm himself. Moreover, it seemed to him as a romantic idea that sometimes makes him a funny TV as evidenced by the series. Clarkson Farm Which airs on Amazon Prime.

Impulsive purchase

At first everything goes wrong. Starting with the impulsive purchase of a huge tractor from the luxury car brand Lamborghini, a giant too big to work on the already imposing Clarkson estate. The beast does not even fit in his enclosure. “It was a European model, so not all English farm vehicles fit the tow bar. Moreover, the manual was in German, so I couldn’t handle that either.”

Aside from the huge investment in seeds, sheep, and helpers, as well as the unpredictable nature of British weather, Clarkson also had to deal with the strict rules that applied to farming. “It drove me crazy at first. It’s all EU regulations. I wasn’t allowed to keep manure and seed in the same shed. Don’t get me wrong: I was adamantly opposed to Brexit, but those bureaucratic measures from continental Europe still apply to English farmers.” This can make a person really dazed.”

Cincinnati Breeding

At first, the Clarkson Agricultural Project was viewed with skepticism, which was shown in its successful programmes maximum speed (Broadcast by the BBC, where he was fired for his short temper) and his successor en Grand Tour Show a sarcastic sense of humor as well as a healthy dose of excitement.

Many people would expect me to try to portray rural life and its inhabitants in this series. No way! I mostly deceive myself. I’m just a zealous city dweller who does everything wrong. Fortunately, I have a number of good advisors and helpers around me, like Caleb, a 21-year-old butler who doesn’t like anything. Not even me. He often puts me on my number if I make another blunder. justly.”

‘Exaggeratedly exaggerated’

As a noble farmer, Clarkson also has to deal with the coronavirus outbreak that is frustrating business on his estate. He himself was tested with the virus, which was widely circulated in the English media. The British newspapers exaggerated the whole thing. I have been isolated for about seven days. It allowed me to watch all the James Bond movies in a row. But my life was not in danger, although I belong to the risk group because of my age and smoking habits. ”

The TV star has now mastered farming quite well. He sells his land products in a shop in the courtyard. He says he is now fair in his expenses and income. “But I can’t live from that. So I just have to do my TV shows and quizzes, like the UK version of Who wants to be a millionaire? And new episodes of Grand Tour. But I can assure you of one thing: there is no greater happiness for me now than to plow my land on a tractor. It is a wonderful feeling that only farmers realize. But there is one condition: nothing can go wrong, because I’ve had my share of setbacks here”

Clarkson Farm Now available on Amazon Prime Video.

mixed reactions

He may have been toned down thanks to all of it, but Clarkson remains a controversial figure. This was also shown in the reactions to his latest show. at Watchman He should barely put it one star. According to the leading British newspaper reviewer, the program can be summed up as follows: “The baboon showed how baboons let things go wrong for eight hours.” Other newspapers are more positive. to me telegraph For example Clarkson Farm A program that satisfies even the most rabid Clarkson-haters: “Only because he gets kicked into balls occasionally by a sheep or accidentally electrocuted himself.” also with times The reviewer is a loyal fan of Clarkson’s agricultural adventures: “What at first seems like a silly enterprise turns into a real adventure when the man who made his name by being completely disrespectful to everything and everyone shows his admiration for people better than he does by digging wells or grip of sheep.”