Nobby, the Norfolk Horn ram, stole the show at Yorkshire’s Wool Week event when, cool as a cucumber, he walked through the streets of York to be photographed outside the spectacular West Door of York Minster wearing a specially commissioned Union Jack made entirely from Yorkshire wool.
He was at the Minster as part of a special ‘Sheep and Shepherds’ event to celebrate the nation’s first ever Wool Week and the success of an NFU campaign to get wool to the Olympics.
In just 120 days more than 11,000 people have signed a public petition calling on the Olympic organisers to provide a showcase for one of the nation’s most enduring, unique and environmentally friendly products. This exceeds the original goal of attracting 10,000 supporters.
During the day, hundreds of people and pupils of nearby Minster School turned out to enjoy the event which centred on the very popular and entertaining Sheep Show, a half-hour sheep extravaganza that introduces a range of different sheep breeds and concludes with a shearing demonstration.
Alongside this, Sheffield spinning group The Murmuring Wheel put on a display of spinning and weaving and even encouraged enthusiastic visitors to have a go themselves. Freelance spinner Diane Fisher also unveiled the giant Union Jack commissioned by the NFU that she designed and made – spinning, dying and crocheting the entire thing by hand.
It is hoped to present this to the Olympic organisers as a symbol of the industry’s commitment to help make the Games a success.
Commenting, NFU regional director Richard Ellison said the aim was to encourage more people to think about the value of wool as a renewable, sustainable resource that as well as being hugely versatile is part of our national heritage and identity.
“Wool and wool prices have been in the doldrums for too long, so it is good to see everyone from farmers and interior designers to architects and retailers joining forces to promote the five year Campaign for Wool, launched to the public this week,” he said.
“If successful this campaign has the potential to help reverse the fortunes of wool, and in so doing ensure a rosy future for the 50,000 farming families that produce it and the sheep flocks so vital to maintain the glorious landscape for which Yorkshire is famous.”
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