A County Durham farmer has begun a novel fundraising campaign – and he doesn’t give a Diddly Squat if people think it’s a load of ‘bull’.
A period of ill health meant Steven Nesbitt had to take time out from the day-to-day running of Alwent Hall Farm and Holiday Lodges in Winston, but he made sure he put that time to good use.
Steven, who is regarded as one of the North East’s leading stockmen, began using metal chain to create animal art sculptures, starting with a model of a Hungarian Racka sheep, the rare breed he has on his farm.
He then moved onto a Highland cow, but his biggest and most ambitious project to date has now come to fruition – a massive metal bull.
The bull is about to become a celebrity as it’s going on a fundraising tour which Steven hopes will raise lots of money for a charity literally close to his heart, the British Heart Foundation, and another charity with particular local meaning, the Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Association, the latter because of Cath Muir, a friend of Steven who has MND and is a well-known MND campaigner.
And among the stops on the tour will be none other than Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm.
Steven said: “I had some heart problems so whilst I took a break from the farming activities, I wanted to keep myself occupied as part of my recovery, so began using chain metal to make animal skeletons.
“I am president of the British Charolais Cattle Society so decided to make a bull and it became a real labour of love which I am now looking forward to sharing with as many people of possible over the coming months.”
Steven’s bull will start its tour with a visit to Darlington Farmers Auction Mart on Saturday May 16, and then go onto The Great British Farm Fest later in May, then to the Cereals Arables Event which is being held at Diddly Squat on June 10 and 11 and other venues later in the summer.
It will end its journey at the Stirling Bull Sales in Scotland on October 24 where it will be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with half of the auction proceeds being split between the two charities.
Steven will also be raising money along the way by running a competition to guess the weight of the bull and how much chain metal was used in its making.
All the money from the competitions will go to the two charities.
Steven added: “Because it’s something different, I am hoping we can raise tens of thousands of pounds for these two amazing charities and who knows, perhaps Jeremy Clarkson will like it so much, he will put in a bid to have it at Diddly Squat!”
