13 May 07

11 March 07

25 February 07

11 February 07

22 January 07

7 January 07

Boxing Day 06

26 December 06

6 November 06

8 October 06

17 September 06

13 August 06

19 March 06

WHAT A SPORT, WHAT A FARM…..OH HAPPY DAYS. With just a small lyrical adjustment Julie Andrews and the Von Trap Family singers may well have been able to surpass even their rousing performance if only they had harmonised “The hills are alive with the sound of ratting”. Other than a sub-duvet, loving stroke from a partner intent on desire the ratters would challenge anyone to find a more uplifting way to spend a Sunday morning.

So it came to pass that the Malton & Norton Rugby Ratcatchers again joined up outside the Spotted Cow; drawn together with the sole purpose of assisting the same Hovingham Farmer to lessen his blighted farm of parasitic rodents.

The Convoy of Six terriers and assorted stick men arrived at the farm to find a yard, soft under foot from the deluge received the week previous. As the members got out of their vehicles many decided a change of footwear might well be an advantage, in a similar way that the bumpy skinned Nicky Lauder might well have changed his tyres for a wet track. Before the sticks and spades could be removed from their cars some of the ratters found themselves hopping around with only a single welly on as rats bolted from every direction. “Scamp” and “Toffee” wasted no time in judging a rat a piece and “Billy” followed shortly behind with one of his own. This seemed to set the tone for the entire morning with an eventual bag that exceeded our wildest hopes.

The ratpack seemed happy to re-hunt the ground trodden only a few months previous. One could barely believe that the rats would be so brazen to have re-colonised so soon after their families had been moved on. One amazed spectator likened it to a vigilante parish council moving on those horrid travelling folk with their chained up horses and debatable toilet habits.

As the smoker revved, spades stabbed and alkathene pipes wacked the tally bag increased rapidly. “Elvis” fresh from his leave of duty seemed keen to impress on lookers with the frequency of his speedy dispatches. The drive of the day came from a very unassuming pile of roof sheets and rotten timber. Terriers at first glance seemed very uninterested. This may well of been through self preservation and the thought of work to come. As the site was cleared rats spat from holes like an Amsterdam Circus Trick. Terriers ran between legs and sped off after rats in a way that some may have thought chaotic. Yet there were few moments within the drive that every dog was without rat in mouth. “Coco” finally received her team colours, seeing off not just one but a number of adult rats that might have closely equalled her size and weight. As old silage sheeting and tyres were dragged away the rats kept coming. Many of the out field stick men saw plenty of action. Special note was made of the abilities from a certain ratting family who all bagged some quite showman-esque kills. This exhibitionism was not restricted to the males of the group with a female ratter scoring 6 out of 6 from the judges for her Swan dive lunge to intercept quarry.

As if the rodents of Ryedale weren’t quaking in their boots enough behind the wake that is the Rugby Ratcatchers killing machine, “Raymond” arrived (LATE….AGAIN) fresh form his latest feline adventures. Keen to make up for lost time he brutally put an end to many a rat.

By early afternoon terriers and ratters alike were flagging. The urge for a pub lunch and some rest from the battlefield brought an end to proceedings. In a new twist and with an air of competition a sweep stake was drawn, terrier of the match decided and guess the heaviest rat concluded. First time ratter “Alan” guessed nearest at seventy, “Scamp” was elected terrier of the match, and the mammal that found itself on the scales, defied the laws of biology by weighing in at a little under 2lb. The prize for terrier of the match had been proposed to have been a pair of dried sows ears. However prize giving had to be postponed when it became apparent that “Scamp” lived on a pig farm and he could chew on as many piggy appendages as he liked from fallen stock dragged out of the yard.

All told the ratters had a great day. Although some of our regulars were unable to attend with work commitments, those that did battle would like to thank the host farmer for a most excellent day out and hope to be able to visit again soon.