Jimmy Doherty, famed for his pig farming and links to Jamie Oliver has set himself a new woodland challenge, resulting in the Channel 4 programme: Jimmy’s Forest.  Now, you’ve got to hand it to Jimmy.  He’s up for most things: pig muck, farmers’ markets, being Jamie Oliver’s best friend . . . But being up for it does not necessarily mean it’s a good idea.  The programme started promisingly enough with Jimmy showing off his boy-scout skills with an outdoor ink making demonstration and some very pretty handwriting. But when he moved on to studying a field vole in captivity and talking about his tinkling habits, I was overcome by the first of many giggling fits.  A subsequent evaluation of owl hoots had me raising an eyebrow.

By the time the programme reached its climax I was hooting with laughter.  Jimmy and his cronies set about gathering forest foods for the campfire but their paltry findings: a handful of nuts, a smattering of leaves and some dodgy mushrooms were not deemed tasty enough for a ging-gang-goolie feast.  It seems this particular wooded area must have a shortage of grey squirrels (Jimmy’s preferred barbecue snack) according to The Telegraph.

Jimmy eventually rescued the situation with a pack of pheasant steaks he had bought earlier, rendering all that school-boy foraging a complete waste of time and undermining the whole ‘using natural materials’ ethos of the programme.  But Jimmy, we’ll forgive you because you have a choir boy’s face and a winsome tuft of hair.  Bit like an adult Tin-Tin really, but with a gang of pigs instead of a cute white dog.

Talking of pigs, I wonder who’s looking after them?  Apparently wife, Michaela has her hands full with a nineteen month old daughter and another on the way.  Let’s just hope Jimmy’s ‘Back to Basics’ Jolly hasn’t left his pigs knotting their curly tails.  It wouldn’t do to forget who puts the squirrels on the table 😉 .

Picture sourced at: http://bit.ly/NeSFpj.

Jimmy’s Forest: A Real Hoot.