The Big Pringle Dilemma...Morals or Money.

Probably the worst example of provable disrespect of the farmers by an experienced crop enthusiast.

Attempting to modify visiting habits grown over previous, sometimes long years of friction generating behaviour is never going to be easy. The other evening we had a farmer at the Coronation Hall event who is currently willing to meet with this visiting population treating it as an opportunity to be positive. However I do not think we should ever take this attitude for granted…patience may sometime become frayed.

I am currently working closely with this farmer as you may well know right now working hard to educate and encourage a new way of experiencing the CFs in a way not previously done before. The CGI approach is unique and novel and up to the time of writing seems to be working very well. However we cannot work miracles or even do this on our own, we need the cooperation of all involved parties if we are to take this to another level…into the 21st century.

Group leaders often charge money to take people around CFs which brings me sadly to my point here. What should one do if one has a group eager to visit a CF but there is no farmer permission? Well the moral and sensible way would be to respect the farmer’s position if he did not wish for visitors, but this would mean disappointment and potentially a loss of earnings for the group leader. I feel that experienced leaders especially have an important role to play here in setting an example to others who may not have been into a CF before. The trend seems to be that if people see others go into a CF they believe it is OK to enter, but of course this is not the case. The other absurd favourite is…”Someone said it was OK to enter”. This is an issue not many wish to address as they wish to maintain ambiguity which keeps options open for themselves

Naming and shaming is a sore point with many, especially if they feel at sometime they may well be the subject in question but sadly I feel sometimes it is necessary. Lucy Pringle is an example as yesterday she was seen leading a group into Cley Hill CF without permission. The farmer had repeatedly said "NO admission" from day one! My question is… “However are we to move ahead, lesson social tension and get on with farmers better in the future if even the most experienced crop people cannot ‘get it right”...basically taking the 'Micky'! It just seems so short sighted and self serving, is hard to ignore. Just because that way was the going rate for so many years does not make it right now. Look what trouble it caused. I personally encourage respect, evolution with positivity and integrity but I see some sadly struggle with such concepts...have no shame.

Here is an open admission of wrongdoing by Ms. Pringle from her website, this time at Milk Hill…all so that she can receive money from people…she feels special and visiting protocol does not apply to her, only others! This CF certainly did not have farmer permission!

“Visiting a crop circle was the top of Gabriel’s list so we started off by walking up the grass track to circle below the Milk White Horse at Alton Barnes, Wiltshire. We could see the circle quite clearly as we walked towards along the path and marks in the field where people had trampled over the crop to reach it. Having visited it previously on the day it first appeared, I knew the entry point into the field which would lead directly down a tramline into the circle, thereby not damaging the crop at all. Into the field we went and not only was the circle no longer visible, the landscape had somehow changed due to the recent incessant rain and heavy winds which had caused considerable wind damage knocking the crop flat where I thought the entry tramline should be. However, I decided we should walk further along the vertical tramline and we entered a horizontal tramline only to find it was the wrong one. Undaunted we tried another—another wild goose chase.”

Does this woman have the right to flaunt etiquette for self-serving reasons that encourages others to disregard farmer respect? This behaviour is exactly what is NOT needed if farmer relations are to improve!

Again I say, and quote Edmund Burke 18th century statesman...

'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.'

( Not exactly evil here but principle applies.)