Alex James

Profile: Full name: Steven Alexander James Area of interest: Lifestyle, farming and countryside Journals/Organisation: The Independent Email: a.james@independent.co.uk Personal website: Website: Blog: Guardian.co: cheesediaries (VIDEO) Representation: Networks:

Biography: About: Education: Bournemouth School, Charminster; Goldsmiths College, London: French Career: former musician in pop grup Blur see Wikipedia biography "Recovered rock’n’roller Alex James has left his Blur days behind and now lives on a farm with his wife, their three children, some sheep and a lot of cheese. His autobiography of rock excess, Bit of a Blur, was published in 2007." (source: The Independent) Current position/role: Columnist also writes/written for: Q magazine, The Idler Other roles/Main role: Farmer, Musician Other activities: Disclosures: Viewpoints/Insight: How Alex James became a very big cheese in the country Observer Food Monthly, 19th Novemeber, 2006 (Polly Vernon finds out why Blur's baddest boy has relinquished a life of wine, women and narcotic-fuelled benders at The Groucho Club for cheese-making in the Cotswolds) Observer Food Monthly Broadcast media: IMDb Video: Controversy/Criticism: Awards/Honours: Scoops: Other:

Books & Debate: Bit of a blur (2007) OCLC 84150817 Latest work: Speaking/Appearances: Debate:

The Independent: Column name: Rural Notebook Remit/Info: Lifestyle, farming and countryside (column was previously called 'The Great Escape') Section: Role: Columnist Pen-name: Email: a.james@independent.co.uk Website: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/alex-james Commissioning editor: Day published: Wednesday Regularity: Weekly Column format: Average length:

Articles: 2010 Goodbye, 'Star Wars', hello, Florence - 2nd September What to do when confronted by a bull - 26th August What a shame to miss bat man's visit - 18th August Chillis, cheese and matters of taste - 11th August Wonderful ways to enjoy the summer - 28th July Three trips to make the perfect summer - 21st July Sometimes, I long to be beside the sea - 14th July Pizza perfection, here I come - 16th June The rape of England - 9th June My irrational fear of the woods at night - 2nd June I'd run a mile from doing a marathon - 28th April Play football, but don't watch it - 21st April Fox chase leads to a wild swim adventure - 14th April No longer any need to emigrate to Provence - 7th April I want to grow my own pizza - 24th March I feel drawn like a moth to a flame - 17th March And with one bound I was free - 11th March Hedge find worthy of the investment - 3rd March Bean here, done that. And very nice too - 24th February A pizza farm – with all the toppings - 17th February Farming kings of the Welsh mountains - 10th February Going bananas for a polytunnel - 3rd February Running in the woods has its ups and downs - 27th January When Chef said he loved my cheese... - 20th January The beauty of this frozen landscape - 13th January

Articles: 2009 Getting a whole new perspective on life - 23rd December Back to earth, with a bump - 16th December The 15ft whopper – Christmas on a stick - 9th December Picture perfect as the season turns - 2nd December Grandeur with the life sucked out of it - 25th November My heart was singing in the rain - 18th November I woke up, and it was a different world - 11th November All the fun of the fair – the travellers' way - 4th November Pear tree provides summer's last show - 21st October An October of sunny kisses and cute chicks - 14th October A biodynamic lesson from Lincolnshire - 7th October A timeless treasure buried in the woods - 30th September A dedicated follower of farmyard fashion - 23rd September Farmers go at it all guns blazing - 16th September Another assignment for a special agent - 9th September Joy of the countryside gets lost in translation - 2nd September A bumpy landing... and then calm - 26th August Ready to wrap up under starry skies - 19th August A down-to-earth break with the Baron - 12th August A quad bike, my dog and a very lucky deer - 29th July Woodland is a luxury, pure and simple - 22nd July Great Danes can be proud of hot dogs - 15th July Bees, knees and a sweet solution - There were bees turning up everywhere: in cupboards, in curtains, in clusters - 8th July I'm going to take my cheese underground - 1st July It's nice to rock back and smell the roses - 24th June Punch drunk in the summer moonlight - 17th June Let's hear it for the cheese supergroup - 10th June Mozzarella magic in the Daylesford deli - 3rd June Don't risk causing bulls any trouble - 27th May Thieves will take anything – even sheep - 20th May There's no need to bone up on chickens - 13th May Costly business of the miraculous mower - 6th May Newton's fourth law: country life takes ages - 29th April Butchers, bakers and beautiful Burford - 22nd April The perfect meal in paradise - 15th April Nothing could please me more - Recently I've grown to appreciate the little pauses - 8th April In no rush to beat this addiction - Green shoots, they're everywhere, no word of a lie - 1st April At home in the strangest of places - 25th March In awe of the eternal music of spring - 18th March Everyone ought to keep chickens - 11th March A season bursting with potential - 4th March There are lawyers all over my fields - 25th February So how does my garden grow? Badly - 18th February Snow reveals my flock's true colours - 11th February Here's a way we lead the world - 4th February I'm so busy I forget how much I love it - 28th January Gentle Mayfair packs a Wallop - 21st January No distance left to run in the country - 14th January My opportunity to walk on water - 7th January

Articles: 2008 The weightless joy of a divine descant - 31st December 2008 Middle of nowhere: the best place to be - 24th December 2008 Winter means a heating headache - 17th December 2008 It's park life, but not as you'd imagine it - 10th December 2008 The welcome fog - 3rd December 2008 A hearty meal beats death warmed up - 26th November 2008 Cows are cooler than aeroplanes - 19th November 2008 Settling in for one cosy, muddy winter - 12th November 2008 Is this the shape of farming to come? - 5th November 2008 Enchanted by my bird's eye view - 29th October 2008 To Daphne's, with all guns blazing - 22nd October 2008 A visit to a farm in the fast lane - 15th October 2008 A bee experience with a sting in tale - 8th October 2008 Out of Aberdeenshire – broccoli all in a row - 1st October 2008 Laughing cow, pouncing tiger - 24th September 2008 Getting a pizza the action from a master - 17th September 2008 I wouldn't give a fig for any other month - 10th September 2008 Happy as a pig in a good pair of wellies - 3rd September 2008 No messing around with the river, please - 27th August 2008 Bright as a button, beak like a dagger - 20th August 2008 So nice to dog-trade with rich people - 13th August 2008 Modern farmers are really just playing the stock market - Hi-tech farming to match Formula One - 6th August 2008 The heat is on (but are sheep cool?) - 30th July 2008 Winning urban hearts with trees and fields - 23rd July 2008 We were hosts to the British Cheese Awards on Friday… - 16th July 2008 Round here, a farm is way down the housing scale - 9th July 2008 I was driving back from Scotland on Saturday night when the headline act at Glastonbury came out shouting and swearing... - 2nd July 2008 I hadn't really planned a holiday this summer. I'm a barnacle. All farmers are, I think. - 25th June 2008 The outdoor shower exploded today. It suddenly became a fountain… - 18th June 2008 I keep getting arrested – by details. Maybe it's because I'm listening to so much Beethoven that everything seems irresistibly interesting - 11th June 2008 It's the British cheese awards next month... - 4th June 2008 There were life forms in the towels, but I'd go back - 28th May 2008 First we stopped at the carnivorous plants, utterly fantastic - 21st May 2008 "What are they singing about?" I asked the interpreter... - 14th May 2008 I was facing a whole day of interminable terminals – airports... - 7th May 2008 The second cup of coffee and the second cigarette are the best of the day... - 30th April 2008 I'd never been this far up the other end of a bacon sandwich before... - 23rd April 2008 It was about 15 years ago. I was tearing around Manhattan in the middle of the night... - 16th April 2008 I think what makes farms so compulsive, once you start getting involved, is that they are dynamic systems - 9th April 2008 There's a rumour going around that a passion fruit vine would work on a south facing Oxfordshire wall - 2nd April 2008 I remember the trees were just coming into blossom and there were gypsies camping on the roadside... - 26th March 2008 Something strange and wonderful seems to be happening. A cappuccino stand has appeared... - 19th March 2008 When this farm was built in the 1800s, agriculture was lucrative, booming like the music business of the 1980s - 12th March 2008 I've learnt about farming the same way that I learnt about music: by jumping in and doing it - 5th March 2008 I do occasionally wonder if we should retire and move to the real country... - 27th February 2008 There was a forgotten half-cup of espresso frozen solid on the well when I first stepped outside at sunrise - 20th February 2008 At this time of year, sunset can spin forever. On Monday it lingered large like a massive yawn - 13th February 2008 I wouldn't like to start working out how much these eggs cost to produce... - 6th February 2008 I crossed the Cotswolds to Bisley in Stroud, Laurie Lee country - 30th January 2008 We were lucky to inherit sheep when we moved to the farm. They look nice - 23rd January 2008 Weather is incompatible with modern life - 16th January 2008 That was Epiphany Sunday, that last one. What a good time to have it, just when the fun has run out - 9th January 2008 Christmas was excellent but not as serene as I'd anticipated - Friday 4th January 2008

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Links: Wikipedia bio