Stevie Mitchell’s water buffalo from Fife are back in the news again.

The famous herd – one of the stars of the BBC’s This Farming Life series – has ‘lost’ one of its members, nick-named Buffalo Bill.

Apparently, Bill did a runner last weekend and was spotted again mid-week, but had still not been recaptured as we went to press. Stevie last saw it heading in the direction of Cardenden Woods, but the hard frost has meant that it could not be tracked.

The elusive beast weighs nearly half a tonne and escaped after a bit of rodeo when it was weighed on the farm. “It’ll be more scared of you, than you should be of it,” said Stevie, who has asked local farmers and the public to keep an eye out for Bill.

, it was its farmer members that went through so much pain to allow it to get to this position and they, too, must get a share of the ‘Thank you’.

Leaving Lanark in a hurry!

IT SEEMS that the Blackwoods, from Auldhouseburn, Muirkirk – Hugh and Alan – seemed to have been so overwhelmed by their Texel gimmer making 17,000gns at Lanark last week that they left Alan’s fiancé Lynsey at the market.

Worse than that, according to Davie Morrison, of Dalwyne, was that they left him in the bar without buying any drink for him. However, he assured me that he and his right hand man, Andrew Macmillan, ordered enough drink on the Auldhouseburn tab that there won’t be much left of the gimmer money!

Cushion confusion

Also at Lanark, Christine Gray – wife of Gordon Gray, of the Ettrick flock – got pretty upset at the market when she thought her ‘bum’ warmer cushions had been lifted.

She discovered no-one was sitting on them on her usual prime seat from where she watches the sheep being sold in the ring.

However, it turns out she had put them in the wrong ring! However, after the sale the Grays had, I’m sure the family could fit out all the ringside seats with bum warmers!

Keith’s wumman!

ONE OF the best kept secrets of the year was the surprise birthday party organised for Jeff Aiken, the ‘herd for Proctors Farms – but it was a close run thing.

Jeff appeared at the hotel for what he thought was a family meal and spied legendary Texel man, Keith Jamieson, drinking alone at the bar. Immediately, Jeff asked octogenarian Keith what he was doing in his ‘local’. Quick as a flash and with a twinkle in his eye, Keith replied: “I’m here for a date with a wumman!”

Completely taken in by that answer, Jeff was still daft enough to be surprised when the real party got underway – attended of course, by Keith (without a partner!).

Hell-raising biker!

THEY TELL me that one of the factors at Glamis Estate, Willy (with a Y) Inglis has taken to two wheels to get about his business.

But this is no highway cruiser or racing bike – it is in fact a moped.

Can’t be many tweed-bedecked factors get about that way. More Hell’s Cherub than Hell’s Angel!