The glory days - Michael Twist

The Glory Days recalls one of the great ages of farming and a time when farmers were truly appreciated, ironically the Second World War. Successive inter-war governments had failed to support farming effectively but now the country required a massive increase in production from impoverished land. When Michael Twist, invalided out of the army, is appointed estate manager on the run-down Roundhill estate in the Vale of Aylesbury, he knows that he must succeed, not just because Colonel Devereux will sack him if he fails, but because the country needs people like him to provide the food that will help to sustain the war effort. The challenges Michael faces include restructuring the labour force with the aid of Land Girls, building up a high-yielding herd of Dairy Shorthorns, setting up the country's first Al centre and organising wheat became the largest grass-drying unit in the country. But The Glory Days is not just about farming. Drawing parallels with the state of the countryside today, it also reminisces about the challenges of maintaining rural traditions such as hunting against a background of fifth columnists, Doodlebugs and uncertain news from abroad.