Believe it or not, I can shear sheep. I am not very good at it, because I am largely self taught when it comes to shearing. However, while working in a shearing shed, on a sheep farm in Western Australia, I get to mix with down to earth country people, with their dry wit and folk wisdom that just escapes most city dwellers.

Shearing sheep is hard and dirty work. And the “Gun Shearers” like to have bare feet the whole day, at the end which; one is reeking from sheep manure, urine, wool grease and fly blown sheep. But there is something iconically Australian about it that makes it irresistible to me, and I enjoy the company of the other men in the shed.