‘When the Cows Come Home’ is a light-hearted story of life in an agricultural college. Set in the 1990s, Clarrie Buchanan returns to the world of work when her two young children start school and finds employment as a lecturer in Animal Management at Castle Rising College of Agriculture and Horticulture. Here she encounters the charismatic but domineering Kevin Grimley, the college Principal, who has been employed to save the failing college, but his bullying management style terrifies his staff and his penchant for pretty blondes, among both the staff and students, almost destroys his career.
Soon after starting the job, Clarrie is befriended by the dependable Trelawney Harrison, the farm manager, and the heads of department John McPhee, Frank Williams and Will Pearce and she very quickly realises that the stress of working at CRC is relieved by both the pastoral beauty of the campus and the staff’s common hatred of the Principal. The animal house is managed by the beautiful Binkie Lister-Binns, the duplicitous friend of Kevin, who has developed a ‘special relationship’ with him and who cannot be trusted with any of the department’s secrets. Here too Clarrie meets and becomes fond of the ‘ragged band’ of animal management students, in particular the pretty Scarlett Green whose disastrous liaison with Kevin results in an unwanted pregnancy. Clarrie is also involved in an incident with one of the horticultural students which ends in a catastrophic fire in the farm and the subsequent death of the sheep and their lambs.
When the attractive Hugo Phennick is appointed as a lecturer in Business Studies, Clarrie exulting in the love of her job and her new found freedom from motherhood, finds it difficult to resist his charms and falls in love with him - a situation which she knows she has to end as soon as she can if she is to save her marriage to loyal and reliable Bill.
Under running the whole story is the mystery as to who is stealing the dairy cows from the college farm and why. When Will Pearce, the head of Agriculture, is peremptorily and unjustifiably sacked by Kevin, Clarrie and her friends set up a watch on the farm to clear his name and to discover the identity of the thieves. When they turn out to be the two people, the staff would have least expected, the whole college celebrates with a fabulous Open Day climaxing in an unexpected display by the Red Arrows!
Soon after starting the job, Clarrie is befriended by the dependable Trelawney Harrison, the farm manager, and the heads of department John McPhee, Frank Williams and Will Pearce and she very quickly realises that the stress of working at CRC is relieved by both the pastoral beauty of the campus and the staff’s common hatred of the Principal. The animal house is managed by the beautiful Binkie Lister-Binns, the duplicitous friend of Kevin, who has developed a ‘special relationship’ with him and who cannot be trusted with any of the department’s secrets. Here too Clarrie meets and becomes fond of the ‘ragged band’ of animal management students, in particular the pretty Scarlett Green whose disastrous liaison with Kevin results in an unwanted pregnancy. Clarrie is also involved in an incident with one of the horticultural students which ends in a catastrophic fire in the farm and the subsequent death of the sheep and their lambs.
When the attractive Hugo Phennick is appointed as a lecturer in Business Studies, Clarrie exulting in the love of her job and her new found freedom from motherhood, finds it difficult to resist his charms and falls in love with him - a situation which she knows she has to end as soon as she can if she is to save her marriage to loyal and reliable Bill.
Under running the whole story is the mystery as to who is stealing the dairy cows from the college farm and why. When Will Pearce, the head of Agriculture, is peremptorily and unjustifiably sacked by Kevin, Clarrie and her friends set up a watch on the farm to clear his name and to discover the identity of the thieves. When they turn out to be the two people, the staff would have least expected, the whole college celebrates with a fabulous Open Day climaxing in an unexpected display by the Red Arrows!
