Is it more dangerous to be a rock star or a farmer, I ask Alex James, who is both. He’s been the bass guitarist in Blur, the band that built Britpop, for 36 years (he joined Blur in 1988, aged 19; he’s now 56), and he’s owned and run 200 acres of land in Kingham in the Cotswolds since 2003, producing cheese and, latterly, booze, keeping chickens and ducks and running an annual festival. His farm neighbours those of Jeremy Clarkson and Carole “Daylesford” Bamford.
“Oh my God, farmer,” James says. “Farmer.” James has nearly died twice on his farm. The first time was when he and his wife, the film producer Claire Neate, tried cattle farming. “I was going to Chelsea Flower