Entertainment

Alex James reveals country life setbacks

The musician recently lost two geese and a dozen hens to a Cotswolds fox.
The musician recently lost two geese and a dozen hens to a Cotswolds fox.

Blur bassist-turned-cheesemaker Alex James has revealed that life in a country house is not without its setbacks.

The musician, who lives with his wife and five children on a 200-acre farm in Oxfordshire, revealed that they recently lost two geese and a dozen hens to a Cotswolds fox.

The star told The Sunday Times he was not particularly upset by the predation, although his girls and boys were “distraught”.

Alex James (David Jensen/PA)
(David Jensen/PA Archive/PA Images)
Alex James (David Jensen/PA)

He told the paper: “Our two geese and a dozen silkie hens, all called Dave, were eaten by a fox a few weeks ago.

“The kids were distraught. I wasn’t so sorry about the geese – they do 12,000 poos a day and need to be followed with a pressure washer.”

James and his wife Claire moved to the farm from London in 2003, where he now makes cheese and runs a food and music festival called the Big Feastival.