Farmer Palmer
Encyclopedia
Farmer Palmer is a character in the British
comic, Viz.
As the name suggests, Farmer Palmer is a parody of farmers in Britain. He is evidently from the West Country
, judging by his accent (like many Viz characters, all of his speech is written phonetically), and in recent years has been seen as a caricature of the real-life farmer Tony Martin
.
Farmer Palmer is never without a shotgun and has a tendency to shoot dead any dog that comes within a mile of his farm and declaring "Ee wuz wurryin moy sheep" (translation: "He was worrying my sheep") and he'll frequently chase and/or shoot walkers who dare to come onto his land. Farmer Palmer also engages in the most horrendous farming practices, such as using toxic pesticide and allowing diseases such as BSE (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
) to run rampant amongst his mistreated animals. At the height of the 2001 Foot and Mouth disease epidemic, there was a strip showing Farmer Palmer scraping the decaying scabs from the mouths of infected pig
s and selling them as pork scratchings
to the local pub. He is extremely bigoted and xenophobic
(including with people outside his local area) yet gleefully accepts farming subsidies
from Europe.
The stereotype of inbreeding
in West Country rural areas is alluded to frequently, with Farmer Palmer's son Jethro at one point marrying his sister and producing a one-eyed baby. Farmer Palmer originally disapproved of Jethro marrying his own sister, but then thought "Well, it never stopped your mum and me." Although he hates outsiders, Farmer Palmer once turned his farm into a guest house. The first couple to stay there fled in terror when Jethro pounded on their door all night, demanding to see the female guest's "dugs" (breasts) and in the morning they witness Farmer Palmer making bacon for breakfast by slicing up a squealing piglet alive.
Recently, Farmer Palmer has joined the Countryside Alliance
, a real-life organization that has protested against the British Government for what it sees as urban people interfering in rural affairs, such as the government's ban on Fox Hunting
.
Farmer Palmer's catchphrase, occurring at least once in most versions of his strip, is "Get orff moy laand." This also appeared on a Viz-licensed T-shirt depicting Farmer Palmer and Jethro.
A character called Farmer Palmer featured in the first issue of viz (in a strip called 'Fat Sod') where he kills the title character and puts him in a pie - however this version looks different, and does not speak with the same West Country accent, so may not be the same character.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comic, Viz.
As the name suggests, Farmer Palmer is a parody of farmers in Britain. He is evidently from the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
, judging by his accent (like many Viz characters, all of his speech is written phonetically), and in recent years has been seen as a caricature of the real-life farmer Tony Martin
Tony Martin (farmer)
Anthony Edward "Tony" Martin is a farmer from Norfolk, England, who in 1999 killed one burglar and wounded another who had both entered his home...
.
Farmer Palmer is never without a shotgun and has a tendency to shoot dead any dog that comes within a mile of his farm and declaring "Ee wuz wurryin moy sheep" (translation: "He was worrying my sheep") and he'll frequently chase and/or shoot walkers who dare to come onto his land. Farmer Palmer also engages in the most horrendous farming practices, such as using toxic pesticide and allowing diseases such as BSE (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy , commonly known as mad-cow disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, about 30 months to 8 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of...
) to run rampant amongst his mistreated animals. At the height of the 2001 Foot and Mouth disease epidemic, there was a strip showing Farmer Palmer scraping the decaying scabs from the mouths of infected pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s and selling them as pork scratchings
Pork rind
Pork rind , is the fried or roasted skin of a pig. Frying melts most of the fat from the pork rind...
to the local pub. He is extremely bigoted and xenophobic
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
(including with people outside his local area) yet gleefully accepts farming subsidies
Agricultural subsidy
An agricultural subsidy is a governmental subsidy paid to farmers and agribusinesses to supplement their income, manage the supply of agricultural commodities, and influence the cost and supply of such commodities...
from Europe.
The stereotype of inbreeding
Inbreeding
Inbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents. Inbreeding results in increased homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits. This generally leads to a decreased fitness of a population, which is...
in West Country rural areas is alluded to frequently, with Farmer Palmer's son Jethro at one point marrying his sister and producing a one-eyed baby. Farmer Palmer originally disapproved of Jethro marrying his own sister, but then thought "Well, it never stopped your mum and me." Although he hates outsiders, Farmer Palmer once turned his farm into a guest house. The first couple to stay there fled in terror when Jethro pounded on their door all night, demanding to see the female guest's "dugs" (breasts) and in the morning they witness Farmer Palmer making bacon for breakfast by slicing up a squealing piglet alive.
Recently, Farmer Palmer has joined the Countryside Alliance
Countryside Alliance
The Countryside Alliance is a British organisation promoting issues relating to the countryside such as country sports, including hunting, shooting and angling...
, a real-life organization that has protested against the British Government for what it sees as urban people interfering in rural affairs, such as the government's ban on Fox Hunting
Fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...
.
Farmer Palmer's catchphrase, occurring at least once in most versions of his strip, is "Get orff moy laand." This also appeared on a Viz-licensed T-shirt depicting Farmer Palmer and Jethro.
A character called Farmer Palmer featured in the first issue of viz (in a strip called 'Fat Sod') where he kills the title character and puts him in a pie - however this version looks different, and does not speak with the same West Country accent, so may not be the same character.