If any one person is to blame for my decision to farm alpacas it has to be Rob Bettinson.
I visited his farm bought some alpacas and the res as they say is history.

Alpaca farming is however only one of Robs talents and as his new show Buddy opens in the west end of London this week I thought would be interesting to tell you some more about Rob. Here are a few extracts from recent interview.



Rob Bettinson directed and co-wrote (with Alan Jones) the blockbuster bio-musical Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story for the West End and Broadway and directed the UK, US, Canadian and Australian tours. The show has won over a dozen major nominations and awards, including two Olivier Awards and a Tony Award.

Lives now in
With my wife Shirley and our children Kerry, Laura, Scott and Grant in a little village called Dunchurch in the heart of the Warwickshire countryside near Rugby. Some of the buildings still have thatched roofs and date back to the 15th century.

Sounds like a complete contrast to Theatreland.
It certainly is. During the first five years of Buddy I was travelling around a lot and needed to settle somewhere so we bought this rundown farmhouse and spent a lot of time renovating it. My wife is a trained a physiotherapist but she now works with me down on the farm.

Did you say farm?
Yes, we have 60 acres where we breed alpacas. We bought four alpacas a few years ago just for the kids, but now they’ve taken over our lives and we have 60 acres supporting 180 animals. Our eldest daughter does all the production side, processing the raw fleeces and marketing the products. We even have a shop on the farm, take in paying guests and sell alpaca-made items on the Internet.

Does that mean you talk alpaca at home rather than theatre?
Well, I have to admit that a new language of alpaca studs and breeding stock has tended to dominate the Bettinson household for some time now, although Buddy creeps into the conversation now and then.

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