 Starting a farm where none had been before, they raised, in turn, bees, ducks, cows and Landrace pigs, the descendants of which he exhibited at the Royal Show where he broke all records by winning 1st prize in every category.From the mid-1960s he was a leading commercial lily grower and humorously chronicled his successes, failures and adventures as a postwar farmer in the autobiography, "Pig in the Middle" (Michael Joseph, 1966, reprinted by Noble Books, 2006).The book became the basis for the 1975–78 sitcom "The Good Life", for which he received no royalties or credit, except for recognition from cast member Felicity Kendal.