THIS is the worst time of the year. The clocks have gone back and the days get shorter and darker.

The weather is unpleasant and the Christmas break is still six weeks away.

And to cap it all, three of my front teeth fell out on cue for Hallowe’en. Trick or treat? don’t make me laugh!

Still, you have to make the best of it and I had a bit of fun with the Bishops last week.

The Archbishop of York asked the government what they were doing to help sheep farmers when new regulations came into force in December which require sheep to be fitted with electronic tags.

These are the result of a rather over-the-top European directive which is aimed at tackling future outbreaks of diseases such as foot and mouth among sheep and goats.

I started my follow-up question by congratulating the ‘right reverend primate’ – the archaic words we have to use to refer to an Archbishop – on bringing before the House a question about the sheep and the goats.

The Bishops’ bench was full and burst into hearty laughter. I thought the Church of England could do with something to laugh about in view of their current problems.

But the question of sheep farming is a serious one. I pointed out that the latest survey figures suggest that the average annual income of sheep farmers in “less favoured areas” – that's upland areas like many around here – was around £5,000 to £10,000.

The government has, to be fair, negotiated some useful “derogations” in the jargon – for instance, lambs intended to go to slaughter before they are a year old will not have to be given an electronic ID (tag).

But the cost and hassle of this new system will still be significant for many sheep farmers, particularly in the uplands.

People might ask – would it matter if the sheep disappeared from our local moors and the rest of the Pennines, or even the Lake District fells?

If that happened, most of the hills would quickly turn into scruffy scrubland and even, in time, thin woodland. Is that what we want?

Happen, or happen not (as they say). Either way, we ought to think hard before our upland farmers are driven out of business.