Gower: Force townies to learn about rural life I live in the country and find it irritating when issues that affect it are decided by city dwellers, many of whom love tarmac, are allergic to grass and find it hard to understand where Morris dancing came from. He added: "It'd be really good for town and country folk, when they're at school, to learn more about each other. There'd be a low-level exam. If you fail twice, you're not allowed to vote; unless you understand the issues, you're not qualified. Gower, who appeared on BBC One's They Think It's All Over and is now a pundit for Sky Sports, said he would also like to see red win prescribed on the NHS, and "urge the world" to do more sport. He said: "I'd permit fox hunting and encourage tolerance of other country pursuits. I've no desire to hunt foxes, but I don't want to stop others. I shoot, and I have interesting discussions with people about firing at defenceless pheasants. I do worry about a time when townies decide to arm pheasants and they start shooting back... In an interview in the August edition of Reader's Digest, he added land devoted to shooting is "well tended, with cover crops and woods." "The landowners I know are responsible people who want to preserve their estates for future generations," he said. And the shooting community is very clear that everything that's shot should be eaten. Many of these issues apply to fox hunting - conservation and also pest control. I'd ask city dwellers what they think when confronted by urban foxes, which have proliferated. Gower, who lives in Hampshire, said he would also like to see an hour devoted to the arts every week for the first five years at school. Last week, BBC presenter Kate Humble argued "hapless" city folk should be encourage to venture into the countryside, to teach them about the reality of British farming.