Northumberland County Show

Hi All,

Well our Royal has done us proud…….

Our boar, Royal Standard, was entered into competition at the Northumberland County Show. This was our first show. Bob was up bright and early on Monday morning and travelled to the show ground with Royal in the pig trailer. They arrived really early, at least an hour before anyone else in the pig tent, but they did beat all the traffic. Bob settled Royal into his pen, gave him his final wash and brush up. Then waited for the competition to begin. Our category was first up and the boars entered the ring with their owners, who all have to dress in shirt, tie and white coat….jeans are frowned upon! The judge, who was very smartly dressed in his bowler hat, pondered over the result. Obviously, we thought we were the best in show, particularly as one of the boars, who got a second place, escaped from the pen and into the crowd, during the competition. Being a naughty pig does not result in an elimination! Royal came third and now we have a lovely yellow rosette!

We certainly would have won for the largest number of supporters in the audience…..all the family and a huge number of friends came along to watch. The day was great….the weather was fab, the company was lovely and the event so good, Bob has now got the ‘bug’ and can’t wait to do it all again (or has he?)……….

When we all got back home and settled, the chickens, ducks and pigs all had to be fed and checked on. Bob did the rounds while I watered the greenhouse. Bob asked me to help in the field with the pigs. Surprise, surprise…..one of our sows is now a mummy! Royal is a dad! What a good day for our boar! A rosette and a new family!!

Nine new piglets were sunning themselves in the evening sun. They were less than two hours old and soooooo tiny. We now have twenty four pigs on our smallholding!

Today, our vet has been to check our pigs after we requested a visit. We are still novices and we do like confirmation that we are doing ok. We are. Phew! The vet left and Bob and I thought we would ‘chill’ a little and have a nice relaxing lunch. I put the kettle on, looked out of the window and oh my goodness…….Royal had escaped his temporary pen (a pen we had arranged so that he was away from all the girls, staying clean for the show) and was trying to get into the pen containing eight of our young girls. Chill???? Nope….we spent the next hour trying to put Royal back into his pen….you have to understand that this area is more that two acres of land…..it was not easy. Frustrating fun was had. We did get Royal back. It did take two goes to return him to his pen. We shall wait and see if Bob still has the ‘bug’!?

TIP OF THE WEEK – Provided by Christine, one of our lovely customers. In this very warm weather produce such as lettuce can flag and wilt under hot temperatures. Christine has recommended filling a mug with water and popping in your leaves. Overnight they refresh and look as if they have just been picked. Thanks Christine.

If you would like to see photos of the piglets, please take a look on Instagram.

Ann