MUCKING ABOUT WITH ACTRESS SARAH PARISH, AND A SUCCESSFUL SHOW.

The actress Sarah Parish came along to the Farm to promote the charity that she set up with her husband James: "The Murray Parish Trust". This was set up in memory of their late daughter Ella-Jayne who died of congenital heart failure. Sarah's passion to this cause was obvious from the moment that I met her: she simply wanted to get as many people involved as possible. My job was quite easy - all I had to do was to provide her with some really mean tasks such as cleaning out the Kune Kune pigs. What I hadn't explained was that these young pigs like to nibble on people's toes, and despite Sarah wearing some heavy-duty wellie boots, she soon found that her legs and feet were the objects of attention from several inquisitive young Kune Kune piglets. Whilst feeding the goats and calves she managed to speak to many of our visitors promoting the sponsored walk that the Trust is organising at Southampton Common THIS SUNDAY 7th September. All monies raised at this event will go directly to Friends of PICU - the charity that supports the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Southampton General Hospital. We have made this our charity of the month, so if you would like to help us raise money for this special cause please let me know: there will be a charity churn at the Farm. If you would like to join in with the sponsored walk click here. 

The New Forest Show seems to get busier and busier every year, or maybe it's just me getting older!

If we could convert compliments into a monetary value then we would be very rich now as many people were very kind about the efforts we had put into our show tent this year. Our marquee was busy on all three days, so Dawn and I welcomed the help of the team who worked extremely hard to make it such a success. We left Conor in charge of the animals overnight in case any tried to escape, but he was so exhausted by the end of the day he probably wouldn't have noticed if a herd of elephants rushed through his tent. Samuel the donkey was on his best behaviour and didn't create too many problems this year, that is until the Show President walked by and Samuel gave a loud bray which startled everyone in the area - the President included! George, our large Nubian goat, was a great attraction especially when he reached up seven foot in an attempt to demolish the hanging basket above him. We installed fans inside the marquee this year to keep the animals cool, but found the visitors benefited as much as the animals, as once again, the Show benefited from some glorious weather. Thanks also go to Katie, our talented face-painter, the fabulous Countrywide staff, and our ace cartoonist, Simon Chadwick, who drew amazing cartoon animals for the show tent visitors for the whole three days, and produced our fun photoboard which is now situated at the entrance to the Farm.

  

The cow and tunnel that have been in the outdoor play area for nearly thirty years have finally been laid to rest! I didn't have the heart to put the wooden cow on the fire so she has ended up in our garden. In their place we have installed three new play structures: a Climbing Tower which enables the children to burn off some of their excess energy, the Clamber Stack which helps all ages test their agility skills, and my favourite, a Group Nest Swing, which is suitable for juniors and adults. Obviously, I had to try all this equipment out before we could let the children play on it! Next time you're at the Farm, pack the children off on a tractor ride and have a sneaky swing yourself - great fun! 

I do not watch much television so when Channel 4 phoned me up and asked if they could use the Farm to film a clip for a programme called Four in a Bed I was a bit reluctant; I had visions of this being a bit of a seedy programme and politely told the researcher that it wasn't my scene! She quickly pointed out that the series was about B & B establishments competing with each other, and that the production crew wanted to film some scenes at a local tourist attraction. I suggested some activities for the contestants, but these were dismissed on the grounds of Health and Safety. Where has the sense of adventure gone?

Thank you for all your kind comments about our new chicken website, however most of the remarks have been about how good the cartoons are, and not so much about the details on looking after chickens. If you haven't had a look yet, please follow this link: Farmer Bryan's Chicken Site  and let me know what you think. On the website, you will find lots of down-to-earth advice on keeping chickens, chicken news, and opportunities to purchase online the main items you will need. If you're local, you never know, I might turn up with your order in the new van! Watch out for more details about our Poultry Pack - a very handy pre-packed package for all your chicken's daily needs available on  a 6-week delivery basis. 

 Hope to see you soon. Farmer Bryan

C C COLD WEATHER AND EASTER ANTICS

With the previous bitterly cold weather, the daily job of keeping all the animals warm has been a challenge. We’ve had heat lamps on the guinea pigs and chicks, and even the goat kids had their own centrally heated areas. Once the gates were open to visitors, it was an even larger challenge to keep our visitors warm, but we managed with electric heaters in the Tea Room and shops. These were much appreciated by the staff and visitors alike. I imagined that I could see the smile on the faces of the Electricity Board as the meters spun round out of control! Not all our visitors are under the age of seven: we have seen an increase in the older type of visitors from local nursing homes. As the guests are taken around the farm, we hear some of the same comments that we hear from the children, such as: 'Phew, it smells here" and "Wow that cow’s big!" However, the older visitors really do like to join in, and love being kids again. It is heart-warming to see how the older guests communicate with the animals - some love to hold a chick or a rabbit, whilst others just like to watch the goats play. Easter was extremely busy—the weekend beat all attendance records since the Farm opened to the public thirty years ago. Visiting families joined in with the egg hunts, with a lot of competitive dads looking for the golden eggs that I had hidden (some eggs probably hidden far too well in some cases). I even resorted to Facebook to give out further clues - oh, how times have changed in those thirty years! Stuart has taken on the role of Poultry Keeper - I call him Doctor Dolittle because early in the morning we hear him talking to the animals! We hear his voice beaming from the chicken houses: "Come on girls, out of the way. How can I clean you out when you’re stood on my spade?" We then watch him carry the chickens around under his arm as he introduces them to his duck friends. One thing’s for sure, I am convinced that we have employed someone who really does enjoy working with the poultry. The ewes decided to lamb a little later this year, which considering the weather, was a good choice. At least ours were inside the sheds and not outside in the appalling weather conditions that some of their cousins up North had to endure. I heard one farmer from North Wales quote that finding his dead lambs in the thawing snow was as heartbreaking as losing his flock to Foot and Mouth disease back in 2001. At least the weather has warmed up now, and is kinder to all the little ones. The cows, not wanting to be last, have now started to calf, geese are hatching, and even the Kune Kune pigs have decided to join in and give birth to a litter of piglets. So, at last, spring is in the air with all these new arrivals. I think we’re owed a sunny summer don’t you? Hopefully, the grass will start to grow soon, and we can put the cows back out into the fields to graze for a few months. To the astonishment of all the staff, on Saturday 6th April, Tilly decided to give birth in front of a group of visitors. It is very unusual for donkeys to give birth in front of people (let alone a group of 25) however, she slipped her foal out very quietly as the cameras clicked and astonished visitors watched. Since it was born, the foal’s long legs and equally long ears have been the talking point at the Farm, and visitors have been helping us choose a name for this little girl….. Well, that’s what I thought she was: a week after it was born, Kim and Louisa were watching the foal playing in its stable when they noticed a little extra bit! “Look at that—that little girl is a little boy!”, they laughed. We had created a fun competition on Facebook to name the little donkey foal, and it wasn't until after over 250 suggestions for a girl’s name that Farmer Bryan had to confess on Facebook that he couldn't tell the difference between a boy donkey and a girl donkey! And yes, it’s true, I should have gone to Specsavers! And no, I still haven’t lived it down!