The Tamworth Breeders’ Club Winter 2010 Volume 5, Issue 2 TamworthTamworth Tamworths - The future’s orange! TrumpetTrumpet

Happy Christmas!

Bumper Christmas issue WWW ell, we’re back to having proper winters again and tough it is Inside this issue: on just about Tamworth Trifles 2 every pig keeper. With Chairman’s Message 3 forecasts pre- People 4 dicting more cold weather, Pork on the Menu 5 snow, ice and President’s Pronounce- 6 arctic winds, it’s ments good to know The Tamworth Two 7-9 that the great and the good are all ensconced in sunny Mexico discuss- ing global warming! And they only used the equivalent of 3,000 inter- News from Scotland 9-11 national flights to get there!

Boris’ Big Day 11 2010 has been a fantastic year for Liz Shankland, broadcaster, writer, Successful Breeding 11-12 smallholder and winner of both the Tamworth Champion of Champi- ons and Tamworth Pig of the Year, so well done, Liz, the established Topsy-Turvy Year 12-13 showmen are looking over their shoulders. Sarah Harris 14-15 But as you will read inside, for every success Liz has enjoyed, there Show & Sale /AGM 16-17 have been some real downs too. So perhaps we should remember Pigs in Mythology 18-19 when looking at success not to be too jealous because for every swing, there’s a roundabout just around the corner. New Secretary 20 Everybody is struggling not only with the weather but with feed and bedding costs too so take a little time out this Christmas to really en- Tamworth Trumpet joy yourself with family and friends and make the most of the break. Help spread the After a little relaxation, the trials and tribulations will look a little eas- word—recruit a new ier and the knowledge that evenings are beginning to draw out again member at every is a big boost too. All too soon those show schedules will be plopping opportunity. through the letterbox and the winter blues will be a thing of the past. Pa ge 2 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2

Tamworth Trifles by Dreamboy GGG reat to see two prominent Tamworth breeders in the news recently. Barbara Warren had a great article in the recent BPA newsletter written by Sue Fieldes. There were lots of pictures of Barbara's extensive establishment and the whole thing came over as a very professional outfit - what else would we expect from the Vice Chairman of the Tamworth Breeders' Club? The other article was about the great and ebullient Lillian Waddell and her exploits at the Royal Highland Show and all the sausage competitions she gets involved with. She also appeared on Scottish television pro- moting the pigs at a show and still found time to promote our breed north of the border. One of the highlights of this year's BPA Show and Sale was watching an incredibly exciting auction of Bill Howes' January gilt. The auctioneer had made his mind up to get the maximum possible price for the gilt and worked extremely hard to get the best out of two competing bidders. Once the bidding got to 400 guineas, there was a little hiatus between the two opposing camps and Bill immediately reached in his pocket and produced £20 luck money. This got things going again and to much merriment of the assembled crowd, the gilt finished up at £475 guineas.

Good to see Tamworths at Jimmy's Farm near Ipswich. The Chairman visited twice this year, once to do some com- mentary for Jimmy's open day and show and secondly to do some filming for a TV programme due out next year. Herdsman Andy Gready has acquired a sow from Bill Howes and a sow from Nick Hunkin and is very pleased with the initial results. Jimmy would eventually like all traditional breeds at the farm but of course his real love is of the old Essex pig fondly represented by the British Saddleback!!

It was disappointing that Smithfield was cancelled fairly late in the proceedings. I would have been pleased to see competitive classes for pigs reinstated after so many years’ absence. The Chairman was due to undertake the com- mentary at the show had it gone ahead and unfortunately the classes that were transferred to the East of England winter fair did not include the pigs.

It is a great coincidence that our new Secretary, Lucy, lives in the next village to where our Vice-President, Kathleen Pile, resided for so many years. Kathleen still retains an acre or two at Blewbury where her father and mother built up a wonderful farm when the area was still in the county of Berkshire. Good to think the Tamworths will be main- taining a connection with this area.

Sorry to hear that the redoubtable Chloe Randall has left Islay where she used to manage the Dunlossit Estate. We have an awful lot of Chloe's ideas on our website, particularly the Sow's Ear. The most regrettable feature of her departure is that the estate could no longer find anyone to run the pigs, so I gather they have all gone. This is a great shame as Chloe had all traditional breeds represented and did an awful lot with the Tamworhts in heath and moorland management.

I hear Sarah Brickell, our first Secretary, is doing well at veterinary school in Bristol. Perhaps more importantly she seems to have 9 lives as she survived totally unscathed a very serious accident on the M5 recently when another motorist hit her at speed from the side forcing her on to the crash barrier and completely across the motorway, where she apparently jumped the crash barrier at a later point and ended up in a group of trees. She opened the window, crawled out and walked away with just minimal bruising. We send Sarah our very best regards.

Finally, I am very glad the Francis brothers found Tamworths before any other breed. Their latest exploit was to be invited on to the BBC's own stand at the recent BBC Food show - the very one that our editor, Richard, was pre- sented with such a prestigious award (see article elsewhere). The Francis' had very quickly become owners of the largest herd of Tamworths in the country and are doing a fantastic job promoting the breed. Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2 Pa ge 3

Message from your Chairman by Nick Hunkin AAA s another year draws to a close, I think we can all reflect what a positive year the breed has had, even though the cold winds of the aftermath of the reces- sion are still blowing. It may not have been the most notable show season for the breed but from the point of view of growth in numbers and recognition of meat quality, we could not have done much better. I feel we have left behind the old image of unruly, undisciplined, ultra small pigs with very low fecundity. People are realising that the size of the breed has returned and growth rate is vastly improved on what it used to be. Let's hope that 2011 will continue this great trend. “People are realising that the size of the Over the years the Tamworths have become much better known as a result of more press and media exposure especially the tale of the Tamworth Two. breed has returned People still remember the breed through this and of course Caroline and growth rate is Wheatley-Hubbard's weaners provided the pigs for the much vaunted TV film and we have an article in this edition reminding us of the original episode.. vastly improved on vastly improved on Because the winter period can be so miserable, I thought I’d lighten your what it used to be. mood with a little joke I heard recently:

THE CITY SLICKER AND THE TAMWORTH BREEDER

A city slicker (who had just bought a commercial pig farm as a "commodity"), and a Tamworth breeder are sitting next to each other on a flight to Birmingham on the way to the Pig and Poultry Fair. The city slicker is thinking that Tamworth breeders are all "cloth cap and clogs" and that he can fool them easily.

So the city slicker asks if the Tamworth breeder would like to play a fun game. The Tamworth breeder is tired and just wants to take a nap so he politely declines and tries to catch a few winks. The city slicker persists and says that the game is a lot of fun. "I ask you a question, and if you don't' know the answer, you pay me only £5; you ask me one and if I don't know the answer I will pay you £500."

As may be expected, this catches the Tamworth breeder's attention and to keep the city slicker quiet, he agrees to play the game. The city slicker asks the first question. "What's the distance from the earth to the moon?" The Tamworth breeder doesn't say a word, reaches in his pocket, pulls out a £5 note and hands it to the city slicker.

Now it's the Tamworth breeder's turn. He asks the city slicker "what goes up a hill with 3 legs and comes down with 4?" The city slicker uses his laptop, searches all the references he knows. He uses his air-phone; he searches the net and even the British Library. He sends emails to all the smart friends he knows, all to no avail. After over an hour of searching, he finally gives up. He wakes up the Tamworth breeder and hands him £500. The Tamworth breeder pockets the £500 and goes straight back to sleep. The city slicker is going crazy not knowing the answer. He wakes the Tamworth breeder up and asks "Well!! What does go up a hill with 3 legs and comes down with 4?"

THE TAMWORTH BREEDER REACHES IN HIS POCKET, HANDS THE CITY SLICKER £5 AND GOES BACK TO SLEEP.

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas, prosperous New Year and happy Tamworth breeding. Also a plea from Breed Rep, Bill Howes. There’s another Bloodline Survey due in the New Year - PLEASE complete and return yours promptly. It is vital in protecting rarer bloodlines. Nick Pa ge 4 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2

People by Nick Hunkin

AROLYN MCINNES C Carolyn became involved with Tamworths just after the formation of the official breeders club in 2004. She acquired her initial breeding stock from Bill and Shirley Howes and along with husband Steve soon became swept along with infectious enthusiasm and built up a good sized herd which sat nicely along- side a small flock of sheep. After our first Secretary, Sarah Brickall, took the opportunity to move to the USA, (understandably), after only a few months in the job, Carolyn volunteered to take over and immedi- ately stepped into the role with enormous enthusiasm vowing to be the best secretary of any breed club. With no disrespect to her predecessor, (who was only in situ for a very short time), what we owe to Carolyn as a breeders club cannot be overestimated. She spent hours of her spare time writing to members, designing club features, not to mention all the merchandise which we now offer. She organised all the ro- settes and regularly kept in touch with the RBST and the BPA. She was always full of great and innovative ideas and carried the com- mittee along with her, showing true dedication and enthusiasm. Under her guidance, we set up many innovations including the points cup and the champion of champions. Carolyn was always at the forefront of all these things regularly keeping in touch with the members to encourage them to get involved. Along with Steve, she set up our fantastic website which when first started was the envy of every other breed club and still attracts very positive comments even now, 5 years later. She will long be remembered for all the work she did in the very memorable Tamworth festival of 2009. This was a unique experience for all the breeders who took part and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. That we had such a prominent site and became a big focal point for the festival was largely down to Carolyn's input.

Carolyn was the ideal breeders’ club secretary and efficiently took care of all the club's affairs without needing prompting and with a very positive attitude. Her experience as a senior manager with one of our largest energy companies stood her in good stead for all this activity. Unfortunately for us, the past 18 months has seen a complete turnaround in Carolyn's life and everything in it has be- come enormously time consuming for her. In her usual bright spirit, she had just set out her next 5 year plan for the club but soon after came the realisation that she could no longer keep up the high level of service which she had hitherto undertaken. Typically of her, she felt the club deserved better than she could offer and reluctantly decided to relinquish the job. We all send her our most sincere thanks and good wishes for the future - luckily for us she has vowed to stay on as a member and offer any help we need at any time. ______R ICHARD LUTWYCHE

There was much celebrating across the world of rare and traditional breeds as Richard Lutwyche won the coveted Derek Cooper award at the BBC Food & Farming Awards during November. The award is named after the first presenter of the BBC Food Pro- gramme and is for the person/persons who have most changed the perception of a certain type of food and the public’s relationship with it. Over the years Richard has tirelessly campaigned to promote traditional breeds of all species as of the best eating quality and has done an enormous amount to change public perception of "slow food". Among many other things, he set up the RBST Meat Marketing and accredited butchers scheme and then took it on (with attendant financial risk) as a stand alone organisation when the Trust contracted in size a few years ago. For all this he has had very little public recognition and it is to be hoped that this award will herald more much deserved tributes for his invaluable work in restoring our old traditional breeds to their former glory. With all this work on, Richard still finds time to be Secretary of the GOS Club and The BS Club and (much more importantly) be editor of the Trumpet. Amongst the judges were ex Blur guitarist turned foodie, Alex James, and our own Tamworth fancier and sometimes Trumpet contributor, Charles Campion.

Our Editor has a new book out in time for Christmas. Higgledy Piggledy. Published by Quiller Publishing it looks at the many ways that the pig has influenced our lives through culture, lan- guage, art and much more. Things as diverse as Slang & Cant, Sayings, Quotations, Pigs on Inn Signs, Pigs that Rock and Piggy People. All interspersed with fascinating stories about pigs and their impact on our history and culture.

Available from all the usual places (are there any bad book shops?) or through the publisher’s website www.countrybooksdirect.com

Hardback, 128pp with colour photos and illustrations, £14.99 Pa ge 5 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2

Tamworth Pork on the Menu at the Good Food Channel

amworth pork was given a resounding thumbs up recently as celebrity chefs Matt Tebbutt and Glynn Purnell featured pedi- T gree Tamworth pork on TV’s Market Kitchen.

The chefs are travelling the length and breadth of Britain on a culinary road trip to search out the very best of British produce and ingredi- ents and which recently saw them visit Paddock Farm to learn about their herd of pedigree Tamworth pigs. Nick and Jon Francis, who only started the herd three years ago, showed the chefs about the day- to-day challenges of outdoor pig farming and the work that goes into producing the best pork.

Having seen the care and attention that goes into raising the pigs the chefs didn’t want to stop at live animals. They also visited Paddock Farm’s on-farm butchery to discover how the brothers mature and butcher their pork to get the very best from it. Matt and Glynn then selected their own choice cuts of Tamworth pork and took them back to studio to cook for a panel of tasting judges. L-R Jon Francis, Matt Tebbutt, Glynn Purnell and Nick Francis.

Glynn, who owns and runs the Michelin-stared Purnell’s restaurant in Birmingham, cooked a glazed pork chop with sweet and sour parnsips. Matt, meanwhile, cooked a cider braised collar of Tamworth pork with apple.

Feedback from the tasting panel was overwhelmingly positive with lots of compliments for both dishes. Both chefs had done a fan- tastic job of demonstrating different techniques and approaches to cooking pork but, in the end, there was one clear winner: Tam- worth pork!

To promote the Market Kitchen series Nick and Jon were also invited to exhibit at the BBC Good Food Show last month. Again, it was a great showcase of Tamworth pork and the boys just couldn’t make enough sausages. They sold out of pork on both Friday and Saturday with lots of foodie enthusiasts stocking up for Christmas.

Could You Put Rare Breeds on the Menu with Britain's Best Dish?

ITV1’s nationwide cooking competition to find the UK’s most mouth-watering dish returns for a new series in Spring 2011 – and this could be an opportunity to put Rare Breeds on the menu. The idea of the series is to find the tastiest starter, main course or dessert cooked in the UK, with one of those courses going on to win the overall title of Britain’s Best Dish 2011, plus a £10,000 first prize. The producers are looking for “delicious homemade dishes cooked by people who have a real passion about food”. It’s a competition for amateur cooks – not professional chefs – who will have the opportunity to present their signature dish. For rare breeds enthusiasts, this could be an ideal opportunity to showcase the qualities of their produce and to highlight the impor- tance of our rare and native breeds on camera. Whatever your speciality, register your name and contact details with the production team so you can be invited to “pitch your dish” at a location near you to our panel of experts in the New Year. There will be no cooking involved at that stage but everyone will be asked to bring either a sample of their dish, a photo of it or something else that will make it stand out. If you would like to register your details for the next series of Britain's Best Dish call us on 09011 22 33 11 or email best- [email protected] Calls cost 25p from a BT landline. Calls from other networks may be higher and from mobiles will be considerably more. Lines close Friday 14th January 2011 (midday). Applications made after the regional line closures will not be considered but any calls will still be charged. You must be 14 or over to participate. Terms and Conditions at itv.com/terms Pa ge 6 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2

Presidential Pronouncements by Caroline Wheatley-Hubbard

o who is feeding the animals on Christmas morning? My sons and I. S I am very lucky to have a farm large enough to employ someone to look after the animals, and a reserve too. It has its downsides though, and with a herd our size you don’t have the intimate knowledge of each pig in the same way that you do when you feed them every day – I miss that.

Christmas has different characteristics depending on the age of you and your children. I certainly remember the years when I was a teenager – Christmas was boring and I longed for the next day when the partying would return! When my boys were small I had to keep them quiet at home until the outside duties of seeing the dairymen were finished with and stockings could then be opened. Even in those days we went for an afternoon walk to say Happy Christmas to the pigs – I don’t think that I remember a Christmas in the last 25 years when we did not scratch an orange porcine nose! Feeding the pigs on Christmas Day puts the day in perspective.

Twenty five years – and I look back at some of the events, all the porcine knowledge that I have learned, the disasters and the triumphs - the triumph of being on the winning pig float when we were Reserve Supreme at the Royal Bath and West, combined with the disaster of the float getting stuck in the mud in the middle of the grand ring!! Live that one down!!

My beloved pet pigs, Mellie who starred on telly, in magazines and is the subject of the out- line that I have used on any bits of furniture that have been made for me. Ellie who ‘passed on’ more recently – she was one of the 6 pigs that went off to make the film of “The Legend of the Tamworth Two” for the BBC. We were paid £50 per piglet, (they went at 2 weeks), on the condition that they returned to us after filming. Ellie and Maisie were the best be- haved and starred on the front of the Radio Times as well as on bill boards all over the coun- try.

I tried to use their fame to help sell the meat – quite a challenge which I did not really suc- ceed with, but Ellie was a star with visiting groups and must have had her photo taken by more people than any other pig as she posed, often not bothering to stand up properly, with groups of happy children, WI ladies etc.

The boars have often been characters, particularly those who went to the shows as they got so much attention in order to ensure that we have a relatively trouble free time. More recently we had a placid Royal Standard who was set upon by ‘another breed’ (I mention no names!!), behaved impeccably with the result that the offending boar was asked to leave the ring – that was where the nickname ‘Elvis’ came from – after all he was The King!

On the subject of The King – a very Happy Christmas to you all, and your pigs and good luck with all porcine activities in 2011.

Caroline

______

Advance Notice - Fill in Your Diary NOW There will be a Tamworth Breeders’ Club Workshop on Sunday 17th April 2011 a t Bill & Shirley Howes’ place near Kenilworth in Warwickshire.

The programme is being put together but if you would like any particular subject to be covered, please contact Bill or Shirley with details. The final programme will be pub- lished on the website in due course.

Don’t Miss It! Pa ge 7 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2

The Tamworth Two - The Truth! By Richard Lutwyche

Following on from Caroline’s reminiscences about Ellie and Maisie being filmed for The Legend of the Tamworth Two , here is an account of what happened back in 1998. t all began in January 1998. I was working at the RBST at Stoneleigh as Marketing Director and all calls from journalists came to my desk. No one in the office had the slightest inkling of what was about to occur before the many journalists – firstly from the national dailies and TV and radio and subsequently from many corners of the globe – started phoning for details about Tamworths. It wasn’t just about Tamworths and their rarity that occupied them though. Soon they were asking what the RBST Iwas going to do to save ‘The Tamworth Two’!

On the 8 th of January, the two miscreants subsequently dubbed ‘Butch and Sundance’ were delivered to Newman’s abattoir in Malmesbury by their owner, roadsweeper, Arnoldo Dijulio. According to a subsequent interview, he had had great difficulty in load- ing them onto his truck. They escaped from their lairage, swam the river Avon and ran amok in gardens, allotments and woodland.

The real mystery was why such a fuss should have arisen from the escape of livestock from an abattoir since it happens all too fre- quently. A friend of mine had a blind bullock that he delivered to a different abattoir and which subsequently escaped. It lived for days in woods and a field of very tall maize defying all attempts to catch it and in the end it had to be shot by a marksman. News coverage – nil – not even a paragraph in the local rag.

The press didn’t latch onto the story immediately. The first press reports, (and calls to my office), appeared on or around the 11 th January once the two porkers had been at large for several days. The area filled with reporters and film crews doing wonders for the local hotels and pubs in a period when bookings were normally close to zero in what is still a rural backwater. And the tabloids espe- cially made hay for the B&B business in Malmesbury. The Daily Mail admitted to fielding a party of 10 journalists and photographers alone for this one story so when you multiply that across The Sun, Express, Mirror et al plus a few more from each of the broad- sheets and a whole heap from the BBC, there’s plenty of full English breakfasts each morning even before the arrival of the overseas contingent.

The story attracted huge coverage especially in the red top papers for days until the pair were eventually recaptured and once the story had broken, there is not a lot you can say about continuing failures to capture the pair so various experts were consulted. One, featured in the Daily Mail, explained:

“They will have no problems coping in the wild. Pigs are very versa- tile and intelligent animals.

“By day they will be looking for food; snails, beetles and vegetation. At night they will try and find somewhere warm to snuggle down, probably under a hedge or in a bush.” Referring to why they might have escaped, she went on:

“They must have experienced something unpleasant. They saw the possibility of escape and they took it. The more they were chased, the more they would have run away.” Caroline Wheatley-Hubbard with the real Tamworths, Ellie & Maisie, used to depict the Tamworth Two for BBC television. Over in the Express, local sheep keeper and school teacher, Carl Sadler, had his own opinions:

“The pigs have been rooting around in my bottom paddock. I don’t mind them staying there but I don’t want them in my back yard. The problem is, everyone has seen the film Babe and are getting all cuddly about these pigs. At the moment they are small – about the size of a Collie dog – but another six months and they will be pretty massive and they can be vicious. Remember, pigs are omnivores. They eat anything including humans.” It sounded as Malmesbury was vying to become the setting for A League of Gentlemen. Continued over

Pa ge 8 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2

The Tamworth Two (cont.) There was, of course, one saving factor as to why the RBST could wash their hands of the whole story and claim it was nothing to do with the conservation of rare breeds – these pigs were not Tamworths. The Daily Mail tracked down their origins to Lord Cairns of Bolehyde Manor. He was a former Chief Executive of the merchant bank, S G Warburg and the Wiltshire mansion where he lived had formerly been owned by the Parker Bowles family. Lord Cairns had, at the time, a Tamworth sow, and he arranged for her to be mated to a wild boar from a farm in Bridport as he wanted leaner meat than he claimed he could get from the pure bred stock. The result was a litter of eight and those that he didn’t need were sent to nearby Chippenham market where they sold for the princely sum of £3 each. Three of these ‘Iron Age’ pigs as they should have been described, found their way to Mr Dijulio’s smallholding.

Iron Age pigs were developed by Joe Henson, (father of Adam), at the Cotswold Farm Park in Gloucestershire. In the 1970s he was asked to provide animals of a type that would have been seen in the Iron Age for a project by BBC TV at Butser Hill in Hampshire where they were recreating life in an Iron Age village. He satis- fied their demands with Dexter cattle and Soay sheep but felt that none of the modern pig breeds was right for the period so arranged a mating between his own Tamworths and a wild boar from London Zoo, (before the advent of wild boar farms in the UK). These pigs retain many wild boar characteristics. They are striped when born and remain prodigious jumpers and escape artists. They can also be much bolder A big story for the tabloids for almost a week. than domestic pigs and will charge if cornered. All of this helps to explain the initial escape and their avoid- ance of capture for so long.

By the time he sent them to Newmans, they weighed around 55kgs and were said to be worth £40 each. This is a little below the sum that their owner eventually got for them when the bidding war among the tab- loids who had each sentimentalised the whole episode so that they could not possibly just let them go to their original fate.

By the 16 th January, both Butch and Sundance were safely in custody having been so thoroughly outnumbered by scribes, paparazzi, police and RSPCA inspectors, they gave up the unequal struggle and allowed themselves to be darted and captured, several hours apart. The Daily Mail secured exclusive rights to them after paying their owner an al- leged sum of £16,000! They then transferred the two boars to an ani- mal sanctuary in Kent which should probably have been the end of the story except that when one of their rivals ran the story that the owners were hiring them for public appearances at shows and fetes for £1,500 a go, they quietly got moved to the South of England Rare Breeds Centre near Ashford where they remained in quiet obscurity among the many other farm animals on display to the public, (including Ian Hislop, a regular visitor). Butch & Sundance in retirement at the South of England Rare Breeds Several years later, the BBC made a full length film of the escapades Centre. Photo supplied by the Canterbury Oast Trust. using two Tamworths from our President, Caroline Wheatley- Hubbard. Newmans closed down and the large site was developed for housing ensuring a prosperous retirement for Jeremy Newman. Butch died quite recently but Sundance lives on being over 13 years old now.

And there it should end except for one little thing. Coincidentally, just two months before the escapade, the local paper covering the Malmesbury area, The Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, printed an excerpt from their archives of news that week 75 years before, i.e. November 1922. Pa ge 9 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2

This is what they printed:

‘Malmesbury Petty Sessions. Straying Pigs. A Crudwell farmer was charged with allowing a pig to stray on the highway on October 7 th at 10.50pm, and pleaded not guilty. PC Phillimore (Crudwell) stated the case, and said that when he had turned the pig into the farmer’s premises, and called his attention to it, he admitted the pig was his, and that some- one must have left his gates open. The farmer said he never saw the pig on the road, and it must have passed through three gates to get on to the highway. In these days farmers were asked to remove all barbed wire, but with leaves falling, and animals propensities, what were farmers to do? He protested against being brought to the Court on such petty charges. The chairman said that it was exceedingly dangerous in these days of motor traffic to allow pigs to get on the road and though the Bench did not make the laws, they had to administer them. Fined 2s 6d (12p).

A farmer from Eastcourt did not appear to answer a similar charge in respect of two pigs straying on the Minety-road at 7.40am and was fined 7s 6d (37p).

A third farmer, also from Crudwell, was charged with a like offence in respect of seven pigs which Sergeant West, Minety, found straying, the case being more serious because his premises were infected with swine fever, and the charge included that of evading the Swine Fever Order. Defendant sent a letter saying the offence was quite unintentional. Fined £5.’

Perhaps the biggest lesson to be learned in the huge change in attitude towards livestock that has occurred since the last World War. I suspect no one with pigs in 1922 could have the first idea that instead of being fined for letting them roam, the owner of Butch and Sundance should secure a cheque for 200 times their commercial worth! News from Scotland by Lillian Waddell

ROYAL HIGHLAND SHOW“This 2010 was The Royal Highland ShowDreamboy’s 2010 really started in 2009, with the bones of what was required outlined by Marcus Bates allowing us one year to flesh it out. Withmost the present enjoyable financial cl imate we decided on a raffle to raise funds although not your usual one with donated Xmas left overs and wine that has seen more food miles than the vegetables at your local supermarket. Royal to date…” Agri-scot in November 2009 provided the ideal base to contact machinery dealers and agricultural providers for donations. We had an idea for first prize being a Ritchie Lamb/Pig Weigher. First stop the Ritchie stand and Bob Ritchie in person, straight off a re- sounding ‘yes’. Next The Scottish Farmer for a year’s subscription and some publicity, then JFC for water bowls and feed troughs after we had finished seeking donations it was down to the stand area to measure it and see how best to divide the site with minimal wastage of ground. Next step get registered with local authority for a licence to comply with the gaming act. Locate a ticket printer seek more prizes, (21 in total), mark out the show site on our yard and divide the area into pens and a small show ring. Six pens with 7 breeds of pigs. We contacted other breeders - Middle White - David Chlad, Mangalitza- Cherlynn Pieters, Large Black- James Play- fair Hannay, Tamworth - David Valentine, British Saddleback - Sarah Chambers, Hampshire and British Lop - ourselves. We located a marquee which was provided by Colin & Moira Dal- gleish (Tamworth breeders) free of charge. The RBST were also invited to share the stand hence the British Lop since it is the most endangered pig in Britain. Then the big day. We had 4 demonstrations per day giving a brief outline of the BPA the RBST and the pigs on display. The pigs were the stars and if I had £1 for every photograph taken I would be well off. To summarise it is hard work and time consuming organising the Royal Highland Show stand. The public enjoyed the demonstra- tions and as of writing it is too early to say if pig classes will be at the RHS in 2011. We would like to organise another raffle (bigger and better) but this again is very hard work. We limited the tickets to 2000, just the exact membership of the BPA but it should not be the case that the BPA does nothing in Scotland so why should we contribute (you have to be in it to win it). Where does the basis for the pedigree pigs in Scotland come from? Yes you’re right, south of the border Total funds raised at the BPA raffle at the Royal Highland Show 2010 was £1314.00

Cont. over Pa ge 10 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2

News from Scotland (cont.) PIGGING ABOUT IN SCOTLAND Our show season started in February with a request to supply 2 Tamworths for a film shoot at Stirling Castle. This turned out to be the film Burke and Hare directed by John Landis and featuring Ronnie Corbett. Many years ago I had heard a story about Ronnie Corbett being involved with pigs and it had been an ambition to meet him and ask as to its authenticity, (one thing off the list of things to do before I die). February the 23 rd was bitterly cold especially on top of the castle with the wind blowing from the snow covered Ochil hills, cancelling out what little heat there was in the sun. If you Google Burke and Hare for clips you will get an idea of how cold it was when you see the crew with full length quilted coats, hats, scarves and mitts. The canteen bus was the only place to be and as usual with us we were on a fact finding mission as to the roles of the different crew. When they found out we were involved with pigs they were asking where they could get black pudding, Lorne sausage and haggis. A list was written out and telephoned to Bill Honeyman (the father of our 2009 Highland Show competition judge) and well over £100 worth of goodies was delivered later on. Then onto meeting Ronnie Corbett. At first, when the he was asked if it was true that The Tamworths on the film set. when he was a small boy he used to go round Edinburgh col- lecting swill, he was a bit hesitant then obviously the memories came flooding back, (if he had not been called on set he would still have been talking), and it transpired that Ronnie’s father was friendly with a farmer called Willie Newbiggin (I had been told originally that he had been an ex-boxer) who had a farm at the Gylle half a mile from the Royal Highland showground and yes, young Ronnie did indeed go round the hotels of Edinburgh collecting swill for Willie’s pigs. When I was around 10-12 years old there was a sales rep for George Henderson farm machinery, also called Willie Newbiggin, a giant of a man with hands like shovels which would tie in with what I had been told. Former swill collector, Ronnie Our call to set was at approximately 5pm when we were shown where the pigs were to be filmed. Corbett. How we were going to unload the pigs? There sty was around 3 feet higher than the ground and in went Goldie and his castrated brother. Goldie will have to collect all the accolades as his brother is now eaten. This film was released on the 29 th October. Just prior to shooting we met John Landis who explained what he wanted from the pigs and we in turn informed him the best way to achieve it. He also told us the joke about the pig with the wooden leg. The pigs should be in the scene where Isla Fisher and Simon Pegg are walking back to her house past the pigs with them grunting and following as they went up the stairs. You will have to see if it is included or lying on the cutting room floor. LESMAHAGOW SHOW With small local shows it is always best to have a sow and piglets (their squealing attracts the crowds) unfortunately neither David Chlad or ourselves had litters at this time so for a change we had 2 pedigree Middle Whites . They must have had a hard day because they slept throughout the show encased in straw. The pigs were part of the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) nature trail. The point of coming to these shows and displaying pigs is to make the wider public aware of where bacon and sausages come from. If some of them want to keep pigs, then we channel them in the right direction (always pedigree with papers). This is the third year that we have displayed pigs at Lesmagagow with a variation every time, sausage tasting, variety of pigs, and different fund raising. The seeds have been sown for showing classes, we will have to wait and see what transpires. Since writing these articles the secretary of Lesmahagow show has been in touch regarding the possibility of pig classes being reintro- duced at the show and also interested in a sausage competition; their committee meeting is January 2011. KINROSS SHOW This show was the only one that Tamworths were displayed at. A sow and 8 piglets. Every time the piglets squealed the crowds gathered. Fortunately we were displaying next to the RBST and were delighted to see that photos taken at the Royal Highland Show depicting pigs that we had on display there. Name the piglet was the fundraiser, this being a sell out and raising £85.00 for the Tamworth Breeders Club funds. It is difficult to quantify what success there is in promoting pedi- gree pigs in Scotland at these shows as Scotland varies so much from England financially - after all we are famous for being tight fisted. WESTMORLAND SHOW Photos by Lillian Waddell With us pushing for pig classes in Scotland we had to take the plunge into the showing scene with Westmorland Show being the clos- est to us at 160 miles. We dived in, 4 pigs, 4 classes - British Lop, 2 Hampshire and Goldie the Tamworth boar. First lesson, train them for weeks if not months not a quick 10 min stint. The Lop is the best behaved as it can’t see where it is going until the speed Pa ge 11 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2 increases and the eyes can see further than their snout, unfortunately she was unplaced. Goldie next up, Stuart’s Tamworth boar was better behaved and on the day was the better pig. One of Goldie’s harem was in season before we left and subsequently was a bit more than hyper. The Hampshire gilt next in against her litter sister, with her sister just tipping her into second place, never mind third prize is alright for first attempt. Final class Hampshire boars with Stuart giving me a hand with this one and boy was it needed. This one had a mind of his own but despite his naughtiness he came second, not bad beat- ing John Sutcliffe’s boar. The stewards were excellent, the judge extremely helpful and the rest of the competitors willing to assist a pair of total novices. Did it put us off? No it did not we are looking forward to the 2011 show season, this time with Hampshire Down sheep tagging along. Words of wisdom just do it. It is hard work but as they say you have to be in it to win it. To summarise It has been a busy year with an unprecedented demand for pedigree pigs in Scotland mainly for the North of Scotland and the Is- lands, with this in mind we have sourced transport from Essex to Aberdeen and any other points in between to facilitate the easier and cost effective way to transport pigs north, they are going north empty anyway - contact Lillian for more details if required. For showing pigs in Scotland just watch the BPA and Tamworth web sites for as soon as we know if we have been successful it will be front page news. Boris’ Big Day by Dale Price would like to tell you the story about my pigs and me. My name is Dale Price. I am 16 but this all started when I was 15 years old. I I wanted to have a pet pig, but my dad wouldn't let me unless I did it as a small business and that meant I had to pay for everything. Luckily I had saved up quite a lot of money working in all my summer holidays, but before I was allowed them, I had to research and understand how to look after them properly. I think he was trying to put me off! When I was researching I looked into breeds and I came across the Tamworth. I liked the natural red, ginger colour and decided this was the one. I persuaded my dad that this was the right breed, telling him they were good meat and good mothers. When I persuaded him that I knew everything there was to know about pigs he then said I Photos supplied by Dale Price could buy some. I had already found some so the timing was good. My dad and I made the trip from Winmarleigh in Preston to Bishop Auckland to pick up my three breeding gilts, which were nine weeks old. We got them home and they soon settled in. It was at that point that my dad realised that it would take quite a while for them to breed ‘really good meat’ so he suggested I get six more to rear for food. So I went back and picked up five boars and one gilt. I soon realised that keeping five boars and one gilt together was- n't the best idea. I had to make a choice between sending the gilt off too early for meat or keep her as a fourth breeding sow. My dad left it to me, so I decided to save her. I named her Amber and she soon settled in with my other three girls. In preparation for the first boar going for slaughter, we visited an abattoir and had a good look round. All the machines were explained to us and we were shown how they worked. And I decided that was the best way for my pigs to go because it was quick and painless. We then visited a small, family-run, meat processing business where they butcher, prepare and package the meat. They went through the processes with us and provided us with informa- tion and various options. This was very helpful and I sent my first pig for slaughter in Octo- ber. As I had four breeding sows it made sense to buy my own boar so I went and searched for a pedigree Tamworth. I found my ideal boar on the Tamworth Breeders’ Club website. He was on one of Gloucester Town Council's farms and he had been handled and petted well by children from the area. I got him when he was nearly four months old. I named him Boris. I always wanted a pig that I could walk and Boris turned out to be that pig. During my school summer holidays he enjoyed and looked forward to his daily walks around our field. I felt really comfortable with him and decided to take Boris with Amber and Truffle to Penistone Agricultural Show. I was really nervous as I was the youngest owner there. I hadn't even watched a pig show before so I didn't really know what to ex- pect. Everyone was nice and really helpful and I ended up really enjoying myself. And it seemed Boris did too, seeing all the big pigs and getting lots of attention. My first class was with Amber and Truffle together and I had to direct them using a stick and a board – but it really it felt like I was chasing them around the show pen! Then it was Boris's big moment in the boar class. He was the smallest boar there, being barely six months old. I was really surprised when the judge walked over to us and gave us second place! It was really unexpected and I couldn't believe it! Pa ge 12 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2

Topsy-Turvy Year by Liz Shankland

he year appears to be ending much as it started – with a nightmare of a cold T snap causing chaos. Ah, well, that's what I get for living 850ft up a Welsh mountain in a house that's more than 400 years old. As I write this, the water pipes inside the house have just started to defrost after three weeks of being frozen solid. To my delight, I can once again flush the toilet and – joy of joys – have a bath! On the downside, as the spring-fed plumbing sys- tem is now gurgling back into action, the washing machine is now usable again, so the weeks of not having to do any ironing have come to an end. But the lack of ironing to do is the only thing I'll miss about the temperatures which have plunged to – 18C here in Wales. I'm just glad (and I'm touching wood now) to Who needs standpipes when you can go direct? see the end of the latest Big Freeze. With frozen pipes outside, the big automatic drinkers were redundant. Thankfully, my husband, Gerry, is extremely resourceful. The pigs' water supply comes along a network of piping from a large pond fed by underground springs, and he managed to locate the one point along the route where it wasn't frozen and rigged up a temporary standpipe so that I could fill containers and carry them down to the pigs. Prior to that, I was teetering on the edge of the pond and filling buckets – very, very carefully. In the barn, the beautiful in-pig gilt I bought from Bill Howes at the BPA pedigree sale in October is looking after four healthy pig- lets. It should have been eight, but four died from hypothermia when she farrowed two days before her due date. Normally, I stay up through the night when my pigs are due to farrow, but this one caught me on the hop. I carried out post-mortem examinations and they were definitely not stillborn. Judging by where they were lying – a good distance away, in the far corner opposite the farrowing nest – I think the gilt was one of those which freaked when she had them and maybe pushed them away. Or they may have been flung out whilst she was rearranging her nest. Either way, they were lying on cold con- crete, as their mother had scraped away every last bit of straw. They had no chance. It doesn't matter how many farrowings you experience, losing piglets when you know you could have helped save them is extremely frustrating. The whole year has been full of up and downs. In January I had the unnerv- ing experience of a first-time mother attempting to savage her piglets. Fortu- Liz with Pricey nately, I was able to rescue them and calm Mum down after each one arrived, rubbing her belly with one hand whilst getting each newborn suckling with the other. Multi-tasking at its best! I considered myself fortunate because I've heard some real horror stories from other breeders whose sows have killed every piglet in sight. One theory is that they associate the pain of the uterine contractions with the sudden appearance of a piglet nearby and automatically lash out. Needless to say, after my first experience, I made sure that for future far- rowings I had some Stresnil – a quick-acting sedative – on hand. The next blow came a few weeks later when I had to send my favourite sow, Barbara – named after the formidable Barbara Warren – to be turned into sausages. She had a litter of 11 in January, but had been prolapsing from about three weeks before farrowing, with a good six inches of the cervix making regular guest appearances and then popping back in. On the advice of Bob Stevenson – the BPA's consultant vet and a man who is a walking encyclopaedia when it comes to pig prob- lems – I put her in a farrowing crate and propped up her bottom end with half a bale of straw. I hated using the crate, but it was for a very good reason. The idea is that, by lifting up the back end of the sow, gravity pulls everything back into place. All the same, I did have to sit with Babs throughout the farrowing, holding the cervix in, as directed, every time the contractions came. I couldn't put her – nor myself – through another traumatic pregnancy, so she became a cull sow at the age of three. She came in at more than 200kg dead weight, and I ended up with sufficient Barbara bangers to feed an army. She was an excellent sow and gave me some lovely show pigs – including Hamlet, who is now enjoying life as a breeding boar with Michele Baldock in Kent – so her legacy lives on, both in my own herd and elsewhere in the UK. When you keep livestock, you can't dwell on disappointments for long. With spring approaching, it was time to think about getting together a show team for the agricul- tural shows. First every year is the Royal Welsh Smallholder Festival , held at Builth Wells in mid Wales. It's an excellent weekend show (May 21/22 next year) which has grown incredibly over the years and is attended by exhibitors from all over the UK. Bigger board for next year’s Royal Welsh? Pa ge 13 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2

Thanks to the hard work of the Wales and Border Counties Pig Breeders' Association, the pig competitions are a highlight of the show. There are other attractions, too, including pig agility displays and "have a go" sessions to give prospective handlers a taste of the show ring. I took two sows and two August- born gilts to the show (my entries for the January class were Febru- ary-born and were looking too Thisbe earns a hug at Hatfield. small) and came away with a re- spectable two firsts, a second, a third, and Champion Tamworth. The judge at Hatfield, Phil Fowlie, selected But it was all downhill from there. A week later, the two gilts were off their legs. I found Thisbe as Breed Champion. the best gilt lying in the mud, looking like she had slipped and injured a leg. The vet prescribed an anti-inflammatory, but she showed no response. Then, two days later, her sister had a nasty accident, trying to get over a fence and catching a leg. When we found her, I thought she was going to have to be shot. The vet wasn't so sure. We cut away the fence to get to her and he managed to get her walking by holding her tail for support. His verdict was nerve damage, which would repair – given time, and a lot of expensive drugs. Both pigs were put in a straw-filled barn to recuperate, and had daily jabs with an assortment of anti-inflammatories and antibiotics, accompanied by "physio" sessions, walking them round to keep them from stiffening up. Amazingly, the one I had given up for dead, (now named Phoenix), showed a remarkable recovery within days. Her sister, however, was still reluctant to move two weeks later. Other breeders diagnosed mycoplasma arthritis. The vet didn't think so, but I demanded lincomycin and, within two days, she was up on her feet again. The gilt, (by now called Pricey, because she had cost me so much), hated me, after jabbing her day after day for a fortnight, but we eventually became friends again. As both gilts had been feeling poorly and hadn't been eating, they weren't in show condition and I decided not to take them back out on the road until I was satisfied they were looking good. Going to the Royal Bath & West Show with just one sow was one of the lowest points of the season for me, and the Three Counties was almost as miserable - although I took two sows and got Reserve Breed Champion in the rare breeds’ competition. It took until the Royal Welsh Show for my luck to really change. Again, I just took sows, but they won first and second in their class. Then, to my amazement, my Lucky Lass sow, (bred by Nick Hunkin), won the tradi- tional breeds championship. She looked beautiful, with a full, rich auburn coat at a time of year when most pigs have moulted. Just a few weeks from farrowing, she was in the peak of condition and she really showed it. We even made it onto national TV – appearing live on the BBC 1 o'clock news Champion of Champions at Newbury. Photos supplied by Liz and on the BBC digital news channel. Surely a first for the breed! Shankland St Mellons, near Newport, south Wales, was the next stop. This time, the two gilts were back in the show team, taking first and second, while my sow Thisbe (Tudful Jacqueline 8) won Breed Champion. Things were getting back on course at last. Two weeks later I took the same trio to the Hatfield House Country Show, and the two gilts again got first and second in their class, while Thisbe was Breed Champion once again - nothing to do with the lovely Phil Fow- lie from north Wales being the judge, of course! The Royal County of Berkshire Show at Newbury was the final event of the year for myself and the pigs. Unfortunately, my best gilt went lame the day of the show, relegating her to third place, but her sister managed a respectable second. Thisbe only managed Re- serve Breed Champion, losing out to one of Bill Howes' pigs on the Saturday, but she came back with a vengence the next day, being crowned the Tamworth Champion of Champions. The icing on the cake was that her show record throughout the year meant we were awarded the Tamworth Points Cup at the AGM in October. So, the Tudful Herd had a fantastic finale to a year which had started so badly. It just goes to show that, even when it seems every- thing is going wrong and the whole world is against you, there can always be something wonderful hiding around the next corner.

• Liz's new book, the Haynes Pig Manual , will be published in April 2011. Email her at tudfultam- [email protected] or ring 07846 449023. Visit her website www.lizshankland.com or follow her blog, pigsin- wales.blogspot.com • The Tudful Herd has Lucky Lass, Princess, Jacqueline and Melody lines. Weaners will be available in the new year. Pa ge 14 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2 Sarah Harris by Nick Hunkin here can be few pedigree pig breeders that can match the coun- T try background of Sarah Harris with such a wide variety of ex- periences and pursuits achieved over a lifetime.

She was born in the shadow of the Malvern Hills near Ledbury where her father was farm manager on a largish mixed farm specialising in beef, sheep and arable. After a short-lived move to Pembrokeshire, her father was appointed manager of a very large estate near Ayles- bury in Buckinghamshire which had the same mix as the original farm. This is where Sarah began to acquire her love of all things con- nected with the country and of course had acres of wide open country to play in and discover rural delights. After a while the family han- kered for the pleasures of the countryside a little further away from the Home Counties and moved to Sigwells near Sherborne in Dorset Sarah’s Tamworths demonstrating their rugged attributes. where her father managed a dairy and arable farm. Sarah performed well at her O-levels but decided the lure of the horse world was more attractive than doing her A-levels so she left school and went to work in the South and West Wilts Hunt kennels looking after all the horses and initially doing some hound work. For two seasons she worked with famous point to pointer Les Tizzard at Milborne Port and gained much experience in this field with such a well known mentor. She is quick to say that when you work with horses it is very much for love not money - (can we say the same for her later life with pigs?). From point to pointing she moved to racing horses and spent 4 years at Lam- bourn with legendary trainer Paul Cole and gained enormous experience training various people's horses for the racecourse. Returning to her beloved West Country Sarah became associated with the Blackmore Vale Hunt and began her long love affair with pedigree sheep. She started with Black Welsh Mountain and Clun Forest but found the love of her life with the Kerry Hill breed. These were all kept on smallholdings near her father's farm at Sigwells and she soon Mabel became captivated by the world of showing. She was soon exhibiting at over 25 shows a year which I am certain beats Tom Alty's record!!! She would start with the Shropshire and West Midlands in May, then the Bath and West, Three Counties and Royal, followed by Anglesey and most of the Welsh two and one day shows. She bred many champions and is still very well known and respected in sheep circles. At about this time Sarah also started looking after the Woodhouse family horses of Hall and Woodhouse Brewery fame and began her in- terest in sheepdogs and started training and breeding them, first with Welsh border collies and later with Scots borders. She has built up a formidable reputation in the training and trialling world and still offers training courses at home four nights a week. She has now got 10 collies of her own and recently bought a dog and a bitch brother and sister sired by the 2008 national trialling champion which was bred in Cumbria. She finished her employed working career at the Kingston Vet Group’s Equine Department assisting vets in the han- dling of all the difficult cases. She found this very interesting work. By now she had met and married her husband, Dick and returned to the family farm to help develop and run it. When she got there it was totally dairy with a herd of British Friesians which Dick much A combination of interests in collies and Tammies. Photos supplied by Sarah Harris preferred to the Holsteins as they were a Pa ge 15 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2 better dual-purpose animal. As milk prices slid, the herd was dispersed and Dick and Sarah went into organic beef sucklers, sheep and began her long involvement with Tamworth pigs. They ended up with 200 organic beef sucklers, 600 Dorset ewes and 100 pigs. They also opened what was to become a very popular farm shop in the village just outside Sherborne and decided that tradi- tional breeds would be the thing to go for. They started with Tamworths and these remained the dominant and favourite breed throughout the time they were keeping pigs. The first 2 sows were Lucky Lass and Princess and came from Nick Hunkin with the first Jasper boar originating from Cranborne Estates. They soon acquired more sows from Emma Lee, who supplied them another Lucky Lass, Ella Watts in Devon who supplied them with the Roseleaf line and Viki Mills who sold them her wonderful old Melody show sow. They ended up with 10 Tamworth sows and then acquired British Sad- dlebacks, Gloucestershire Old Spots, Oxford Sandy and Blacks, British Lops and dabbled in Iron Age pigs for which there was a very good mar- ket in the locality. More latterly she acquired 2 Duroc sows and Julian Newth supplied her with a Large White boar which helped bring a little bit of commercial crossing into the equation. However it was always the Tamworths who were pride of place and whose meat was most sought after by her many customers in the farm shop. She has some memora- ble moments connected with the Tamworths. In the early hours of one morning, around about 3.00 am, Sarah and Dick were awakened by the sound of the back door banging away and apparently being forced. Dick gingerly crept downstairs picking up a meat cleaver on the A heap of Tamworths and Iron Age way. When he got to the back door, it was still banging away and strain- ing on the lock. He turned on the lights and unbolted the door carefully with meat cleaver already for action. Much to his surprise, it was one of the Tamworth sows who had just been weaned the day before and had obviously been looking for her litter. She had unhinged 3 gates from the paddock where she was, toured the farm buildings, eaten a bag of cooking apples which were just outside the back door ready for sorting for the farm shop and of course she had to be moved very quickly into an available loosebox to for- get her offspring. Once a litter of Tamworths broke out into her neighbour's orchards and gardens. These were around 2 months old and you can only imagine the devastation they caused! More recently she had a most freaky type of litter where one of the pigs was born with male and female organs but more strangely the male attribute was at the rear of the pig just above the vulva. She does- n't know whether anyone else has ever had anything like this before. Sadly, both Dick and Sarah have recently experienced problems with their legs and feet and were forced in 2010 to retire from active livestock breeding and keeping. They had a very successful auction sale in July (as reported in the last Trumpet) where the sows sold to £350 guineas. They still keep their faithful old Tamworth boar which is descended from Caroline Wheatley-Hubbard's Royal Stan- dard line and is in great demand as a stud boar in the locality. They will be greatly missed in local markets and in the many worlds they have both come into contact with. ______

AI is available from Deerpark Pedigree Pigs in Northern Ireland. When your pig first shows signs of coming on heat, phone 028 7938 6287 and order your se- men (three straws + catheters £20 + VAT and P&P). They will be sent by Next Day Delivery. If you’re new to AI, ask for a set of instructions to be included.

Boars available: Rosser Dreamboy Liz Hunkin enjoys a rest and a chat with Berkshire Stoneymoor Royal Stan- breeder, Peter le Bas from New Zealand at this year’s dard 6 (KCE451) Hatfield House Country Show. Photo by Liz Shankland. Pa ge 16 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2

BPA Show & Sale and Tamworth BC AGM

here was renewed interest in the Tamworths at the BPA/RBST Show and T Sale this year. Some spirited bidding resulted in Bill and Shirley Howes’ January gilt selling for 475 guineas, putting her in the higher price brackets achieved by any breed at the sale. Bill and Shirley also achieved 275gns a piece for two other gilts and Roberts and Fairclough went home with over 200gns for their January boar. As always it proves that buyers are prepared to compete for and pay good prices for quality stock and that if breeders take good examples of the breed they need not be frightened of putting substantial reserves on them. 800 Guinea Saddleback gilt tops BPA Sale The familiar packed sale ring at Top-priced Tamworth was Bill Howes’ Stoneymoor Melody Ross-on-Wye market greeted 42 which reached 475gns. pig breeders from all parts of the UK for the 8 th Show & Sale held here for the BPA. Over 100 pigs representing virtually all the coloured and white breeds in the UK prompted brisk bidding with 90% of the females finding new homes. Nearly half the catalogue was made up of British Saddlebacks and the breed provided a new record price for the event. Mrs Debbie Beeby from Cheshire consigned Brydges Babble 21A, which following a successful show season was judged Breed & Bill Howes with Stoneymoor Jacqueline 31 which sold Inter-Breed Champion by Sharon Barnfield. Several breeders were keen to obtain this for 250gns. outstanding gilt, but the hammer fell at 800 guineas in favour of Spencer Fielding from Guestling, near Hastings in East Sussex. Jason Bird from Weston Underwood in Buckinghamshire was in a determined mood when the Berkshire breed entered the ring, picking up Charles Bull’s Breed Champion – Parkenden Royal Lustre 14, due to farrow in 4 weeks time, for 500 guineas and Chris Impey’s maiden gilt – Fairoaks Lady 9 for 460 guineas. A good showing of Gloucestershire Old Spots saw the senior boar – Theoak Patrick 180, consigned by Messrs Wild & Webster from Matlock in Derbyshire, fetch 500 guineas to The Yorkshire Spring Mineral Water Company, who also purchased 5 Old Spot gilts up to 350 guineas. Five Welsh boars met a good trade averaging £365 and peaking at 470 guineas for Mr G.W & Mrs F.M Jones’ Breed Champion – Mabon Ivor 2, from Pontyp- ridd. Alan Dobson of the Watersupton Friesian herd was the successful bidder, now residing at Dingestow, Monmouthshire. With feed prices rising £40 per tonne a week before the sale, predictions were somewhat pessimistic about the trade, but with over 70 buyers registered before the sale, competition for the best pigs was assured. 11 made 400 guineas or more and although the boar buyers were selective, a 90% clearance of the gilts pointed to a promising future for our marvellous native breeds. Averages:- 1 Sow & Litter £420 24 served Gilts avg. £303 Raisinhall Royal Standard 5 went for 200gns for Roberts 42 Maiden Gilts avg. £230 & Fairclough. Photos by Richard Lutwyche 7 Senior Boars avg. £213 10 Junior Boars avg. £331 84 Pigs avg. £264

Auctioneers: NORTON & BROOKSBANK With WILLIAMS & WATKINS ______ur AGM was held this year in the beautiful setting of the Cotswold Farm Park near Cheltenham in rural Gloucesterhire. We O had an excellent turnout of members and filled the building and were able to discuss a wide variety of topics relevant to the club in 2010. We were all very sorry to learn of Carolyn's resignation and the Chairman paid tribute to her for all she had done for the club in the 5 years she held office. It was good to see our new Secretary, Lucy, at her first AGM with her family. It was a great way of introducing her to a wide variety of members and a chance to chat over how the club works. We took the opportunity

Pa ge 17 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2 to update and widen the scope of the committee bringing in 4 younger members who will hopefully bring much to the table with them.

The meeting was opened by our President, Caroline Wheatley-Hubbard who ex- pressed great confidence in the future of the breed and gave us a rundown on the current state of play at the Berkswell Herd. The Chairman then took over and gave a potted snapshot of the progress made by the Tamworth breed over the year. This was followed by the Treasurer's report (which is much healthier than last year) and any other business. A full list of the new committee appears elsewhere and the full minutes will be available in due course. One of the most prominent features of the day was the decision to improve the club's website and keep it updated more regu- larly. TBC Members present pose with Adam Henson.

Photo by Barbara Warren. After an enjoyable lunch, we had the opportunity to tour the farm park and enjoy the many varieties of rare breeds which are in situ. Set up and run by the Henson family, Cotswold Park is one of the jewels in the RBST crown. As we know, Joe Henson was one of the founding fathers of the RBST and there is no doubt that the passion for rare breeds runs deep in the Henson blood. It took some time to visit the whole establishment and it was good to see Adam Henson in attendance for the day. He had taken the trouble to put as many Tamworths out in the park as possible for us to look at and was very happy to pose with us for photographs. He has of course made a hugely successful career appearing on TV's Countryfile and becoming one of their main presenters. All in all we had a most enjoyable day and it was another great opportunity for people with Adam explains the rules of ring a ring of roses. Photo the same interest to exchange ideas and conversation. by Barbara Warren. The points cup was awarded to Liz Shankland with 84 points with her Tudful Jac- queline 8. No-one else was anywhere near and Liz is to be congratulated on having a very glamorous pig and showing so consistently around the country. One of the highlights of the day was the raffle (new to us) which was organised and heavily sponsored by Robert and Lillian Waddell and which raised £85 for club funds---music to the Treasurer’s ears!

Nick Hunkin ______Committee Contacts

Secretary: Lucy Hick 07747 034170 / 08447 700174

President: Caroline Wheatley-Hubbard 01985 850371

Chairman: Nick Hunkin 01460 54206

Breed Rep (BPA): Bill Howes 024 7646 6117

Treasurer: Mike Bancroft 01926 842317

Vice-President: Kathleen Pile 01926 632493

Vice-Chairman and Welsh Co-ordinator: Barbara Warren 01495 755557

Scottish Co-ordinator: Lillian Waddell 01324 861250

Publicity: Liz Shankland 07846 449023

Nick Francis: 01789 740745

Jon Francis: 01789 740745

Michelle Baldock: 01233 730891 Pa ge 18 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2

Pigs in Mythology by Nick Hunkin

W e are all aware of bulls, rams, horses, eagles, goats, serpents and many other species of animal featuring in the mythology of centuries and even millennia long gone - but what of the pig? In fact, the pig has appeared many times in this capacity, often in the form of a wild boar. In times past, and in many cultures including the Celtic, the pig was a sacred animal and in some parts of the Pacific it still is. Polynesian face masks of devouring demons are often ornate with boar tusks for good effect. Indeed pig raising in these parts was and is often far more important from the ritual point of view than for rearing food as sow’s flesh was traditionally taboo whilst boar’s flesh was often eaten at festivals.

In primitive times the pig was often represented as an earth goddess be- yond good and evil. Pigs blood was considered a strong purifying agent which symbolised the sacredness of the animal but also suggested an asso- ciation with all things demonic.

In ancient civilisation pigs have often been gods. Caridwen, a Celtic grain Pigs are highly regarded in New Guinea and have many symbolic goddess, was depicted as a sow as was the Greek goddess Demeter and meanings. her daughter, Persephone who was often depicted with swine maidens in attendance. This legend is believed to have originated as long ago as 14000 BC. The name Demeter meaning barley mother. The Celtic god, Caridwen, was always depicted riding the skies mounted on a boar and in Ireland her legend depicts her as very beautiful but with a sows head and often as daughter of "the Lord of Youth". Another old god symbolised by a boar was Tristan, the most famous god of love in medieval literature. He wore a picture of a boar on his shield and was seen by a dignitary in a dream invading King Marx’s, the king of the day, chamber as a boar and tearing up the king's bed.

In some places there was a lunar connection with the pig - the tusks representing the waxing and waning moon and the black body of the boar corresponding to the dark side of the moon when invisible.

The other great god with pig connections was the Norse fertility god, Frey, who was said to have ridden a chariot through the sky drawn by a great red gold boar - surely the original Tamworth - would the real Sir Robert Peel wake up!! His sister, Freya, also rode bareback on the boar itself. Another mythological boar was the Caledonian in Greek mythology described by Ovid as having "eyes Demeter and Persephone which darted fire, jaws producing lightning and whose breath burned up vines and grass". I hope I don't meet that in the show ring next year!

Perhaps the grandest pig in mythology was Vishnu from India who rescued the goddess earth from the cosmic sea. Vishnu is the second member of the Hindu trinity and was sometimes considered the supreme god. Pigs were very prominent in Homers Odyssey where Circe the ancient witch transforms the hero Jason’s ship's crew into pigs. There was also the Erymanthian boar, a ferocious creature which Hercules had to capture as one of his twelve labours.

An old English legend concerning a sow occurred at Glastonbury and was told by William of Malmesbury whose authority for the story came from the old British historian, Nennius. It concerns how Glastonbury originally came to be populated. Traditionally 12 hermits lived around the old wattle church said to have been founded by Joseph of Arimathea under the tor but by the 5th century AD they had all died out and the church was a semi ruin. It is said that the Welsh nobleman, Glasteing, came across a wandering sow with 8 feet and was so intrigued he followed her along what later became known as the Sugeweye (Sows Way). She led him to Wells rested a while and then continued to Glastonbury Tor lying under an apple tree near the old church at the bottom. Here she gave birth to her litter and suckled them. The sow became known as the old church sow and the apples from the tree were called old church apples. Glasteing not long after brought his entire family and retinue to Glastonbury and was said to have repopulated the area. One of the last British pig legends was the Beast of Dean, often known as the Moose pig, which was reputed to have roamed the Forest of Dean in the early 19th century. Apparently this enormous ferocious giant boar-like creature was big enough to fell trees, Pa ge 19 Tamworth Trumpet Volume 5, Issue 2 demolish hedges and fences and kill cattle. There were even reports of people being de- voured in its jaws. Eventually a very large hunting party was recruited to eliminate it but they could not find it even after several days tracking. It is interesting that wild board had been extinct in Britain for some considerable time and from the Forest of Dean since the 13th century. It is interesting that they are now making a comeback in the forest having been ‘liberated’ by supposedly well-meaning people.

So the boar has been over the centuries depicted in a very wide variety of ways.

The Boar’s Head at Aust, Glos. just the other side of the Severn from the Forest of Dean. Does this depict The Beast?

Photo by Richard Lutwyche How To Cope With Austerity by Bill Howes & Nick Hunkin

ecently, on the website, there has been correspondence about cutting the cost of the ration fed to pigs. My own view is that you R wouldn't buy a Rolls Royce and try to run it on paraffin! If you feed potatoes, stale bread or waste vegetables the diet can become unbalanced. The feed companies go to great length to make sure that their rations contain the correct amount of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals for the purpose of growing pigs efficiently and effectively. The cost incurred in the collection of waste food, (excluding kitchen waste, which is always illegal), including time & fuel, must be taken into consideration and therefore may not, actually save money. The source can be unreliable and inconsistent, and some of the contents could make pigs scour. Soft fruit and potatoes would have to protected from frost in the win- ter and in the summer, flies, wasps and vermin would be a problem. Changing the balance of the ration could mean that you may not get such a good carcass and the pigs could take longer to finish. Big farms that grow their own cereals could save money by milling & mixing their rations if they already have the machinery for the job, but they would have to buy in the protein and nutrients to complete the ration. The small pig keeper can save money by installing a bulk feed hopper instead of having bags delivered. Other ways of saving money: * Culling the pigs so there are no unproductive 'passengers' *Make sure you charge realistic prices when selling your stock. The people who sell pigs for really low prices are doing themselves and fellow rare breed pig keepers a great disservice! *You can wean the sows at 6 weeks instead of 8 - that saves a month a year when the sow is being fed when she's empty, and could gain an extra litter in the lifetime of the sow. * Make sure worming/vaccination programmes are kept up to date. I'm sure there will be many differing views on this subject, but the main message is - don't despair! Hopefully the feed prices will level out, and we'll all be able to manage soon enough. Bill Howes

We are currently in the midst of a period of high feed prices, something that more established breeders will have been through be- fore. Inevitably the telephone has been ringing with people asking me for advice. It’s surprising that the most obvious things are of- ten overlooked , but I always open batting by asking if the breeder has rung other feed suppliers for a quote - if they forward ordered their cereals or in this instance late ordering might be more appropriate - they might have a significant price advantage. Down here at the moment prices range from £256 per ton to over £300 for sow feed - if you can’t get bulk discount, why not ask a neighbour who can to order for you. I know a number of people who do this through enamours who farm other species in a big way - the feed com- panies often discount the pig feed to get the big order on the rest. Last time it happened, I had 25 sows from 4 breeds plus boars, too big to be small and too small to be big!! I found the traditional breeds much more adaptable, especially the Tamworths. I cut the ration of the sows from 6lbs per day to 4lbs and had bulk orders of reject potatoes , mangolds and second class swedes delivered to make up the bulk. The pigs loved it and did well (better than before!) On advice from older hands at the game I stopped feeding high protein grower and finisher replacing it with 16% sow and weaner nuts. I was told my youngstock traditional breeds would do better on it and (guess what?) they did, especially the Tamworths. I have never gone back to the expensive stuff and defy anyone to tell the difference in the show ring, if anything they grow faster. As the same was not true for the British Landrace who needed that extra boost, I have concluded that we have a distinct advantage in our breed. I would never recommend dropping concentrate altogether and for the sake of convenience I went back to full rations when the price dropped but the "old timers" always said that where pig welfare was concerned feed variety was the spice of life! Nick Hunkin The Tamworth Breeders’ Club Newsletter The Tamworth Breeders’ Club

Tamworth Trumpet edited by Richard Lutwyche © Tamworth Breeders’ Club & Richard Lutwyche Secretary: Lucy Hick, New Secretary’s The next edition will be published Spring 2011 Details Hobland Cottage, Please send contributions to: East Ilsley, Richard Lutwyche, Tamworth Trumpet, Freepost (GL442), Cirencester, Glos., GL7 5BR Berkshire RG20 7LE Tel: 01285 860229 Phone: 07747 034170 Email: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] www.tamworthbreedersclub.co.uk Don’t forget, you can advertise pigs for sale or wanted on the Club website, FREE! Furthermore, you will find there the full range of Club merchan- Tamworths - dise and you can download an order form to send to the Secre- The future’s orange! tary with your payment.

Meet our New Secretary - Lucy Hick

Hello to all the members of the TBC- you may have heard that there has been a change of face on the Secretarial front! I took over from Carolyn MacInnes as Club Secretary just before the AGM in October and am very aware that I have some big shoes to fill. Carolyn has spent the past 5 years building up the role of Club Secretary – launch- ing the website, putting in place processes for membership and set- ting up new channels of communication including the Facebook page. She also had lots of ideas for taking the Club forward. And I am ex- tremely grateful for her support as I take up this role and appreciate your patience whilst I learn the ropes! To introduce myself, I am Lucy Hick – although some of you may know me as Lucy Venables, my maiden name. I live in East Ilsley, Lucy, Chief Pig Steward at Newbury Show seen here with judge, Mar- near Newbury with my husband and 8 month old baby, and for the tin Snell. Photo by Liz Shankland. past 8 years I have worked on the Committee of the Pig Section at the Royal Berkshire Show. I am now Section Head for Pigs at the Show, replacing Mick Crockford during his years as Show Chairman. It was at the 2010 Royal Berkshire Show when talking to Nick Hunkin, Bill and Shirley Howes that they asked me if I would consider getting more involved with the Tamworth Breeders’ Club. Although I am not a pig keeper, I do have a farming background as my family were dairy farmers in Oxfordshire. I hope that I can bring some fresh ideas to the Club from my work in marketing and feel that being more involved in the breed society will also help me in my role at the Show. It may take me a few weeks to get to grips with the role, but I want to continue working on some of Carolyn’s ideas for increasing awareness of the Club, building membership and improving com- munication to the existing members. I am really looking forward to the challenges ahead and also to meeting many of you during the 2011 show season. Finally, if any of you have ideas that you would like to talk to me about, please do get in touch! My contact details are above.

Lucy may not have realised it at the time but she joined in in this montage of some of the top Tamworth personalities around - L-R Viki Mills, judge of the 2010 Champion of Champions, Liz Shankland, Caroline Wheatley-Hubbard, Club President and Lucy Hick, our new Secretary. Star of the show was Tudful Jacqueline 8 in front.