Ginger's Piglets hit the headlines

No - this is not Mr Bean creeping through the copse bent on nefarious deeds. It is, in fact, our intrepid Look North cameraman gingerly (pardon the pun) sneaking around the day before yesterday trying to capture a glimpse of Ginger and her brood. But they were having none of it. Well... for a start it was pouring with rain - on and off - and blowing a bit of a gale. And then there was the small matter of that odd bloke with his big lens and as if that wasn't bad enough there was that other bloke from the BBC stomping about muttering about "rare as dodos".... Enough to make sure any sensible pig kept her little ones securely stashed at the very back of the Ark!

Thankfully, though, the rain and wind eventually abated and, after 3 hours, the reporters had their story and picture. Which was just as well because hot on their heels came a charming young lady from Radio Lincolnshire; and after her came a well prepared and pig loving reporter with her cameraman from Calendar News; and they had only just finished gathering their material when another young reporter arrived to record her story for Lincs FM. Fast as they got their stories out though (on the same day!), all of them were pipped at the post by the determined young reporter and his photographer from the Lincolnshire Echo who turned up at dusk on Tuesday afternoon in order to meet their deadline - just - for the Wednesday edition.

Inevitably, much as Ginger was scornful and shy of the press at the beginning of all this, by the end of the day she was totally relaxed about the whole thing and allowed her family to cavort around every moment the weather allowed. In fact, it was just as well we kept having intermittent heavy showers because it gave the little ones an opportunity for a much needed pit-stop. And it doesn't stop there. As if local fame and adulation were not enough, they have an appointment with a gentleman from one of our national Dailies at the beginning of next week.....

I don't think we realised what we were letting the RectoryReserve family in for when we asked our friendly journalist - he of Heckington Show and farmer's Weekly fame - if it might be an idea to do a press release about the 'first hairy piglets born in Lincolnshire for nigh on 50 years......'