A pig he would a-wooing go....

A few months ago one of Ginger's first litter offspring - Little Polly Piglet - went to the very charming Mr James Barclay of this county. Although she was a mere stripling, the question of a suitable husband for her did arise. The only answer then was her illustrious sire. Whilst there is no problem in line-breeding to such a handsome and well bred boar, the age (hence, size) difference gave cause for concern. Potentially it meant that Polly would need to wait till she was in her second year before she could be mated. No problem there. But not ideal for a healthy young gilt.

Not ideal for an eminent would-be pig breeder either.

A fortuitious solution presented itself in the shape of the very handsome pure-bred Blonde boar (in the centre of the picture) who - having been born on Christmas Day - is just one month younger than Polly. He is one of the Four who came over from 'the other side of the country', his sister being Lily (who went to The Show) who will remain with the RectoryReserve herd.

So, off he went this afternoon in the very fine limousine you see here. Not that he really wanted to go on his own. The other two pigs, therefore, loaded themselves into the limo with him, saw that he was settled and then quietly returned to their stall. Hearing of the beautiful Miss Polly Piglet who awaited him at the end of his journey seemed to cheer him no end - he hardly looked back. He will be very happy in his new home. And their eventual offspring will carry a very healthy mix of genes.

Meanwhile, Ginger's latest brood were introduced to the public last Sunday. Unfortunately, after a blisteringly warm and sunny few weeks, the weather broke the day before. At the allotted time of the 'piglet viewing' Ginger made her apologies but insisted the little ones could not leave their cosy ark for the damp and windy wood outside. I think a few lucky visitors managed to catch a glimpse of a piglet or two in the dark recesses..... they were happy enough with that (they politely said!). Mind you, the rest of the herd were more than happy to lap up the attention so readily available. There was just one nasty moment when Mangel, trying to get a little closer to one of the lady guests' legs, stuck his nose through the fence and got more than he bargained for. He's not yet used to his (rapidly) growing tusks. Taking his head back through the fence, he was impaled. He was Not Amused.

The screaming and squealing could probably have been heard in the next county. Slightly scary! As a way of getting everyone's attention it was extremely effective!

Luckily, he managed to extricate himself just before the arrival of the Boss with the wire-cutters. It hasn't happened again - yet.

Funnily enough, when all the guests had gone home - and all was quiet - the piglets were allowed to scamper hither and thither for as long as they wished!!! (Perhaps Ginger thinks that growing up in the public eye is not a desirable fate for her children...... on the other hand, maybe she doesn't want to share the limelight????).

At exactly two weeks old today they are adorable, precocious and imbued with that star quality that one would expect from such illustrious parentage.

And just like their predecessors they are already trying to steal the food from Mum's bowl so have moved on to piglet meal a good week earlier than normally recommended! Clearly they already know a thing or two!