Last month there was an Open Day at Raystede, the rescue from which some of the Piggyfriends came. Agent F asked if we could write a report about the day. We had delayed sending in our report as Agent F was ill but now we think that we should contribute to the new blog. We all love the background with the grass and dandelions and we think that Agent F would have enjoyed it too.
It was an extremely hot day, the hottest of the year so far, so Slave decided that all the Piggyfriends should stay at home in the cool, except for one secret agent and I, Agent Minty, was selected as the newest recruit. Readers please note that piggies should not be outdoors in the heat but as a secret agent I have special powers that enable me to keep cool.
I went along with Slave who had plants to sell for the cause and we were, unexpectedly, able to park near to the entrance. Slave said that she usually has to park several fields away and walk the rest but, sadly, the very hot weather had an effect on the number of visitors.....that and the fact that England were playing in the football World Cup that afternoon. Not a good choice of days but arrangements have to be made a long time in advance and no-one envisaged the footie being on the same day. Slave's son suggested that they stream the footie match in one of the marquees and offered to set it up using the big screen that he takes to the village hall film shows but the manager declined, thinking ( in error ) that the footie would not make any difference to the attendance. We heard lots of people saying that they were going home to watch the footie and a lot more probably never set out in the first place.
There was a wonderful display by a local Dog Agility team but we felt sorry for those doggies out in the heat. The manager delayed the rest of the dog show in the hope that it might be cooler but it just got hotter and hotter and many people wisely took their doggies home.
The cakes on the cake stalls were beginning to melt and I think that most of the visitors felt that they were too.
Slave's son was working out in the fields with the horses but, in his break, he joined Slave for an ice lolly, which they ate in the shade of the big trees in the picnic area while I snacked on the grass. Slave said that there have been Open Days in the past when they have run out of ice cream ( shock horror - Slave loves her ices ) so maybe it was not too bad a thing that numbers were down.
There was a band playing, which Slave and I both enjoyed and we visited the various stalls but had to keep retreating into the Sanctuary, the wildfowl area where there are lakes and tall shade trees.
All the animal cages have secure locks but the Cavy House has pens for the piggies so the whole house was locked up for the day so that the piggies were not disturbed ( or even stolen ) by so many visitors. A set of wooden steps was set up so that visitors could look in the window and Slave spent an inordinate amount of time watching the piggies inside. I was sure that she was going to reserve a little agouti in the pen nearest the window but her willpower was amazing. We really are full at Piggyfriends although she will always find room for a desperate piggy.
There was a lot of food over at the end of the day, to which the staff could help themselves rather than have it go to waste and Slave's son brought home a huge bag of veggieburgers for the freezer, which should keep him and Slave going for some time.
Despite the setbacks, they raised 8,056 English pounds for the cause ( excuse the typing but Slave's new laptop has a US keyboard and there is no pound sign - grrrrr - she says that she never uses it anyway but I need it now). With the sale of raffle tickets, which has been going on for the last three months, the total came to 13,391 pounds, which will go a long way to helping animals in need. It costs a lot to run a centre as big as this one.
They hope to organise another event in the Autumn when it should not be so hot. Otherwise the next event is the Christmas get together, when they sing carols, eat mince pies and drink mulled wine. Some of the staff dress up and they do a little nativity scene using the donkeys and sheep that live at the centre. No place for piggies there!
Agent Minty signing out.
