David and Inigo have just arrived at Red Kite to meet our friend, chef Jacqueline Wise and husband Mike. They have been up most of the night putting the finishing touches to Llareggub The Beach House, Phase III. The boys are recycling fallen branches from the forest into a solar-powered pig shelter. Meanwhile Jacqui is planning some Welsh inspired foraged side dishes for their wood fired venison lunch. It was to have been an epic day - in fact it probably still was an epic day, the culmination of weeks of preparation for just about everything including the advent of the Chillderness Pigs, Winston and Blossom and the opening of the new Carbon Offset Nursery in conjunction with 9 trees planting scheme. But it all seemed to fall apart at the last fence. Dawn [Winston’s mum] has been stricken with the big C. during Covid and so can no longer bring the Pigs any later than today and we must admit defeat. We just aren’t ready. This means the fencing is not ready for the nursery either causing more tension in the field than Agincourt and leaving fallen oaks ( rather than French Aristos), which we rescued from the XR in its wake. Feeling just a bit sad as Joel has condemned our ideas for a fenced paddock for the pigs and said he is taking his trees away and I am left with 900 oaks which I don’t think I can’t plant. Volunteers anyone? But Jacqui and Mike have done a sterling job, trying to advance the pig schedule for us and we have lots of ideas about how to work with her cookery experience programme @positivelydelicious.
Some GR** news for new Chillderness projects though today - a new Conker and House coming on line. And I fulfilled a life long dream of riding to my own riding lesson on my own horse with Minette on a wonderful, wonderful spring morning. The art of diluting the pinch of salt in the lake of fresh water.
