Before very long, Polly was grown, and suddenly became pregnant. Before we knew it, we had six kittens! So the family was growing. We already had Poppy the bad tempered growly farm cat who hated everybody, and Blaize the black Labrador, the soppiest dog I’d ever met. He was so funny, every time I brought a new orphan animal into the house he would look at me with a long suffering look, as if he was saying ‘Another one? Really?’ And then he would take to them and look after them as if they were his own.
So there we were. No income, no work, £42 a week to feed us and our growing zoo. Brian helped out with cat food and Phil was gradually gaining strength. Soon he would be able to go back to work planting trees and hedges.
Which was why I was surprised one day when I was at the kitchen sink looking out the window to the garden, and I heard a strange noise, a sort of grunting noise…what on earth was it? Then strolling up the path came Phil with a piglet under his arm. ‘It was being attacked by its family’ he announced ‘I rescued it’. So now we had a pig. And we called her Lottie. And Lottie the pig quickly grew into a massive piggy problem….
