A week of celebration and awareness
This week we had a bit of a presentation and celebration at the Massingberd Arms to say well done to all the staff who had participated in training and received certificates in the past year. The awards were a diverse range of qualifications including First Aid, Manual Handling, Hospitality, Food Hygiene and Personal / Executive Assistant.
Our Estate Photographer was on hand to photograph the presentation of the certificates before we all disappeared inside to enjoy a delicious meal. Some even managed one of the ample puddings and even Jacqui was able to order something sweet as the brownies were gluten free. Despite it being a Wednesday night, the pub was busy but the cooks and waitresses did a sterling job. The food was delicious and the service very friendly and efficient. Thank you to Andy and his team.
We have also been growing some delicious food of our own at the Estate. Although the cucumbers and spring onions have found the heat and humidity too much, the other produce is doing really well. Lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, beetroot and radishes are in abundance and we are looking forward to courgettes, peas, parsnips and even grapes in the future. Jacob is making sure the patch gets watered regularly and we have been very pleased with everything so far.
With the hot weather seemingly unending, the cattle have been struggling to find enough grass. John Crutchley and his team are continuing to bring the silage that had been saved for winter into the feeding pens and of course we are keeping the water stations topped up. The calves have got a bit more mischievous in their bid to find greener grass and we have had a number of escapees. Some have even tiptoed over the cattle grid whilst other bovine colleagues broke through the fence for a cooling dip in the lake, which is not good really as they can get themselves stuck.
Another creature that was craving water was the frog in the garage. The frog must have thought it had done well as it found a bucket full of water. It dived in but then couldn’t get out. We found him and tipped him into the stream and after a few minutes recovering on the bank, he was off for a swim.
Sadly, Sue Pearson at White Cottage had a break in. A forced and broken window meant that thieves were able to get in and made quite a mess. Money, credit cards, jewellery and other valuables were taken and Sue was naturally shaken up by the event. The house was only unoccupied for three quarters of an hour and so it felt like someone had been watching the house and the movements for a while. We include this to make people vigilant.
Finally, we asked people to vote on Facebook for their favourite South Ormsby bull. In the first semi-final Sooty went up against Puzzle, while it was Squire against Prospero in the second semi-final. Sooty and Squire then made through to the final with Sooty narrowly coming out the victor in a very closely fought final round of voting. We will tell you a bit more about Sooty in next week’s diary!
