Treginnis Update October 2016
Friday 7th October 2016
Although we had a long coach journey (over five hours of travel), the roads were good and the journey went smoothly. Our arrival on the Atlantic coast a few miles outside of St David’s brought much excitement. We had some play and an introduction to some of the Treginnis staff. We also learned the importance of good hygiene on the farm, and practised how we will get our kits on and off in the boot room for the farm work. After dinner, there was some furious sawing as we made a start on our D&T project – shelters.
Saturday 8th October
Today was our first day of proper work on the farm, and we certainly worked. We have been blessed by fair (DRY) weather so far, and enjoyed our time outside in it. Sheep have been checked, hills have been climbed, mother seals and their pups have been spotted, goats have been fed and milked, wood was sawn and split, pigs have been fed, poultry has been fed and calves have been fed their milk. However, the main event of the working day was crop-harvesting.
Around 600 pumpkins were picked, cleaned, sorted and counted before being transported from one end of the farm to the other. The pumpkins were neither light nor easy to handle. Some poor little muscles were worked in ways they had never imagined before. All the children involved grafted fantastically well both individually and as a team. As we trudged back to the boot room, comparing hands to see whose were the dirtiest and having to focus hard on putting one foot in front of the other, the sense of achievement and satisfaction in a big job well done was obvious.
Dinner (chilli con carne followed by brownies) went down a treat. We still found time to crack on with our shelters – almost all have their structures in place now. Next is making them fit for their purposes with card, paint, glue and not too much mess, hopefully.
Sunday 9th October
The children had a well-earned long lie this morning. When they got up at 7:15am, they seemed very fresh. The reason for the long lie was that we miss farm jobs on Sunday mornings to go to Mass in St David’s. St George and St Teresa are now a well-established fixture in the calendar at St Michael’s Church, and the children’s conduct today ensured we will continue to be held in high esteem. Father Ross and the parishioners made us feel most welcome; the Homily was personalised for us and they heard a lovely message about how St David always had the Holy Spirit with him to guide him. We will certainly reflect on this as part of our Confirmation preparation in the coming months.
The afternoon was taken up by a walk along the Atlantic coast to the nearby Pothllisky Beach. Les, a Treginnis legend and local expert, was able to tell us about some local history and geography. The children explored the rock pools and some seals were spotted.
Monday
There was plenty of farming carried out today and the children worked hard. The farm animals haven’t been toilet-trained, which means somebody has got to clean up…
As well as having their ‘toilets’ cleaned, there were some equine manicures given to the donkeys. Some of the children could definitely have a future in the grooming industry. One group got to blaze a trail with some new boiler-suits the farm is looking to introduce. Of course, nothing comes for free here – they had to do a four-mile round trip (on foot) to another farm to help load up some barley for the pig-porridge.
Good teachers have to be good learners, and in the spirit of reciprocity, the children have been offering lessons and suggestions to the adults about the ‘dab’. It’s not the move itself, it’s the fluidity that it’s performed with that gives away the age of the dancer.
Work has continued on our shelters, and some are even finished now. We’re looking forward to our walk to St David’s tomorrow, where we will be given a tour around the cathedral.
Tuesday 11th October
We had our usual round of looking after the animals before having breakfast (where today’s optional extras were bacon and eggs). This hearty meal would stand us in good stead for our walk to St David’s. The fine weather we’ve had this week continued and we were bathed in glorious sunshine for the whole trip.
Once at St David’s Cathedral, we were taken on three different mini-tours that involved: learning about art symbolism and exploring the historic and religious links in the Cathedral, choral singing next to the Queen’s seat and a treasure hunt to find different ‘landmarks’ within the cathedral. As well as being very informative, the trip provided us with many opportunities that we can explore further during our preparation for Confirmation.
After this, we had a picnic lunch in the Cathedral grounds before we spent the last of our cash in the Cathedral shop. We still had time for a short walk through the city and spent some time playing in one of its swing parks. Although it wasn’t timed, it would be safe to say the two (ish) mile walk back to Treginnis took longer than the outbound one earlier.
There were still jobs to be done before and after dinner. Following the earlier exertions, we decided to take a break from D&T tonight. Instead, we caught up with our diary entries before doing some outdoor star-gazing in a place with much less ambient light than Solihull. We continued with our novel before heading to bed for a well-deserved rest.
Wednesday 12th October
As always at Treginnis Farm, the animals’ breakfast takes priority over the humans’ one. We were up and out by 7:30am, making sure the livestock were well fed. After our own breakfast, the first of three sessions, where we took our lives in our own hands, began – the children were cooking and baking. Jam tarts were made for lunch, pizzas were made for dinner and shortbread was made for our nightcap. Everything was eaten. As this update is written, our digestive systems seem to have survived.
Some other regular farm tasks were carried out and some more harvesting was done. Swedes planted in July were picked, cleaned and packed, all ready to be sold to a retail company that specialises in selling local produce.
Most of the D&T shelters have been finished and we’re getting ready for our last full day at the farm tomorrow. The latest batch of letters from home arrived, which were well received as always.
Thursday 13th October
Before breakfast this morning, we did our usual round of farm jobs. Although we might see the turkeys on Christmas Day, it was time to say goodbye to our farmyard animal friends for the last time.
At 10 o’clock, we set off on a trek to the nearby Whitesands beach. The weather had stayed lovely and sunny for us, though there was an easterly wind that made its presence known, especially at the exposed beach. The slight nip in the air didn’t deter one group of children (and teachers) who were intent on having a splash in the waves. Meanwhile, the rest of the children were utilising their designated space on the beach with a mixture of football, gymnastics, sand-writing and sand-pies. This was followed by a picnic lunch by the beach before we made the return journey back to the farm.
All cases have been packed and the last hot chocolate of the trip was accompanied by some cookies specially made by the kitchen staff. There were some real feelings of mixed emotions today – many children said they wanted this fantastic experience to continue just a little longer, but they were also worn out and very keen to return to much-missed loved ones, electronic devices and their own beds. This has been a week unlike any other for the children, where they have taken on proper jobs and accepted responsibility to make sure that real things get taken care of. Parents and carers can look forward to gardening and other household jobs being taken on that may have been left for someone else in the past.
Goodbye for now – see you at St G&T tomorrow afternoon.
