He’s gone :-(

It’s been a helluva weekend I can’t see me being on here for long, already it’s 18:50 and we sail, or at least leave the pier in one and a half hours. So what’s not on here by then will have to wait, for tonight I’m driving straight home, having a stiff drink and going to bed, hopefully with my wife and not the wee dug 🙂 None of us has had much sleep of late but at least I’ve not been sleeping on the couch with a poorly piglet like the poor wife. Though actual sleeping has been in short supply for the swineherd, I’ve been OK, I may have been in bed a little later than usual and up a little sooner to help with the chores but not the wife. No my long suffering and bleary eyed partner has been tending to Tam’s every needs.

The wee chap, who’d been doing so well on his diet of baby milk, dirt and stones started to deteriorate on Thursday. His ‘pneumonia’ seemed to have moved up into his throat and he was having trouble standing, such a disappointment after his ‘rally’ of the previous few days. He was still feeding well but had to be held up, then after being fed he couldn’t move anywhere or stand to do the toilet, so just did it where he lay 😦 Molly would clean him up and we’d move him onto a fresh ‘puppy pad’ but he was obviously distressed.

I got an appointment to take him to the vet today, I could have probably got one yesterday but the wife was in no fit state to drive. I hasten to had because she was so tired and an emotional wreck and not because she’s been ‘on the juice’. At least by today our son would be there to help whilst I was at work.

  

Not that long ago I would have either left him to fend for himself with the others and let nature take its course or at least shot him after the first course of antibiotics failed to cure him. It may sound harsh but sickly and hand reared animals seldom thrive and if they do survive they generally become a pest. I know as I’ve reared plenty of lambs after their mothers have died or not had enough milk and I’ve had one or two piglets in the kitchen.

Tam though was such a little fighter that we did our best to save him, more than our best, all of us, wife, dug, vet, son and I.

When I got home last night he did seem a little better and could even stand unaided, though not for long 😦 Still we had an appointment with the vet at 9:00am today and I convinced myself, and the family that he’d be OK.

Sadly he  wasn’t, I knew he wasn’t when the wife’s phone number came up on my mobile and the Dude answered when I pressed the green button. “The piglet’s not coming back” he said 😦 I’m not really sure what was wrong with him other than it was something to do with his heart. I’ll find out once the wife has got over it. She did after all not let him out of her sight for a week and he’d taken to following her about, which was fine when he could walk but quite distressing when he could only try.

Still we have to look on the bright side, he got an extra week or so, seemed quite happy for much of the time and at least we now don’t have to face the dilemma of what to do with a fully grown pet boar. For I don’t think that even the heartless soul that I am could have  Taken him to slaughter and I doubt anyone else would want a 200Kg pet with tusks 🙂

More developments

It’s not new news as it’s almost a week old and it may not be true news as it’s out of one of Rupert’s papers but it does sound like exceedingly good news 🙂 From http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/?CMP=KNGvccp1-times+on+line well it’s not actually, it’s from a mate who emailed it to me as I’ll be damned if I give that megalomaniac any money 🙂

I’m really sorry Mike if I stole your article http://mikewadejournalist.blogspot.com/ great blog by the way 🙂

 

 

The art gallery in question is to be housed in the old farm steading and what a venue it would be, I can’t think of a more apt location, well apart from Raasay House itself 🙂

The picture’s a couple of years old as I have not had time to take one today having been buried down below,

scrapping and undercoating the forward ‘Voith space’.

Mr Hohler is the founder of the http://www.thepcf.org.uk/ a charity who’s goal is to catalogue and make available for view (or at least digitally) all public oil paintings.

“The Public Catalogue Foundation, a registered charity^[1], is working on a project to record the UK‘s complete collection of oil paintings in public ownership and to make this accessible to the public through a series of affordable catalogues and, at a later stage, free Internet access.

The catalogues and resulting website will allow readers to see a colour illustration and description of every painting in the UK’s national collection. This information has significant educational benefits and constitutes the building blocks for later art historical research. Revenue from catalogue sales made by collections will be dedicated to the conservation and restoration of oil paintings in their care.

In January 2009 a partnership with the BBC was announced with the aim to place the entire catalogue of publicly owned oil paintings online by 2012.^[2]”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Public_Catalogue_Foundation

So perhaps we may see works of art from further afield 🙂

Cementing it all together

So with Raasay House only a year off completion after the great fire of almost exactly two years ago https://lifeattheendoftheroad.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/raasay-house-is-ablaze/

and with our new hybrid ferry having it’s steel cut at Ferguson’s

 

https://lifeattheendoftheroad.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/well-done-fergusons/ all we need now is a ‘Development Officer’ RDP.html .

24K goes a long way here and it’s a great place for children, but hurry because you’ve only a week to get your application in 🙂

Isle of Raasay Community Development Officer
Based on Raasay
35 hours per week
Salary of up to £24480
Job Share will be considered

Raasay Development Partnership (affiliated to Raasay Community Association) is looking to recruit a Community Development Officer to work with the Partnership and Community to progress and implement a community growth plan. Some initial projects have already been identified to create opportunities and enhance
the socio-economic, cultural and environmental welfare of the community.

The role requires good general computer skills, the ability to work effectively on your own,
strong motivation and an enthusiasm for the role.

The closing date for applications is Friday 20th January.
The position will start as soon after the 1st February as possible
and currently has funding up to 31st December 2013.

For a full brief, and to submit your application, please contact:

Donnie Oliphant – Chairman
Clachan Lodge, Isle of Raasay, IV40 8PB
01478 660388
raasay@fsmail.net

or

Katherine Gillies – Treasurer
1 Holoman Park, Isle of Raasay, IV40 8PE
01478 660233
katherine.raybole@gmail.com