Farm life

Diana - Richard's sister, staying with us for a few days - wanted to visit Cannon Hall Farm near Barnsley, as she's seen it on the TV.  R and I were happy to go too, wanting to check it out for possible visits with the grandchildren later in the year.
It's a huge place, thoroughly equipped now as a visitor attraction on a big scale. Often I'm not very keen on that kind of place, but in fact we had a very relaxed time.  The weather was blustery and the farm was busy but not overcrowded.
As we were coming to the end of our exploring, a man pointed to a building and said 'they're doing an emergency caesarean section on a ewe in there, if  you stay quiet you can go up and watch'. There was an observation platform inside, and we were able to watch the whole thing.  It was being filmed by a camera crew in the pen itself, but that didn't detract from the intense absorption of the vet and the farmers working with her.  Two dark, slithery and ominously motionless bodies were brought out of the ewe's abdomen... and with some energetic rubbing, shaking and blowing, they were brought to life.  The main shows the prep stage; there's a more graphic image in the extra. They're very grainy shots, and I've misjudged the focus a bit too; but nevertheless, I'm pleased to have them as reminders of witnessing something so special.

Otherwise, the horror goes on in Ukraine. This evening I chatted on the phone with Gleb, a former student of Richard's, who comes from Ukraine (but settled in the UK a long time ago).  He is the partner of a old friend of mine.  His elderly parents managed to leave their home near Irpin the night before the invasion. They are living with Gleb and his partner now. Gleb's brother is fighting with the Ukrainian army. His brother's wife and children have taken refuge near the western border, but think that leaving altogether would feel like a betrayal.  Gleb's parents know the Bucha area well as it is not far from their home. I can only guess how they feel now; friends and neighbours of theirs are among the dead in Bucha and Irpin.