A Personal ‘Thank You’

on Monday 20th March I had an unfortunate accident on our farm at Willowbrook in which I broke my lower leg while bedding up our cattle, a bail of straw disintegrated on me, the morning was torrential rain and my coat hood blocked my view from seeing it coming down on me.

I am writing this to say a huge thank you to all that helped me on that morning, Helen from the Helpston Plant Centre who lay in the wet straw while help arrived, Colin and Sam especially who helped secure the cattle preventing further injury to myself, the emergency services and the people initially helping me (and possibly saved my life from being trampled). Also, the MAGPAS crew, MAGPAS doctor, ground ambulance crew, air ambulance crew, paramedics, fire crew and heart - who all did a brilliant job in the farmyard conditions in making me comfortable in the cattle yard,

Peterborough Anglo-French Association

Jackie Robinson

It was heads down for a beetle drive for our March meeting.

Normally calm people were getting very animated when the beetle was near completion! The competitive element soon sets in.

Our next meetings include a fish and chip supper to loosely celebrate ‘Le poisson d’avril’April Fool’s day, a French food and getting me to hospital, where the Edith Cavell emergency staff and surgeons took over my care. On Tuesday I underwent a 5-hour operation by a surgeon who ironically use to be a farmer, later training as a surgeon, to repair my leg. On Thursday afternoon I was discharged from ward B and have since remained at home recovering.

I would like to say a big thankyou to my partner Jo who has been doing a wonderful job looking after me and our puppy ollie as well as her work in the Granary, her staff for helping her, my son James who has been looking after the farm with help of my daughter Grace who has also been working in the shop and café.

For a farmer with a business to run, life still has to go on around the farm, with cattle to tend and crops to sow. Thank you, also fellow farmers who quickly rang to offer any support, they could and our family, friends and staff for their well wishes

A big thankyou to all, Robin Morton Scotsman’s Lodge farm Willowbrook experience and a summer (hopefully) walk and pub meal after.

In July our French friends from Bourges will visit us and it will be good to see them after 4 years of cancelled twinning visits. One of the events we are putting on is a display of Mia Hansson’s Bayeux Tapestry – if you have not heard of her she is on Facebook and her embroidery is amazing. If you would like to see her tapestry and meet the French when they come over, you can email our Social Secretary for details; there will be a small charge, and we are having fish and chips after.

We are looking forward to getting our visits back on track and hope our friends will invite us back to Bourges next year.

Have great summer everyone.

Feel free to look up our Facebook page, Peterborough Anglo-French Association (don’t forget the hyphen) or copy and paste www.facebook.com/groups/697608323628779

Social Secretary Ann Elliott: ameuk@btinternet.com