A visit from the BBC

We had an exciting time last Thursday and Friday preparing for a visit from journalist Gareth Lloyd who works for the BBC. Gareth wanted to see how we make the horses and to learn more about the history of our business. So, we spent most of Friday clearing a space in an old barn at the farm; dressing it with hessian, some seed sack and other farmyard items. We moved all four horses into the barn and had a photoshoot for our advent promotions.

Gareth arrived bang on time on Friday and spent some time filming the buildings and especially our new chickens, as well as the Follie caravan — both of which feature at the beginning of the shoot. Gareth spent some time with the horses and then came to shoot some carving footage. He even helped me to glue up the latest horse. He then interviewed me for about fifteen minutes and we had a cup of tea to finish off.

I told him all about the history of Mr Hignett’s Horses, about how we used to supply the White Star Liners and how one of our horses was on the Titanic. He was interested to learn how my grandmother Margaret used to deliver the horses on her handcart and how she once lost the pay — 20 silver sovereigns — on the way home. They had fallen through a hole in her pinny pocket as she pushed the cart home through the snow. She realised when she got home, so retraced her steps and picked up every last one. That must have been a great evening’s story, and it’s one that’s been passed down through the years.