Rather Ewe than Me, Saved from the Drop
Strangely enough I know a lot of Fionas, but the latest Fiona I hear is a bit of Greta Garbo kind of girl. She didn’t ask to be alone, or even rescued, when she was stranded at the bottom of a cliff for two years. But that’s because she was a sheep; and she’s now been rescued. I’m not sure if she knew she was lonely, even though the species is a flock animal, but she was dubbed “Britain’s Loneliest Sheep,” after a kayaker spotted her twice, the second time after a gap of two years.
It was all done a bit on the quiet, not to raise hopes too high in case they couldn’t raise the ewe at all from her rocky shelf on the Cromarty Firth in the Highlands. The rescue involved a 250ft descent to the cliff base by five local farmers, led by a YouTube sensation, who wows the sheep farming world on the world wide web. The beast was somewhat tubby after having little exercise for the two years and the fleece was twice what would be expected, but the lonesome ewe is set to be a media star and she’ll be kept where she can meet her many fans.
Such was the interest in rescuing Fiona, as she is now called after the mission to the cliff, that a Hovercraft firm in England offered to land on the shingle beach and haul her off, but the 1,400 mile round trip became unnecessary when with strong lifting equipment the five abseiling farmers grabbed Fiona off the beach and propelled her into the media spotlight. And as a happy ending I am fairly sure that Fiona is now safe from becoming somebody’s Sunday roast. She’s quite the survivor!
And as a precursor to the dreaded Black Friday we here at James Pirie thought we’d give you a special wildlife treat. Those lovely people at Royal Crown Derby have handcrafted the Old Imari Solid Gold Band Swallow using techniques that are unchanged since the 19th century, just like us. It’s a symbol of love and devotion and signifies its unity. It is beautifully decorated in distinctive Derby red and cobalt blue colours and embellished in 22 carat gold. And because it’s an early season offer we have put it on at a massive discount with over £140 off. Tell me that’s not generous and I’ll go live at the foot of a cliff.
