Pig racing

Yes, that's right.  Pig racing.  We were delighted to find out that there would be some of this fascinating sport going on round our way.  Sampford Arundel cricket ground were hosting the event.  They had a bbq, with a huge queue, teas and coffees, with a wait for the kettle to boil because the urn had packed up and lots of people with large bellies and small dogs. We were about to experience some real country fun!

We had seen the hand-painted sign a few days earlier and thought, well, why not go along and see what this is all about, you never know we might meet some nice people... A Devonshire friend was going to pop in and see us on his way back home from London town, so we persuaded him to meet us at the field for the big race.

Have you ever been to a pig racing event?  Well, we hadn't either and it was a bit of a giggle.   Bubbaboo was so excited when he saw the pigs, he was squealing away like a, well, like a pig.  He loved all the dogs too and must have found the whole experience quite strange because he was asleep in the babycarrier to start with and all the screaming for the first race woke him up.  I mean imagine waking up and seeing loads of people shouting at some pigs.

All the pigs had a different coloured ribbon around their necks, which was changed after each race so there was no favouritism.  You bought a raffle ticket that corresponded with the colour of the pig's ribbon and at the start of the race we were told the amount each coloured ticket would win and at the end of the race, you went back to the table to collect your winnings.  So a ticket cost 50p and for the first race the winning ticket won £1.40.  We were well chuffed, we had backed the winning pig and had even bought two tickets, so we won £2.80.  Result.  Sadly we had to leave after the first race, our friend needed to get home and so we left with him, besides we needed to get back to put the roast pork in the oven...