Free potatoes

Monday 30th January 2012

A grey, chilly morning

A Confrontation with Fear and Dread
I am slightly surprised to be sat here blogging this evening. At best, I thought I'd be too ill, too groggy or semi-conscious. At worst ... For today I had an appointment with the dentist, an event which has stricken me with an irrational feear since fainting after an injection at the age of 15. Since then I have only consented to dental work on condition that I be sedated. However, I knew that when I moved to rural Lincolnshire it would be hard enough to find an NHS dentist (don't get me started on that subject), let alone one with sedation facilities. So it was that today I had a full scale, polish, a tricky deep filling and athe remnants of a back tooth ground down. And all with the help of FIVE INJECTIONS! I have to say, things have moved on since I was 15 and it wasn't actually too bad. And to think of all the worry I have caused myself. I am glad that I finally faced up to my fears, not that I had much choice. There's probably a more general lesson to be learned here.

Free Pig Potatoes
So as to divert my mind from the afternoon's events, I devoted the morning to visiting a local farm to collect over half a ton of free potatoes... that's right, free. When potatoes are harvested, those that are supermarket regulation go off for sale at prime prices. THe sorters pick out those which are the wrong size and these get bagged up as "seconds" for the local population to buy at discount rate.

A trailer full of free potatoes, along with 8 bales of straw which I picked up while I had the trailer hitched up. Gerry could clearly smell the wildlife of another farm in the straw.

A proportion, however, don't even make this grade. Either too oddly shaped, too large or too small, slightly green or nicked or sliced by the harvesting machine. Ask around and these can often be snaffled for free, or maybe a tenner a ton to buy the sorters a drink.

Many of these would be perfectly edible for humans, but since I have plenty still in storage in the garage, these potatoes are for the enjoyment of the pigs. They are not the ideal food for pigs, not unless cooked, which seems a lot of bother, especially as nothing is allowed to pass from the kitchen to the pigs. However, I like to toss a handful or three of spuds into the pig enclosure just to bulk up their pellet food and to give them the opportunity to snuffle and root around.