We went to the Reivers Festival in Hawick. We caught the tail end of the procession, then walked up to the castle mound to watch this re-enactment festival in the Scottish Borders.
There’s a handsome Scotsman here, and he was probably a former cornet.
I skipped the commercial market stalls, not because I wasn’t interested, but because I only have 27p in my bank account. Since the festival was free to enter, I started by visiting the historical medical, armoury, and spinning stalls. Flag bearers, both English and Scottish soldiers, looked gallant as they stood defiantly atop the castle mound, their silhouettes set against a moody grey sky. Charlie received a phone call from an employer requesting assistance with a dead calf; so we departed from the festival earlier than planned. Work ethnic, as in commitment, is important, and no more so than in farming as this is an often a potentially dangerous profession.
Tomorrow we’ll find out about the imposter calf. I’m curious if this is where the saying "wolf in sheep’s clothing" comes from. Later in the evening, we went back to the Revivers Festival at Wilton Lodge Park and waited for the torch-lit procession from Common Haugh.
I filmed the whole procession and might upload it here, maybe sped up a little. I also recorded the fireworks, the bonfire, and caught the Scout Band as they finished playing. By the end, I was in a hurry to get back to the farmhouse because seven hungry lambs were waiting to be bottle-fed. Charlie found twin lambs born in a dark, wet corner of the calf shed. He says their mother likes them, but they were cold and barely alive, so we're warming them under a heat lamp.
Charlie can’t walk away. One lamb is whining, and the other is barely breathing—so faintly that I wonder if I’m just imagining it, hoping to see a sign of life. Neither lamb has had any colostrum yet. Charlie thinks they have about five hours to nurse from their mother. He suspects both lambs are premature and off to a slow start. The old Zwartble ewe, who had triplets last year, has had another prolapse and her waters broke too soon. Charlie is doing his best to save her lamb. Now, only the Herdwick ewe still needs to lamb. This end of the season at Woodburn Farm feels so chaotic. I’m tired and just want to go to bed.