The new year, is well and truly here… (February 2020)
How are you, kangaroo? Doin’ fine, clementine!
After Jenny the pig so kindly pointed out last month that 2020 is the Year of the Rat, it is only right for us be in charge of this newsletter!
We just wanted to take this moment to address a few things; Clear the air, so to speak.
We have realised that many visitors to the farm are scared of us, and we just don’t understand why… we’re adorable!
The farm has been open for two weeks now and while we’ve had some visitors, especially at weekends, we do still get people that catch sight of us, and turn tail.
Us rats are easy to care for, loving, and highly intelligent. These were just some of the discussion points we prepared for our BBC interview, to clear up all those misconceptions about rats, once and for all. And then the BBC never came to see us…
But because we are highly intelligent we understand that the BBC’s Farmer’s Country Showdown – featuring Vauxhall City Farm, the animals, the team, and the service we deliver – is a really amazing thing, and we hope you have already seen it, even if us rats didn’t make the cut.
If not, you have ten more days to watch it on BBC iPlayer – run, don’t walk!
If you were intrigued by what you’ve seen on the BBC, you can read more about the 2019 Lambeth Country Show, Finn and RDA Riding, Chris and New Shoots, or the farm in general on our website. You can also have a look at the various ways you can support the farm, financially and otherwise.
After all the excitement at, around, and for the farm, there had to be some lows… They say it never rains, but it pours, and that is especially true, when you wake up one morning, and your roof is gone!
If you’ve watched the Farmer’s Country Showdown, you will be very familiar with Sophie, Livestock Coordinator, and her genuine love and enthusiasm for what she describes as her dream job. However, we bet that even Sophie wished to be working an uneventful desk job when she got to the farm one morning to find half the stable roof blown off in an over night storm, and three very soggy, very grumpy alpacas glaring at her from inside their open air stable…
Luckily, no animals or people were harmed in the storm, however the stable roof will need to be completely replaced – a heavy financial blow in the quiet winter time, when we don’t have a lot of donations coming in.
If you are able to support our ‘Raise the Roof’ appeal, Tom, Ben, and Jerry will be forever grateful!
In happier news: The Eagle London decided to support the farm over Christmas, shaking a bucket at their seasonal events.
The staff team raised an amazing £417.73!
We were absolutely thrilled to get the news, and so was the Eagle team! So thrilled that they decided to continue collecting donations for Vauxhall City Farm at their events in 2020!
Check out what’s Coming Up at the Eagle, and support to farm while having a great night out!
The horses are looking forward to the first Own A Pony Days of 2020 and can’t wait to meet the young, future London equestrians!
We will be running Own a Pony Days for children aged 8-14, on Tuesday 18th, Thursday 20th, and Friday 21st of February and you can book your space on our website now.
And if you are aged 8-14, and it’s not just euqines that tickle your fancy, but you enjoy all the animals at the farm, as well as the plants, and the exciting things you can get up to with cooking, arts, and craft, then you should sign up to Urban Roots, our Saturday Club, that’s all about combining city life with country life!
Book your space now
Before we go, we would like to welcome Natty Waldron to the farm team!
Fresh from The Winch – backing young people and families in Camden to thrive – he has joined the farm as our new Fundraising Officer and we are very excited to learn from his experience with trusts, foundations and statutory sources, while discussing Tolstoy in our free time!
Now it’s time to scoot, little newt! We gotta go, buffalo!
Lots of important things to do, cheer to spread, and soggy alpacas to comfort!
Next time you’re visiting the farm, maybe think about coming to see us. We promise, we’re not as scary as you may think.
Bye bye, butterfly!
Wallace & Gromit
