A cow’s no repecter of persons, Ma’am

IT MUST have been one of those moments where you don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Just imagine: you’re at an agricultural show with one of your prize cows, all ready to show her to The Queen and, just as Her Majesty arrives, what does the cow do? It raises its tail and spends a penny in her direction.

This is a true story – one that happened to Cheshire dairy farmer”s wife Pamela Garnett. But as well as prompting a few red faces, it provided the inspiration for her new book, The Royal Wee.

The cow in question was Honey, a famous white pedigree Holstein belonging to their Fullersgate herd based at Allostock, Knutsford.

The cow – whose grand dam was the famous Canadian cow Roybrook Warden Honey and whose great grand dam was Roybrook Harriet – has since become the central character in Pamela’s book. Much of the action in the book is based on events that have happened to the Garnett family.

“I hope my story will, in some small way, help the public become more aware of what goes on in the countryside,” says Pamela. “It would be wonderful if I could help bridge the gap between farmers and city dwellers. The book features an open farm and, if it encourages a few to visit an open farm, then that would be wonderful.”

Pamela and her husband, Tony, originally began renting 40 acres and milking 29 cows; and they now milk 400 cows with plans for further expansion. The family also rear 3000 turkeys and have an engineering business, Garnett Farms Engineering, originally started to market a product which one of the couple’s four children designed when he was at agricultural college.

“I always wanted to write a book, but never thought I’d be able to turn my dream into reality,” says Pamela. “It was immensely difficult finding time to write and also finding peace as this is such a busy establishment, so much of my writing was done very early in the morning – at 3.30am – where everywhere was quiet. It was also the only time the computers were free!”

* The Royal Wee – the story of Honey, the white cow. Available from PG Publications, Clay Bank Farm, Allostock, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 9NE. Priced 5.99 plus 1.70 p+p.