Donkey Week Diary, Day One

I'm relatively new to Donkey Week and after only two years I was surprised how many people I knew, greeting my Weeker friends who I haven't seen since last year.

Day One is a gentle introduction on the main Slade Farm site; we catch up with friends, pick up our week schedule, a little craft shopping, risk a few pennies on a raffle or two, buy tickets for Bingo, Skittles and Cabaret Night. Seriously this event is like the coolest holiday camp with donkeys!

The Sermon on the Mount is the introductory talk by the Donkey Sanctuary CEO, Mike Baker. This year’s was very positive; all the building work is done (new restaurant, new shop and donkey learning zones) and the long campaign against donkey skins is finally turning the tide. Add to that promising news from Zimbabwe and the continuing work in 40 countries shows how our donations are being used. Donkey Sanctuary gets no government funding, so everything is done from donations, legacies and fundraising.

Once the Sermon was done, it was time for a coffee and plans for the day. We elected on a trailer ride to see the Poitou first - the Poitou all looked like shampoo adverts in the gentle breeze, their long fur rippling and blowing around. And the trailer rides are a fun part of the week on all the farms.

Then we walked over to Trow Farm, part of the Slade estate, to have our first donkey walking of the week.

Donkey Walking - one of the reasons this event is so popular...you pitch up at the barn, the grooms halter a donkey for you and off you go. A chance to walk the donkey, pet them, talk to them. Once you've had enough, it's back to the barn (usually walking much faster for the donkeys!) and the donkeys are tied up for Weekers to groom, to grab a brush and commune with your donkey.

This is not only restful and therapeutic for the Weeker, but it also benefits the donkeys. Being walked by novices helps with their patience span, and grooming is like the world's best massage for them.

After a busy day the Weekers travel to Sidmouth for the now iconic cabaret with local singer, Simon Rees.

He delivers an excellent evening with lots of audience participation. So lots of laughter, dancing and loud singing.

And so day one draws to a close, we are very tired but very, very happy to be back.