Page 28 - LOTN Summer Issue 47 2021

FAITH AND CULTURE

Catherine. She was heavy with piglets, and their birth was
expected any day. I placed my jacket on a nearby spade and
went to work. They say you are never closer to God than in
a garden. After a couple of hours hard labour, it was time
On a Wing and a Prayer for Vespers, and I returned to pick up my prized wartime
covering.
with a pig’s head, we will never know. Catherine had decided
There was little of the jacket left. Whatever goes on in
Father Peter Barry it was edible, perhaps vitamin-dense, good fodder in
pregnancy, enough fibre for her kids to have a good start?
As she snorted down the last piece of leather, a silvery froth
formed on her lips. A little ‘oink’, and she was soon fast
asleep. Shortly afterwards there were ten tiny bundles of
joy roaming freely in those hallowed grounds. Was it their
special diet that gave them such a healthy appearance. A
joke quickly went around the Diocese: The piglets were
If pigs could fly born with ten little flying jackets.
Brother Adrian acted as midwife. He was a huge man
they'd need jackets! and looked after any livestock and vegetables. At an earlier
age he had gone to West Africa at a time when groundnuts
were believed to be a source of food and prosperity. Now
he sat beside Catherine gently encouraging her in her
motherhood. As each batch arrived Brother Adrian rushed
My Dear People,
into the Common Room, breathless, to declare “there are
now three”, then a few minutes later” we now have six”, and
Some time ago I went to Pluscarden, our local lastly” We seem to be finished at ten”.
Benedictine monastery, for a few days of reflection. I Adrian was a gentle soul. Like many men of muscle,
decided to take advantage of the warm weather and Adrian was soft-hearted to a fault. In his obituary, he was
helped in the garden. At the time I was wearing a leather described as “childlike”. But now each male piglet had to go
‘Biggles’ jacket, worn by a pilot during the second world under the knife. As each was emasculated Brother Adrian
war. They were rare and could fetch a good price. whispered, “I’m sorry, my little darling. I’m so sorry”.
The monks kept a pig, whom they affectionately called

Mrs Kelechi Kanu sets the scene for us at Pluscarden Abbey and ten little jacketed bundles of joy.

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