KW-29 Happy Piganniversary

Four years of non-stop Pigging around

I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.

Winston Churchill

If you have already guessed that todays newsletter is going to be slightly pig-heavy, then congratulations. This is a post dedicated to three rather heavy pigs. For yes, tis true, it is their barracks birthday today. It was four years ago today when we went, horsebox in hand, and wrangled the wilful three into a future without butchery at the barracks.

And honestly, not a lot has changed. Their personalities were totally established when we got them, and although they had never been outside before, and were a day away from having their throats slit and being cleavered from snout to tail, their disobedient ingratitude has unwavered.

I have written two blog posts on the early history of these three beauties¹, Sir Anthony Marmalade Nutsless, Brunhilda Demagogue and Marilyn Monroe, but on re-reading them just now, I don’t think I gave credit enough to Peter Singer for his part in their coming to the Barracks. Basically, he Peter Singer is the most awful philosopher who has ever existed. He argues that all people are evil (not as in original sin, as in, they do bad things, all of the time). The problem, as Jeffrey Kaplan (highly recommended YouTube guide through the sticky undergrowth of philosophy) points out, is that it is incredibly hard to find the fault in his argument. ²

Pigs and pirate in the vineyard. Before they learned how to escape from fencing designed for the protection against wild boar.

I had just finished Singer’s book The Most Good You Can Do for the third time, and a matter of days later, I got a call asking if I wanted to rescue some piggies. Obviously, being in a weakened and suggestible state, I said yes without hesitation.

Don’t do things without hesitation.

The rest, as they say, is Barracks History and without them, this place would be considerably less interesting, massively more lonely, and all round a worse place. I am rudest about the things I love the most. It’s a childish affliction. The pigs have been the best thing that has ever happened here, and will remain so for the next 15 - 20 years. Oh god. What a thought!

The Week Ahead

In an echo of last week, we have one more volunteer coming this week! We will be five! Five is an excellent number. It’s easy to manage the work load of five people, fun to cook and eat together, and fills the cinema nicely for film night. Last night was not film night. We did not watch the finals of the Euros.

Alright, maybe we did. Well done Spain. The better team won. 🇪🇸

This week we shall:

• Do more edging in the potager. It’s starting to look super nice

• Weed, water, mow. Of course. I fixed the mower again. And then it broke again. That’s really my first job for the week

• Finish summer pruning the orchard. I got a load of it done, but 50 trees take a while

• Make a solar collector for the hot showers project

• Build another outside composting toilet. The last one has been occupied by wasps. And maybe something of an outside solar heated shower as well.

Pirate Gardening Tip of the Week

Pirate gardening is mostly old man gardening. It was old man gardening when I started with my first vegetable plot 30 years ago. So really, it’s just the ancient ways of doing things.

Replant your Tomato Shoots

When you pinch out the sideshoots of your tomatoes, you can replant them and from nothing, make free tomato plants. Just pull off all the leaves except the growing tip, pop them in a pot of compost and keep them damp until they root.

These are not this year’s tomatoes. These are last year’s tomatoes. This year, we are a bit behind, on account of the massive amount of rain we have seen this year.

You can cover the pot with a plastic bag for better humidity control if you like. In no time at all (literally just a few days) it will root, and when it’s looking good and strong, and has started to make new leaves, you can plant it back out in the garden. Or keep it in a pot on your balcony. Really, it will catch up with your other tomatoes and you can double, triple your harvest for no extra outlay of tomato plants.

This is Phoebus. She says hi!

Four Years Ago

Well, Pigs, of course. I thing I have exhausted my collection of old pig photos. Here is a recent one!

Adele, the volunteer, and Brunhilda the massive snouter yesterday.

After all these years, and so many attempts to feed the pigs with the products of the barracks (and with the same optimism that we will continue getting better at it!) we are still spending more on pig food than this newsletter generates. With nearly 800 readers, we are growing beautifully, and it is humbling and wonderful that so many of you are sharing this journey. Please do consider the five euros a month that a paid subscription will extract painlessly from your bank account every month and deposit straight in the bellies of these wonderful swine!

And do, please, take care of each other.

Your ever loving

Pirate Ben

xoxo.

1. https://www.thebarracks.de/post/a-brief-history-of-the-piggers-part-1

https://www.thebarracks.de/post/piggies-part-deux

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