Melanie MacLean, a small-time farmer in Benbecula, in the Outer Hebrides raises sheep and lambs as her major income product ....
.... so she was well aware that all the farm animals on her small holding/croft were not 'pets', and that there were dangers in letting emotions get involved when they were sold on.
So it was nothing personal, so to speak, when any of her animals went for slaughter. However, when in April 2019 a sheep rejected a lamb, she looked after it and fed it herself .... but then made the mistake of naming the little lamb 'Norman' (She got me right there ... Norman!).
Well come September, she took her lambs to a local market in Lochmaddy in North Uist, Outer Hebrides. "He [Norman] was intentionally sold but I had such a dilemma. As I got to the market he went out with the others but he just stood beside me." .... at this point, she was going to take 'Norman', who acted more like a pet dog, than a lamb, home. But in the moment ... "There were other crofters there who swayed me and I had to make a decision. It's quite a male environment and I just went with it. People were saying 'don't be silly, you'll get over it'" she sold him with the others.
Shortly afterwards, Irene Fowler of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland bought a large number of the lambs, including Norman, for either fattening on, or immediate slaughter, and off they went to her farm.
However, it was instantly a case of sellers remorse for Ms MacLean, and after a couple of weeks she phoned the buyer, Ms Fowler and asked if 'Norman' was available to be bought back. "I was a little embarrassed about phoning Irene, but I just had to bite the bullet. She's a sheep breeder and I thought it might be weird for her to hear. I called her and explained the situation, but she was like 'don't be silly,' and was instantly welcoming. I didn't know what to expect but she was very understanding."
Ms Fowler said all the lambs were still there, but she didn't know which, if any of the 700 lambs on her farm were 'Norman'. Undaunted, Ms MacLean took the ferry and drove to Fraserburgh, with a round trip of 540 miles in front of her. She walked out to the fields, and immediately a small animal ran "like a bullet", towards her. Ms Maclean 'burst into tears and said "Come on Norman, lets go home."'
Farmer Irene let Melanie take Norman back free of charge and said: "It's truly amazing. She fell in love with him, and couldn't get over it. We'll remember it for a long time - she was so grateful."
 |
| Norman - A Sheep With A Face A Mother Can Love |
.... so she was well aware that all the farm animals on her small holding/croft were not 'pets', and that there were dangers in letting emotions get involved when they were sold on.
So it was nothing personal, so to speak, when any of her animals went for slaughter. However, when in April 2019 a sheep rejected a lamb, she looked after it and fed it herself .... but then made the mistake of naming the little lamb 'Norman' (She got me right there ... Norman!).
Well come September, she took her lambs to a local market in Lochmaddy in North Uist, Outer Hebrides. "He [Norman] was intentionally sold but I had such a dilemma. As I got to the market he went out with the others but he just stood beside me." .... at this point, she was going to take 'Norman', who acted more like a pet dog, than a lamb, home. But in the moment ... "There were other crofters there who swayed me and I had to make a decision. It's quite a male environment and I just went with it. People were saying 'don't be silly, you'll get over it'" she sold him with the others.
Shortly afterwards, Irene Fowler of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland bought a large number of the lambs, including Norman, for either fattening on, or immediate slaughter, and off they went to her farm.
However, it was instantly a case of sellers remorse for Ms MacLean, and after a couple of weeks she phoned the buyer, Ms Fowler and asked if 'Norman' was available to be bought back. "I was a little embarrassed about phoning Irene, but I just had to bite the bullet. She's a sheep breeder and I thought it might be weird for her to hear. I called her and explained the situation, but she was like 'don't be silly,' and was instantly welcoming. I didn't know what to expect but she was very understanding."
Ms Fowler said all the lambs were still there, but she didn't know which, if any of the 700 lambs on her farm were 'Norman'. Undaunted, Ms MacLean took the ferry and drove to Fraserburgh, with a round trip of 540 miles in front of her. She walked out to the fields, and immediately a small animal ran "like a bullet", towards her. Ms Maclean 'burst into tears and said "Come on Norman, lets go home."'
Farmer Irene let Melanie take Norman back free of charge and said: "It's truly amazing. She fell in love with him, and couldn't get over it. We'll remember it for a long time - she was so grateful."
I noticed on an episode of The Yorkshire Vet that a lady farmer had also named her favourite lamb 'Norman' as well. It must be a sheep thing!
ReplyDelete'Norman' the Jersey calf, was the cow that Billy Crystal adopts in the film “City Slickers.” .... maybe that's the clue as to why farm animals are named 'Norman'?
Delete