04 March 2017
Last night, we finally managed to solve the problem with the Dutch ABN AMRO bank. My debit card now gives access to Internet banking -without having been initialized in a local ATM (simply because there are none available on the island that currently use the European chip technology). However, apparently, after a relationship of more than 40 years, the bank no longer wishes to have me as a client -and so now I have to move my accounts.
This morning, literally around the crack of dawn, Yok-yok, the butcher arrived with his assistants to start the fire and prepare for the butchering.
They decided upon an empty space near the goat pen -which still housed Boar Brownie -and wanted No.One to be lured there with food.
Getting No.One there was no problem, but while she was settling down to eat, Boar Brownie suddenly jumped his fence and tried to join her. No.One was having none of this -and, refusing to share her breakfast, chased him off.
When I returned with some food to lure him into No.One's empty pen, he'd wandered off and was busy exploring the garden. By the time I'd found him, he was squaring up to Boar Pinkie, who was still tied up under the house. A (not too serious) fight broke out between the two brothers.
Eventually, Yok-yok's assistant was able to tie a rope around Brownie's leg and, with the help of the food bowl, we maneuvered him into No.One's vacated pen. In the meantime, two quick thumps and a short squeal indicated the sudden demise of No.One.
A quick bowl of oatmeal and a cup of coffee for us while Yok-yok and his colleagues shaved the carcass. Afterwards we noticed that the two Brownies were snouting each other over the fence -and so we decided to put them together.
The shaving completed, the actual butchering went quickly. A few neighbours had turned up to buy some meat -and the carcass was quickly distributed while the intestines were being cleaned up by an assistant.
No.One weighed 104 kilo -and was around 18 months old, with two lots of piglets to her credit (a few of which died through being crushed).
By 8.30 in the morning, it was all over -and we shall start processing the left over meat (after giving Yok-yok and his crew a share). We intend to make ham, bacon and sausages as well as cook some (in traditional fiesta fashion) for our guests on Monday -as well as keep some fresh meat (chops and cuts) in the fridge's freezer.
We believe this is a better solution than accepting the offer by the market butcher and sending three pigs (No.One and the two Brownies) off to Cebu for mass slaughter cheaply in the sausage factory.
Meanwhile, eight month old Boar Brownie is a little too young for No.One's twin sister... but they keep trying and maybe....
