Tuesday 31 January 2012

A Saint, for Chickens


On Sunday the village celebrated Saint Anthony. He’s the patron saint of animals, so all the village horses – 200 of them – dogs, cats, rabbits, a parrot and a pair of tortoises, processed past the church to get a sprinkling of holy water.

It’s a beautiful festival. The riders dress up – themselves and their horses – and the kids mill around stroking a dog here or oooooing at a chicken there.

I took a Maran cockerel. I went for him, not for me. I’m an atheist, but it seems at least possible that my chickens have a god, so better to get them blessed than not.

A Blessed Cockerel

It’s like taking a Ferrari to a disco – you can really pull the chicks with a cockerel.

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