About Us |
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I'm Jane Dawson. I was born in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire UK, in 1942 and moved to North Walsham in Norfolk when I was seven years old. After spending two years in Jamaica, I met my husband to be, Rod, in 1967 and we married in Gibralter two years later - watching the bird of prey migration for our honeymoon. We began a waterfowl collection and eventually specialised in Arctic sea-ducks. It wasn't long, however, before Rod ran out of wet places to dig on his farm in Lincolnshire; we moved to the Isle of Islay off the west coast of Scotland in 1974. On Islay we bred cattle and sheep, which were transported down to the Lincs farm - while feedstuffs were brought back up to Islay from the other farm. It was working very well, and the waterfowl thrived on the midges and northern lattitude but sadly Rod died of cancer at the age of 34, in 1977.  Following a stroke in July 2003, I was put onto cholesterol lowering drugs which caused the most horrendous side-effects, leaving me with muscle and nerve damage - preventing full recovery from the stroke. My right hand man (or should I say left leg and left hand man) is Gilbert who lives next door to me. I don't know how I would have managed without him. He is farm worker/pony man/electrician/plumber/water manager/ bird curator and companion. Gilbert was a catering officer in the Merchant Navy prior to working as a lighthouse keeper on Orsay Island, off Portnahaven.  Above is Gilbert holding the stallion, Forester, while farrier Andy attends to his feet. Andy also does most of the pony handling and some fencing, as well as his job of Farrier. Below is a much younger Andy, riding Money Spider who, at 28 years old, still acts as Aunty to the young fillies. Aspiring riders would do well to look carefully at his hands and at the balance of his position in the saddle !  Meanwhile, my daughter had found me a Border Terrier bitch, which I call Ratty. When I told Gilbert, he said he couldn't abide small dogs and that he'd have nothing to do with her. Oh yeah ?
 Ratty keeping warm in my shawl !  |
 Rod was buried on the top of Beinn tart a'Mhill (on the Easter Ellister Estate) - where he'd said he wanted to lie - the photo shows him sitting just beside his grave - overlooking Mull, Colonsay, Jura, Rathlin and Donegal. We had two children, Heather aged nearly three and Lucy just one year old.  Below is Easter Ellister farm steading and houses: left to right: An Linnean, wind turbine on Corner Hill, Gilbert's cottage, the Lodge, steading and Ellister House.  Links to Heather's meditation & reiki website: Where Dragons Fly : www.wheredragonsfly.net Link to Lucy's photography website: Islay Photos : www.islayphotos.co.uk
 Above: The Handling pens and paddocks are ideal for handling several mares and foals together. The two central pens are roughly 12'x 14' with movable gates, so that ponies can be held securely for microchipping or veterinary care in an emergency. Below: Aneka is a Weimeraner who I bought while looking for a small lapdog ! She trained herself and took herself off for walks with passing tourists - always coming back when they went too far. When Gilbert lost his wonderful dog, Dusty, I let him have Aneka.  Below: Younger daughter Lucy recently got married to Allan; the wedding and reception were held in the Show Field at Ellister and some of the photos taken in the nearby village of Portnahaven.  |
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