MANY of us have used lockdown to take it easy: solving the odd jigsaw, catching up on reading or even having a sort out.
But not Mike Richards.
He’s been giving Santa a helping hand.
No, he’s not been in the workshop making toys, but visiting Hare Hatch-based Riverways Farm to help look after its herd of 18 reindeer.
The animals, not quite from the North Pole, came via Norway. The youngest is two, and the oldest 12.
The names of the reindeer follow a similar winter theme: Artic, Glacier, Lightning, Flash, Storm, Frosty, Snowy, Cloudy, Avalanche, Tornado, Baltic, Iceburg, Jett, Hurricane, Blizzard, Chilly, Hail and Foggy, and they’re owned by Riverways Farm’s Andy Cardy.
Mike said: “We share the responsibility (to them). I give as much time as I can and I thoroughly enjoy it, this is right back to the grassroots level and it’s so fulfilling,.
“These reindeer were going to be culled over in Norway.
“Andy got mention of it and he already had two old reindeer coming towards the end of their life, so he wanted to see what he could do with a whole herd of them.
“I spoke to Andy and asked if I could help out after he told me all of his veterinary students had to go back, he has around 50 students each year to help with the day-to-day running.
“They showed me the ropes and what to do. It’s become a community thing.
“Everyone seems to love the reindeer and they are usually the main attraction.
“The feedback from the community has been tremendous every time I post about them (on social media) and that gives me confidence in what we are doing.
“We have 18 reindeer, three born in captivity, five were rehomed from people who could no longer look after them.”
Mike said he gets a lot of satisfaction from looking after the much-loved reindeer at Riverways.
“Their antlers fall off in early January and take 10 weeks to re-grow,” he said.
“Most of their food is carrot based, they also enjoy apples.
“To see these reindeer grow into a beautiful beast from what at the moment looks like a wreck with the coat coming away.
“It will be a great achievement not only for me but the whole community.
“Within the next eight weeks they will get their serious antlers and by Christmas they should be around two feet high.”
And Mike is full of praise for Riverways Farm: “It’s amazing the amount of effort Andy puts into the whole area, the reindeers go to schools, Round Table and garden centres for Santa’s grotto.”
However, Mike’s being tight-lipped as to which one has the red nose.
