Porky the Pig, Churchtown Farm, Saltash

I was talking to someone the other day whose family owned Wearde Farm, which was where the sunflower field is now at Churchtown Farm. In the past, people have told me lots of stories about days gone by but, a week or two later, unfortunately, I've totally forgotten them! So, nowadays, as soon as I get a chance, I try to write them down. I hope to write a book of people's recollections of the area called, 'Memories of Saltash' sometime in the near future. My favourite story that he told me was about Porky the Pig and here's the tale as best as I can remember it: When I was about 9, my family gave me the runt of the litter to look after. I fed him and looked after him. I loved that pig! On many days, I would take 'Porky' on a lead and walk him around by Wearde Quay and along the shore. One day, he ran in the old farm shed and his trotter went into the trigger of a shotgun causing it to fire. No-one was hurt but dad gave him a good telling off for that. Porky got steadily bigger and bigger and eventually was the same size as the other pigs in the litter. Of course, I was naive and one day, dad said he was taking him to market. I wanted to keep him and begged with dad but he said that he had to go because we needed the money to eat. I remember Porky in the pen with the other pigs, looking up at me. The man in the pen was poking him with a stick and saying. 'He's no good, he's all tame!'. Of course, he was eventually sold and the inevitable happened. I cried for months over that pig!