Farm Labourer, Michael, felt the years fall away as he became acquainted with St Elizabeth Hospice’s very own pig, Tally-ho Trotters. Having worked with 300 pigs on a local farm in Norfolk as a teenager, he hasn’t lost his touch.
Tally-ho Trotters is the first pig sculpture to be completed in our Pigs Gone Wild project which will see around 40 pig sculptures displayed on an art trail around Ipswich and the Waterfront in summer 2016.
Businesses will get the chance to sponsor the pigs, which will be located in Ipswich’s parks, streets and open spaces forming a trail that members of the public can follow.
‘Tally-ho Trotters’ is the showcase pig designed by Norfolk-based artist Mik Richardson and currently resides in the reception area of St Elizabeth Hospice.
The project is set to raise £100,000 for the hospice, vital funds which will help provide care and support to patients like Michael Martin, 76, who first came to St Elizabeth Hospice in 2013.
Michael was regularly working with Physiotherapist Hannah McDowell when she recommended him to sample day services.
Michael explains: “I felt hesitant at first but then met fellow MND patients and felt instantly better.
“As the four of us all live with the same condition, our discussions are really important. We regularly exchange information and as we can all be affected in similar and different ways, it’s useful to find out what each person is dealing with. We all support each other.”
Michael remembers when a new patient, also living with MND, joined day care: “She was another ‘doubter’ at first but we got her laughing before the day was out. She’s one of us now; we always have a gas together.”
Michael describes his visits to day care as, “the highlight of my week.”
“I look forward to coming in and meeting up with friends. I have my weekly tot of brandy which all began as a joke when I replied to volunteer Sue Race’s question about what I’d like to drink with ‘I’d love a tot of brandy!’
“The following week, that’s exactly what she brought me and it’s continued every week since!”