... to Read Something Heartwarming

Kylie Meets Rosie

I have a soft spot for donkeys. Ever since I was a little girl I had wanted one and that dream came true 18 years ago when we moved to a lifestyle block north of Auckland. Rosie was six months old when I bought her. She was fearless, feisty and funny, and best mates with our dog. The photo is of my daughter Kylie meeting Rosie for the first time.
   So it warmed my heart today to read an article in the Country Living magazine from December 2011. It was about donkeys in the village of Chalford in England.
   This historic village of stone houses, dry stone walls and narrow alleyways is built on a steep hill. The older residents were finding it difficult to get to the local shop. So in 2009, the community restarted an old Chalford tradition - using donkeys to deliver goods.
   Now villagers can phone their shopping list to the local store. Their grocery orders are loaded into the pannier baskets of the donkeys Teddy and Chester, who plod up the hills and along the alleys to deliver the provisions right to the people's front doors.
   How much nicer that must be than the way I shop, fighting the crowds at supermarket!