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A Chara,

I thought I would drop you a line to share my views on your great work sending animals, bees and birds etc to poorer countries where families are struggling.

When I select my gift to send I always take into account the special love and fun these animals, bees and birds can bring to children. My own memories of growing up on a farm in the west of Ireland always come flooding back to me.

Time spent watching bees on the flowers or baby calves frolicking around the field. Part of our work was to feed the pigs and the hens and watch the baby piglets in case their mother would crush them accidentally when lying down to feed them. Another job was to feed and watch the tiny day old chicks for similar accidents with cats, or someone just walking on them accidentally.  A great favourite was looking for hens nests when they choose to lay out in the ditches and we were allowed whack the eggs if it turned out they were there too long and were rotten.

Another memory I will share with you was trying to persuade the ducks and geese to come out of the comfort of the mucky pond and go into their duck house for the night, out of the danger of foxes. Us children ending up being covered in muck too as they flapped their muddy wings in annoyance at us. I could go on forever about summer evenings going to collect the cows for milking from the fields and our parents afraid the cows' udders would burst it used to take us so long. We might end up chasing a wild rabbit or checking out a blackbird's nest. We were not allowed milk the cows because it was believed, probably correctly so, that the cow would not let down the milk if the milker was different or inexperienced, but I will never forget the music of that sound as the first squirts of milk rang out in the enamel bucket.

And so when I send my gift I think not only of the monetary and food value but also the fun and love the children will get from the gifts.

Yours sincerely

Marian Neary Burke