Huw is an artificial inseminator. His company calls him in the morning to let him know what heifers are “bulling” (the cow version of being “in heat”), and he drives from farm to farm shooting bull semen up their hoo-haa. It’s actually a really fast process. When we arrive at the farm, Huw goes into the back of the truck where the spermies are frozen in a cryogenic tank. The tube of swimmers is quickly dipped in room temperature water to shock them awake and get them all excited. The tube is put into an even longer tube which is inserted in the heifer’s vajay. Meanwhile, Huw has his other arm shoved really far up the heifer’s back side where he feels through the membrane for either the cervix or the ovaries…I can’t remember which. Either way, his poo-arm helps guide the process.
We saw about 16 farmers that day (which Huw did in record time). He had some time to kill before an early evening appointment, so he took me to the town of Llangollen for lunch.
Llangollen
Lunch!
We went to an adorable restaurant on the river called The Corn Mill. I loved it. We walked around town and had some disappointing ice cream, then he took me to see a really old aqueduct where we walked along one of the scariest bridges I’ve ever been on. I really can’t thank Huw enough for his tour-guidery; he’s got a future in it!
Crazy aqueduct
Me and Huw!
The last stop on the tour was Chester, England where I was spending the night with family friends. The only catch was that everyone was out of town except Jack, the eldest son. When I arrived there was no one home to great me except Herbie, the incredible sneezing dog. Jack and his school friends arrived soon after and we went out to dinner at a New Orleans-style restaurant. It’s hysterical to see what some places consider authentic American food (especially in a country where they call Ketchup “red sauce”).
