TEN SHOTS - Portraiture with Pete Millson Fancy’s Farm, Portland 12.12.17
On Tuesday I visited Fancy’s Farm on top of the hill in Portland. I had been told about the farm by one of the Ten Shots and how Jon the man who owned the farm was quite the character. Taking the journey up the windy path, round tight corners, past the Verne I arrived at Fancy’s Farm. A large bit of land with fences all around and two small stone-grey buildings.
Walking past squawking geese and inquisitive goats I went into one of the small buildings greeted by a sign that read ‘Welcome to Fancy’s Farm’. Inside the building was a kitchen and the smell of bacon was wafting in the air, behind the counter stood two women chatting away.
One of these women was Su the owner of Fancy’s Farm, a stoic looking lady who was as real as they come. She made me a tea and told me about how they got to where they are today. Midway through our conversation she opened the door and shouted ‘JOHN! FOOD!’. One minute later a tall man with a friendly faced walked in, looking delighted that his lunch was ready and that he could come in from the cold.
He plonked himself down at the small table that now three of us were squished around with Su leaning against the counter ready for anyone who might walk in. Mid bite Jon introduced himself. As my dad is a dairy farmer we had a common interest that we could talk about and it gave me the chance to ask more questions about the farm. Mostly though the three of them talked about what was going on, updating each other on the animals. It seems work never stops when it is your lifestyle.
After Jon had finished his lunch and gulped the last of his tea he began rolling a cigarette, he reminded me a lot of my father and his routine when he came home from a long morning at work, knowing in a short while it was back to work.
Jon showed me around the farm, starting first with one of the biggest pigs I have ever seen, called Molly. It was clear Molly didn’t want to be coaxed out of her warm, comfortable pen so John lifted the house off of her, which made Molly grunt and huff. After a few belly stretches and kisses on the nose, Molly had succumb to Jon’s charm and wasn’t mad at him anymore for getting her out of bed.
Each new animal I met, Jon showed the same amount of love and affection to. He cared about these animals as if they were his children. Knowing exactly the kind of mood they were in that morning, which ear they preferred to have scratched and he said most importantly ‘these animals know me better than I know myself.’
The experience was incredibly refreshing, and I left with the biggest smile on my face. I hope to return to the farm and document the goings on of Jon, Su and their animals.
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