I started working at White Post Farm in April 1999 the day before my 16th birthday and still here to this day! And yes I celebrate a big birthday this year!!

I am not a face that many see on a daily basis but the majority of visitors may have either spoken to me on the phone or via email. I now help keep the office running answering the phone to our lovely customers, talking school bookings and doing lots of other tasks too. In my years at the farm I have done many things from weekend part-time work and many roles from Yard Supervisor, Farm Guide, Animal Roadshows to schools and events, Catering Assistant, Catering Manager, the Entrance Gate and Gift Shop and now Admin Assistant.

I spent many a summer doing pony rides and tractor ride commentator in my teens along with hours and hours of face painting and guiding birthday parties. Really, I’ve done it all!

One of my favourite things about my time here at the farm is all the changes I have seen in the last 24 years.

So many changes…

When the Alphabet House Day Nursery buildings still belonged to the farm one room used to be the incubator room and the other used to be our angora shed. The angora shed was full of hanging pens of beautiful golden angora rabbits 

The Tea Room gardens used to be full of aviaries that were home to canaries, budgies, pheasant and even turkeys as well as many a wild mouse! 

The outdoor play area has seen many changes too. I can remember spending many hours filling bags of straw for customers to use as battering rams in the straw barn while they sat on padded beams. Another daily job was egg collecting as the free range chickens loved to nest in there. So much has changed since then! Looking back we can hardly believe it!

Another change was the dismantling of what can only be described as a water tower that children climbed and pulled little baskets of water up. A giant play fort now stands impressively in it’s place. It is so good to see the farm continue to grow!

Bottle feeding baby goat kids used to be a massive attraction and soon became a job that took over so many hours of the day. We used to collect Saanan goats from a farm in Oxford so that customers could bottle feed our babies, but, as we move slightly more towards a zoo, all babies are now born on the farm and unless problems arise they stay with their mummies.

I remember when our Pet Shop was at the top of the farm which has now been replaced with some new build houses. The pet shop then was like a maze of rooms, full of rodents to rabbits. It was also run by our favourite farmer, Jane, who now is catering supervisor! And back then it seemed like punishment to be sent up there as the day consisted of just cleaning out tank after tank after tank!

Michael Jackson’s Thriller on repeat…

Halloween used to take months of practices and rehearsals to perfect the perfect dance for our Eerie Evenings from car wash, to thriller we have danced it all. My fondest memory has to be the evening the tractor broke down mid way around and we just had to keep dancing on repeat to entertain customers stuck on the trailer to Michael Jackson’s thriller on a dark and damp October evening. Oh how we ached the next day! 

The Farm Show that was originally done by Farmer Tim became a big deal when he hung up his hat and let a select few take the reins – it was a big deal and we all had to audition like British got talent!  The show was animal based and included taking audiences through the farming year meeting many a friendly animal. Three of my favourite animals from my days on stage have to be Beauty the Jersey cow, who despite her older years managed to own the stage day with such grace. The second has to be Beasley the Kune Kune pig who was so clever and loved performing tricks for all to see. Finally the dogs – Bess, Ruby and Lucy were such gentle souls who just loved the attention. 

It’s safe to say I have grown up while working at the farm and can honestly say I love working here. I have a 9 year old who can’t wait till she is old enough for a job here. I’ve seen so many changes and now the farm is even better than ever.

Farmer Anna