Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill go on the wheel

To fetch a pail of water....

Well sometimes they do if they can be bovvered...they each have contract to say that they will do six minutes of work a day with the added clause "if they are willing". Actually it's much more fun when Jack opens the field gate and lets them, plus their fellow donkey conspirators, Jimbob, Jigsaw and Juno, escape into the now dry Carisbrooke Castle moat for indeed the grass is always greener on the other side!

Carisbrooke Castle used donkeys to drive the well wheel for centuries. The well has an enormous drop [you could fit Nelson's column down it] and it would have been backbreaking work for these poor beasts of burden. Thankfully piped water was introduced in the last century and the donkeys only remain in the capacity of pampered pets. A couple of times a day [on a strict rota] they are brought out to demonstrate how they would have turned this huge 431 year old wooden wheel. Quite often they don't play ball and Jill was having none of it on our visit!! Donkeys are not people pleasers and that's why I love these spirited animals.

There was much to enjoy on our visit here, but this was my favourite bit. As for the moat escapades- once they're out the staff have the hell's own job of trying to catch them and return them to their stables.

Arilx