Field Notes - Donkeys

If Fridays had faces, it would be the mug shot of a pair of donkeys. Unhurried, not bothered, standing in the most shetered part of a wet meadow, the very picture of end-of-the-week sufficiency.

The error we make, according to most donkeys, is in seeing these sweet and gentle creatures as slightly under-evolved horses. It is a subject of both slight resentment and constant discussion in all places where donkeys gather. They readily admit they lack the sleek flanks and polished glamour of their equine cousins - yes, ok - but what they do possess in spades, is more rare. A quizzical charm, a boder-line comic dignity and the ability to look both world-weary and endlessly forgiving at the same time. Their loving gaze suggests that they know something we don’t, but are far too polite to mention it.

And yet, cuteness is no harbour from cruelty. Humanity has a grim habit of turning a gentle disposition into forced labour. The donkey has long been treated as a beast of burden - bent beneath sacks of grain, woodpiles and the amused shreiks of thankless children. They have carried us, quite literally, through centuries, asked to bear weights we would never place on ourselves. Their quiet strength has been taken for granted, their softness mistaken for servitude.

But to stand before a donkey in a meadow, especially on a Friday, is to realise how much more they really are. Their stillness is not stupidity but self-possession. Their lovely, long ears are not poorly designed for their heads but keenly tuned instruments of investigative donkeyism, catching our "come ons" and tonguey click clacks in the strongest of breezes. And their companionship - and this I can swear to - is humble, patient and steadfast. The frienship and loytalty of a donkey, is worth more than any sack of gold, frankincense or myrrh they have ever been told to lug around the back streets of Bethlehem.

Donkeys - so much more carrot than stick. Our partner chrity for 2025 is the HeeHaws Donkey sanctuary, in Razac d'Eymet, South West France. See more of their incredible work at www.heehaws.fr or donate through joining our community via the Platform 13 website at https://www.platform13.life/pricing-plans/list

Happy Friday, friends. J & V xx