2 Cows Have Taken Up Residence in Bristol's Millennium Square

2 Cows Have Taken Up Residence in Bristol's Millennium Square

Posted on: 22 Apr 2016

Yes, you did read that correctly: Millennium Square is now home to two cows and one artist. In support of the UK dairy industry this exhibition hopes to raise awareness. Milk is now cheaper than bottled water!

 

Millennium Square is now home to two cowsMillennium Square is now home to two cows this April 2016

 

In 1950 there were 160,000 dairy farms in the UK. By 2011 there were just 14,700. That’s a reduction of over 92%. Sadly, many of the next generation are no longer looking to enter the industry as earning a crust is becoming ever more difficult.  What are we going to pour over our Coco Pops in the morning? Your Shredded Wheat is going to be pretty dry and don’t even think about what will happen to the great British cuppa.

 

Until Monday 25 April 2016, Nessie Reid will be exhibiting The Milking Parlour: a performance based public exhibition exploring the values we hold towards our food and the type of relationships we possess with our food and farming system in general. In order to explore these themes, Nessie has chosen to use the medium of milk: something once hailed as a superfood – providing 34 % of our RDA of protein – now undervalued, and often cheaper to buy than bottled water.

 

2 Cows Have Taken Up Residence in Bristol's Millennium Square

 

Visitors to the exhibition will experience the cows being milked, get involved in debate, witness some of the less-glamorous processes involved in producing milk, and hear stories from dairy farmers throughout the South West of England. Within the parlour itself, Nessie will be live full time with the cows where she will milk, feed, muck out and sleep near them, being the chief caretaker.

 

By its very nature it’s a 24-hour ‘exhibition’ but please do remember that Nessie and the cows will need a bit of sleep at night! That said, there are three daily milking times where people are welcome to watch and ask questions, etc:

 

Breakfast - 8:30am

Lunchtime - 1:30pm

Teatime - 6:30pm

 

For more info on this great event please visit themilkingparlour.org

 

2 Cows Have Taken Up Residence in Bristol's Millennium Square - April 2016


Article by:

James Anderson

Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.