14th October 2012
Well, it's probably time I updated everyone on how things are, both health-wise and hen-wise. I've been mainly prompted into action by the lovely Victoria Twead who has asked me to take part in a blogger feature called The Next Big Thing. More on that below. For those of you who read in the previous entry about my being diagnosed with stage 3 cancer, thank you for all your well-wishes and I am pretty much fixed now, touch wood, Swaps are still on the back-burner, so it may be that I soon auction off the lovely piece of art acquired from the last swap and move on. I will let you all know in due course, but I am open to swapping in the meantime. Details on the swap page.
Now, moving on to The Next Big Thing. Each week a blogger or author 'tags' five others to answer some set questions about their blog or book. I will be answering them in relation to Tales from the Coop. "What's that?" you're thinking. Well, read on...!

The Next Big Thing interview

What is the working title of your book?
The title of the book is Tales from the Coop: The joy of ex-battery hens. It was originally just the working title but it ended up sticking.

Where did the idea come from for the book?
At the start of May, I was rushed back into hospital after contracting post-surgical septicemia. It was fairly severe and I ended up spending 6 days in a hospital bed hooked up to lots of drips. One of the symptoms was photosensitivity so I had to just lie there in a dark room with nothing to do but think. That's where the idea of a book first came from. Confession time: in my drug-addled state, it was originally going to be a story book for hens. That is, a book which one would read to one's hens at bedtime. Of course, common sense prevailed as the medications wore off but the idea of a book stuck, and the first words were typed not long after, when my beloved ex-bat Lilly had to be put to sleep. That is when I wrote The Cleverest Hen story in Tales from the Coop.

What genre does your book fall under?
Well, it's a collection of short stories, poems and recipes for hen treats, all written by ex-bat owners. So I suppose it's a non-fiction anthology although that's still not 100% accurate.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Given that the characters are mostly chickens, I am very limited in my answers here! Plus, the hens that people have written about are far too beautiful and intelligent to be played by Hollywood A-listers.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
"A collection of heartwarming, uplifting and often hilarious stories, poems and anecdotes about ex-battery hens and their owners."

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Self-published and available for sale from Amazon and all the usual big online bookshops. I should make clear at this point that all the proceeds from the book are going to the British Hen Welfare Trust and Little Hen Rescue, to help fund their continued educational work and battery hen rescues.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
I was really at the mercy of all the fabulous contributors and relying on them to meet the deadline. Most did, so all in all it took around 15 weeks. That sounds rushed, but I promise a lot of time and work has gone into it.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
The Chicken Soup for the Soul-type books are the best comparison - uplifting little 'quick-read' stories to dip into when you really need to feel good about life. The difference is, all these stories revolve around ex-battery hens.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
The The Ex-Battery Hen forum, of which I'm a member, is filled with wonderful, caring and compassionate owners who are forever recounting stories about their hens, many of which are laugh-out-loud hilarious.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
How about the story of Angry Janice, a hen who was so furious that she caused a very hard-to-explain injury to her doting owner. Or the tale of Chicken Licken who rode on a horse. Or Florrie, who refused to eat until her owner realised the very simple reason behind it. Or...well, you'll just have to buy the book and find out the rest. It will be available to buy this week and you will hear me shouting about it on Twitter, Facebook and probably from my own actual rooftop too :-)



In the meantime, I've passed The Next Big Thing baton to some lovely friends whose blogs I highly recommend. I will add more as they confirm:-

My very splendid friend of 17 years, Phil, who is a little bit obsessed with making food taste nice. His blog is called In Search of Heston and he once spent a full day making me an extraordinary, molecular-thingy birthday cake!

27th May 2012
Hey everyone. I just wanted to quickly explain why I've been so quiet both on the swapping and fundraising front, and on Twitter. Late last year I was dignosed with cancer - Stage 3 malignant melanoma. Since then, a lot of my time has been taken up with surgeries (3 so far, another scheduled), massive complications, side effects of medicines, and actually being in hospital - 13 days in April alone plus 4 outpatient visits. Factor in my family, my animals, a full-time job and the ex- battery hen rehomings I coordinate for BHWT (which I will NEVER be miss - I rearranged two operation dates to make sure I could coordinate this year's!) and you can likely see why I've not been on top of it. I absolutely definitely plan to carry on One Little Egg fundraising when this is over, and if anyone can help find the next swap in the meantime then it would be massively appreciated - just email me swap@onelittleegg.co.uk.

I am certain you all understand, and I am determined this will not get the better of me. Far from the perception of 'just being skin cancer' it turns out it is one of the harder cancers to treat, requiring some big operations that have taken me out for weeks at a time.Having such a tricky cancer to beat prompted me to write a bucket list whilst I was bored in hospital, and #1 on the list is to save a million hens through rehoming and fundraising. I have a long way to go! So this is just one of life's temporary hiccups and I am still as determined as ever to swap to something of very high value for BHWT. I just wanted to explain to you all why I am so quiet at the moment. For anyone interested, I did a blog about it for anyone who needs it, since there isn't a lot of patient-led information about the UK procedures for melanoma: Bugger Cancer! blog

Sophie xxx
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27th October 2011
I thought I'd best write a little blog update to let you all know where the swap is at and update you on the barren cage ban. But first, some exciting news! The last swappee, Ivor Abrahams, has very kindly donated Stephen Fry's Harry Potter audiobook set back to One Little Egg to be auctioned off for BHWT. Just in time for Christmas, eh! It is currently on Ebay - click here - so please bid high to raise money for BHWT. Funds are so desperately needed at the moment, what with the threat to the barren cage ban and over 14 million UK battery hens due to be slaughtered before December 31st. More on that in a second. The full description of the boxset is on ebay but it was donated to One Little Egg by Stephen Fry and also autographed by him on the inside cover. It also comes complete with a slight Fry-inflicted ding to the corner of the box. Unique indeed! The auction finishes on Sunday 6th November at 4pm so please bid to help BHWT help more battery hens.
Right, now onto the barren cage ban. It is very much under threat. Although all EU countries have had years to prepare, some countries are still not ready and EU commissioner John Dali is looking at a plan which would allow farmers to continue selling eggs laid by hens kept in barren cages, This is unacceptable. If you haven't already, please go to Compassion in World Farming's excellent website Defend The Big Move and spend 30 seconds emailing Commissioner Dali to let him know you oppose his plan. CiWF have also produced an excellent video which says it all - Put Yourself In Their Position.
Last but not least, I am still plugging away at a new swap. I was so close to swapping with a travel company for an amazing holiday but...red tape and all that. It's hard in this economy and with it coming up to Christmas but I am nothing if not determined and I have a couple of ideas. But if you can offer a swap then please get in touch as ever by emailing swap@onelittleegg.co.uk. I think the final word goes to my new ex-bat girl Angel.

She is a very special hen and was one of the few who came out of cages needed medical attention. She is very much on the mend now though and looking forward to a lovely retirement. There are over 14 million UK battery hens and in 9 weeks, they will all be slaughtered. Us BHWT coordinators will take care of the poorly hens but we need you to help us give the rest a chance. If you can rehome any battery hens between now and Christmas, please please get in touch with BHWT by emailing hens@bhwt.co.uk, by phoning Hen Central on 01769 580310 or by visiting the BHWT website. Tweet

14th August 2011
Finally, another swap! I always figured that the higher the value of item I had, the longer it would take to swap. I did have some really good offers from people for the audio boxset, ranging from three original custom pieces by phenomenal Australian artist Stacey Byrnes to the delicious but slightly less valuable offer of 24 homemade fruit scones. For a number of reasons, none seemed quite right so I figured the time had come to actively seek out a trade. A number of emails later, and world famous British artist Ivor Abrahams had kindly agreed to swap me an original print, in the process breaking through the £1000 value mark for the British Hen Welfare Trust.



The piece is called 'Coq' and Ivor has added handwork to it, making it a one-off piece totally unique to One Little Egg. It has an interesting background too, as this print is the partner to a sculpture that Ivor created for the Duchess of Richmond, who is incidentally a patron of BHWT. This print was also created for the Duchess before Ivor decided instead to trade it with One Little Egg. Pretty cool eh? Click the thumbnails below to see large photos of the piece.





Art is a good investment, particularly pieces by an artist of Ivor's calibre, so if you are able to offer something bigger and better to swap for this piece, please get in touch by emailing swap@onelittleegg.co.uk. I will consider anything at all but bear in mind, of course, that the print is valued at £1200. If you don't think you have anything to trade, why don't you see what your company could offer? And if that's no good, you can still help by making a donation by clicking the 'donate' button on the bottom right or by texting 'HENS99' to 70070. Just £3 can enable the British Hen Welfare Trust to give a battery hen the chance of life instead of the certainty of death, and that's what these swaps are all about ultimately.
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10th July 2011
I am one of those people who seems to end up doing things without quite knowing how I got into it. Lately, I have ended up rehoming a number of beautiful, deserving battery hens from a local battery farm which is in the process of closing down and has kindly agreed to let me take a small number of girls for rehoming to loving familes. Now, I only have a small back garden, and I've never done rehomings on my own before, and I only have a small Nissan Micra to carry hens around in so it would seem madness to even attempt it. But I am daft so I did it anyway and, 189 battery hens later, I think I'm getting the hang of it! It's really knackering and takes a lot of organisation but seeing the hens blink in the daylight, their first tentative step onto grass, and the excitement of their new mums and dads upon seeing them is incredibly rewarding for me. Here is one of the girls I rehomed yesterday:



Make no mistake, these girls have had a truly awful life that no sentient animal should ever have to endure. They are kept 4 to a cage in a dark, loud environment, with nothing to look forward to but the conveyor belt of food which comes along a couple of times a day to deliver their protein mash which will help them push out yet another egg. I honestly cannot describe to you the overpowering smell, the noise, the heat and the dust. When I went to collect the 53 lucky ladies yesterday, I stood at the entrance to the battery shed and looked around. One girl in particular caught my eye. She was craning her head through the bars, and she had an adorable floppy hat that covered her face, and she was looking right at me. We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity until the farmer emerged with eight chickens and I had to help box them. When I looked up again, she had gone back into her cage. It was a brief moment in time but I can't stop thinking about her. I know I'm unlikely to be able to save her, and her end will come after 13 months of being caged, when her door will open and she will be pulled out by the legs, along with her sisters, stuffed (literally) into a packing crate and put on a lorry. Her only experience of humans will be that of being pulled and thrown around, and of terror when her end comes. That breaks my heart because I know most of us are kinder than that.



On the positive side, I have had a lot of photos sent to me of the girls that I have rehomed and I love seing them exploring and dustbathing and playing. What really chokes me up, though, is finding out their names. I have rehomed Doras and Hatties, Sybils and Alices, Roses and Tinys. Some girls even get a middle name, like Sophie Louise and Samantha Jane. These individual girls are no longer invisible to us. They are no longer a number in a cage in a row in a shed. They have identities and their personalities are celebrated.



The British Hen Welfare Trust has rehomed over 250,000 hens. I am completely in awe of that achievement, and also in awe of the rehomers who go in week after week to take the chosen few out, and have to steel their hearts not to break under the gaze of the hens they cannot take. The farmer told me that each day he pulls out one or two dead hens from their cages. Those tragic souls will never ever get a chance. Please, if you can, donate a little bit of cash to the BHWT by clicking here or by texting 'HENS99' followed by the amount you wish to donate (£3, £5 or £10) to 70070. Anything you can spare will help them rescue and rehome these beautiful, gentle girls who deserve more than an anonymous life and death. Or visit their site at www.bhwt.org.uk and look into keeping ex-bats yourself. You don't need a huge garden or tons of cash, and the reward of love, companionship and eggs is priceless.
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26th June 2011
I am chuffed to bits to auction off the brilliant extras that Stephen Fry and his team donated when we swapped. He autographed both of them especially for One Little Egg and here they are:



The first is Stephen's latest book, The Fry Chronicles: An Autobiography, and is signed by him on the inside page. The second is a signed DVD boxset of his 2009 Last Chance to See series, where Stephen travels the world with Mark Carwardine, tracing his friend Douglas Adams' footsteps as they go in search of the world's rarest and most threatened species. The latest bids are below and include p&p, bidding will close at midnight on Saturday July 2nd and, as ever, every penny will go to the British Hen Welfare Trust so they can carry on their work rehoming ex-bats and campaiging to end battery farming. Just email contact@onelittleegg.co.uk with your bid, and please dig deep for these fantastic prizes that Stephen and his team so kindly donated.

The Fry Chronicles: Bidding ended at £75. Thanks Pam!
Last Chance to See: Bidding ended at £45. Thanks Barry!
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24th June 2011
Well, what an exciting day! The marvellous Stephen Fry and his team offered to swap the hotel suite stay for a complete Harry Potter audiobook box set signed by Stephen especially for One Little Egg. Not an offer I get every day, and certainly not an offer I'm going to turn down! So I had a brilliant day meeting the team and telling them about my bunch of nutty ex-bat girls, particularly Peggotty, who they named last year. Alas, Stephen couldn't be there due to prior filming commitments so they gave me some very special extras in lieu...keep an eye out for an announcement about this soon! Thank you SO much, Team Fry, for offering and arranging the swap!



The audiobook box set...I am so envious of whoever gets this; it is just brilliant. It comprises a whopping 103 CD volumes plus bonus discs in a presentation box set and is signed on the inside lid by Stephen for One Little Egg. But, it must be swapped on for something bigger and better to raise money for BHWT so if you fancy it, offer me a trade - swap@onelittleegg.co.uk. Companies are very welcome to offer swaps too, not just individuals. Ideas of what could be traded for the boxset; let's see: a holiday, a piece of art, a motorbike, memorabilia, a vintage Stratocaster, flights to New Zealand, a briefcase full of cash....you get the idea!
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5th June 2011
The 5th swap! And it's another belter: a two-night stay in a luxurious Townhouse Suite at the Ramada Solihull. What's so great about Solihull, I hear you mutter. Well, aside from being a lovely place in its own right, how about the fact that it's only 3 miles away from Birmingham NEC? Or that it's a short drive to beautiful Stratford-upon-Avon - home of Shakespeare (you can go into his house!) and the RSC? The Townhouse is a two-storey private suite with a spacious living area, and a spiral staircase leading up to a king-sized bed. The hotel itself is one of England's oldest Tudor buildings. Photos are below and their website is here.



Thanks very much to Andy and Sarah for such a generous swap.



If you fancy it, offer me a trade - swap@onelittleegg.co.uk
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25th May 2011
How exciting is this! A talented portrait artist, Yasmin Coleman, has offered a bespoke pet portrait to One Little Egg. The fairest thing I can do is to hold a mini- auction so whoever emails me and offers the highest pledge to the British Hen Welfare Trust will win a portrait of their pet by Yasmin. Her website is here so have a look at her gallery and then email contact@onelittleegg.co.uk with your pledge. Whoever offers the highest donation by midnight on Saturday 28th May will get the portrait of their pet. It'd make a really unique gift either for yourself or a loved one. An example of Yasmin's work is below - amazing, right? Please dig deep and pledge what you can coz every penny goes to the British Hen Welfare Trust as always so they can carry on their work rehoming ex-bats and campaiging to end battery farming.

Bidding ended at: £71.50. Thanks Karen!


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23rd May 2011
Have you ever fancied flying a plane, learning to stunt drive or owning a share in a racehorse? Carpe diem! The brilliant team at Give as you Live swapped me the night in New Hall Guesthouse for this £125 Red Letter Days giftcard, which offers tons of different experiences from high adrenalin such as bungee jumping and flowboarding, to more sedate garden design courses and golf with a PGA Master. It's the sort of thing we usually buy for other people, but you can have it for free if you can offer something bigger and better that we can swap. Life is for living, right? (Or else it's Father's Day soon and you know you've always wanted to watch your dad race a Ferrari!)
Have a look at all the activities on offer by clicking here, see what you'd fancy and then see what we can trade. The only rule is bigger and better - an item, your skills or time, something your company does, something you've made. There are endless possibilities so email swap@onelittleegg.co.uk and let's chat about it. And while you're thinking about what to offer, bob along to Give as you Live and get their app to enable you to fundraise for your favourite charity while you do your usual online shopping. Simples!
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15th May 2011
I wanted to write more about why I am doing One Little Egg, but it turned out to be a long and very personal post so if you want to read it, here it is. No offers yet for the weekend in Wales so if you were thinking about it but not sure what to offer, just send me an email and we can see what we can trade :-)
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10th May 2011
One Little Egg hits the national press, with a feature on The Sun's website! . Let's hope it inspires people to find out more about battery farming, encourages them to buy free-range eggs and gets them thinking about offering a swap so we can move onwards and upwards.
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11th May 2011
Hooray - One Little Egg's 3rd swap today, and getting bigger each time! This swap was for a night for 2 people in a gorgeous guesthouse in Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys, Wales.



Having just been there to do the swap, I can tell you it is an absolutely beautiful area with stunning views, and total tranquility. Nestled on the edge of the Cambrian Mountains and close to the Brecon Beacons, it is a hidden gem, and a perfect place for a weekend getaway. Want something a little more adventurous? In the summer months, Llanwrtyd Wells is home to the famous Bog Snorkelling Championships and the Man vs Horse marathon.
The guesthouse itself is modern with the emphasis on comfort, and owners June & Eugene make sure the breakfasts are something to remember, with ingredients sourced locally and, of course, using free-range eggs from nearby farms. Dogs are also welcome (please speak to June first). New Hall Guesthouse's website can be found here and their determination to make it a great stay speaks for itself, since they're #1 on Trip Advisor.
So if you fancy this amazing weekend getaway for free, offer me something bigger and better by emailing swap@onelittleegg.co.uk and it could be yours!
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6th May 2011
Can you imagine the boredom and frustration, the noise and the stench, if this was your life? Please please help end this horror once and for all.


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2nd May 2011
As you'll see, we're onto our third item now, and getting bigger and better each time! For this one, I went all the way to Fife, Scotland, to swap with the lovely Frannie, who very kindly traded me her prized Star Trek script. I also met her gorgeous ex-bats Miss Fraser, Effie and Dora, Lennie dog and husband Rob.



Speaking of ex-bats, it's Matilda and Ursula's 1st Henniversary; one year of freedom from being caged! We had a party where they ate cake, sunbathed, dug up the garden and generally created mayhem - not bad for hens who were considered 'spent' a whole year ago! They wanted to make a little film to say thank you to the British Hen Welfare Trust who rescued them from slaughter and gave them the chance to have a happy retirement filled with all things chickeny - enjoy it!
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27th April 2011
I did my first interview on the radio for One Little Egg the other day - you can listen to it here. It was for BBC Radio Manchester and it was quite scary, I have to say. I'm definitely more of a 'behind the camera' type of person usually, but if it helps raise awareness of battery farming and the BHWT then I am willing to do pretty much anything. Speaking of which, I think I have decided on my second swap! More details soon once I finalise them but it's a very fun, quirky and one-off item so looking forward to it!
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25th April 2011
Hope you all had a good Easter yesterday and you got some sunshine in your part of the world!
A couple of people have said to me that they don't know what they can offer to swap, and asked whether I'm just looking to swap with whatever offer has the most monetary value, so I thought I'd clarify what I'm hoping for. Broadly speaking, I will pick things that are fun and unusual, that people don't have at home and that they couldn't just go out and get right now. I think that makes it a lot more interesting and hopefully it means more people will offer swaps. I am looking to go 'bigger and better' each time...not in monetary terms (although it is a slight consideration), but in how big and exciting the item feels. I'm not taking the quickest route to the end but the route that will be the most fun. Also, it doesn't have to be an 'item' per se. It can be an offer of your time or your skills or something else - for example, maybe you work in a travel agents and can offer a holiday?
So keep those offers coming in and let's make this work so we can get more girls out of those terrible cages and into a loving, happy retirement :-)
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23rd April 2011
Bonus update - Jewels, a One Little Egg fab follower, has kindly offered a brilliant, hand-knitted chicken tea cosy, like the one below, to join the Marmite toast rack gift box, making this the ULTIMATE breakfast set! So if you want to get your hands on it, just email swap@onelittleegg.co.uk with your offer of something bigger and better! It's Easter weekend - what better time to help those battery hens out of their cages?


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22nd April 2011
An eggciting day in which I am pleased to report I have made my first swap. I traded my one little egg with the lovely Rebecca who gave me her fantastic, brand new Marmite gift set including a Marmite toast rack, Marmite knife and jar of Marmite! Love it or hate it, I think you'll agree this is a pretty cool item. So get your offers in at swap@onelittleegg.co.uk - something bigger and better for my Marmite gift pack! I will come and swap with you and I'll even throw in another little egg. I am really chuffed that I had so many offers for the egg; let's try and top it for this item.
Thanks to Rebecca, Simon, Daphne, Velma, Chicken, Mrs Chicken and pugs! :-)


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21st April 2011
Wow, what a day! Lots of people have been sent here by the marvellous Mr Stephen Fry, and lots more because you're BHWT supporters. I'm so chuffed that many of you have sent me offers today and it's going to be harder than I thought to pick a swap for my egg. I'll decide on my first trade by tomorrow because I think we're all excited to see where this goes and I don't want to keep you waiting. Apologies in advance if I don't pick your offer to swap with my egg...I hope everyone takes it as a bit of fun and doesn't get offended. I want you to keep sending offers; this whole thing relies on you taking part! Some of the fun for me is getting to come and actually meet chicken lovers and free-range supporters when we swap our stuff. Feel free to look at the gallery page and send your photos in - those first five beautiful girls are my daft lot. Right, I'd best get deciding, hadn't I. Check back tomorrow to see what the second item will be and have a think what you can offer for it!
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20th April 2011
I guess, since this venture will be in the local paper tonight, I can declare One Little Egg open - how exciting! For this to work, a lot of people need to find out about it and get into the spirit. So please please join the Facebook group (bottom right) and follow @OneLittleEgg on Twitter to let your friends know about it. I have an egg right now - what will you offer to swap that is bigger and better?
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