The events of October and November 2017 are well and truly in the past and it feels like the pig statue was never gone. Unveiled to great fanfare on November 10th at 4pm by Mayor Tony Trotman, the new gravel surround looks very smart and the repair job completed by Andy Blackford looks well done.
Below I have created a concise timeline of events, further details can be gained from reading my previous posts about theft and recovery of the statue (listed at the bottom of the page). Following this is an excellent video created by Pete Stedman.
Timeline of Events:
1978
The story of the pigs begins as Richard Cowdy is asked by Dr. Arnold Hare, the chairman of Calne Civic Society, to produce a sculpture to replace a tree which had been destroyed.
1/10/2017-2/10/2017
Calne pigs wrenched off their plinth overnight by use of a vehicle in 2 minutes and 45 seconds.
4/10/2017
The owner of a reclamation yard in Gloucestershire called the police to report that he had purchased the pigs before realising the statue was the one stolen from Calne.
6/10/2017
The statue was picked up by Calne Town Council. Work on the plinth commenced soon after by Calne Council Ground Staff who upgraded the method of fixing the statue to the plinth. The base of the statue was repaired by Andy Blackford of Blackford Engineering free of charge.
10/11/2017
The Calne Pig statue was back in place and unveiled by Tony Trotman, Mayor of Calne, at 4pm. The unveiling was completed with masses of applause and the pig was climbed upon my multitudes of childen, as he had been so many times in the past. This presentation featured a specially written piece of music performed by Calne Folk and Acoustic Group after the speech by the Mayor.
Previous posts on this story:
3/10/2017
'Two Pigs' Statue stolen from Phelps Parade, Calne
6/10/2017
Calne Pigs Recovered
10/11/2017
Calne Pigs: Pig Unveiling!
Additional Sources:
The Story of Calne's Pigs - As told by Richard Cowdy. Available free of charge from Calne Visitor and Information Centre.
