Sandra Chesterton with her new book. Photo / Alyssa Smith
Sandra Chesterton with her new book. Photo / Alyssa Smith
Sandra Chesterton has listened to lame stories for half a century and now she’s turned those into a fun read.
The Inglewood woman says while the topic of the book is lameness, it’s not the stories that are lame but the subjects themselves.
The self-published book, Lame Stories from the Vet from Inglewood, features stories about her husband Neil’s work as a vet and his research on lame cows.
The idea from the book, she says, came from her and her husband’s travels.
“In 2015 we were in South America because Neil was teaching. The organiser Gonzalo said I should write the stories down and call the book lame stories. Neil said I’d have to be the one to write it so I did.”
Neil and Sandra hosted a book launch at Inglewood Library on Saturday, June 3.
“It was amazing. We invited ex-farmers, ex-vets, farmers and family members whose stories were featured in the book. It was a wonderful turnout and we sold quite a few copies as well.”
Neil was born in South Africa and moved to Sydney, Australia, in the 1960s to become a vet. In 1969 he met Sandra.
“His family had moved to Sydney which is where I grew up. His family went to the same church that I was a part of.”
Neil graduated from Sydney University in 1973 and a year later he married Sandra. She says shortly after they were married the couple crossed the ditch and moved to Inglewood in North Taranaki.
“It was the perfect place for Neil to start his career. He was and still is interested in dairy cows. At that time the vet school had only just opened in New Zealand so the country was in desperate need of vets.”
Sandra says Neil worked at the Inglewood Vet Group, before taking a break in 1990 to visit Afghanistan. During this time Neil first published research on lame cows.
“We went over there to help the Afghanistan refugees and for a vet project.”
They moved back two years later and Neil continued working for Inglewood Vet Services (Now known as Energy Vets Taranaki). She says in 2000 they moved back to Afghanistan to check on the vet clinics.
“They were going quite well. We decided to move back to New Zealand in 2002 due to 9/11.”
In 2004 Neil published his second piece of research on lameness in cows. Sandra says since then, Neil has attended conferences across the globe teaching people about lame cows.
“The driving factor was New Zealand was cutting edge when it came to pasture-fed cows. There were a lot of New Zealand farmers across the world that wanted his advice and we have travelled all over the place talking to New Zealanders about lame cows.”
Despite travelling the world, Sandra and Neil call Inglewood their home.
“It’s where we predominantly raised our five children and where Neil earned the title the vet from Inglewood. Despite being employed by the Inglewood Vets, he worked a lot outside of the region.”
Five years ago, Neil retired from his job as a vet and continues travelling the world under Vet Education Transfer Services Limited.
“He teaches, trains, consults and investigates. It’s what he enjoys.”
Sandra says she’s happy Neil’s story is now out in the world for people to read.
“It feels like a complete job. This book is a novel way to learn about cows for everyone.”
The book is available from Inglewood Book Centre and Neil’s website (www.lamecow.co.nz).
