Originally from: Bill
                        
Don't know exactly when it was, Paul. It was a year later when we were trying to remember when we saw the sheep. In 2000 we had been on holiday in June and we remembered it was some time after we got back from holiday. Could well have been end of July or maybe even early August.

During 2001 bits of unconnected information surfaced, including information about incidences of the mysterious "hand-foot-and-mouth-disease" which occured in Preston around the same time, late summer 2000. There were 3 cases in children who lived in the Brook Street area of Preston, near the Cattle Market. The GP was concerned enough to take advice on the matter from the area health authority and was told it had to be "hand-foot-and-mouth-disease". (Caused by the coxsackie virus that exists exclusively in humans).

That particular GP had never seen anything like it before or since but during the epidemic there were a lot of cases at another surgery in Preston, the one just accross the way from Fulwood Barracks! You will remember that soldiers from there were heavily involved in Cumbria.