WE talked with Marina at the Great Yorkshire Show about her alpacas (llama relatives) and she told us to call in at their farm whenever we were near Suttonunder- Whitestonecliffe, North Yorkshire (HAS, July 16).

She and husband Trevor are in partnership with their daughter, Linda, and her husband, Ed. None was in when we arrived, but son James and his girlfriend, Kirsty, looked after us until the others got back.

Kirsty took us up to the fields and I got my first pictures of mam and newborn son from a distance.

They are shy animals and we couldn't get close until those who look after them arrived. The newborn's mother is called June, because she was born in June, and his dad is Rodney, who was showing a great deal of interest in other ladies.

The new arrivals are always born in daylight hours, usually around midday. That's because of the cold nights, where they are normally found, and predators.

When we left we felt we had new friends and we knew a lot more about alpacas. If we were younger and had the facilities we would love to keep some.

George Appleby, Clifton, York