Good morning.

Apologies Blog ended abruptly last night, the pooter was needed for boring business spreadsheet type stuff,
I considered explaining that I had a reading public but decided against it.
This one will have to be quick cos I have to move the non-hunting neddies to another paddock which
is harder to jump out of otherwise they will apparently try & join us.

More apologies for yesterday's entry.

By common consensus it seems I should have stuck a warning
prior to the entry along the lines of 'Warning - sad aminal/neddy story to follow, readers of a sensitive position may wish to have a tissue ready' Point taken & duly noted.

I didn't sleep much last night & every time I awoke it was from a falling/crushing type dream. Strange.

Hope all goes well with your 1st night-duty D team. Be careful.
Have a good w/e Di, play nicely with your friends.

Hope to update you later on tonight about my day.

Do you think they have e-mail in a & e?

Hello again (2 entries in 1 day-you lot are spoiled)

Nearly hitting a truck head-on on my Suzuki 600? No.
Nearly hitting a car head on my Fireblade ? No.
Doing the Isle of Man mountain circuit on the back of an FZR 100 & even MY boots were grounding out around corners? No.
Doing stunts on the back of a professional stuntman's GSX-R 1100? Close, but no.

All of the above were scary.

However for sheer buttock-clenching, bowel-loosening terror try sitting on top of a 400kg animal with a very small brain, a penchant for galloping just as quickly downhill as up & throw in the odd jump , all with another 40 dim-witted galloping horses & a pack of loose hounds & you have the 3 most terrifying hours of my life so far.

It was fantastic & I am going again on Monday.

I hardly slept last night & by the time all the trucks & horse-boxes were arriving at 1100 this morning
I would have done pretty much anything not to go. I had only ridden Jess twice, her saddle resembles a pancake,
with the same amount of support & the girth leathers were looking iffy at best.

Why had I agreed to do this ?

After numerous visits to the powder room (eye of a needle springs to mind) I finally went & mounted up.

Even my fervent praying for a tornado, earthquake or similar had failed. God knows an aetheist when he sees one.
The day dawned gloriously clear, azure skies & not so much as a puff of wind. Just what you want in a hunting jacket, gloves, jods & boots.

My feet were hotter than a snake's ass in a wagon rut (copyright approved - LW)

It all looked frighteningly professional, the master wore scarlet, I figured I probably would too by the end of the day.
Even the hounds looked like hounds. I think I was expecting a motley bunch of sheepdogs, mongrels & curs.
We set off & I have to say I admired Zoe's bottle hugely.
Her horse Fliss (the one who tried to bolt with me) was pulling like a train, even in the pelham she was being ridden in (severe bit) I was very pleased to be on Jess, who although excited was at least manageable (Linda, think Hannah on a good day but revved up)
Innes was on Fergus & I had huge misgivings about trying to control my horse, not breach hunting etiquette by ploughing, wildly out of control, through the field & barging the master of his horse AND supervise Innes.

Oh well, nothing ventured.

At the 1st fence (barbed wire, which is deemed too dangerous to jump in England) I wanted to weep with relief when Innes said he didn't fancy jumping it & would I go with him to the gate ?
To my pleasant suprise, at least a 3rd of the field didn't fancy jumping it either so there was no shame in not doing it.

What followed was field after field of cantering, watching the master & the hounds working a field looking for scent (unsuccessfully) & moving on to the next field for more cantering.
Sometimes the cantering turned into galloping, oh alright, frequently the cantering turned into galloping.

This was partly because I couldnt always persuade Jess to canter when I thought she should ie down-hill & perilously close to the edge of steep clifs & partly because we often had to wait for Innes cos Fergus is only ickle.
Then Jess would get the hump about being overtaken by other galloping horses & gallop even faster to resume what she felt was her rightful place at the front.

We came to a fence where most people were happy to try it (about 3'06" Linda) & I am proud to announce we jumped it (actually Jess jumped it, but I stayed on) She felt lovely & never had a moment's hesitation (unlike her rider).

I met an ex-nanny from here, a lovely girl called Sally.
We hit it off immediately & swapped survival hints.
It was great to speak to someone who knew exactly where I was coming from.
She lives just outside Christchurch & has invited me down any weekend I am off.
She also showed me the ropes today, etiquette-wise & has invited me to the hunt on Monday.
Monday is the Queen's Birthday & a BH ?

Is it in the UK ?

I can't remember.

The only draw-back is I have to take Zoe & Innes as well but at least it will be company in the horse-box on the way there.
Apparently its a 50km journey & it will be the 1st time I have driven the box since becoming a truckie.

Which reminds me. I received my certificate yesterday. How exciting.
Attached was a note from the assessor, Grant.
It said 'Once again - congratulations - ring any time with any questions & I apologise for the beating the All-Blacks are going to dole out to your boys'

When we win I am going to send a 'With Sympathy' card.

I am going to have my certificate framed. Who would have thought it ? Come to NZ - get a certificate.

New Zealand's like that.

By the end of the hunt I was totally exhausted.
My legs were shaking, my butt was like iron, my 3rd finger on my right hand still has no feeling (from pulling on the reins so hard) and my new leather gloves were wringing with sweat.

So how do I feel about hunting now ?

I always said that if I could go along without seeing a kill & just enjoy the countryside & being on a horse that's what I would do (sorry Malc-you would be ashamed of me) That's exactly what happened today.
In 3 hours not only was there no hare but there was not even a sniff of a hare.
To be totally honest it would not distress me greatly to catch a hare.
I don't know what the difference is between a fox & a hare (I do really, but you know what I mean) but there you go.

At one point today we were cantering along a green field with snow-capped mountains to our right & the sea to our left.
I felt sufficiently in control to chat to Sally as we rode side by side.
I remarked how stunning it was & even she said she wished she had brought a camera.
I did consider taking mine today but thought I would be gutted if I broke it.
However, now I trust Jess a little more, I may risk it on Monday.

'No, no - think of all the Argos vouchers' I can hear you lot shout.

After socialising for a while (beer & muffins, excellent combo) I meandered off to feed the horses.
We cooked them some barley so that they could enjoy a special treat as they had worked so hard.
It was dark as I wandered across the yard.
I was greeted with gentle whickerings & three expectant faces looking over the fence.

Despite the fact that my dinner was about to be served I lingered outside with them whilst they consumed their grub.
There was much appreciative lip-smacking & cute little snorting noises to tell me my culinary skills were appreciated.

As I listened I looked up. Turbo, you were right about the sky down here.
It was the 1st time I had been outside in the pitch black & I realised that the stars were visible in a complete 360 degree arc.
You know how at home there just seems to be a cap of stars above you because of all the pollutant light?
Well, here there is none so you are enveloped in soft, inky blackness & the stars look like millions of diamonds sprinkled onto lush, black velvet.

(stop me if I am starting to sound like a country singer)

As I looked & listened & patted soft nokies I thought of my last 2 weeks.
NZ has completely captivated me.
I feel calm, happy & most of all healthy.
I have not felt this good in years, In fact, not since I started shift-work.
I get at least 8 hours sleep a night & I am on the go all day.
I fall into bed genuinely tired & not just stressed.
I have read every night since arriving.
I haven't done that in years.
I eat healthily, 3 meals a day (can't remember doing that since leaving home)
I have one of those farmers tans which covers your face, the v on your neck & your forearms.

I don't doubt there will be hard days when I wonder what on earth I am doing here.
For the time being any stress with the kids is soothed away every time I look out of the window.
I adore England & feel very disloyal talking about my new home this way but Q was right when he said that words can't amply describe it.
Bill knows what I mean.
As he said 'A217 every day or NZ ?'

Not a tough choice.

All I need now is for you lot to come out & see what I am raving about
(Weeny, your Sept visit would coincide with the beginning of Spring & the blossom-you will love Mussel Boys)

Simply put, NZ has worked it's magic on me.
I can put it no more simply than how I described it to my Mum today.
It's like salve to your sores - whatever they are.

Goodnight all :)

Cx