Busy day yesterday.
Up at 0630 to leave @ 0730.
Caught the neddies at sunrise who regarded us with disgust.
Plainly written on their faces was the expression
'What time do you call this ?'
Trish drove which was quite a relief with 6 kids & 5 gees aboard.
Luckily all the neds are old hands at loading which is
pretty amazing given that Fliss has been in 2 road accidents.
Arrived in plenty of time, then came grooming, tacking up & preparing
5 kids, making sure all had their jods, boots, wips, spurs, hats, ties
& pony club gear. Luckily the eldest dress themselves, think all parties
involved would find it embarrassing dressing 15 yr old boys !!
Imagine the scene ..
'Carol, where are my boots ?'
'Carol, can we run through my dressage test ?'
'Carol, can you show me how to make Shrinky's tail shiny ?'
etc etc
Chaos.
I am pleased to report no injuries, no falls, 4 good dressage tests & 3 stonking rounds
of show-jumping.
These kids are seriously talented.
Paddy was the only one who came away without a placing & I really felt for him.
He is a naturally talented horseman who even makes his horse Ben look good.
Unfortunately for dresage Ben has no rhythm, balance or bend, so he is the
one I will have to put lots of work into.
What Ben does have in abundance is a huge jump.
Quick break to help Mal put up some fencing, back soon.
Cx
So, I finally get back to finish Blog some hours later.
When we returned from the horse show, Trish & Chris
had to leave immediately to drive Vinny & Paddy the 4 hours
to Christchurch to their boarding school.
Which left me with 10 horses to feed (& worm), a truck to unpack, tea to make,
the fire to light & the pigs & the dog to feed.
Come back Friday night duty, all is forgiven.
Oh yes and the kids needed an early night because
it was school in the morning.
It's safe to say I slept well that night.
At dinner tonight, one child, who shall remain nameless, looked
at dinner & said 'I am not eating that !'
She then proceeded to go to the cupboard & help herself to
fruit-loaf. I explained this was not the done thing & proposed
my food or no food. My food was grudgingly picked at.
Ah the joys of catering for kids.
Innes asked what was for dinner tonight. I told him spaghetti bolognaise.
He asked if it would be tinned spaghetti. I said no - home made.
'Oh' he said - obviously disappointed.
The conversation at dinner goes along these lines.
'Take your elbows off the table'
'Pull your chair nearer to the table so you don't keep tipping your food in your lap'
'Yes - I know he is eating with his mouth open & I will tell him not to'
"Ok - if you don't like mushrooms pick them out'
'Don't wipe your cutlery in your hair'
I am not making these up, they were all said tonight.
I really must try to eat properly.
The wind was unbelievable this evening, I was trying to put on Fergus' rug & ended
up with it completely wrapped around me at one point. He just looked at me.
I now have 10 horses to feed, ride & take rugs on & off in 3 different paddocks.
They are at least a 10 minute walk apart.
I am pushing Chris for a quad. He has said he will buy me a bigger wheelbarrow. Finally, for this evening, as I have been here long enough
to have thought about it, a list of things I miss & things I don't.
People, pets & neddies are not included, that's a given, just things.
Miss
The smell of my room & how light & airy it is
Radio 4
Early turn Sundays (not the getting up, just the
McD's breakfast & the camaraderie.)
The Mole.
Dressing like a gurrl.
Having a bath without a plastic horse & 60 other assorted toys.
All my classical CD's - too tight to fork out for replacements.
Me-time. Appreciate hugely what me-time I do get.
The moon as seen in England. He doesn't have a face here.
Don't Miss
TV. Haven't watched it in 5 weeks except 3 games of rugby.
Wearing make-up. Again, none in 5 weeks.
Traffic. A stressful journey now is when I notice there is 1 car following me.
English weather.
Sticky when it's hot.
Grey when it's not.
Buildings/Crowds. Self-explanatory.
Stress/Shift-work.
The common people.
Paranoia about theft/ crime in general..
All doors are unlocked at the farm, house & vehicles,
whether house is empty or not.
Ignition keys left in all vehicles.
I am sure more things will spring to mind as soon as I have logged off but those are the ones which are apparent.
Few quickies.
Mum - Excellent news. Who needs to hear the ads ? Can't wait til Gran starts telling your neighbours they can 'Shove it up their ****'
Trudes- Too knackered to type any more tonight.
Hope you don't mind ? Will grab pooter tomorrow aft.
Stu - Hope all is ok ? Await the update tomorrow.
Q - Muchos gracias Blog extraordinnaire.
JFP - Congrats. Next time I see you, it will be in uniform.
Tony - Good luck with yours, you will be fine.
Hadders - Hello back, miss your tea.
Justine - Thanks for e-mail, sorry to make you homesick, will reply soon.
Love to your menagerie & Malc.
Di - Very best of luck for 24th. You will breeze it.
Ang - Glad you liked to pics, tried to get more of GT today but he 'weren't 'avin it'
Turbo - Congrats on the stats, you may soon be able to shoot as well as me.
Bill - Sorry I couldn't make the bash-sounded good fun. There's a bottle with your name on it should you be able to venture South.
Weeny - Hope your weekend made up for your week.
Lindsay - Good luck @ LHR, if the Iranians let you go that is.
Play nicely with the other children & don't let Tommy take all your lunch again.
Cocky - Love to the brood, will I be experienced enough to look after Harry when I get back ? Check out the jumping foties.
Love to you all,
Cx
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