Went for my 2nd interview today & spoke with Brent Taylor (the guy quoted in the article below) The place still looked as lovely as ever but something about today put me off.
Brent was at pains to make sure I understood that there was absolutely no riding involved, I replied that I supposed I could ride locally to assuage my need & he said that the only riding you could do would be on horses who are led on a rope for people that can't ride.
Kevin was assisting in the interview (the guy who interviewed my the other day)
When Brent asked Kevin where he saw me slotting in with the yearlings, Kevin said that as an ex vet-nurse he saw me helping out with new-born foals with health problems & that I may be assigned to look after just the one foal for a few weeks.
At the conclusion of the interview Brent offered me the job but suggested I shadow Kevin for a couple of days to make sure I liked what I saw prior to signing on the dotted line.
I am going to work with him on Monday & Tuesday next week.
As a director I know my day-to-day contact with Brent would be minimal but he still left me feeling slightly uncomfortable. I should have been elated when I left but I wasn't - just a bit bemused.
I think Brent wanted me to say that I had a burning desire to work with Thoroughbreds & it was the culmination of my professional life to date. Truth be told, it's a job I am checking out cos Geoff Spark set me up with it & I wasn't prepared to bulls*** him otherwise. Stroppy Tyke that I am.
What I did notice there was how immaculate the sheep-yards were. The tractor was beeyootiful too. The Tanner's neighbour knows Trelawney's farming manager Murray very well & said they might be prepared to put in a word for me.
Job opportunities are like men aren't they ?
I will see how I feel about the place after a couple of days of 'hands-on' next week.
In the meantime I have a couple of other fingers in pies thanks to some local contacts.
Michelle & Eric's neighbour has put me in touch with a lady who is a horsey oracle.
I spoke with her about 10 mins ago & she has suggested a couple of families who may be able to help. The first do beef, sheep, polo & eventing & the 2nd are a well-known horse family in NZ called the McVeans. Daughter Katy is prodigously talented & qualified for the Grand Prix at Hickstead this year, despite being too young to be able to take part.
In the meantime, Trelawney have said I can start mid-September which gives me 2 weeks to advertise myself in the local paper. I told the lady I spoke to that I would consider moving anywhere for the perfect job but in an ideal world I would like to stay close to my new-found friends the Tanners (they do a cracking Sunday morning cooked breakfast)
After my interview I went to Matamata, bought some pansies in a garden centre to put in my newly-weeded border next to the house, browsed around RD1 (u were right Q) a great farming supplies shop which stocks everything from apple-favoured horse-wormer to bottle-green ladies boiler-suits (might have to get me one of those) & then headed back to Cedar Lodge.
A huge slab of Michelle's home-made bread with lashings of home-made lemon curd for lunch & then Eric & I cracked on with shifting a load of decking planks into his trailer to enable me to continue clearing the beds around the top of his pool. Lots more burning this afternoon :-)
Eric has kindly let me use his car whilst I have been here & it was a very pleasant surprise to see what it was after Michelle disparagingly referred to it as 'The Heap' I suppose it is a bit scruffy compared to her lovely big, shiny jeep but I love Eric's car. It is a hulking, great, Nissan Safari 4WD in steel grey. 4.2 litres with a front-winch attached. It makes a very genuine chugga-chugga noise whan you drive it & reeks of testosterone. Fableous. Wonder if Eric will swap it for a Henry ?
After more garden chores we sat down to an early dinner then Michelle had to leave for nights again. The difference between the Tanners & the Redwoods after school makes me wonder if both are part of the same species.
Here, the girls come home, are asked to tidy their rooms, do their homework & most importantly, no TV. As I weeded yesterday I could hear Harriette's gentle warblings on the treble (large recorder minus the screechy dying cat overtones) & Alice practiced piano.
Chez Redwoods I would have been esconced in the kitchen preparing a meal which would have gone mostly uneaten whilst the brats would have been screaming, fighting, eating junk food & worshipping the god that is tv in their household.
Please don't think from reading this that the Tanners children are angelic cherubs with shiny, happy faces always leaping to do their chores. There are the usual disagreements, contradictions & 'he said, she said' that I suppose go on in any family. Bedtimes are the same as they were at the Redwoods and as far as I can remember with me as well. Procrastination, (can I get a drink then ?) denial (but I'm not tired) blackmail (but I need a cuddle) & finally acceptance.
The difference here is that when I ask one of them to do something for me, they do it 1st time not 4th time or never. They also eat the food that is put in front of them which is very gratifying & makes cooking a pleasure. At last I get what my Mum was always telling me.
Well, it's time I wended my way off to Bedfordshire, so I'll bid you all goodnight.
Lolly - forgot to say yesterday, nice to know you catch up regularly, look forward to
a real e-mail. When can I publish 'The Photo' for all of Blogdom to enjoy ?
Cx
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