Season's Greetings

I may be dreaming of a White Christmas but unless you count frost and fog, that is all it remains, a dream.

And even the frost and fog deserted us on Christmas day to be replaced with unrelenting drizzle. Everyone's getting fed up with the mud. But the shortest day has now passed and the days are lengthening.

Last Team Chase of the Season

And didn't the weather let us know it! If you peer into the gloom you can just about make out Charlie having jumped an enormous hedge with drop. And yes. all the others went over it too.

Sadly Pip had to withdraw. Her horse is poorly so Smem and Ruby were straight in there as back-up. Poor Smem was very nervous. The Winwick novice course is between 3' and 3'3 and has some quite forbidding hills. On the way there we talked about visualisation and how the fences wouldn't appear so big once she was on the horse. Anyway, she'd recovered enough to manage a bacon buttie, a cup of tea and a chocolate hob-nob.

The weather was bitterly cold and it was raining fairly heavily. Ruby's clipped out now so we kept her rugged up in the box for as long as possible. She did look a bit worried though. I don't think she quite gets it! They set off at quite a pace and managed to get over the first few fences without incident. Then Charlie stopped at a piddly little post and rails and everyone else stopped too. Then Ruby had to wait for Ramin to clear a hanging gate but apart from that, they all did really really well. They were all puffing quite heavily by the time they got to the finish. Apart from losing an over-reach boot and Smem ditching her silk because it kept falling down over her eyes, they all got home safely and that's what really matters!


Unfortunately when we had loaded up ready to leave for home, there was an almighty commotion. Someone's horse had fallen in its trailer and got stuck, wedged between the front ramp and the jockey door with his head bent round under him. There were two vets at the event but by the time one of them arrived, after what seemed like an age but was probably about 10 minutes, we had already managed to get the partition out and finally extracted him. I was really worried he would start thrashing about and injure either himself or one of his rescuers but he managed to stay really calm. I'm not sure how but Smem ended up trotting him up for the vet while Annie comforted his owner. Apart from some cuts on his back legs he seems unscathed. He wasn't even lame but boy, is he going to have a sore neck in the morning! Apparently the vet had only seen him the week before and he'd tried to kick him! Bless him, once he had been checked over, Smem walked him straight into the trailer to go home.

I really wish people wouldn't leave their horses unattended in their trailers. Last week Annie found a horse that had got its front legs over the front bar and was panicking. It took ages for her to get someone to help because every time she let go of him to attract someone's attention, he started kicking off again. Eventually they managed to lift the bar out with him on top of it. I don't think they realised that one of the safety features of Ivor Williams trailers is that you can take the bars down from the outside.

And if you think horses are dangerous, the boy Thos has completely destroyed his cruciate ligament. He did it in pre-season in August but no-one realised the extent of the damage until he went to see the specialist last week. He's going to have it re-constructed on 20 December then it'll be 12 months rehab. I just hope it's fixable. It's the sort of injury that could end his Rugby career!

After all that doom and gloom here's a piccy of the girls taken on a sunnier and much warmer day at the Grafton team chase. You can see the difference in size and how difficult it makes it when someone forgets a bit of kit!

Annie and I were having a chat and we've decided not to send Ruby to stud until the spring Team Chase season is over. We could still end up with a fairly early foal but she's so good at it, it would be a real shame for pregnancy to get in the way!

What a Star!

I was away at the weekend so missed the team chase. Smem was going to take Zorya but unfortunately she was lame. So it was Ruby she ended up on.

The team were 20 seconds over the time allowed and Ruby did a lovely clear, even choosing the intermediate hedge as the last fence (Pip and Taz stopped in front of her but Ruby just ploughed on regardless).

Smem's got a lovely photo of her flying over a hedge. Apparently she wasn't even blowing when they'd finished! Unfortunately they didn't think Ruby'd be fit enough for next weekend's at Winwick so she hasn't got a place in a team. Unless someone else pulls out. It's a big course, fairly hilly and with some big post and rails to finish. No doubt someone with chicken out at the last minute!

Looking a Gift-Horse in the Mouth

I took Wednesday off work so that I could finish an assignment for Uni. Managed to finish OK but when I came to print it off the printer decided to pack up. I used to have an old Cannon printer/scanner. It wasn't brilliant, but it worked! Anyway, last year I won a printer/scanner/copier. Very flash. And it's been nothing but trouble ever since. The cartridges cost an arm and a leg. There's so much software to load it takes about an hour (yes, I did re-load it, cursing madly) and it takes exception to printing certain things then refuses to delete them so you just have to delete the printer! Boy was I ticked off!

I WANT MY OLD PRINTER BACK!

Anyway, to cheer myself up I went out yesterday to get an outfit for a 'do' that I'm going to tonight. What happened to frocks? There are no frocks in the shops except christmassy glittery affairs without sleeves. Not what I was after at all. So I had to go for a top to wear with some smart trousers. And a pair of shoes. And some lovely underwear in purple (because they don't usually do my size in nice colours) and some lovely pink underwear, just in case it wasn't there the next time I went in. £100 later.......

Then I remembered I'd already spent £70 on a new pair of boots this week. And had my car MoT'd. Oh dear. Being off work costs me a fortune!

I've lost my mount...

Yes, I'm used to losing Ruby to Annie and Smem (after all she does actually belong to Annie) but it gets a bit much when BiL starts riding her too! He went out for a hack with Smem today and apparently Ruby was very good, which is nice because he's a bit of a novice and she can take the mickey if you let her.

And when she decides she's had enough....... She has been quite bouncy lately too. I took her out on Sunday and although she'd had a very hard day the day before she still wanted to play in the stream and jump in and out of the water. She also took a very dim view having to stand still while Zorya had a bit of a canter. Not galloping off into the distance, just trotting and cantering in circles - very sedately. (Oh, forgot to mention, all this was after Ruby forgot the clocks had changed and decided to help herself to breakfast - namely Zorya's bin of build-up mix!)

Funnily enough though she doesn't pull at all and I really like the new bit. It seems to suit her much more than either the loose ring or the drop cheek (baucher) snaffle

Team Chasing Again

A number of this autumn's team chases were cancelled or postponed because of the foot and mouth but last Sunday we finally went to one near Banbury.

Only this time, Pip was on holiday so there was no-one to lead. So instead of taking Zorya, Smem decided to take Ruby as lead horse. Given that she isn't particularly fit, she did quite well. Unfortunately Ruby hasn't had a great deal of experience across country. She's not bothered and will jump most things but she's very inexperienced. But she does love jumping hedges. Anyway, a palisade at the second put her off and she had a stop, but cleared it on the second attempt,. Then Charlie got the idea and took over the lead. It takes him a while to get into it but once he has, he's fine! Unfortunately Cait, bringing up the rear, had a fall and it put her pony off a bit, but they all managed to finish in one piece. Not as good as last time but not a bad effort.

Zorya was very fed up when we got back and bashed Smem on the nose when she went to make a fuss of her! Stroppy mare!

Today I have mostly been plaiting Ruby's mane. She doesn't like it much and hates having it pulled but she did look VERY smart now she's all clipped and beautiful. And she's very very shiny. Unfortunately Smem forgot her gag today so had to take her out in a snaffle. No brakes then! They're thinking of re-naming their team "Have you got a spare...?".

Apologies for the photo - it was taken on my phone and as you can probably tell, Ruby was ready for the off at this point!

Worthy Champions

Despite much swearing and hand-wringing during the game I will be the first to admit that the best team won. As in 1995, I think the whole country of South Africa needed the win more.

And who could possibly imagine when the Rugby World Cup was being inaugurated in the 1980's that less than 20 years later, the Springboks would hand their President, Thabo Mbeki, the Rugby World Cup?

And so the day dawns...

World Cup Final Day.

To say that an England v South Africa final was unlikely would be the understatement of understatements.

How did we ever get here?

Four years ago (22 November 2003 to be exact) I was sitting in my jimjams on the floor of Ra's living room in Huddersfield, watching the England rugby team make history. They had been preparing for this for four years. The juggernaut was unstoppable. Nothing could stand in the way of Johnno getting his big mits on the trophy. And after the final whistle went I'm not ashamed to admit I cried like a gurl. In reality, I never expected them to lose. They couldn't, whatever Australia managed to throw at them.

After that, England never really seemed to get back on track. Some (Johnno, Backy, Jason Leonard etc) retired from the international stage to give way to new talent. But the wheels had fallen off the Sweet Chariot, and never really got back on until that dreadful drubbing by South Africa only a few short weeks ago. Whatever was said, it worked.

The buildup this week has been agony. The English press seem to think that, as long as Saint Johnny is playing, all will be well. Get real. This is a 22 man game. He only gets the chances because those around make them for him. And the painful truth is plain for anyone who understands the game. Johnny Wilkinson's not really hit form yet. Let's hope he finally finds it tonight. It would be easy to dislike the guy because of the way he's lauded by the media. But I can't. It would be easy for him to believe what's written about him. But he seems totally unaffected by it and I applaud him for that.

Now I don't really expect England to win tonight(sorry guys). And will I be disappointed if they don't? Despirately, not for country but for each and every player. Especially the likes of Jason Robinson, in this, his last ever game and of course Martin Corry, who always puts 110% into his game.

Don't worry Cozza, win or lose, there'll always be a welcome for you at Welford Road. And try not to bleed too much. So good luck to you, BenK, Lewis, George and Dan. No cards, no fighting. All I really want is that you come back safe and well.

Tigers need you!

And on a more sober note, members of ComeOnYouSaints are taking part today in their annual Saints with Heart walk. This year's walk is all the more poignant because it is in memory of Mark Coleman (aka WestMidsSaint), who recent suffered a fatal heart attack. We met Mark on the walk last year and at subsequent visits to Franklin's Gardens. Sadly we won't be joining in this year. But keep up the good work and it shouldn't be long before Saints are back in the premiership and we get to meet in anger once again.

What a difference a day makes.

This time yesterday, like many Rugby fans, I was totally convinced that we would be heading for a southern hemisphere semi-final next weekend in Paris in the Rugby World Cup. Perhaps there were only two groups of people who really thought it wasn't a fete accomplis.

The England team finally stepped it up a gear. I suspect the Aussies had been lulled into a false sense of security. Finally they saw an easy opportunity to take revenge on that last-minute defeat four years ago. And it clearly still hurt. Well now it hurts even more.

They had a plan A. Unfortunately they kept on using it even when it clearly wasn't working. Oh dear! So the Wallabies are back on the plane this morning.

The host nation must have thought they'd shot themselves in the foot by organising this quarter final to be played in Cardiff. I guess that when the pools were announced France fancied their chances of topping their pool with a win over Argentina in the first match of the tournament. Remember Wales in 1999? The Welsh made the same mistake in playing their opening match against Samoa. Even Bernard Laporte seemed amazed at the win. Only the men on the field truly believed they could do it. And they did! Nip and Tuck was an understatement. France did what only France can do. They turned the game around from seemingly nothing just by spreading the ball around and daring to attack from anywhere.

And what of the All Blacks? I wouldn't much fancy the reception they're going to get back in NZ. Apparently the knives are already out.

And I suspect one Mr Wayne Barnes is probably the most hated man in the Land of the Long White Cloud. How he had the audacity to sin-bin an innocent All Black player, fooled into making a bad decision by a naughty, cheating, play acting Frenchman! (according to that Oracle known as Murray Mextead) Oh please! Read the laws guys. Sure, you don't have to get out of an attacking player's way, but bustling into him shoulder first (it's called taking the player out without the ball you know) within 10 metres of the try line and even Wayne's going to take exception.

So what of today's games? Well, really anything could happen. I wouldn't be at all suprised if we ended up with a France v Argentina final!

It's not as difficult as it looks!

Riding side saddle that is. And more difficult to fall off than riding astride. The only trouble is, if you do fall, or more importantly, if your horse falls, it can be pretty nasty as you don't tend to be thrown clear.

Happily I only managed to have one dramatic fall (and I did ride side saddle a most of the time for about 4 years) and that was because I'd seen someone at a show riding a lovely black horse and happened to say "Oh I wish I had a black horse" because getting grey hairs off your habit is a real pain!

Unfortunately, Sail stored this up for future reference and, during the equitation class did one gigantic buck and I went flying! Not that it hindered my chances. The judge was SO impressed with my fall that I still came second!

A hard act to follow

A good blog should always start with a good picture. So, as there have been no horse or rugby-related activities taking place this week, I thought a photo of my old horse, Sail, have to do. Isn't she lovely?

Nothing much has been happening this week apart from work, college and a funeral. I should be preparing for a presentation that I'm giving with my study group on Wednesday. We have our first rehearsal on Monday afternoon. I've been working hard all week to put the finishing touches to a process I've been working on that I have to demo on Monday morning. Unfortunately I've been fiddling and have managed to over-complicate things. I think we're 90% there. It's just the other 10% I'm worried about.

This time last year I had no inkling that I would be doing the job I'm doing. Last year I spent most of my time system testing (yuk!). I've spent the last six months actually doing proper system development, programming and everything and it's BRILL! It's not easy and I find it quite challenging basically cos I don't really know what I'm doing and there are no instruction manuals but I love it!

I'll love it even more when we 'go live' with my big project in January. Before then, I've got to bottom out the processes, produce the training materials and, my biggest headache, write the reports! The reporting package we'll be using is one that I'm not familiar with. I just hope I can get to grips with it sooner rather than later cos there's no time for messing about!

Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness

Autumn is really on its way now. Misty mornings and even a bit of a nip in the air! It's only a matter of weeks before the clocks go back and it'll be leaving home in the dark and getting home in the dark.

But the one good thing about the autumn is that the rugby season is underway (and I'm not talking the Rugby World Cup!). Two wins out of two for the Tigers, although this week's match against arch-rivals Barf wasn't one of the best demonstration of freeflowing rugby I've ever seen but as they say, a win's a win.

It was good to see some of the new boys performing well. The pre-season preparation seems to have paid off. Five matches instead of the usual two. Let's hope the boys aren't exhausted by the end of the season! And just because I remembered to take my camera yesterday, here's a gratuitous shorts shot!

I left my camera at home!

Boo!

Yesterday I took Smem to the first Team Chase of the season, the Belvoir at Garthorpe near Melton Mowbray. No there was no bad language but we did arrive a bit late and the rest of the team had already started walking the course so I went round with her. OK I'm really really unfit and it was quite a warm day so by the end I was a bit puffed to say the least.

The course was lovely. 23 fences, mainly hedges but with some more tricky post and rails, ditches, hanging logs and a lovely water obstacle with resident ducks! All set in the most beautiful rolling Leicestershire countryside.

Unfotunately we were positively well-prepared compared with another team member who shall remain nameless. Teenagers. What can you do with them? She'd managed to leave her bridle at home! Did we have a spare? Did we fairycakes! Fortunately some kind soul lent her a large bridle. After quite a bit of adjustment and a knot in the throat lash, and nicking Ramin's martingale, they were ready to go.

Poor Ramin, not even a neckstrap to hold onto. Never mind, that's what manes are for. I always feel quite bad at team chases . I'm the only one who doesn't get nervous because I'm not a parent. I don't mind ending up with bruises though as I feel I should provide support by letting the other mums grab my arm when they get really worried.

Woo was the pacemaker. Now Woo gets a bit upset if anyone overtakes him. Charlie B was second. Charlie is an ex racehorse and loves to race but his rider had been given strict instructions NOT to overtake Woo but to ride in huge circles if necessary. Zoy came third as, although she loves to race she's got really good brakes but she's not really bold enough (yet) to lead the team. And bringing up the rear was dependable Ramin. Not a very speedy chap and the smallest at only 14.2.

The girls were brilliant! We fully expected that Woo would set a cracking pace and make a real race out of it. Fortunately they all looked after each other really well, making sure that they all stayed fairly close together. Even Charlie was under control! He stayed behind Woo like a little lamb.

In the event, the team "Blink and U've missed Em" were too fast for the optimum time, but still managed to come 7th out of 32 teams.

Brilliant.

Sadly next week's team chase has been cancelled because of the Foot and Mouth. Otherwise I'd say those girls were really on a roll!

It's Back!

I've just heard on the radio that, contrary to popular belief, the Foot and Mouth outbreak is NOT over. Restrictions were due to be lifted soon but there's been another reported outbreak about 10 miles from the original ones in Surrey.

So everything stops again. I keep thinking how hard it would be to lose all your stock. And how especially hard it would be for Smem to lose her lovely cows, Lily and Nellie. She's had them since they were a couple of days old and she raised all by herself. Not bad for a 10 year old! (and here's the lovely Lily just days before giving birth to her firstborn, Lila).

On Sunday we sat surrounded by 35 heifers, all curious and interested in us, but also very contented in the sunshine. It's probably difficult for people to understand who don't keep livestock but there's something very tranquil about cattle.

The nicest time is when the bull is lying down surrounded by calves. You can almost imagine them thinking "We're hanging out with our Daddy"! I tried to persuade Annie that she should put a web-cam up in the field so people could dip into their everyday lives.

Well, it'd be more interesting than a lot of the webcams out there!

Bouncing Like Tigger

Today we took Zorya loose schooling again. This time in the outdoor school, so there were a few distractions, namely the horses in the next field who thought she looked a bit nice!

After a few goes round riderless, we tacked Zorya up and Emma got Smem to go at a nice steady trot, with lots of outside rein to help Zoy bend her body better. I know, it sounds a bit wierd that you have to keep your outside rein tight for a good inside bend but it works. It also makes Smem ride as though she'd holding a tray but I expect it'll feel more natural eventually!

Then she had a go at the bounce. Now normally it's impossible to get Zorya to jump from a trot so they've been practicing so she's more able to pick her own stride. It certainly seems to be working. Next week we're concentrating on canter. Going right back to basics seems to be working well. Fingers Crossed!

I want to try it with Ruby! It might improve my balance!

Viva Los Pumas!

Time: 8pm
Date: 7 September 2007
Venue: Stade de France, St Denis, Paris, France
Event: Opening match of the Rugby World Cup 2007
Protagonists: Les Bleus (France) v Los Pumas (Argentina)
Attendance: 80,000 including 1 brass band & 1 cockrel

I never doubted that Argentina had the potential to spoil the party. I'm just particularly glad that Marcelo Loffreda, the Argentina coach, is going to be on our side soon! His game plan worked perfectly against a French side full of first night nerves. It's very easy to point the finger at the weaknesses in team selection after the event, its a different matter to analyse each individual's strengths and weaknesses and to take full advantage of that knowledge and that's exactly what the Pumas did.

Having seen them perform last night, I wonder if we might be able to add to our single Argentine player, Marcos Ayerza, with a couple more over the next few seasons. He's one of the best props in the Premiership and he didn't even make the bench for last night's game!

And all this from a side who don't have a place in the main international competitions, relying on summer tours and one-off games. I just hope they've got the stamina to get through to the next round, although from a selfish point of view it would be better for the Tigers if they got knocked out at the pool stage so we could have our new coach!

Ruby's So Excited!

I decided to have a quick ride after work on Monday evening while Annie was lunging Zorya. Apparently Smem was supposed to ride but didn't get up until late etc etc and didn't manage to ride so Annie was on exercise duties!

I decided to stick to the set-aside. There's a really really huge field with a good headland all the way round so we did a walk and trot round to warm up then we managed to canter down one whole side. Probably about a quarter of a mile. Then had a little jump over a fallen branch. I say a fallen branch, it was little more than a twig but Ruby was very keen and got all excited and flew over it a couple of times.

That was enough for me. I really must have some lessons. Ruby's great cos she adores jumping but I always worry that she's going to trip over or something stoopid because she has her own very distinct style.

But she can jump! The day she arrived, we turned her out in the paddock. After a few minutes' consideration she walked away from the fence, turned and trotted two strides then jumped into the next field. Fortunately she didn't know what to do next so just stood still until I caught her. The fence comes up to my chest and I'm 5ft 8! Smem swears she jumped over this hedge too - once with her on board and once with her friend, Hattie, riding. I kept thinking 'no that's not possible' but I keep the photo on my phone so I can threaten to show it to Hattie's mum! They're still at an age where they have no fear. Doobie does love jumping and I'm sure she knows that's what she's going to be doing. She's like a different horse!

Some horses are perfect

Smem is always asking me about the horse I had when I was her age. Sail's reputation had obviously been imprinted on Smem at an early age and she's forever asking me about the things we did together, our accomplishments, how high she could jump, whether Annie really went team chasing on her etc etc.

..........She did. Yes, Smem, that's a photo of your wussy mother! Oh, and for Rising Rainbow, Team Chasing is when a group of four riders go around a cross country course (rustic solid fences - mainly hedges and post and rails) against the clock. It's fast and furious and fairly dangerous. Some courses have a 'dressing fence' where the object is for all four riders to jump together, but most of the way round they go one after the other so you need a good lead horse that won't stop but also won't go too fast so that everyone else gets left behind. No cows or sheep are involved. Annie's team actually got the 'dressing' prize in this competition.

When we were looking for a horse for Annie I always tried to remember how it was that we found Sail and that feeling of just knowing that she was the right horse for me.

No of course she wasn't perfect. She had the uncanny knack of finding the tiniest bit of soiled straw in her box, however carefully you mucked out. She had to be chained up because she chewed through ropes on a regular basis and could strike with the speed of a snake when she was in a bad mood (which was whenever you touched her). She would jump out of anywhere you put her if she felt like it and would leg it back up the road to her field.

But as soon as you were on her back she could really turn it on. She could go from quiet old nag to showjumper to ladies hunter to team chaser at the drop of a hat. And if we'd had horseball then, she'd probably have been happy doing that too.

No pimped raspberry ruffles today. I decided to go for a hack on Ruby. Considering she's done hardly any work this year, she was suprisingly fit. It shouldn't be very long before she's back to her usual self. We mainly walked (Ruby has a fantastic big walk - it's her plough-pulling genes coming through) and did a bit of trotting. I was most pleased that she opened and closed gates without any problems (after that horrific gate-related incident) and we cantered a couple of circles without striking off on the wrong leg or bucking or anything. She was hardly sweating when we got back.

We've decided to take Ruby the next time Zorya goes for her loose schooling. Not that she needs any encouragement. Apparently Emma's done it with her before and she absolutely loves it! Ruby has got an enormous jump and has no fear (or no sense, one or the other).

Oops I nearly forgot

I've been off work this week - not for any reason in particular, just cos I wanted a bit of a break before we 'go live' with a project at the end of September. Only now it's been put back to the end of October.

Anyway, I had a few things I planned to do including cutting the hedge in my back garden (partly done), taking stuff to the tip (partly done) and I've just remembered I intended to pimp a Raspberry Ruffle (as in Pimp that Snack).

I did a giant Jaffa Cake for the boy Thos' birthday earlier in the year and I fancied having another go. It all makes perfect sense to me anyway. I just need to get some raspberry milk shake syrup and some plain chocolate. I think I've got the dessicated coconut!

Additional photo of said pimped snack. Unfortunately I couldn't find the one with the candles on it. I think it's still on my phone!

Ruby's Wintec and Gullet

I really really didn't make up 'Ruby's Wintec (brand of saddle) and Gullet (metal tree that can be changed to fit different-sized horses)' and here's the photos to prove it. I managed to get a new medium gullet but it's still too wide for Zorya. So I took it back to my local saddler's, Apollo Saddlery and I've now got a medium narrow on order. They're always very helpful and have various sizes of horse to that you can try stuff on if you're not sure of the size!

Smem and Annie took Zoyzie loose schooling at Emma's yesterday morning. Apparently she was very good. She's been stopping for no apparent reason (we think it's all in her head). Anyway, she did still stop a bit but got a lot more confident in her jumping. She favours one rein much more than the other. This was amply demonstrated when she decided to turn round and go the wrong way round the jumping lane without any encouragement or prompting from the 'handlers'.

And here are some gratuitous photos of Tiger going for a paddle. He's not terribly keen on water and managed to fall in whilst trying to follow Smem up onto the bank. Unfortunately his (not so) little tummy got in the way so he couldn't get his back legs out!

As promised....

Horseball!

Unfortunately I wasn't able to catch on video Zorya bucking! She really is the most extraordinary horse! On Monday she came 4th in the Ridden Hunter class at Flore Show. Smem has got her going beautifully (see pics of them warming up at West Haddon show).

Bad news on the Ruby Doo front. She's not in foal. Never mind, we're all very disappointed but ready to have another go early next spring. Smem's disappoinment is tempered with happiness that, if she can get Ruby fit, they'll be able to go team chasing! She's going on Zorya but apparently Ruby's a good lead horse cos she doesn't care what everyone else is doing and can maintain a steady pace.

Why tidying up is bad

Because normally I can make a good guess at where something might be by working out where I was when I used it last. Hence losing my USB camera cable. Of course it's either upstairs by my pc or on the dining table from when I last used my laptop. But no, it was nowhere to be seen. Did I leave it at Annie's? I did have it at Annies but she says it's not there.

I eventually found it in my laptop bag. Why was it there? No idea. Even my laptop doesn't live in my laptop bag!

More posts and possibly pics later. Off on a jaunt with Smem. Also hoping to get a new gullet for Ruby's wintec as Zorya's saddle no longer seems to fit either her or her rider.

Mostly I have been....

Cutting the hedge.

I got up at some ungodly hour while it was still cool and spent most of the morning cutting the hedge in the back garden. I had intended to get the boy Thos to help me in the garden this week so that he could earn some money and I could get it in some sort of order. Silly boy went and did his knee in at Rugby Trials on Wednesday. He's now on crutches and can't drive and his (we're not going out with eachother) friend Claire is having to run round after him. More fool her! Hopefully he's not torn any ligaments, otherwise it'll be a long job. I've decided that Smem can help me instead, although it will mean I'll have to drive to the tip!

Yesterday morning was spent watching Smem and Zorya at Horseball Practice. Can I just say that it was a little more sedate than the full on version shown on the British Horseball Association's website. Even so, I was quite impressed. For a highly strung thoroughbred, Zorya does do a passable impression of a gymkhana pony. Totally unphased by balls flying around her head. Smem can't get quite low enough to pick up the ball off the floor but I think if she tried it on a smaller horse to get the knack, she'd soon be able to do it on Zorya too. There was a lot of walking and passing the ball down the line, then doing the same at a trot.

Her friend's pony, Ramin, is great at it of course (he's good at nearly everything he does and is very sweet natured as well). He can even canter the perfect 20 metre circle with no reins! They had a short game at the end of the practice and Smem and Cait's natural competitiveness and sporting skills were evident. Gosh those girls aren't afraid to go in for the tackle! Zorya did get a bit excited when she broke free of the defence and cantered off to score a goal. There was definitely a little buck in there! Just another thing for Smem to get involved in! She really is one of those people who wants to do everything and do it well!

I took my camera with me, hoping to get a shot of them parting company as Smem leaned down to try to get the ball but they managed to stay together. I did get some short video clips of them practising but unfortunately I can't find the USB lead for my camera so I can't download them! BOO! No photos either.

Sorry!

Monster Truck

The guys at work have started calling it 'The Monster Truck'. A slight exageration.

For the benefit of BiL down under, here's the lowdown on the new vehicle. It's a very dark green Daihatsu Fourtrak 2.8 diesel . First registered Oct 1993. Physically quite small for a 4x4 but can pull 3.5 tons same as a land rover/ range rover/discovery, which means it won't have any trouble with Ruby & Zorya in the box. It's also got 7 (yes seven) seats although the two in the very back are fold down ones and don't have seat belts.

It's basically the same as the big red bus but it hasn't had quite the same amount of work and the insides haven't been destroyed by jack russells. If it is a complete lemon, I can at least give the seats to sheila for hers.

It's done 117k miles and has 12 months MoT and seems to go ok. Nice CD player and good speaker system. Doesn't appreciate going above 50mph. Oh, and I understand that you can take the back off. It looks sound underneath, the body has a bit of surface rust in the usual places but nothing despirate and the engine seems to go OK. It looks fairly straightforward so I might get in there under the bonnet and at least attempt an oil/filter change as I understand it'll need one about every 6k. Oh, and you can get at least two spinning wheels in the back without any difficulty. It is a bit like driving around in a greenhouse cos there's so much window - which is a bit wierd. I've already invested in some rubber mats so Smem doesn't mess up the carpets.

I just need an insane collie dog now to hang out the back and frighten passers-by!

Extensive Car Collection

Here's the new addition to my extensive car collection. I've either got a real bargain or a complete lemon. But that's always the case when you buy a used car (or even a new one sometimes).

OK so the rest of the family thought I was slightly (or completely) mad in purchasing a car off e-bay but I did go to have a look at it before bidding and met the seller AND I didn't pay over the odds.

My BiL was particularly disparaging, until we got it home and he had a good look at it. Then he forewent the pleasure of going shepherding so Annie and I went instead, but he stayed by the phone just in case. The 4 wheel drive worked fine. (It runs on the road in 2 wd and you have a little gear stick to switch it when you need the extra traction. ) Even the cows liked it. A bit too much. One tried to lick it! At least it's got some mud on it now. It was a bit too clean.

Smem's already booked me to take her to a horse show on Sunday. That should mean the spotless inside gets messed up a bit. Let's hope the weather's not too wet.

All Right Now

I was waiting to post this until I was 100% sure that everything was OK. I'm afraid poor old Ruby's been having a bit of a bad time.

A week last Sunday I had been pulling Ruby's mane. She hates it and makes eversuch a fuss but I managed to do a bit without her trying to crush me. Her usual trick is to wait until you've got both arms in the air and then lean on you. If you're really unlucky you get pinned between her and the wall. Anyway, I let her into the field and she decided to go to the trough for a drink. For some inexplicable reason Zorya decided at that moment to bite her. Although Ruby's a big strong girl and Zorya's a weedy little thoroughbred, she's a bit of a wuss.

Unfortunately, in trying to escape, she managed to get one of her front legs through the gate. As she pulled away the gate followed so she panicked even more and got both legs stuck. Then she fell over with the gate on top of her. Stupidly I tried to lift the gate off and got hit in the face for my efforts (no, I didn't get kicked in the head as rumour has it!).

Luckily one of the lads from the farm came to the rescue. He was brilliant. Rushed into the barn and grabbed a rug, put it over Ruby's head and sat on her until I could get the gate off her. It weighed an absolute ton! Once she was up she was limping badly on her offside foreleg, but she obviously hurt all round. Luckily she'd only (only?) got deep tissue bruising and skinned the fronts of her legs. With a great amount of coaxing we finally got her back in the barn.

When the vet arrived, she asked if I could walk her up. I could barely get her out of the stable. She was very brave and didn't make much of a fuss at all but was obviously very sorry for herself. Ten days later and she was chasing Smem up the drive at a brisk trot!

Unsuprisingly, her scan on wednesday showed that she was not in foal. Fingers crossed for another go on Friday. I'm beginning to think she just enjoys being a lady of leisure. At this rate, she'll be foaling in December!

Zorya does seem to be a bit of a trouble-maker. If she hadn't run off, Annie would never have slipped over and Ruby would never have fallen on her and broken her ribs. And just in case you're thinking that Ruby's clumsy and a bit of a Dobbin, you should see her Team Chase! I think if Smem asked her to jump the moon she'd have a fair crack at it!

Herding Cows

I just had to nick this piccy off ra's blog (knit-tigger) just to show Tiger being useful. OK so we were out on a walk and we didn't actually need the cows to follow us but it's a lot easier than chasing round after the little darlings! He does actually herd them properly when he's out in the field and helps to move them from one place to another. He prefers sheep though. They're more his size. And they don't tend to kick if they get annoyed, unlike cows!

On a grimmer note, Tiger won't be doing any country walks in the near future as there's been an outbreak of the dreaded Foot and Mouth. It sounds as though they've brought in movement restrictions much quicker than last time, which is a blessing. Hopefully they have it contained. It'll be another few days before they work out exactly where it's come from though.

We weren't too badly affected last time, but it still made life difficult. Not nearly as difficult as it was for those that had their farms quarantined, then lost all their stock and had to make the mamoth decision on whether to give up.

My Extensive Hat Collection

I have a new addition to my extensive hat collection. A lovely navy blue (never had a blue one before) velvet riding hat. I was worried that it wouldn't go with my hacking jacket but it goes very well.

One of my colleagues was selling it on the intranet at work. I'm not a complete shopaholic but I do try to grab a bargain when I can. I admit I did pay full price for my hacking jacket, but it is a particularly good quality wool one. My stock shirt was in the sale at the saddlers and I got my boots from ebay! And they were a real bargain.

Now I just need to get a stock. Cream seems to go well but I'm toying with navy with polka dots. But what colour gloves are you supposed to wear with a navy hat?

Postprandial constitutional

Ra has been down this weekend so I decided it was only fair to avoid any equine activities in order to entertain her. The weather managed to put a stop to the show Smem was to go to so we invited her mum out for lunch to the Fox and Hounds at Harlestone. Very nice!

However, I did manage to persuade them to go for a walk after lunch. And of course Tiger came too. He's really getting into this leading lark. He walks to heel like a well-trained dog. We even broke into a trot at one point. (That includes me!) He did take exception to a motor bike but just wanted to keep his eye on it rather than running away. We had to beat a hasty retreat though when some cattle started to get just a bit too friendly!

He's not all sweetness and light though. Tiger is on short rations at the moment due to his being a little portly. This leaves him slightly ill-tempered, especially when his companions the calves are given their morning milk. Yesterday it became all too much for him and he tried to take a bite out of one of them. Fortunately Smem was on hand and managed to sound so cross with him that he let go and beat a hasty retreat. He's a quick learner. Hopefully he won't do it again.

There's a Tiger on the loose!

Anyone would think butter wouldn't melt in his mouth.

Apparently the little love made a bid for freedom at the weekend and legged it down the road before anyone spotted he was missing. Fortunately Annie was driving home and spotted him making a bee-line for the well-kept borders of the Rectory garden!

He has a fair turn of speed when he feels like it and although Smem runs for her school she couldn't keep up with him. This may be due to the fact that he had his hooves trimmed on Monday, making him very fleet of foot. How the farrier manages is beyond me. Put it this way, I wouldn't bend down anywhere near him if I could help it! Apparently he was behaving a bit coltishly and Zorya took a very dim view. Phil the Farrier has no problems, being strong, he can just hold on until Tiger stops mucking about.

Not such good news today on the Ruby front. Another scan. The bad news, she wasn't in foal. The good news, she's about to come into season and has plenty of eggs. Hopefully there'll be just the one this time. Fingers crossed for her next scan on Friday. She doesn't seem at all phased by all this and is enjoying taking it easy. She had her heels clipped yesterday to make her a bit smarter but she could really do with having her mane pulled. It was Zorya's turn yesterday. She now looks lovely.

We also had a look around at the other mares and the stallions. We've definitely picked the right one. He's just soooooo gorgeous and has a lovely temperament. Smem's decided she wants to put Zorya to his half brother. Equally gorgeous, but a bit too heavy for Ruby.

Let's just keep everything crossed for the weekend.

Another tiring week

This week has absolutely flown by and although I'm incredibly tired I really feel I've achieved something at work.

I've spent the majority of each day locked in the training room with one of my colleagues and a very good trainer from our software supplier and my head's totally spinning. I know it probably sounds quite sad but I can't wait to get back to work on Monday so I can put stuff I learned into practice.

I'm working on a big process implementation that's got to be in by the end of September and up til now I only had the vaguest idea of how we were going to achieve it. Things are getting a bit less vague but there are still gaps so there will be more in house training next week. I think my head may explode!

This week also saw my last watercolour class until the autumn. I know I'm going to miss it terribly. Not that I'm much good at it but Wednesday evenings are wonderful because I get totally immersed in what I'm doing and the rest of the world just seems to go away. Until January I'd never painted in watercolour at all. In fact I hadn't even picked up a paintbrush in anger for about 20 years! I'm pleased with how it's going but I'm still not convinced that this is the medium for me but it was the only painting class on offer! Our tutor, Mel, is great. He's not really a watercolourist either and paints mainly in acrylic or oils. I particularly like the one of Shenton Phone Box.

Aah!

Teeny tiny bit arrived by post today for teeny tiny Tiger. Thank goodness for ebay. It's a rubber snaffle with brass rings. Hopefully it will be gentle enough for his teeny tiny mouth.

I might even take the tag off it before we try it on. Hope he likes it.

Tiger's first rosette

Teeny Tiny Tiger won his first rosette yesterday. OK not so impressive as it was just at Smem’s school fete. And it was in the dog show - for obedience!

He probably only won it because, when asked what he could do, Smem thought about it for a bit then replied, “he can roll over”. And then he didn’t retaliate or run away when another competitor started barking at him, he just got down and had a roll. I don’t think she said anything specific about him rolling over on command!

He was actually there for a competition “Guess the name of the pony”. Don’t worry. No cheating was involved. They changed his name for the day. I thought “Guess the weight of the pony” would have been better. (He’s a bit chunky at the moment – we’re not allowed to use the ‘f’ word). Ra suggested “Guess the number of sweets in the pony” but I said that would be too expensive. Anyway I don’t think Tiger likes sweets.

And if you’re wondering what breed of dog Tiger is, don’t worry, you’re not going mad. He’s a miniature (very miniature) Shetland pony. He stands just 7 hands high. That's 28” at the shoulder in real money. Usual questions on people seeing Tiger for the first time are “Is he a baby?”. Response – no, he’s about 7 years old. “Will he get any bigger?”. No, he’s fully grown.

Other answers include – no, he doesn’t know he’s so little. He thinks he’s a normal sized horse. Yes, he might bite. No, he doesn’t go in the car. He travels in a horse box like any other self-respecting horse.

He was an absolute star at the fete. He got a bit excited when he saw the ponies who were there to give pony rides and tried to dig his way out of his pen but he calmed down eventually and was a little lamb when Smem took him for a walk around.

The little chap doesn’t get a great deal of human contact because his job is to look after the sheep, but it seems to make no difference (no, seriously, he herds the sheep). He can be a bit wary of people when he’s loose but as soon as you catch him he’s fine. In fact this was probably the first time he’d had a proper bridle on - he is halter trained but usually manages to go wherever he feels like when you try to lead him. The bridle was one of my ebay bargains. I got it a few months ago but hadn’t had the chance to try it out. Tiger must have had it put on and taken off about 5 times yesterday and hardly minded at all. I’m not keen on the bit though. It’s too rigid for his little cheeks. I think a snaffle would be more comfy for his tiny mouth.

Off to the tack shop for me then. These horses cost me a fortune and none of them are actually mine!

My Beautiful Courgette

(...with apologies to Hanif Kureishi).

A ring of copper tape around the pot appears to have thwarted the slug menace, or it may just be because I bought in some rufty tufty big plants rather than trying to grow from seed. The leaves are a bit prickly and probably not what my delecate little slugs are used to. First bud appeared yesterday and this sight greeted me when I went to hang out the washing this morning.

I don't think Gracie was quite as impressed as me. Which I can understand because she's not a food-orientated cat. She just likes to make sure her bowl always has something in it but that's about all in the food line. One of the benefits of having always fed her on dry cat food. She doesn't seem to recognise anything else as edible.

Not the brightest bunny in the box!

I've actually been quite productive this week. Last weekend at Woolfest I took the opportunity to spin up some Jacob fleece that's been hanging around since last year. Don't worry, it's all clean. I made the mistake of washing it all in one go and now I have a laundry basket full of the stuff and am slowly working my way through it. A couple of months ago ra lent me her new drum carder (purchased thanks to a particularly improbable Tigers win - see the Knit-Tigger blog for further details) and I carded a bit, or quite a lot if I'd been doing it by hand.

Anyway, having spun it up and plied it, on Friday night I decided to start making it into something. I had a felted duffle bag in mind. I'm a bit of a bag fiend, my obsession with them only overtaken by sunglasses this season. ra's convinced that every time I go shopping I buy a new pair of sunglasses. Actually, every time I go shopping with her I just happen to buy a new pair of sunglasses. This is not the same thing at all.

Anyway, back to the woolly bits, So I started to crochet the base, then I undid it cos it was too holey, then I started again with a shorter chain stitch. Then I undid it cos it was all crinkly (I'd increased too rapidly). Then I reduced my number of increases. Then I undid it etc etc. By Saturday morning I still had just a ball of wool. Anyway, after much deliberation and effort I now have.....

TA DA!

Yup, you guessed it. I've run out of wool. I use the words 'run out' loosely. I need to spin about three more skeins but you get the general idea. Can't wait to see what it's like when it's felted. I just hope it all behaves the same as the white wool is quite different from the grey. Yes, I know I should have done a tension square but that takes all the excitement out of it, doesn't it?

That was a week and a half!

Well, a week and one and a half days to be totally truthful. And I'm pooped!

Woolfest was F.A.B. Fab.



We took a leisurely trip up to Cockermouth on Thursday, stopping for a tasty lunch at The Highwayman at Burrow . One of the Ribble Valley Inns, it concentrates on local food. We can heartily recommend the food and the ambience. When you order your food they explain to you that it will be at least 20 minutes. So they can cook it! I had a Lancashire Hotpot absolutely stuffed with lamb/mutton. Scrummy! ra went for a duck cassoulet. The one criticism was the car park. Too small and full of Lexuses (or should that be Lexii?) but it will be bigger once all the building work's finished.


Then it was all points north to Cockermouth. With a quick detour to Priests Mill in Caldbeck for a look around the WoolClip and a cup of coffee at the cafe.



Unfortunately ra had forgotten the directions to get to the B&B and the name of the landlady. But apart from that....

Anyway, she phoned work and got some helpful Sumanoid to look on the interweb. The directions weren't brilliant but we did get the phone number - so that was helpful. Anyway, we were within spitting distance when we called only to discover we were just around the corner.

Our room at Byresteads was lovely. The place was a very tranquil barn conversion even though it was stuffed to the gills with visitors and exhibitors for Woolfest!

We had anticipated only spending the Friday at Woolfest and take the Saturday to do 'other things'. Didn't quite work out that way. We were very organised in our approach this year, starting with the animals and working our way back to the entrance. First purchase was a shetland sheepskin. I got a moorit (a lovely caramel colour) last year to go over the back of one of the sofas in my living room. I liked it so much I wanted to get another one. This year's purchase is a fawn katmoget. That's basically white with a fawn under-belly. Very pretty and oh so soft.

It was the evening's spin-in that did it. We weren't going to go back on the saturday. I was a bit disappointed not to have spent more money than I did. Then we spotted someone spinning silk caps. £2.25 each. What a bargain. How could we resist? I now have two silk caps and am trying to draught one of them in preparation for spinning. The spin-in was great fun. Not just spinners but people knitting, crocheting, just chatting, checking out different types of wheel and basically having a good time. I managed to spin up quite a bit of Jacob in preparation for (another) felted bag. It's going to take me years to use up all this fleece!

Day two was much more successful. I went a bit mad on fleece. I now have a HUGE herdwick fleece that I intend to make into a rug for my hall and some mohair that I just got cos it was interesting. This is in addition to the Lovely lustrous leicester longwool fleece I persuaded ra to go halvesies with me on the day before. And sock wool. It's a well-known fact that you can never ever ever have too much sock wool. And some naturally dyed alpaca (logwood and alum?). And three cakes of Lopi to make a felted bag. And a lovely scarf as a thank you to annie for looking after the devil cat that is Gracie. And a duffel bag pattern from Sheepfold.

Oh, and I managed to find a potential wedding dress for my mate Jane who's getting married next year. She WILL go up the aisle in knitwear if it's only a pair of kid mohair knickers! Under her wedding dress of course!

A Trying Wednesday

Started not too well trying to rouse the boy Thos from slumber. He'd got back from Wales at some ungodly hour the previous night, having been on his happy hols with some school chums after finishing their A-Levels. Not my idea of fun, miles from anywhere, no running water except the stream outside the front door and a 'bunk barn' to stay in.

He'd been tasked with helping me take Ruby for her scan. Not keen! I had to send Gracie in to get him out of bed! He was quite chipper once he'd woken up but as he'd opted for the shorts and white trainers outfit after being told he definitely wouldn't get dirty, I could hardly expect him to help me catch the horses.

Doobie was most keen to be caught. Very not normal. She's usually a complete B**** and will only deign to come in when Zoyzie's been taken away. So I just brought her up and left Zoyzie in the field. That was a mistake! Zoy went completely nuts and started chasing the sheep and threatening to jump over a wire fence so I had to run back and catch her too.

In the end Ruby went into the box like a little lamb so I didn't really need the boy's help at all.

Anyway, after much trekking across muddy fields and horse-wrestling I looked like I'd been at Glastonbury! Mud everywhere. We were 'a bit late' when we got to the stud and there was a MASSIVE queue of boxes backed up onto the road. OMG! How long were we going to have to wait for the scan? After about 10 minutes the queue started to move but no-one seemed to be driving round the back where the sign tells you to park the boxes. Wierd! People were turning their trailers round in the drive and all sorts.

Anyway, when we finally got in and round the back and the horse unloaded and in the queue for a scan (it's like a well-planned military operation), said to one of the grooms, gosh, I thought we'd have to wait a long time with the boxes backed up. Apparently what had happened was some poor soul with a very big posh box had driven down from Scotland that morning, arrived at half eight only to have his air brakes sieze as he was driving into the stud. Bummer! It had only taken the Scania man til 11:45 to fix it.

Anyway, scan-wise the bad news is that Ruby wasn't pregnant any more. The foetus had gone but there were still some residual cells left hence her laid-back-ness. She still thinks she's pregnant.
Well, we're having one last go. We should know by friday whether she's going to come back into season. So fingers crossed!

The embarrassing thing was the vet didn't even need to ask her name. When I said, "oh you've seen so much of her you recognise her" he said "well, she is quite a big girl, isn't she?".

'Course she is, she's Ruby, the biggest horse in the world!

The trials of the rest of the day and attempting to drive up the M1 (who said it had re-opened?) can wait for another day.

WOOLFEST!

Well, I've handed in my assignment. A day early. Now I've just got to finish work, deliver the cat, take the horse to have a scan, pack my bags and then......

I'm off to Woolfest! Yippee!

Thankfully ra booked us into a lovely B & B outside Cockermouth so we won't have to brave the worst of the weather.

Just got to select some suitable knitting to take, have a bit of a practice spin and decide what fleece I'm taking with me then all roads point north.

Today.....

....I have mostly been wearing the yellow hat of positivity - much to everyone else's annoyance.

Which is strange cos yellow's just not my colour!

And today didn't get off to a very good start. I was woken by coughing at midnight and managed to get back to sleep at about 4am. So when the alarm went off at 6 I just turned over and went back to sleep again. So I was late leaving home and got stuck in the village behind a Travis Perkins truck unloading stuff at a building site. Fortunately the driver unloaded one pallet then moved the truck until the traffic jam had cleared.

Now I've just got to think of a way to get the six hats into my next assignment.

Doobie's done it now!

We went to pick up Doobie from stud this evening and she's managed to wreck her headcollar too! Bloomin' horses! At least she was wearing her leather one. Goodness only knows what mischief she'd have done if it had been made of webbing! Fortunately it should be fixable. It's just a question of when.

She's got to go back to stud next wednesday for another scan. She's on about her fifth now. The vet couldn't see a foetal heartbeat today so fingers crossed that everything turns out OK or it looks like we'll have to wait til next year to try to get her in foal again. She still seems fairly laid back, which is a good sign but apart from that, it's not looking very hopeful

She was definitely ready to come home though and walked straight into the box. She's going to be really fed up next week when she has to go back and be messed about with again!

What a busy day!

I'm shattered!

Today I have mainly been taking part in horsey pursuits. And last night too. Smem was taking part in a One Day Event today somewhere in South Warwickshire so an early start was in order. We had to leave at 7:30 am. On a Sunday!

So last night, nice Auntie that I am, I offered to plait Zoyzie's mane so we could have a lie in til 6. I must say it was one of my best efforts recently. I have persuaded them to give up the rubber bands and do it properly and sew them in. Not only do they look neater but you can do them the night before without fear that one shake of the head (and believe me, this has happened) and the whole lot fly out. Unfortunately this is not a skill that is taught any more and said neice can't sew to save her life! What do they teach them at school these days? Anyway, just to show off my handiwork I thought I'd do the before and after shots.

Before. Note the flowing locks. Also note the various bits of horse apparel liberally scattered around waiting to be washed. Also bit of string holding head collar together. Zoyzie is vandal and manages to break tack with infuriating regularity. Bad Bad Horsey!








We tried many times to get a good after shot of the incredibly neat plaits. Not always altogether successfully. Apparently it was the camera misbehaving!

Eventually she was 'persuaded' into remaining in one place long enough to get a good head and neck shot. And if you're wondering why her forelock (fringey bit) wasn't plaited, no, it's not a fashion statement. According to Smem, having her forelock plaited for too long gives Zoyzie a headache so we always have to leave it until she's about to perform.

And I'm daft enough to humour her!

Anyway, today was a bit of a mixed bag one way and another. They did a lovely dressage test, the show jumping was a bit variable and after an initial hickup at the first fence, they sped around the cross country beautifully. It WAS only their second One Day Event together so we came home happy. After all, it's a steep learning curve for both of them!

Oh, and there's a new addition to the family. Minnie Mouse. Her mummy died shortly after giving birth so Smem has taken on the role. Unfortunately, she's not quite sure where milk comes from. Wellies perhaps? (That's the top of my wellie if you're wondering.) Another one to add to Smem's extensive calf collection.