December already!

Here we are in December already, Christmas is only two days away! Still got presents to buy for Dad and Chris, all the other presents this year are home made. I always find it hard to buy presents for men, I don't know what they like, other than novels - and I'm too late for the Borders Books closing down sale. (that is a terrible shame)

All this beautiful powder snow just makes everything so festive, but apparently it is due to disappear by the end of the week, which means RAIN -ugh!!

The picture of my hat filled with snow above, was the result of taking the dogs for a 20 minute walk yesterday afternoon. We were all caked in snow - just fabulous, I love it. The Dartmoors were a bit bemused, especially Bazil, who was a little fresh and Maud too. They seemed a little spooked by the way familiar objects had changed shape under a blanket of snow, when I brought them in last night for their tea. The other two were cool.

Mum is taking all the family to the Pantomime on Hogmany again this year at the Kings Theatre to see Aladdin. I don't plan to take Maud to the Ne'er Day meet this year, in fact I don't have much planned for the holidays other than doing "stuff" which really ought to be done!

Merry Christmas & best wishes for New Year 2010

xxx

MAUD IS A STAR ONCE AGAIN!

Maud was out on loan during October, with the Clark Family in Inverkip. They required a pony for their grand daughter to help improve her riding abilities during the half term holidays.

Maud had a brilliant time, being ridden through wonderful estate lands by the beech, and having Ted, a large Irish hunter for company. The Clark's reported back that she was brilliant and that the whole family had fallen in love with her - that is the best news for me, she did the job she was asked to and did it well.

I actually popped down to visit Maud one morning at 8am to ride out with Ted. Although it rained, both Maud and I had a brilliant time, and we introduced Maud to the seaside. She was cool and curious to begin with but then she had a bit of a fright as the waves started to hit the shore - a ship had gone past a while before and this was the remainder of it's wash - she scooted up the beech as if the devil was after her. Once she had calmed down, I turned her away from the sea and we rode off through the woods for home.

I collected Maud two weeks ago, she managed to loose a shoe the night before and was very lame. It turned out that she had two abscesses in her front off fore hoof! How did she manage that? Anyway, a couple of visits from the blacksmith, a week of wet and dry poultices and soaking the hoof in Epsom salts, she is sound, shod and ready to roll once more.

Other than Maud. The dogs have recovered from kennel cough which they caught whilst I was in Oban at the MOD. Old chook seems to be surviving this wet and windy weather and I still haven't got her a companion yet. Coriander has been rugged for about a month, and Ruth & Bazil constantly look miserable in this incessant rain, but they are fine.

The Royal National MOD - Oban 2009

Spike Media won the job of filming behind the scenes of this years Royal National Mod in Oban (9th to 17th October) through DaDa Events for An Comunn Gaidhealach. Our remit was to make short video clips of the event and put them up onto the Internet as quickly as possible during the week and to produce a promotional video, which Chris is now editing.

We had the most fantastic week, although the working day was very long, the weather was superb. ( it only drizzled with rain on Wednesday late afternoon / evening.) We met lots of warm, friendly people, and Oban not being too large a town, we met the same people over again. Donnie "Large" and his Californian troop must have been really tired of seeing us round every corner!

We heard beautiful Gaelic music and singing during the daytime competitions, and again in the evenings and also whilst walking along the streets. What a wonderful sound, and rather haunting at times.

Our over all impression of the what the MOD is all about is basically meeting people, partying and enjoying each others company for a week. The competitions are important, but by the evening the pressure is off and people relax and enjoy themselves by entertaining or being entertained by singers and musicians. Lots of dancing too.

Each day, Chris and I made time for an ice cream!

I enjoyed the Children's Mod, held at the beginning of the week. The talent of these young people is just amazing, whether they were singing, playing an instrument, or reciting poetry, the standard was so high.

One o'clock on Friday night or should I say Saturday morning, we were given permission to film Skerryvore at Skipinnish. I wished I wasn't working as I love dancing, but to honest, it was so late, well past my bedtime that I did have a bit of a sense of humour failure...oops. But the music these guys make it just brilliant and I am glad I heard some of their set.

The choirs gathering at the Corran Halls on Saturday morning made my spine tingle when they all started to sing, and I noticed a journalist standing next to me was unable to take any pictures as she was reduced to tears with the sheer emotion of the sound they were making. Honestly, it was extremely emotional.

We both had a great week and the help and support given by both An Comunn Gaidealach & BBC Alba staff was really appreciated. Thank you.

Thanks also to Angus at Skipinnish and to Daniel, Martin and the boys of Skerryvore for problem free filming and their patience.

OOPS! I've had a bit of a smashing time ...

I haven't put up a blog for a long time once again!

In August, Chris's cousin was over from Australia with her husband Matt for her Father's funeral. They were in Britain for several weeks, infact, they have just arrived back home, but they came to stay at Tandlehill for a night. So you can imagine the panic I was in to clean the house and that is when I managed to drop a heavy glass bottomed bottle of room freshener into the bathroom baison and create such damage!





Still in unlucky mode - my Bullseye wellies need replaced. They have lasted about 5 years, but there is now a hole were the rubber has disintergrated and also the soles are so thin they are dangerous and I can feel every lump and bump I walk across.

Chris's birthday was at the beginning of September. Not an important birthday - that was last year. No "away day" this year, due to lack of funds. However our friends Duncan & Caroline invited us to spend the weekend with them in their caravan in Tayvalloch. It was a double celebration, as it was their 10th Wedding Anniversary.

I have taken up the Blue Chip Challenge with Corrie. After 40 days on their product - Dynamic, I should see a marked improvement in her mobility. She is an old horse, and is becoming rather stiff in her neck and legs, so we'll see if this product does make a difference or whether it is just marketing hype.


I broke a tooth the other week, so I'm booked into the dentist next week to have it re-built using the expensive white stuff. I didn't go for the cheaper option, because that involved putting in pins etc and I would like to hold onto the real tooth for as long as possible, which I don't think I would achieve with the old fashioned metal + pin filling.

Still slogging away, trying to learn html and css and unfortunately, I've managed to mess up this page and loose a photo of Corrie. Ah well, practise makes perfect!

Another month has passed.

I have decided that it was time to update my personal website, as the site that is up at the moment is well out of date. I built the last one in Flash, which took me over a year to do!! But this time I am going to build it using html, and Oh, I'm in trouble there. Learning html is like learning a foreign language and I have always been a bit rubbish at that, but I'm determined. As usual, I have designed the pages for my new site in photoshop, and now have to figure out how they will look in html - not forgetting css!!!

This morning, although it was a beautiful morning, there was a sharpness in the air that said Autumn is on it's way. I never understand why the English always call August summer time, as it is the first month of Autumn. Never mind, the colours all around are gradually changing to burnt oranges and reds and I'm keeping an eye on my log pile! (Chris keeps putting on the fire, delighted that the wood is free. But I keep thinking Oi, wait until it gets cold before you burn away all the logs.)

I joined twitter the other week to help me understand what that is all about. I'm still not quiet clear of the concept, but a web guru suggested the only way to learn about it was to join - which i did. I dutifully put up a sentence or two each day, but i have to say, it has led me onto some interesting blogs - so the pain has been worth it - but it is a terrible time waster!

Now for an update on my animals. Maud is looking trim and in good nick. She had scratched huge holes in her coat whilst she was in her six week confinement and looked very scrappy, but with liberal doses of Skin So Soft rubbed into all her bald patches each day, her coat has grown in really quickly and looks perfect. The down side to laminitis is that both she and Ruth are in the starvation paddock, and they are both grumpy as hell. Two mares in a huff!

Ruth is loosing weight slowly, but she is looking really good. I had planned to take her to North Ayrshire Riding Club show this Saturday, but I have run out of money. But I do plan to take her - I think it will be her - to Strathendrick RC Show in September, which is always the last show of MY season.

Oh, Bazil did a bunk out of the starvation paddock and is with Corrie. He is fat, rude and suffering sweet itch. Gosh, my beautiful boy looks awful. But I'm slapping on the skin so soft and it is making a difference where he has rubbed away big patches of his coat round his bum, but it will take a lot longer for his main to recover. (It is sad that he has rubbed away his main as the locals always referred to him as "the one with the hair!")

Corrie's bruised sole turned out to be a rather nasty abscess. So for weeks I had been soaking her leg in warm water and Epsom salts to draw away the infection. She is sound again, but like the others, she requires the blacksmith to check her out. On the other hand, her lameness gave me the opportunity to practise my horse handling / whispering skills that I learned from one of Kelly Marks books on catching a horse that didn't want to be caught. Trying to join up with a large horse in a 12 acre field is not funny, but because she was very lame with the abscess, she couldn't run too far away. Brilliant - it works & now she lets me wander up to her with head collars and ropes, put them on her, walk her around, faff about with her and she doesn't "bugger off" using all her strength to get away from me like she used to. Brill, brill, brill!

Old chook is still alive and laying. She seems happy enough being on her own, but I think I'd better get her a friend before the winter comes as they will help keep each other warm.

The dogs are fine. Fleur had the runs big time a few weeks ago due to eating nasty things at my mother's house and did require to go to the vet for some medicine, but with in a few days she was back to her happy laughing self. Took Imogen and Fleur to Fennick Agricultural show last weekend at Rowallan to the doggie show. Wow, what a lot of screaming kids and barking dogs that my two were completely bemused by the whole affair. I entered them into three classes - the dog the judge would like to take home - he didn't want either of my two, - the prettiest bitch - he didn't have an opinion about my two, - and finally in the pedigree working dog, including terriers - again the judge didn't think much of my guys, and we went home. Showing dogs is like showing horses, it is definitely a dark art. All the dogs i thought the judge would pick he didn't. He did seem to have a passion for obese Labradors though, so i eventually got some of the dogs in the line up correct, but I wouldn't place a bet in this sport! My guys hated their day out and were thrilled to be back home and running in the fields, hunting bunnies and mice.

July 2009 - summer is here!

Gosh, it has been warm over the past few weeks. I've spent time in the garden, just weeding, cutting the grass and dead heading the roses. After work, I've been taking the dogs down to the river to cool off, as any length of walk completely knackers them, so it is a bit unfair to ask them to do too much.

We spent a week in the Cotswolds at the beginning of July - only a week or so ago, and passed thru' some beautiful towns and villages. All the gardens were in full flower, everywhere was just picture post card perfect. Wow, was it warm1 the temperature that week rose from 28 to 32 degrees, so as you can imagine the dogs were a bit stressed, which was a shame as there were miles and miles of footpaths to walk and places to explore. So we ended up just driving about in the car all day with the air conditioning on. In the evenings we Bar-B-Qued in the garden of our rented cottage and drank wine till the sun disappeared.

On the home front: Maud has laminitis. Corrie has bruised sole, which is making her exceedingly lame. Ruth and Bazil are overweight. All require the blacksmith. Corrie also requires the dentist. The dogs require more Metacam, and I have no money! As you can imagine, I'm panicking and doing allot of crying ... but that gets you nowhere. I'll just have to toughen up and get on with it.

Horses & Politics

I've had a bit of an exciting week!

On Tuesday, we at Spike Media went to film the Socialist labour Party European Election Broadcast, which is always a pleasant job to do. We had a very tight deadline, which so far, with my nerves intact and only just, we have met, but we have used SO many tapes and couriers etc, I just hope people will vote on the 4th, especially women.

I have to say, the people we deal with in the Socialist Labour Party are delightful, and once again the weather was fantastic, which makes filming pick up shots easier. The sandwiches and cakes at the end of the day are always a bonus, so thank you Louise for organising that. A big thank you also to Ricky Tomlinson for giving us a copy of his autobiography, called "Ricky", a generous gesture and appreciated.

Sunday was a day off from editing politics, and I went with my friend Jacqui to Glenbrae Riding Club Open Show. I spent Saturday night plating and making Mum's horse Bombay look wonderful, cleaning tack - again! And generally trying to get my act together for an early start in the morning.

The sun shone all day for us, and the horses coats gleamed. All was well. I had entered two classes, Riding Club Horse and Riding Horse. Eventually, when I was tacked up and ready to go, I felt the Bombay getting a bit excited, but didn't think any more of it as he hadn't been out and about for a while. Got into the ring, and I could feel him coil up like a spring underneath me. I did think a smack on the bottom would settle him, but I also thought I could end up in the next county, so decided just to try and ride him out of this mood - he was exceedingly agitated. The photo above was taken a few seconds before he blew up and chucked me off!

The only excuse I can think of for Bombay's behaviour, which was totally out of character, was that he was reacting badly to pollen or whatever. He has an allergy problem which is exacerbated at this time of year.

Anyway, I didn't get back on board, as I thought he would repeat the performance and I had injured my shoulder when I landed on it. And to be truthful, I was a little shaken.

Jacqui and Annabel Lea had a wonderful day. They were placed first in the Veteran In hand class and forth in the Ridden class, which means they qualify for the Veteran's - whatever! Qualifying for the veteran's was he reason we were there in the first place. Annabel is 23 years old and looks much younger and her zest for life and work has not diminished.

Back to the PEBs, most of the English and the Welsh versions are being broadcast tonight. - Don't forget to vote on the 4th June!!

Bank Holiday Weekend

It's a hard life!

English Bull Terriers - What are they like! Fleur joining us for a coffee break on Sunday morning! She obliviously needed a rest after working so hard with the horses all morning - she should try doing some work instead of being under my feet all the time. Anyway, she made me laugh!

On bank holiday Monday, Jacqui and I went to Easterton Spring Show. I had planed to take Mum's horse, but I discovered on Sunday evening when I went to "pretty him up" and plat his mane, that he had lost a shoe! (Second time in two weeks!) So I rushed back to M&D's and dragged Ruth out of the field, washed and brushed her and left her in the stable over night for the show in the morning.

Ruthie has not been worked since July two years ago, as she was away being covered last summer. Well, what a wee star she was. She did a really good show for the judge, of which I'm really proud of her, she moved well and stood still! (Ruth is such a fidget.) She was place first! Okay, there were only two entries in the Registered M&M class, but she was placed ahead of a welsh section A pony - that is SO unusual to have a Dartmoor ahead of any shape of Welsh Mountain pony. I'm just thrilled to bits that she did so well, and I mean with her manners and performance. Is she a contender for Border Union DPS star show this year?

Jacqui and Annabel Lee did very well in the Veteran Horse classes again this year, both in-hand and ridden, and were reserve champions. Annabel was a little stiff in her off front shoulder, but that didn't seem to interfere with her performance. As usual, Jacqui had her turned out beautifully and the horse looked stunning.

NO FOAL THIS YEAR!!

What can I say other than I'm desperately disappointed.

The other bad news today is that it is going to cost a fortune to have Bazil castrated, as he has a retained testicle.

Ah well, at least he sun is shining, and I'll be able to do some work in my garden this evening.

Ruth's 8th Birthday

This is a picture I took of Ruth this morning, her eighth Birthday.

She is supposed to be in foal and is now past her due date. When I started to bring her in at night eight weeks ago, and took off her rug, she looked decidedly un-pregnat to me, but I convinced myself that I saw and felt something move, and have continued to convince myself that she is carrying a small filly foal. But now, I'm sure she is not pregnant and has reabsorbed the foetus and I'm having sleepless nights. So today I'll ask the vet to scan her so that I know for sure that there is nothing there and I'm feeding her high protein feeding for nothing - she is fat enough as it is!

The past two months have had some ups and downs. Christopher's Mother died in March, which was a bit of a shock. And the following week, we went to a lovely wedding at a fabulous location near Harrogate. We attended a couple of comedy nights during the Glasgow Comedy Festival, Ross Noble was not so good, in fact I fell asleep, but the Benefit gig we went to with Frankie Boyle and a young chap from Banff, was very funny. My sister had a big family party on Easter Sunday, which was good fun and the weather was fantastic. She had organised an Easter Egg Hunt, and I managed to find three eggs, which I kept!

With the good weather, my garden is screaming for attention, so I have been busy cutting the grass once a week and have made a start on clearing the flower beds of dead stuff and weeds - such a chore, but it HAS to be done.

Just pottering about - that's what I do best.

Yipeeee .... I love snow!

I just love the snow!

On Monday after work, what a brilliant time the dogs and I had sledging at Tandlehill. Fleur was SO excited by the whole experience and Imogen was as usual bemused. We had about 4 to 5 inches of powder snow, which was lovely to fall of the sledge into, so no sore bottoms / faces or what ever! GREAT.

These pictures were taken after 9.30pm on Wednesday night. I couldn't resist going out again to sledge. This time the dogs were not so keen to join me on the sledge - as you can guess by the look of fear on Imogen's face! Fleur just wouldn't entertain it at all, but was just as excited. She was however, exceedingly useful as she insisted on carrying the sledge back up the hill - got her well trained - until she decided to run off with the sledge and snap off the front of it! English Bull Terriers - what can I say?

It has been quite a good week really. I got my "new to me" alfa back on Friday afternoon. Just waiting for a nylon thingy for a bolt and my radio to be repaired and that should be the end of the car saga after over three months!

Well it is Friday lunchtime and at the moment I'm still smiling and the snow is still on the ground. To be truthful, I don't want anymore snow this weekend, as last Sunday was the first time since before Christmas that I managed to ride Bombay. At the end of this month, I have entered him into a Riding Club dressage test again. Not entering Maud this time - too much work for a few minutes performing. Yes, okay, pure laziness.

HAPPY NEW YEAR & BEST WISHES FOR 2009!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Once again this year, Mum took all of us to the pantomime at the Kings Theatre in Glasgow on Hogmany. The cast this year were brilliant, Gerard Kelly has definitely found his calling, although I guess he has been watching too many Francie & Josie DVDs as he is slowly morphing into Rikki Fulton!

My nieces and nephew joined in the singing and dancing with gusto, in fact we all did apart from Dad! No surprises there then! After the show we went to the ground floor of the Rotunda for dinner, which was okay, the food wasn't that brilliant in my opinion, and got home in time for the bells.

Ne'er Day was spent at Gateside. The weather was very, very cold. A hard frost for several days ensured the ground was rock hard and so there was no hunting. However the hounds were there and the committee served tea & coffee, sausage rolls and cake in the village hall. The street was very busy with people. I think those who would have hunted that day came on foot instead.

I took little Maud to the meet - I guessed the hunt would be cancelled, but to continue her education, I wanted her there to be surround by hounds, people an little kiddies coming up from all angles to pat her. AS USUAL SHE BEHAVED PERFECTLY! I took her out round the roads for a hack and met no one, which surprised me - they must have all gone to the pub! After her hack, I put Maud back into the horse box, gave her a drink of water and a full hay net and went in to join the lunch party at Mrs Knox's.

The family all met up again at the Goldie's on the 4th January for lunch. It was great to see the other side of the family and the new additions - Fergus and Lucy. Although that was only last week, it seems such a long time ago.

Bombay is still a bit lame, or rather being very cautious of the "sore" leg. I haven't ridden him since before Christmas and am beginning to get withdrawal symptoms. Although I did ride Maud nearly every day over Christmas.

The holiday break was fantastic but too boring to tell!