Bert may have gotten a little enthusiastic with his chew and accidentally chewed four holes in my dressing gown! Guess I’ll be ordering myself a new one then.

I’m trying to work out how long I’ve had this dressing gown for. It must be at least 25 years. It’s so warm and comfortable I’ve never seen the need to replace it. Bert clearly had other ideas.

I might have spent a lot of time in it today. My get up and go seems to have wandered off again. At least I had a chilled day planned. I was very tired. I had a late night as it was Carleton’s AGM. It was lovely to catch up with everyone. Even if I was very tired.

I did leave the house to go and see Buddy. He was so funny. He totally ignored me for the first few minutes. Then he sniffed me and brought me in for a cuddle. I think he’d missed me. It felt good to be back in the saddle. I didn’t do much as he’s had a bit of time off and I was very tired.

Did I mention I was very tired?! Early night for me. Bert is snoring already. As are the kittens. I probably will be soon too…

When I was a child, my Dad used to have to go abroad on work trip. He’d sometimes bring me a present from which ever country he’d been to. He then had to go to Chicago quite regularly. He would bring me back Twinkies. I loved Twinkies.

It seems I am now passing that tradition on to Bert. There was a wonderful dog food supplier at the Conference. So I got Bert a few goodies. He was a fan! These tasty morals were gone in seconds. The supplier sells his products the dog-friendly cafes, pubs and hotels. More and more people are taking their dogs on holiday, so perfect to exhibit at a Conference full of holiday park and lodge owners. I saw lots of them walking round with samples.

Bert was very pleased to see me when I picked him up earlier. Not just cause I brought him a present. He’s had a fab time on his holidays with Uncle Harry. It’s makes all the difference knowing he’s happy while I’m away. I missed him. I think he was having too much fun to miss me.

My feet are red raw, every fibre of my being is aching and I feel like I could sleep for days. I know I’m on the adrenaline comedown from another epic Conference.

One of my tasks is to dress the room for Gala Dinner. Well not personally, we have a fab company for that. I get to make the creative choice. This year it was Cadbury’s Purple and white. The tables looked incredible. I absolutely love these centrepieces. They look like flames. A wonderful coincidence given we had bit of a Traitors theme.

I joined a lot of very tired people at breakfast. Judging from the feedback, it seems everyone had a good time last night. Or should that be a flaming good time.

It takes months of planning, countless hours, a millions and one things to organise and a mammoth effort to pull off. I’m feeling so proud to have been part of it.

Having packed my stuff up and packhorsed my way to the car, I headed back to my Dad’s this morning. My car is a lot emptier than when I came down. I’ll head back home tomorrow. I’m very tired. I feel jet lagged. But then I did work for over 20 hours yesterday. I’m looking forward to seeing all my boys. And my bed…

I know it’s very late and technically for yesterday, but I have just crawled into bed after another amazing Conference. I feel so honoured to be a part of such a mammoth event. In fact, it’s 3 events in one! This is my 4th year being involved.

I woke up at 2am playing things over in my head. Even though I knew I’d checked everything so many times, I still had those little panic. When the alarm went off at 6am, I was very tired but had things clear in my head.

Today ran pretty smoothly. Too smoothly at one point as we were very early for lunch. Few curveballs, nothing I couldn’t handle. Bit of a scramble trying to resolve a particularly thorny issue.

This evening was epic. Simon was incredible on stage. He was joined by Alan Carr. Fresh from his victory on Celebrity Traitors, he entered in his cloak and with a lantern. He was an absolutely hysterical. The Awards overran a he was having too much fun having photos with people.

My brain is mushed, my feet are wrecked, I’ve done enough steps for the month. As tired as I am, I am so proud of what’s been achieved over the past two days. It was worth the hard work seeing people’s reactions to the surprises we had in store. I will celebrate this I’m sure. Now I sleep…

It’s been rather a long day, but Conference is underway. People seem happy so far. Long may that continue. Tomorrow is the big day though.

You can tell that I’m a bit tired. I found the only thing to trip over on a very empty floor. Much to the amusement of the AV guys. I am that special that I can find the only trip hazard about.

And before you ask, yes I’d eaten. I’m very lucky to have amazing people who are looking after me. Which makes a change from me looking after everone. I’m still doing that of course.

I’ve bumped into so many people I’ve met from previous conferences. It’s so lovely that they recognise me. And are pleased to see me.

Tomorrow will be an ultra marathon. I’ve walked 12 miles today. And I didn’t leave the hotel! Let’s see what the step count is tomorrow…

It’s a good job I have a bigger car now. The Upgrade did me well. I managed to get everything I had to bring to Brighton in the car. There was a lot of tessellating going on. And there was still room for Bert. Not that I could see him! I dropped him off for his holiday on my way to my Dad’s yesterday.

Today I headed to the hotel. My home till Thursday. Unpacking the car took longer than packing it. I’d put all the heavy items on the bottom, so needed to shuffle everything around to get it on the trolley.

What didn’t fit in my car was delivered today. I’d had a few palpitations about things going astray, but I needn’t have worried. Everything arrived ready for Wednesday.

Tomorrow will be a long day, not as long as Wednesday of course. These things really do take on a life of their own after a while. I’m sure there will be something I’ve forgotten or missed. There’s usually a curveball or two.

The hotel have upgraded me to a beautiful room. I have a balcony and sea view. A very lovely touch. Not that I will spend much time in my room. So tonight I have flopped on my huge bed relaxing. Tomorrow I will be in full swan mode!

I bloody love Conference. It’s bonkers, but so much fun.

Nine years ago this gorgeous creature became mine. I can honestly say that buying him was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Together we have built a true partnership. I trust him completely (even if he does spook at a pigeon). Without him, I simply couldn’t do the things that bring me so much joy. I love him more than words. And that’s saying something for me!!

He’s made dreams come true. Did I mention I competed at Hickstead? Twice.

He’s taught me patience. 3 months of rehab for me after breaking my ankle (thanks to a terrifying carrier bag). Then an eternity waiting for Covid to do one so we could get back to the fun stuff. 5 months of rehab for him after twisting his ankle. Seriously, what is it with us and ankles?!

With him I’ve had lessons with some incredible instructors and coaches. The list is a veritable who’s who of eventers. I’ve learnt from Olympians, 5* winners and European and Workd medalists. But it’s not just about the names. I’ve been so lucky to have consistency with instructors and coaches who’ve been there all the way throughout our nine years together.

Since we’ve been together, we’ve pushed our comfort zones. The Norfolk Show. Twice. The Suffolk Show. FYI Showing is really hard. We’ve tried side-saddle. We’ve represented Carleton Riding Club. He’s taken me to BRC Qualifiers and BRC Championships.

He’s brought me closer to so many people. I’ve made lifelong friends. And a lot of them I’ve never even met! The Buddy Fan Club is strong.

We might not have achieved everything I set out to do. But we’ve done things I didn’t know were possible.

He is and always will be ‘My Absolute Diamond’. Here’s to the next year Buddy Boy. Let’s see what adventures await…

It seems we have a new water feature on the marshes behind the close. Bert and I had a very splashy walk round the fields to find considerable flooding!

I mean, I know we had a lot of rain, but this is bad! It’s very marshy and was draining into the neighbouring water meadow. But then I guess that is the point of them. They are there to catch the water. Hence the name!

Bert thought it was a lot of fun splashing through the puddles. He wasn’t so keen when he face planted through a rather large one. He tried to style it out, but we both knew.

He had time to drip dry while we waited for a group of walkers to climb the sty. I say group. There were a lot! So it took a very long time for them to negotiate it. Then there was the mud…

The poor women who’d organised the walk said they had checked it out on Thursday and it was all good. I felt for them as they tiptoed through the quagmire.

Bert was very well behaved considering the time it took. And the fact he wanted to play with his toe. He got lots of attention though.

When we got home, his equafleece went straight in the washing machine. Still it did the job as he wasn’t too wet in the end.

It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes the new lake to drain away fully. I won’t be able to check it out again till at least Friday…

Without stating the bleeding obvious, it’s rain A LOT today. Here are the things I have learnt:

• Two of my coats are not as waterproof as they once were.
• My waterproof trousers aren’t anymore either.
• The Ugrade is pretty good at going through mahoosive puddles and floods.
• People drive too fast down country lanes (I kinda knew that one).
• I got a new alert message on my phone (see previous statement about coats not being watertight).

Luckily I had some rug proofer at home. So two coats and the trousers have been washed and reproofed. Now the challenge is to dry them. And Bert’s coat from his walk.

At least, we’ve both dried out…

Christmas has arrived early Chez Langley. Sainsbury’s have Ecclefechan Tarts in!! This is a big day. And one that reminds me of my Mum. She loved an Ecclefechan Tart. Their arrival heralded that Christmas was around the corner.

Now for many years, I’d wrongly assumed that Ecclefechan was a made up name or one of those obscure villages in Yorkshire or Cornwall. Nope, it’s in Scotland. I know this as we drove past it on our way to Scone Palace Horse Trails. I was rather giggy as it was being on such an adventure. Then to spot a name I recognised. Have you ever had to try and explain why you are so excited about something when you can’t explain what it is?!

All I could come up with was ‘it’s a tart’. But I couldn’t tell you what’s in it. Not my finest moment. But it was a very fine moment indeed when I had my first Ecclefechan Tart. Many will be consumed between now and Christmas Day.