HOYS

For many years I’ve been saying that I wanted to go to HOYS. Little did I know that my first trip would be as support crew for a competitor. Talk about making memories!

My goodness, the lorry park is vast. I’ve walked 8.5 miles so far. And may have bought myself some more riding tights. Got to meet the owner of the company too. I now have 8 pairs of her riding tights. She even recognised my name from the orders. Whoops!

Now snuggled up in the lorry ready for a 4am alarm. Oh how love the smell of show shine in the morning.

Uni-corn

Today is a bit of an exciting day. It’s the day the maize is harvested. As much as I love the maize, it gets so high that it nearly engulfs us when we’re riding by it.

Buddy will be pleased when he sees it’s gone. Of course he’ll be weirded out to start off with.

I didn’t get to show him today. But I drove past it a few times today. I’ve perfected the triangle between home, the yard and my dog sitting duties.

Buddy was very pleased to see Auntie Sam for his massage. He had quite a few tight spots so hopefully he’s feeling looser now. It had been a while since his last appointment.

Hopefully he’ll be nice and refreshed when I get back from my next adventure. More on that tomorrow.

Snoring symphony

This is one of my doggie charges, Flip. She’s snoring in my arms. The other doggie charge, Bailey, is snoring in the corner. I’m being treated to quite the snoring symphony! It always amazes me how much dogs actually sleep.

I’d say they’ve been supportive team mates as I worked this afternoon, but they’ve been sleeping on the job. It’s just like being at home. Except louder.

Funny how an animal snoring is cute whereas a person snoring is murder inducing. Though I have been told I have a cute snore, so make of that what you will.

Outline

So my nomadic times continue. I’m not going to lie, it felt good to be back in my own bed last night. The kittens were very happy to see me. I had a Hugo shaped water bottle this morning. This afternoon I packed another bag and headed up the road to house / dog sit for some friends.

I took the girls out for a walk across the fields. The sun was dropping behind the trees. I love the outline of the trees against the sky. It’s a beautiful feature of the low sun at this time of year.

High flyer

Back home after my trip to Birmingham. Day two of the conference didn’t disappoint. Today’s keynote speaker was Mandy Hickson.

Mandy fought hard to achieve her ambition to be a Royal Air Force pilot. She was only the second woman to fly the Tornado GR4 on the front line, amassing over thirty years experience within aviation, completing three tours of duty and 45 missions over Iraq during that time.

Talk about inspirational! Of course there were a few references to Top Gun. And yes, she’s met Tom Cruise.

Delegate

Makes a change to be in the audience. But I think it’s actually more exhausting than running the show. My little brain is full to bursting. And we’re back tomorrow.

It’s been a lot of information. It’s really true what they say ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’.

I’m still very new in my entrepreneurial journey. It’s interesting hearing from those a few chapters (or novels) ahead of me.

I’m also not fully comfortable calling myself an entrepreneur yet. That and I can’t spell it. I’m more comfortable with business owner. But maybe that’s part of the journey too.

Condiments

I’m staying in Birmingham for a couple of night. I’m here for a conference. As a delegate rather than working. So that’ll be a novelty.

I walked into the bathroom and saw these bottles. My first thought was great condiments. Now I know that’s not the collective noun for them, but I couldn’t think of a better one. It was a long journey and I think my brain was still on the M6.

Got me thinking, what it is the collective noun for them. Answers on a postcard please. I may love words but I don’t know them all.

Flappy things

Took Buddy out for a very long hack today. Nearly two hours round the beautiful countryside. I planned the route thinking it would be a wonderfully relaxing one after a bit of a stressful time.

Buddy had other ideas and decided to jump at most of the flappy things. And by flappy things, I mean the hundreds of partridges, pheasants and pigeons that are about at the moment.

We seem to go through this every year. It’s like he’s never seen a bird before. Next week, one will be able to ninja strike without issue. Hell, they could put on a musical theatre production in the hedge and he wouldn’t bat an eyelid. But today, terrifying.

Let’s just say I came back like James Bond’s martini. He does make me laugh.

Slow down

We’re definitely heading towards Autumn, the slow cooker has made an appearance.

I’ve discovered that I have to put it on on a day that I’m not going to be in the house. Otherwise the smell is too enticing. But it’s really good to come home to.

There’ll be a few portions in the freezer tomorrow. I may be culinarily challenged, but this counts as proper cooking in my book.

And no injuries. Hurrah!

Iridescent

The sun was so weird today. It was really hazy. It looked like an LED light in the sky.

It was eerily quiet as well. That was actually good. I woke up I’m determined mood and ticked so many things off my list. After a few down days, today was a very productive one.