Maiden voyage

Buddy had his maiden voyage in the new Buddymobile (or Toby Truck to his friends). We headed over to Easton College for their arena hire to pop a few jumps.

I tried loaded him on Sunday when he’d walked straight on. And christened it! But this is Buddy, so anything could happen. He walked straight on again and started munching his haynet.

He travelled well. It’s weird cause after my little lorry where I can feel him moving about, in the new one, I could almost forget he’s there!

I’m starting to get used to it. I found the windscreen wipers. I found most of the gears at the right time. I still find it massive compared to my old lorry. And I’m still ‘Driving Miss Daisy’.

Thankfully we were much faster round the jumps.

I was so busy concentrating that I totally forgot to take a photo of him onboard. So here’s a photo of him happily munching away when we got back.

Flies

I decided to stay at my Dad’s last night as I didn’t fancy the joys of the M25 on a Friday evening. Instead, I had the joys of the M25 in heavy rain instead. Can’t win them all. At least it was moving pretty well and I had a good run through.

Stopped at Birchanger Services for a ‘comfort’ break for us both. Ended up being just Bert who relieved himself as the queue for the ladies was well out the door. It was packed in the services. Stopped at another services and it was the same – packed!

By contrast, it was lovely to take Buddy out. So quiet and peaceful. Hardly saw a soul. Well unless you count the flies and horseflies. They were everywhere!

Do horseflies have souls? There were a few more dead ones after they tried to bite me or Buddy. My poor boy took the brunt of it. Even after I covered him in flyspray. He looked like the character from Charlie Brown with the flies round his head. I always thought that was Linus, but apparently his name was Pig Pen. Can’t say I remember that at all.

Rear view

The Upgrade has had an upgrade. And so has Bert. He’s getting too big to be on the front seat next to me. Bless him, I keep hitting him in the head when I change gear. The Upgrade has a much bigger boot than the Comedy Car, so it’s time for Bert to graduate to the rear.

In order to do that, I had to get a dog guard fitted. Ordered a posh boot liner too. The dog guard said it was easy to fit. No tools needed. 10 mins max. My arse!! Whoever wrote that was very optimistic to say the least.

I started last night. After much huffing and puffing, I got the boot liner to fit, so I started on the dog guard. It took me 20 mins and a screwdriver to do step 1. So before I threw the bloody thing on the floor, I quit.

Today saw Round 2. I looked liked I’ve been in a wrestling match by the time I’d finished. Honestly, I needed about 5 hands to sort it. And a hammer! There may have been a bit more huffing and puffing. There was definitely a lot of swearing!

Still I got it secured in the end. Let’s see if Bert actually goes in there now. Thankfully I have years loading horses, there must be similarities. Right?! Fingers crossed he enjoys the rear view…

Moving feast

I had a bit of a food fail today. I had to do a day trip to Birmingham to do a site visit for a conference I’m working on. I wasn’t hungry on my way there, so didn’t bother stopping. On the way back, I thought I’d treat myself to an M&S Best Prawn Sandwich. It’s a bit of a guilty pleasure.

Played Russian roulette with my fuel gauge but made it to the BP in Kettering. Once the Comedy Car was refuelled, I headed into the M&S food bit to refuel me. Not a single sandwich, wrap or roll to be seen!!

Apparently the delivery lorry broke down. By this point it was 4:30pm and I was really hungry. So had to make do with a finger buffet instead. Slightly eclectic mix, but it was slim pickings. And what I had was so good (even if it was meant to be heated).

Miles and miles

Well I’m back home after another mammoth weekend. Not sure how many miles I’ve done. Quite honestly, I’m too tired to work it out. Thankfully the M25 was very kind to me today as I headed home.

It was smooth sailing all the way back. Unlike my hair, which looked like I’d been dragged through a hedge. I was back to windows open and being buffeted after the joys of AC yesterday.

Still the kittens were pleased to see me. As you can see they were very keen to leave their sunbathing to say hello!

Staying the extra night meant I got to see Mum again before I left. She’s not doing great so grateful to have been able to see her.

Camellia

This is such a welcome sign to me. Spring is on the way when my camellia starts to pop. Always makes me smile. It’s smothered in buds, so hoping for a good show.

It’s funny how we use flowers as indicators of the seasons. The minute the snowdrops arrive, I know we’ve broken the back of winter.

Not that I’m wishing my life away of course. There was lots of holiday talk at the Chiro’s today. I joked that others are jetting off to exotic climes and I get to look at the National Geographic magazines.

My turn will come again I’m sure. I’ve been very fortunate to have travelled a lot in my life. I can feel the Wanderlust stirring.

At least I know I’ve got a few horsey holidays in the diary. They’re like a relaxing holiday, only with more sweating. And I’m not just talking about Buddy.

Car trouble

Well this isn’t how I thought I’d spend my Friday. Sat at Birchanger Services waiting for a recovery vehicle. The Comedy Car is poorly. And I’m rather fed up after 3.5 hours of waiting so far.

At least I have access to a toilet, food and I was able to charge my phone in the Ramada hotel. The staff in there were lovely. Well I did walk in in tears.

So was the first garage I tried. Was driving down the M11 when the engine warning light came on and I lost oomph. Let’s face it, there’s not much oomph to start with. Pulled off but mechanic couldn’t sort it. So headed to Birchanger to hang out and wait for recovery. It’s going to be a long day me thinks.

I was en route to my parents for my Mum’s 80th birthday lunch tomorrow. Let’s hope I get home soon.

Leg stretch

After all of the travelling yesterday, I wanted to give Buddy a good leg stretch. I read somewhere that travelling a horse an hour is equivalent to them walking a mile.

I make sure that Buddy has plenty of road trip snacks. I imagine it’s what it must be like going anywhere with a toddler. He definitely gets hangry sometimes. I’m less good at remembering my own road trip snacks. But I’m making progress there.

For a long time, he barely ate when travelling. Now he barely stops. He can be quite forceful with his haynet. He has been known to undo it and accidentally throw it across the lorry. He’s so funny cause he just stands there starring at it.

He felt very good today. Striding out with the wind in his mane. But then it could be that he was eager to get back to his hay. He’s a typical Irish Sports Horse aka Labrador of the horse world.

Two chocs

Headed over to meet a friend for an early morning ride around Blickling. It’s fast becoming one of my favourite places to take Buddy. Another thing that could become a favourite is a National Trust hot chocolate. Oh my goodness! We both had one when we got back to warm up.

I’m so grateful to have my own transport, a horse who loads and travels well and friends to ride with.

Edinburgh

Well I made it safely over the Border! After the hiccups of my flight, it was a bit dicey whether I would. So hello Scotland!

The one thing I said I wanted to see here was the castle lit up. Mission accomplished. It was worth it too. It’s stunning.

I’ve also had my first Irn Bru. 👏🏻 And it does taste different in Scotland. Grateful I wore my duvet coat, it’s a bit fresh!

I’ve seen a lot of kilted men. Guessing that’s to do with the rugby. Missed the match, but guessed the result. There were a few rather jolly people getting on the tram at Murrayfield.

Now snuggled up in the biggest bed I’ve ever slept in! It’s huge! I shall sleep like a Queen tonight. Well I am near a castle.