Royal Wedding Wins at Fontwell
It just had to happen didn’t it!
The horse, Royal Wedding won at Fontwell at 4.1, yesterday.
A Good Class of Horse!
I’ve mentioned Vague Shot a couple of times in the last week or so, as an exmple to us all on how to cope with the current weather.
He’s actually a pure English thoroughbred, with no trace of suspect American blood. I say suspect, as because they run on drugs over there you don’t know how good they actually are!
He’s also the best and most comfortable horse I’ve ever ridden. He was no flighty horse who’d spook at a heavy lorry, but one who’d pick his way past, whilst giving the driver a stare, that said. if you touch me, your cab will be full of horse-shoe-sized holes. But no-one ever touched him.
But then he’s in that class of horse that old Suffolk horsemen say would have been good enough to fight German tanks with grenades, if they’d ever invaded in the Second World War. The Poles did it, by attacking the tank from several different directions at once. The theory was that one would get through and get a grenade on the tracks or even inside. I’ve heard from several Suffolk sources, that some were prepared to do that. They would have been a lot braver than me. But then you hear all sorts of tales, including one about burning all copies of the Geneva Convention and not abiding with its provisions. Suffolk has a lot of strong trees!
True Suffolk people may well have Iceni DNA in their genes and we all know what Boadica did to invaders.
Are We All a Load of Softies?
I’m not asking the question, by my stallion is.
Vague Shot in the Snow
Lookm at him here, with his backside into the wind. He’s 27 years old now, which is a good age for a horse, but he is still hale and hearty and he lives out most of the year. At the moment, he does come in at night, but that’s only because of the cold.
One thing, I’ve always wanted to do is put a proper camera on his head, to film what he sees in the fields. As he likes to think he’s protecting his herd, he is always watching for movement. Would the camera catch the deer, foxes and hares that pass through his field?
A Grand Muck Heap Competition
This was organuised in about 1981 or so to raise funds for the Easton Harriers.
Grand Muck Heap Competition
Feel free to copy this idea, but give any money to a suitable charity. My preference would be one supportring research into pancreatic cancer.
A Waste of Police Budget?
As I sat getting even colder on a bench in the car park eating my salmon sandwiches, nibbling at the cold salad and drinking the even colder smoothie, I noticed a large Police truck appear, which on closer inspection was a horse-box.
Police Horses at Glanford Park
As everybody knows, Ipswich Town fans have a reputation. They seem to turn up in larger numbers than most and perhaps this is why the Humberside force decided to bring in the cavalry!
But what a waste of money! Unless it was some odd method to keep the horses warm on such a cold day.
Incidentally, you don’t often see Police horses at Portman Road, because the Suffolk force doesn’t have any. And neither does Norfolk or Cambridgeshire.
But thinking back, I don’t think I actually saw the horses outside the box, so perhaps it was too cold.
A Letter and a Question in The Times
A letter in The Times today asked what is the etiquette about using a mobile phone on a horse and whether it is legal or not.
To me it’s rather stupid unless of course, you have effectively parked your horse quietly at the side of the road. Riding needs both hands a lot of the time to have proper control of the horse, so one outcome of using a phone on a horse, is that you might drop the phone. I’ve never phoned from a horse, but I did try using a camera in Kenya and it wasn’t too successful.
So using a phone, might well cause you to have to dismount, which in any case is not a good idea on a public road. Your phone may also not survive the drop in one piece!
On the question of emergencies whilst on a horse, one thing that is greatly to be desired for a man, is a widdle-proof horse. I can remember a kennel-huntsman, who spent hours with a Fairy Liquid bottle getting the Master’s horse used to water passing by his ears. The Master later said he would never buy another horse off a woman.
A Suffolk Punch at the Football
I’m not sure whether it’s ever been done before, but Easton Farm Park paraded a Suffolk Punch before the match at Ipswich against Burnley on Saturday.
A Suffolk Punch at Portman Road
He was extremely well-behaved. If Ipswich had beaten Burnley rather than drawn, he’d have had to be there every week.
Odd Uses For Products
I was reminded last night of the old true tale about Barratt’s aniseed balls being used as part of the trigger for a limpet mine. They were protected by a condom and this was then removed to allow the ball to dissolve, which then let the trigger fire. Simple and it worked very well, although some people in the Ministry though that it was wrong that part of the war effort rested on a sweet costing less than an old penny.
Last night, someone told me that a well-known luxury skin care product, is also a good fly repellent, when applied to horses. I didn’t believe it, but I did find this page. It’s about half-way down.
Anyone for Squirrel?
I always refer to squirrels as American tree rats, because of the damage they do to trees and because they chase our native and much better red squirrels away. They were one of the first American cultural imports, like burgers and baseball caps, that we can well do without!
So to see that Budgens are now selling them in Crouch End is good. As they say in Suffolk, “Make the buggers work!” That was originally said by a farmer and horse-coper called Dick Freeman, when I told him that my business partner and his wife, had been offered a local speciality in Geneva; raw donkey meat. They had been horrified as at the time, as they had had a pet one called Robin. Dick hated donkeys with a passion, as they give worms to horses.
Our housekeeper at Debach was partial to squirrel and told me that young ones were very nice if fried in a little butter.
Remember though, I am of an age, who was brought up when meat was rationed in the 1940s and early 1950s. As rabbit was off coupon and my father had a customer, who could get it, we had quite a few rabbit pies in those days.
I still like rabbit and would try squirrel in a decent restaurant. After all it’s gluten-free isn’t it?
I doubt I’ll ever go again due to my health, but on Salina in the Aeolian Islands, rabbit is the local speciality, as rabbits are wild and plentiful. The rabbit at the Hotel Signum is exquisite. It’s an ambition to go again and a goal to aspire to.
If I Could Own Just One Painting
I had come to Charing Cross, so that I could go to the National Gallery to see the Acts of Mercy paintings that used to be in the Middlesex Hospital. I’m no art expert, but they have to be seen to be believed. You might think art has no place in hospitals these days, but Addenbrookes has an extensive collection, which I think makes staff and patients feel better. Addenbrookes also marked 800 years of Cambridge University with the unvieling of a mural by Quentin Blake, showing various alumni of the University.
They also say this on their web site.
The arts have the potential to distract, amuse, enlighten and engage patients, staff and visitors. In recent years, a growing body of evidence has been compiled proving the value of the arts in healthcare settings. Earlier this year, this resulted in the Department of Health issuing its first ever review of arts in health which recognised that the arts “are, and should be firmly recognised as being, integral to health, healthcare provision and healthcare environments, including supporting staff”.
It is sad that those paintings from the Middlesex, couldn’t have been found a home in the new hospital on Euston Road.
I also had time to visit my favourite painting and the one above all others, I would own; Whistlejacket by George Stubbs. Noone has ever painted horses like Stubbs, capturing their power, feelings and character so well!
The Anonymous Widower 