Developments

As Alfama's belly waxes like the harvest moon, so our preparations are gearing up for the blessed event. Largely this involves significant expenditure on the acquisition of CCTV equipment and other bits and bobs. Some 600m of coax cable, a base unit with video capture card, several cameras and related accoutrements suitably purloined, we were nevertheless missing some female BNC connectors which necessitated a trip into Maidstone for me this morning. I was feeling rather "sub-optimal" as it was and very much dislike driving around Maidstone town centre what with its baffling one way system, the perennial difficulty in finding a parking space near to where you want to get to and general Maidstoneyness. Put simply, it's a skankfest. Add to this a throbbing head and a bladder best described as "turgid", and it rapidly became an exercise in irritation. Still, said connectors were acquired and I hoofed it home with no idea of the time since the battery on the car died, the clock has not been reset and I didn't have my Berry with me, but with a growing sense of urgency as I thought I was due a lesson with Mandy at 1.30.

Got home at 12:30 to find the boys had arrived (that is, the boys who work with Pheel; our boys had been there all along) to fence off part of the mares' field which, in the fullness of time, is going to be covered with an all weather surface and adjoins to the picadeiro, giving them an all weather turnout area that attaches to their shelter, but also gives on to their grazing via another gate and thus allowing for all combinations of circumstances. We must be getting on for 15 gates now - erk. Made them a cup of tea and rushed to get changed and start on Q who, having been out naked for the morning had fully availed himself of the ability to roll and roll and roll, and was thus a complete horror to groom. Made it into the arena with 20mins before lesson, very quick lunge to make sure he was ok with the chainsaw and general banging going on nearby, then rode. And rode, and rode, and thought "hmm, not like Mandy to be late". Upon re-checking our text conversation, it transpired that we'd arranged a 4.30 lesson for today and the 1.30 one was for tomorrow. Gah! So we convene tomorrow.

Meanwhile Sid and Knickers were cabling up Alfama's stable with the camera and accompanying hundred metres of cabling back to the junction box in the feed room. There was soldering and crimping to do so it took some time: tomorrow will be cabling back to the house. I took T down the field to hand graze him for a while, which was nice and he was surprisingly good, confining himself to a range of Timotei moments to express his irritation at not being allowed to run free. We stood for a while at the bottom of his paddock, watching one of the adjoining mares in a lofty, flirty trot across the field. He stood nickering at her with his neck pumped up and looked absolutely glorious.

I also redid the electric fence once the boys had finished and did what I could to wrestle with the telegraph poles lying in the all weather area. We'll have to get them back with the telehandler to move the rest, as they are beyond our collective powers of influence. Had they arms, they will sit there with them folded, saying "non".