First cut

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Grass

Here it comes again, the season for grass cutting begins and I've only got a small petrol hover mower serviceable at the moment. I knew the battery was playing up on the lawn tractor so I gave it a good charge and plugged it back into aforementioned grass cutting implement and, with fingers crossed I turned the key. Cough, splutter, hic and .......nothing, it would appear more than a quick charge is required. It's not a good time of year to book your lawn mower in for a service with your friendly local lawn mower service man, what with the grass just starting to go and all. I have found this out to my cost on more than one occasion so you would think that I would have learnt my lesson by now. Each year you know that first cut is coming and you need to check your equipment(always check the state of your equipment before embarking on any endevour), and yet each year I get caught out. So it is I will spend the next two to three weeks pushing my hover mower up and down, up and down taking double the amount of time to cut the grass than is usual. Oh well, on with the headphones and plug in those grass cutting blues, 'my lawn tractor done gone and left me and while my hover does its best, it ain't no match for a 38inch cutting deck, I got those can't get enough of them grass cutting blues......yea'
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Feel The Pain, or No Pain No Gain.

Feeling the pain today in so many ways. Firstly my car goes in for the rear discs and pads on Friday gone, its a LandRover so thats going to cost a few bob, then on Sunday as we make our way up to Glasgow four warning lights come on all about ABS, traction control and hill descent. I drop in to the garage again this morning for diagnostics and guess what.....a wheel bearing has gone on the front right side. Once again being a LandRover that ain't gonna be cheap, you need to replace the whole hub with the sensors not just a simple bearing (financial pain). Next up, I am fixing up the greenhouse after the winter storms. A few panes of glass to replace and one to cut to size. You can see where this is going right! even though the large panes are ready cut they still have fairly sharp sides and in the course of manipulating them into place I receive a nick or two, ouch!(physical pain). Just before lunch the Memsahib calls me, 'where am I' , B&Q getting some clips to hold the greenhouse glass in, back in 15mins. When I get in the memsahib is propped up on the kitchen sofa with a hot water bottle and a tale of woe, or should that be Whoa? It transpires that in the course of her morning hack with a friend they encountered a donkey in a field, apparently, horses as a general rule don't get on with donkeys and Luce decides to kick up a bit. Now the memsahib so far has had a couple of  exciting times on horseback with Luce dancing around a bit under her, and she has availed herself well,  but this time it all got a bit much. Luce starts to spin around in circles and dancing from foot to foot getting faster in the spin and eventually the memsahib is unseated. Ouch! thrown roughly to the tarmac, one sore neck, elbow and groin, lucky she had a safety hat on. (physical pain) She managed to get up and back on the horse. Finished the hack and cleaned out the stable before feeling a bit weak and wobbly and so came home for something to eat, a cup of tea and some sympathy. Not having ridden for 20 years it is a steep learning curve that the memsahib has embarked on. I only hope being thrown off has not dampened her enthusiasm. I feel slightly guilty as it is I who has been encouraging her in this latest venture and now she is hurt (emotional pain). We will see how she is feeling tomorrow, being fit has helped her and I'm sure she will recover quickly.

I Love Lucy

What a glorious day it is today, the sun is shining and it is starting to display a bit of warmth as well. It's our turn to go and deal with Luce the horse today, she needs breakfast, mucked out and she could do with some exercise as it's been along winter in the stables. The only problem is we have not got a clue how to put the bridle on, my god they look really complicated before they are on the horse, with straps and buckles all over the place. To add even more to it this bridle has a 'Martingale ' fitted with it to stop the horse lifting its head and I believe to assist with braking, 'Whoa there'. Well having received some assistance from Joyce, who owns the stable, we finally have Luce all tacked up and ready to go. It was supposed to be just a gentle walk around the school area but another girl turned up and offered the Memsahib the chance to go out for a hack with her, yippee thinks the Memsahib and of they trot, literally. Two hours later they return and Luce is knackered and sweating, looks like a sustained exercise programme is in order for our Luce. Having had a late night the night before I suspect both the Memsahib and Luce will sleep like logs tonight after todays events

Brooke Bond and The Memsahib at The Pink Ribbon Ball 2011

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Pink Ribbon Ball 18th March 2011

This evening saw the 9th Pink Ribbon Ball, an evening of  dressing up,drinking, dining, dancing and charity auctions all to raise funds for the breast cancer ward at Crosshouse hospital in Kilmarnock. This is our third outing to this event and once again a thoroughly good night was had by all. A group of us got together to bid for a wonderful day trip on a 42 foot catamaran called 'Duellist' including a trip from Largs to Tobermoray on Mull for a champagne lunch, and then return to Largs Marina, lets hope for some good weather on that day or our sea legs (or lack of) could get a thorough testing. This is my second year wearing a proper bow tie. What a tricksie little devil it is to do up as well, it took forever again whilst inducing cramp in both inner elbows (I kid you not), the final result, I feel compelled to say, was more Brooke Bond than James Bond but then the Memsahib has always liked her tea so thats alright then. It was also son number 1's 19th birthday today, happy birthday Spud. He was off out with his girly and friends, first for nice meal with his lady and then out to the pub with their friends. As an aside, whilst writing this blog today I am listening to The Allman Brothers Band - Brothers and Sisters from 1973, what a cracker of an album.

Another Milestone

Another milestone event was achieved yesterday by son number 2 upon successful completion of his driving theory test. How he passed I will never know, as only the night before he was asking me 'where are the study materials for the theory test Dad?' WTF! He apparently had not even looked at the books or DVD that we had bought for him. His plan was to cram the night before. My answer did not meet with his approval or his plan as I advised him that I had placed them in his room several weeks earlier. As you may be aware a teenage boys room can be...how shall we say, a complete and utter tip and so any attempt at finding the aforementioned study materials in his room was, I fear, futile. In the end he had to resort to desperate measures and call upon the assistance of a friend. He had to pay for his pal to drive up to our house (fuel is extortionately priced these days and teenage boys are not overly flush with readies, and besides he was doing our lad a huge favour) and then the two of them studied together (again, a huge favour by a true friend) until the wee small hours. Well certainly until after we had gone to bed anyway. So, one night of cramming and he passes his theory test, the jammie little beggar.
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