Warm.

The weather has been very pleasant today. Lots of interesting cloud shapes with a mild wind that made it feel like a summer's day.

This morning I was back to riding Margaret which made a nice change. (15.1hh) Cadno, bless him is a wonderful schoolmaster but he does make me work hard with my legs. Margaret at 4 years old (or she might be 5 by now) is a relative baby, very supple and quite bouncy. Her biggest issue today was not keeping straight when moving in a straight line but she was excellent for most of the tasks we were given which included shallow loops (serpentines) and bending to the outside instead of the inside. When we were asked to go into sitting trot she made it easy for me by doing an almost collected trot whilst on the bit and still light on the reins, think slow motion with a nice round neck. I am pleased with my progress in that I stayed in sitting trot for the whole time even though we were told that we could go back to rising trot for a bit if we needed. It's a good thing we didn't do any canter work because I know that's when Margaret and I don't do so well.

Afterwards I did the usual round of shops and a walk around town. I was going past the self-service free range eggs and local organic milk machines when I noticed that there was a third machine with a selection of snacks including some from Pwdin, that shop which closed down where the lovely lady made indulgent chocolate brownies and related treats. Of course I had to support her new venture and buy myself a treat. Not a brownie but a 'Ferrero Rocher Chocolate Bomb'. Imagine a Ferrero Rocher chocolate surrounded by a brownie in which were hazel nuts and the whole thing rolled in crushed Biscoff biscuit. I have to say it went very well with a coffee.

 

I had called in at the 'big' Charlie's, this is the large store down by Morrison's to buy more hooks for Peter's cap rail only to find a gap where the single white hooks should be. That was a shame but then in town I called in at 'little' Charlie's which as the name suggests is in a small shop and resembles an old fashioned hardware store and they had the hooks in their more limited stock. At home I had to re-do two of the screws holding the bars on the wall which for some reason is slightly bowed and then I was able to add the extra hooks and put a dab of white Hammerite on the screwheads to complete the job. So far there are eight caps hanging there but no doubt a few more will eventually appear to fill up all the hooks.