Shopping Around.

Although the forecast was for a sunny day this morning the only sun to be seen was shining down on the hills of Snowdonia (or at least some of them). Later the sun broke through the clouds and brought some welcome warmth which increased as the day went on.

This morning I had Cody again but maybe because I made sure to lengthen my stirrups to my preferred rather long length, I was a lot more comfortable and doubt if there'll be any after effects.

Today we worked on shoulder-in. At times I found it difficult to communicate clearly with Cody but we eventually got there. I prefer to aim for gentle co-operation with the horse rather than using strong aids which I guess are needed when you're working with a school horse rather than your own but that's just the way it is. 

Somebody posted on the Borth FB page looking for two people who would be willing to exercise a couple of local horses regularly. While that initially sounds ideal and is how I rode horses in London when I was in my twenties no doubt you would also have to commit to mucking out and generally looking after the horses as well which I know would be too much for me.

 

After riding I did the usual round of dump, shops and town. I've started buying extra following govt. advice to stockpile two weeks supply of food in case there are supply difficulties. The suggestion was also to have food you can eat even if there are power issues. They're stating that extreme weather could cause these problems but who knows what the Russians will do or even have done already? Since I'm able to buy extra each week I might as well to be on the safe side.

For immediate consumption this afternoon I stewed another large bag of apples to go on our morning porridge. We do like a bit of fruit with our porridge Currently we add blueberries or blackberries, stewed apple and banana with sultanas and chia seeds cooked in the porridge.

A few days ago I got a letter from the RAC with details of my automatic renewal for next year's breakdown cover. When I ploughed through the figures I was shocked to see that it was going to cost £377! We haven't called them out for over 7 years and yet the price continues to rise every year. Since we've always had older cars it has been a sensible precaution to have breakdown cover. I know that a few years ago when the renewal was nearly £300 I got a quote from the AA and it was almost identical. But I thought I'd try the AA again and was astonished to find I could get cover from them for £76. That was for basic roadside assistance so I added on 'take the car to any garage we name not the nearest one and take the vehicle's occupants to their destination' and 'replace broken or lost car and house keys' which brought it to £92. That's a massive saving. I know that the price will jump next year but I can shop around again when the time comes.