March got off to an unusual start for me – for the first time since 2003 I didn’t go to Isleham Horse Trials on the opening weekend of the season. No Oasby, no Great Witchingham. In fact I didn’t go to my first event until 31st… I rather like this new regime.
So what have I been doing? Primarily writing press releases and copy for magazines, plus the redesign for Piggy French‘s website went live. I’m somewhat mystified as to how the month passed so quickly when, on paper at least, it doesn’t look like I was that busy. It ended at full speed, however, with Belton International Horse Trials. It was my first year there as press officer, and back where I lived before moving to Norfolk.
It’s a great event, with so much going on aside from the eventing. Fortunately the sun shone (most of the time) and we had record crowds. The media all behaved themselves, I caught up with my web guru, Neil, and clients Piggy, Oliver and Ros all did well. I also took the opportunity to stay one night with my ex-neighbours and one with a friend who worked with me when I ran Eventing Worldwide. Two very entertaining evenings, although it was surreal to look out of my bedroom window on Friday night and see the house that I lived in for 10 years across ‘my’ paddock!
A major highlight in March was the opportunity to have a play in a 1938 Hornet Moth. It was a huge privilege to take to the skies in this beauty, such a contrast to the RV7 that I usually fly. Charlotte, one of my oldest friends – we were in the Pony Club together, shared houses at college etc – came to stay, and whilst I couldn’t entice her into the air (she works for a safari company and has, I think, had her fair share of alarming moments in small planes) we did do a lot of beach walking and even more talking.
So, time to switch focus to Burnham Market International and Badminton – blogs to sort, copy to write, and I am determined to keep on top of the garden this year. One thing I didn’t know until today was that if you catch a mouse that has been ‘released’ in the house by a devilish cat, you have to swing it round by its tail as you return it to the outside world. Otherwise it will climb back up its tail and bite you. And no, of course I didn’t do the swinging – my thanks to Gavin Howling, not very ably assisted by James and Zoe 😉