With tomorrow being the first of April I am hoping that I’m not the fool to believe that the horrors of the last few months might now be behind me. My wonderful brother lost his long battle with cancer three weeks ago leaving us all, his wife and son especially, heartbroken – I think it’s the first time I have practically had to shove my way out of a funeral at the end of the service, there were so many people packed in wanting to say their goodbyes. A testament to the man he was.
I’m still very much prone to unexpected outbreaks of tears, but work is now so busy that at least I’m distracted. This weekend it’s the Barefoot Estates Burnham Market International Horse Trials, for which I am press officer. Media interest is keener than ever this year thanks to William Fox-Pitt making it his comeback venue – it will be great to see him back out on a horse.
I will also have the opportunity to catch up with lots of web clients. Oliver Townend, Bill Levett, Jeanette Brakewell, Giovanni Ugolotti & Kathryn Robinson, Ros Canter, Emily Baldwin and Georgie Spence are all riding, making it hard to know who to be cheering on most – I can see a sore throat on the horizon. Trevor Holt will have his work cut out taking photos (when I first set up Eventing Worldwide web magazine – yikes, 10 years ago – my regular photographers brief was ‘just get every horse at every fence’… beats me why any of them stuck with me). Trevor & Lorna will be staying the weekend at Manners Media HQ so I must remember to get in some nurofen and vitamin pills!
Writing commissions tick along and work for Equi-Trek Blair International, Houghton International and Rockingham International is also gathering pace. I’ve been to meetings at both Rockingham and Badminton in the last month – Houghton is easy, I only live 5 miles from the Musketeer office so can pop in there most days 🙂
George (the horse) has had his steroid injection and, judging by his exuberance when I got on him yesterday, he is feeling very well. Fingers, legs and eyes crossed that he stays sound. He’s convinced the tents, flags and cross country fences that he can see (he is stabled at Burnham Market Eventing Centre) are all for him and wants to know when he can go and strut his stuff. Heaven knows what he’ll be like when the tannoy starts up…