As Bugs Bunny would say.

"That's all folks"

Well there you have it.

Another summer over for the Ellis's. What a time we've had.

It's been great and with just a touch of sadness attached that it's also our last. Still, at least we did it......

P.S Sold red rocket to Mr Neuhold who is handily giving us a lift to the airport tonight. Yeah. Thank you Tom.

Ssssooooooo this final time it's:

Over and out from your intrepid reporters in the Cotswolds, Summer 2007.

P.P.S Tent in the background is the pig tent at Old Farm.

One more night.

Yet again more farewells.

Spent the day up near Warwick saying our goodbyes to Katie, Phillip and the young fella Zac. Always sad but no doubt will see them again soon.

Our final night in The Flat. It has served us very well these past two summers.

And so, off we go again.

Always saying goodbyes..........

Drinks in the sunshine....

Came away from Old Farm faring much better than expected. Even had enough pep in us for an evening ramble through Batsford.

The sun even managed to show it's face for the much of the day and is promising a repeat performance for most of the week. Can you believe it? Typical.

Did no more at Old Farm than you would expect. Ate and drank, and then ate and drank a bit more.

Meet Mr Phillpot, aka Roger. My Guru............

Polo Smolo.

Plans were foiled yet again today as a result of the floods. Drove all the way to Berkeley Castle for the Jousting only to find it cancelled on arrival.

We were contemplating a serious sense of humour failure on the way back through Cirencester when I spotted something that looked suspiciously like polo. Popped in to have a look and sure enough it was so we raced off for some grub. A picnic was in mind, only to return and they had finished.

We were not amused.

Lovely man on quad bike came to our rescue and suggested trying Beaufort. Off we hightailed it down the road and sure enough there wasn't just a match but a whole day of polo going on. Oh, we were happy people.

Little Red Rocket not so happy though as lots of very posh cars were around.

We did get some funny looks when we plonked ourselves down with our little Waitrose plastic bag of goodies amidst the carefully laid out blankets and hampers.

It's a very posh place Beaufort Polo Club..........

Sadly no sign of the brothers Windsor.

There is the possibility of no blog tomorrow as we are booked into Old Farm for a farewell piss up starting at lunchtime. Or if there is I can't guarantee it will make much sense. Apologies in advance.

Old Trout.

Another thing ticked off our list.

Finally managed to get to Bibury to see these little houses. Medieval cottages, looked after now by the National Trust. Very pretty but would hate the reoccurring concussion from the low ceilings.

Had we known there was a trout farm just across the road which you can fish at we would have been there a lot sooner.

Headed out tonight to the Horse and Groom for our last Friday night drinkies. So sad.

SSssssssoooooooo exciting...........

I'm blaming it on the weather. There really is no need to be that hysterically excited at finally coming across the Hook Norton Horseys......

Really.

Or maybe there is.

It all started innocently enough with the biggest event in the social calendar for Moreton this year.
Budgens supermarket reopened having been shut for several weeks. A complete refurbishment with a very strong focus on local produce. All were out in force. Including us.

Because we are very nosy.

Happy were we when we spotted Hook Norton beer on sale and even happier when the rep. for said beer announced the horseys were also around somewhere.

Well, to say our arses were a blur would not be an understatement. Not even the inclement weather held us back. Imagine our delight as we headed down the road and ran straight into them.

And they gave us a lift.............. I kid you not.

"Would you like a lift", they said. Is the Pope Catholic?
Up hopped two fully grown adults, giggling and whispering like kiddies, sat our arses down on a keg and off we headed.

SSSsssssssooooooooo exciting.

Mr Groom was positively glowing as we admired the horseys. He even gave us some of his secret stash of Old Hooky as we were leaving.......

The only decent thing to do after such a happy experience was lunch in a lovely country house hotel for a spot of rain watching.

Nowt happening.........

If I've had to resort to putting pics of myself on the blog there can't be a whole lot going on.

Currently waiting for Mr and Mrs Neuhold who are due to pop round any minute for a few lovely pints in the Horse and Groom and some din dins.

Weather continues to be miserable. Almost making us lose the will to live. Can't even get out on the local walks as they are miserably mucky. It's thrown the dog walkers off their routine a bit which is quite funny to watch. They're resorting to trailing around the edges of the town.

It has also seriously damaged our planned fun and games due to many places closed due to flood damage.

Walkies.

Stanton/Stanway walk. Done.

We got cocky and did it sans directions. A moment of tension arose when we both decided we had the better route.

This little building has intrigued us for a while. We'd only ever seen the back of it from the road but today we managed to get up close and personal with it.

You may notice it stands on stone mushrooms. I'm sure there is a correct name for them. I have no idea.
It's the pavillion for a tiny little cricket pitch with a distinct wobble to it's outfield.
Dave had a lovely time looking around, playing mock shots on the crease, looking at the old tractor and roller thingy. Apparantly the tractor is a Fergie and leaking oil.
Such a wealth of information...........

And as much as we have tried to pretend it's not happening, sadly it is. Only a few more days remain before we are yet again bidding our farewells.

Where has the time gone? And such a contrast in summers. Last year,record breaking dry weather and heat waves, this year, floods.

So, as with last year we have a few things on our hit list to mark off. One of the first will be to figure out how to get to London. Have discovered this evening the Moreton train line is out of action for at least the next week if not more. HHhhmmmm.

I feel a nightmare trip coming on.

Bugger.....

Birdies........

No sun-downers for me last night as the Open ran into extra time. Bugger.

Serious doses of cabin fever had grip of us this morning as a result. Off we headed to the Bastford Falconry Centre just down the road. Something we have been threatening to do since last summer.
Lots of birdies as you would expect. What we didn't expect was the lack of wind causing the birdies of prey to sulk and so refusing to stun us with displays of their marvellous abilities. All was made up when they allowed us a quick grope instead.

All this was then very nicely washed down with afternoon tea in the story book village that is Chipping Campden.

The only thing for it on a damp afternoon.

Our Sunday.

Dave glued to sofa watching the F1, very closely followed by the British Open.

Yvonne processing films.

Dave now in danger of death threats if he does not get off said sofa and take Mrs Dave out soon for a sundowner.

There is only so much sport this "sheila" can take.

Late pics attached of Hook Norton Brewery and a competitor at the Paradressage Championship.

Little Red Rocket.

No more shall I slag off the little Red Rocket.

When all the posh cars struggled and some ground to a halt with flooded engines, my little trooper looked after me and got me as close to home as he could.
He even started up first attempt this morning and never thought once of digging in his little wheels into the grass verge where he parked last night, in fear of a day of more punishment.
We did manage to make a trip to Chipping Norton to pick up Dave where he managed to get a bus to.

The rain has eased off but yesterdays weather is still reeking havoc. The water in Moreton has receded and this evening you would have no clue 24hrs ago it was waterlogged.

Sadly we opted to abandon any thoughts of the beer festival in Hook Norton and too also the Royal Welsh Show on Monday. With more weather like this promised it would be plain stupid to head into the Welsh hills.

Instead we headed to Old Farm to give a hand as they were putting up a number of stranded people. Got roped in to pack the sausages and Dave got extra keen and helped Simon and Sarah make the burgers whilst I watched the kids.

HHHHHmmmmm, batton down the hatches indeed.

Well that's a first.

Got stranded a mile outside Moreton today. Had to abandon the car and walk the final mile home through at times almost 4 foot of water.
See what happens when you leave the house for a few hours? One minute town is fine, next it's under four foot of water.

And it's still raining so hope poor little red rocket doesn't get washed away overnight.

The town is packed with cars and stranded folk.

Will go to sleep tonight with the sounds of a river running past the window................

Hope this won't affect Dave getting back tomorrow.

Batton down the hatchs.

More appalling weather promised for tomorrow. Extreme weather warnings have been issued with flooding likely. Jesus. Supposed to be going to Hartpury to the World Paradressage Championship. The Hong Kong riders will be there as well as some HK folk.
Not sure the little red rocket will make it if the flooding is bad. Poor Red Rocket.

Simply the Best.

In spite of the many close encounters both last summer and this with the beers of Hook Norton, we never visited the brewery until today.....

A 6 floor Victorian semi-gravitational brewery. Apparently.

A beautiful building brewing beautiful beers. We were most impressed also to hear that they are the only brewery in England to have a team of Shire horses working full-time. Sadly they were out in the fields on a day off so didn't get to see them.

They work hard delivering beer locally and also attend shows around the country. There is a beer festival on Saturday at Hook Norton. The horseys will be making an appearance we are told.
91 beers are on offer. Dave is already planning his strategy as to how he is going to get around them all.

Me and my Guru.....

What a busy few days......

Stopped off at Stonehenge but resisted the urge to dance round naked.

Down to Eastbourne to all there and very happy to report all are well.

Up to near Tunbridge Wells to see old friends from Hong Kong in their new home. Good to see them so settled and happy.

Got home at midnight last night. Needed a little sleep in to recover then off to my side saddle lesson with Mr Phillpot.

Phewwww. Head is spinning slightly.

Drinkies.

Excellent evening with the crew from Old Farm. Sarah had a fabulous Narnia moment when she tried to climb into the cupboard having mistaken it for the front door on leaving, causing much hilarity. The things that happen post imbibing...........

Had to resort to desperate measures today and do a drive by to where I have my side saddle lessons. As you might suspect, a man who teaches SS is always going to be slightly odd.

Turns out he is also incredibly hard to pin down, has an interesting understanding of the passage of time, almost never answers his mobile and never returns calls to phone messages. As all lessons have to be checked with him before booking you can imagine the trouble this causes his staff when trying to book in clients with him.

So after 10 days of trying to book a lesson and having achieved the almost impossible I am now feeling quite smug. To celebrate smugness and have a "hair of the dog" to help with our headaches we headed to The Plough Inn in Ford just across for JJ O'Neils yard. Has a fabulous set-up. Great gallops. See below.

Were getting very settled in with the locals for a Friday night session but tragically sense took over and we headed home before things got out of hand.

Early start in the morning as we are availing of the chance to swing by Stonehenge for a look on the way to Eastbourne.

Might even dance round it naked chanting pagan verses should the mood strike us..........

Sad Farewell.

Sad farewells today to Mr and Mrs Kruger. They dropped by for a brief lunch before heading North.

You will be missed but we will see you soon.

It reminds us too that we will soon have to make our own farewells. Yet again.

But in the meantime there are fun and games to be had. Starting this evening with Simon and Sarah. Closely followed by the weekend in Eastbourne to see our SIL, niece and nephew.

Not to mention mischief to get up to with Mr and Mrs Neuhold.................

Din Dins.

Despite early morning signal problems in Paddington Dave managed to make it home before lunch. After a few hours sleep for Dave, and a few hours work for me, we headed up to Old Farm.

And just in time to help Simon move some piggies who are going on a one way trip tomorrow. Such is life.......

Simon and Sarah are coming over to our little pad tomorrow night for dinner. Hence the trip to Old Farm tonight to get something for dinner.

We couldn't serve them a roast that hadn't come from their farm........................

Noise pollution.

Some of you may be wondering at the lack of mention with regards to Mr Butcher 2006 of the Tuesday market. Mostly it's because we've had the luck not to be in on Tuesdays.

Today however............

I had to do some work.

Sorry, what was that? Oh, you didn't hear me correctly. I said I had to some work. Yes work. Ha Ha, very funny.

Anyway, back to the matter in hand. Mr Butcher.

He seems to have changed shape rather dramatically, looks a lot more youthful, and thank f--k, a lot quieter. Safe to say in fact a different butcher. Yeah......... Oh blessed is the quiet one.

Murder would have been done if I'd had to listen to the roaring of 2006.

Me and my car.

Driving home.

Golden evening light.

Window rolled down.

Radio turned up high.

Smell of cut grass in the air.

Slowly ripening rolling hills flying by.

In the Red Rocket.

Priceless.

Cotswolds Pics.

Here are some pics from yesterday.

As you can see lots of horseys pics. Guy working with the horses in the round yard is a natural horsemanship guy. Similar yet very different to Parelli. Probably more mainstream.

No longer a "Rock" virgin............

Well Ladies and Gents, what can I say...........

I sit here slightly reeling, watching Crowded House on LiveEarth, after a great 24 hours. Sorry Dave. I hate to say it but you missed a good one.

But I can now say, I'VE DONE IT. I'VE BEEN TO "THE ROCK". I AM NO LONGER A VIRGIN OF "THE ROCK".

But I can also say....................Hhhmmmmm, interesting place.

Butch lesbians, gym gear, runner wearing, gals, old blokes with young girls, young guys with older women, bad rhythm, bad dancers, throwback look of a club from the mid-eighties. As the only club in Cirencester it's amazing how desperation can make you sink to such lows.

Still, was worth it. The Krugers move to Scotland next week so it was only fitting that we had a night on the tiles in their honour, happily with the newly returned world travellers, Mr and Mrs Neuhold.

They will be greatly missed but we hope to see them in the not too distant future in Hongkers for a return match.

Despite such a night of excitement Liann and I managed to get out the door this morning and headed off to the Cotswold Show.

We didn't know where to look first. AND it didn't rain. The first time since 13th June. In fact this evening we have blue skies.

Sadly for the lovers of the photos the jpegs are too large to upload with our crappy internet connection so no piccies or details of the show until I go to Old Farm and steal some of their broadband.

I am praying and hoping to God that the weather is good tomorrow as I'm too knackered to go out tonight to give it the true reverence it deserves.


P.S Just to rub salt in the wounds Dave. I've just had an invite to the Neuholds for a BBQ tomorrow. Sorry.......

We'll have a few for you.

Cotswold Stone

Where all the lovely honey coloured stone comes from. Well not all of it.........
There are many quarries around here but barely noticeable thankfully.

Haymaker, but no sunshine.

In spite of many threats of a visit last summer, we never quite made it to the local Hook Norton Brewery. Finally today it received a visit from the Ellis's. As most will know we had over last summer done extensive research of the brewery in question.

In true Ellis style we arrived just after it had closed so there was nothing for it but to head to the pub to sample some brew. Just on the off chance there was a brew there not yet tried........

And indeed there was. Oh what joy. A new Ale to sample.

Ale Scale - Haymaker Pale Ale - 9/10. If not 9 and a half out of 10, so impressed were we.


On another note...........

Popped up to Old Farm the other day. Wandered off to say hello to the horseys and thought someone was looking very pleased with herself.

Yes.

I am delighted to report that Madame Fally's week of "lovin" has produced results. She is with child.......... or foal, should I say. Sarah is very excited and has already bought a "what to expect" book. Batsford Estate have said they will help her out "when the time comes".

How exciting.

Bog Snorkeling.............

If we did indulge in such a pastime, there is a marvellous time to be had presently. First in the true bog-land of Western Ireland and now in the very wet and boggy land of a rain-logged Cotswolds. Poor pretty place is still in the grips of some very wet weather and with yet more to come.

In dire need to arrest the slide into the land of Sloth before it got completely out of control, courtesy of two weeks eating and drinking ourselves silly, we headed out the door during a break in the weather only to discover we should have gone avec rubber duckies.

Squelch, Squelch, Squelch we went.

No damage was done bar some very damp muddy feet due to our Hong Kong cheapie non waterproof hiking boots. Fair weather booties only I'm afraid. Bugger.

Serves us right for not coughing up the big bucks for super-duper Gortex beauties.

Hindsight.

A wonderful thing.

We're back.

Great time was had. Won't bore you with the details. Will let the pictures do the talking.

A well planned holiday.

Porto - Home of port.

Staying at a vineyard - Home of wine.

Ireland - Home of Guinness.

Should be a good holiday.....................

Back on air 2nd July.

Now where did I leave my drinking boots?

"An Unexpected Oasis at the Post Office"

"At the wisteria-hung post office in Sherborne one can buy not only stamps, but 'Beer, Stout and Cider, to be consumed off the premises' - noteworthy in a publess village. Architectural treats range from the splendors of Sherborne House to the oddity of a cottage with a Norman-arched doorway. Flowers bloom delightfully among vegetables in attractive village gardens."

AA illustrated Guide to Country Towns and Villages of Britain, published 1985

Noowwwww we know where to get a mid-afternoon drink.

Bangers, but no mash.........

I've heard some people are tuning in to only look at the pictures.

So, here you are. Instead of me wracking my brains for some marvellous prose you can have these.

This is our banger for the summer.........



Mummy piggy makes very contented piggy sounds when the babies are feeding.



This is my favourite piggy.



We are off on hols for two weeks on Saturday. Porto (World Heritage site and home of Port, yum yum), in North Portugal for 2 nights then an organic vineyard a hour south until Friday. I can feel the hangovers already.
Then off to Connemara (Ireland, where we got married), on the Saturday for a week. The Krugers are coming with us so that will be great fun.

Out and about.

Took this picture of the collie especially for you, Jane. Guess what he's doing?

Yes, he's watching the baby piggies...... Simon says he sits there when he's not working.

Came across these beautiful fields of poppies. Aren't they lovely? Don't know if it's intentionally planted or as a result of not using herbicides.

And last but not least we popped by Batsford to check for new foals for you. Here you go. Think I promised some pics of them.

I'll have one of each please.

Busy Busy Days.

Apologies for no blog yesterday. Returning home from a day out in the wee hours of the morning put paid to that.

Started off the day at Old Farm to have a look at their Open Day. Sadly we had to leave at lunchtime. Reports have come in this evening that 200ish people turned up so a very successful day. The shearing exhibit went down well. As did the piglets.



The reason for the early departure from Old Farm was to meet this little chap for the first time. As always when catching up with friends we haven't seen for a while, it took a bit longer than expected, hence the late hour home.




It would seem that our navigation competition is not meant to be..........

Again today the Comp was on and to our dismay we found yet again the landscape of the route had changed. Hard to navigate when your markers have disappeared. Making life very easy for us was a very clearly, well walked path the whole way round. Saves having to think about it I suppose.

Our pub of choice for an evening sundowner was The Howard Arm's in Ilmington. Very nice. Probably the best so far.

The running of the pigs.........

Spent the whole day at Old Farm helping to prepare for the open day tomorrow. Set up the marquee, sorted out the piggies, did the separate quiz for the adults and the children, swept up some animal poo.

The herding of the pigs to another home was quite funny. Like Dave's herding style?

Before and After........

Remember when Fally ran into the plough last summer?



Incredible really, that it healed. It was touch and go for a little while.