Squids Stories Across the Pond: From horseback to backstage- tune in for week 2 and 3 adventures

Some of the flooding nearby

As I write to you now after a beautiful sunny, dry day, it's hard to believe that England is currently suffering the wettest January in history. Much to everyones surprise the rain has not felt bothersome to me and I'm not sure if it's because I'm still in the 'honeymoon' phase, or if I'm just so thankful it's not snow!!

Yesterday marks my third week here and I already can't believe how quickly it is going! I have STILL somehow managed to only cook for myself 3 times (and by cook I mean heat up a ready-meal). You could say I am turning into a spoiled princess being taken care of so wonderfully by everyone. There is a high chance I could turn into a tea bag whilst I'm here…. Tea for breakfast, tea at tea break (half way through the morning), tea for lunch, tea when I get home, and tea before bed. I am constantly craving a good cup'o tea, which of course you can't have without a bickie, or two… or three.

Warning: From here on out this post is highly horsey- but I guess you wouldn't expect different coming from me ;)

Humphrey

Mrs. Tices house

Last weekend Grandpa Turney's cousin Bill Saunders, an avid Huntsmen, invited me to go riding in Teeton at Mrs.Tice's Point-to-point race training farm. Point-to-point is a form of horse racing over fences for hunting horses and amateurs. The course is laid over ordinary farm land and runs for 3 miles, and the horses must be Thoroughbreds. Her farm manager/trainer, Sophie, 21, rode out on Alfie while I rode Templer, a big warmblood. We went hacking down the road, through some muddy fields, and as we went through the last gate Sophie said, "Ok lets pick up a canter along the fence line and then up that hill." I would say canter was an understatement… Templer, who obviously knew this routine well, had to be in the lead the entire time, and made that very clear when my half halts were most certainly being ignored. We galloped up the hill that was lined with hedges along either side and as we approached a small opening at the top between two tree lines Sophie shouted, "He will probably speed up through there, he always does, just hold-on." Sure enough, Templer took off full speed, I grabbed mane and held tight. Thankfully he willingly slowed right down on the other side.

Templer

At this point I was grinning from ear-to-ear but also had tears running down my face from the wind in my eyes. Although Templer might be convinced he is a race horse at heart, he is multi-talented as he was the sidesaddle champion horse last year and is a regular hunter/eventer; he can do it all. When we got back, I hopped on Alfie and Sophie rode Humphrey and we hacked out on the roads. Alfie will be racing while I'm here, so I'm hoping to go watch!

Fox hunt hounds!

The next morning I watched the Pytchley Hunt take-off. It's an event; sherry, port, wine, and finger foods all served to the riders and people on foot. Fox hunting is more than a hobby, it's a lifestyle for people. I got to ride at Mrs. Tices AGAIN and this time I rode out on Humphrey. We went a different route through flatter fields and only walked and trotted this time. Still heavenly!

Sam, Imogen, and Harry

Baby Annabelle

That afternoon I got to spend time at Park Farm (where Grandpa Turney was born) with Richard (Grandpas brother) and Mo and got to see Louisa, Craig, Oliver and baby Annabelle, who were up visiting, and Mark, Cathy, Sam, Harry, Imogen and Poppy, who live down the road. All beautiful, perfect little British children. They were definitely befuddled by my strange accent at first but warmed up quite quickly as you can see by the cute pose Immy chose in the photo above.

Sunday evening I went to the local pub, the Brampton Halt, with Lucy, Alice, and Robert, all co-workers. Had a lager with lime and crumble with custard: so prime. When you think 'Pub' you think small, quaint, bar food. However, that old-style pub has not been doing well so many of them have kept the same look from the outside but have slightly remodeled inside to appear more classy. You have a menu based on a 3-course meal and are served smaller portions of beautifully plated food. Extremely delicious, but much different than I envisioned.

My ride, Antonio

Nevill Holt. Far right building-old stable yards,
steeple on the right is the church
connected to the house.

Horse head statue in the front yard

This past Friday Frankie Major, a friend of Mom's, took me Western hacking in Medbourne, Leicestershire. It crossed my mind to pack cowboy boots, but I was certain I'd never have a use for them… apparently I was wrong! The yard has only Criollo horses, a breed imported from Argentina. We went out with a group of 6, again along the roads. Unfortunately, because of the rain, the fields and bridle paths are very wet so road-hacking has been more prevalent than usual. We were out for about 2.5 hours and during the hack encountered Nevill Holt, a hamlet and civil parish dating back to before 1300. Couldn't ask for anything better than seeing history via horseback!!

London Grammar

Frankie's son, Dot (Dominic) is in the up and coming band, London Grammar and took me to their concert in Nottingham last night. It was at Rock City, a bar/club, that held a couple thousand people and was standing room only. It was a rare choice on my part to wear heels, but definitely a good one because I was able to see over people. This was also my first trip into a city- after 3 weeks in tiny Church Brampton, you could say I was slightly awestruck!!

Frankie, Ashley, Dot, and I backstage

London Grammar is an indie, electro-pop band and unbelievably talented. They went to Uni in Nottingham, which is how the band came together, so it was a special concert for them. They will be coming to the U.S. in April and I HIGHLY recommend trying to see them!! I can tell you now they are well on their way to the top. After the concert we went backstage (WHAT!!) to their dressing room and had champagne with Dot and company.

www.londongrammar.com - check it out!

Rich and Mo have very kindly equipped me with a bike, so yesterday afternoon I went biking along the old railway line that goes from Market Harborough to Northampton. I biked to the local farm shop to get some groceries- too fun! It's the little things, you know. Excited to explore via bike and have a bit more independence for transportation.

SORRY for the long winded post. Have left out many a things, but I am thankful I have been busy enough to have so much to share! Feeling like a VERY lucky girl. Last thing: I am working on the British accent, but currently everyone at work is enjoying taking the mic on MY accent. They're favorite request is getting me to say "Hey Robert, can I have a corn dog?". They all have a strange fascination with corn dogs…. Who would've guessed?!

xxxx

STAY WARM!

In case you are interested, here are a few more photos: