Friday, December 14, 2012

Christmas gallops towards us...

I suppose I had always known it, but this year I am even more aware - that Advent is generally spent rushing about buying presents, writing cards and generally getting more or less stressed by the pressures of advertising and the need to "get it all done."
Why am I more aware? This year I am deliberately taking Advent at a more leisurely and measured pace. Like the little donkey who is led up the main street in Taize each Sunday morning to spend the day grazing and being fed and stroked I am not rushing.
My dear dear friend Jan has been an advocate of lists for all the time I have known her - she is incredibly organised and I always admired that in her and that her organisation included a well ordered household with her chalkboard always used as a shopping list or urgent reminder... The busier we are it seems the more organised we have to be; but now we are no longer in that sense busy. Life in France is definitely in a slower gear -about second I think, so there is ample time to consider what needs to be done, what gifts to buy and for whom, whether to send cards (we've decided against it this year), a newsletter - yes to that as we can really keep in touch that way - especially as we can direct people to this blog if they are interested in learning more - its up to them if they wish to read it!
I've had a bit of time to be more creative this year and I have made most of the gifts we will give. It's meant that I have put time into the creation of them and to me that is really important.
The Christmas tree and the outside lights went up at the beginning of Advent - simply because we felt it was part of the preparation of Advent - the greetings and the lights reminding our neighbours and friends that we are taking the season seriously.
We have even put up the Advent calendar and each day we are adding a figure to the nativity scene.


I can remember years when we didn't get around to doing this at all and when Hannah and I went out to buy a tree in the semi-darkness in the last few days before Christmas!
I hope that our celebration of Christmas will be the better for our slower pace and hopefully more thoughtful approach.
However, we are spending Christmas in England and I have already braved a big shop on line for groceries - so so strange when we are used to popping into Cluny a couple of times a week to buy fresh meat. fish and vegetables. We don't often eat from the freezer - saving that in case we are ill or snowed in!
Talking of snow, we had a bit of that last week - enough to make a bit anxious!

But it was also quite beautiful and atmospheric. I'm hoping there will be more that we can enjoy and photograph when we get back for the feast of St Sylvestre - which is New Year to you and me!
As for food, I had an interesting conversation with our delightful neighbour Martine who told me a little about the festive Christmas meal. Often it is eaten on Christmas Eve and rarely is turkey - more often goose and/or roast beef. Stuffing is unheard of in France! What are they missing I thought! Chestnuts figure in the meal, and no Christmas pudding  - its buche de Noel - Christmas log - but not like we know it - they are so elaborately decorated and the centre is a mousse of raspberry, chocolate or strawberries - they looked sumptious in the chocolatier's window - and I'm sorry that I didn't have the camera with me!
We may not have had much snow but we have had a lot of rain recently and the valley below us, with the Grosne river winding through has been in flood. I did have the camera with me for that!
 
 
We are off to a concert tomorrow given by the local choir and we are looking forward to hearing carols - French ones - and do you know we haven't heard or sung one English carol - YET! -
Now that's what I call Advent!!!
 
 

Saturday, December 1, 2012

starting our Advent journey.....

I can hardly believe that already we are on the eve of Advent. Where have the last few weeks gone? We were planning lots of activity in garden and house, but we have not completed them all! I've taken up knitting more earnestly, completing today a little jacket for an old friend's grand-daughter due in February and I have almost finished a blanket to put on the cot upstairs for any babies who come to stay. And today we have welcomed back our lovely Swiss friends, here to finish the work in their garden before returning to Switzerland for the winter. It's great to see them!
With the temperatures dropping and today a crisp white frost we know that we are entering winter in Burgundy. /
This week we attended a rendezvous with others of the Communaute de communes de clunisois to discuss the planned charging a "taxe de sejour" from next year - effectively a small charge per night for any guests who stay with us. The cost goes towards the maintenance and development of the communities of the area.
I've been aware of the supermarkets stocking special offer wines and chocolates (so many boxes to choose from!), foie gras, and other thoroughly French delicacies consumed at Christmas and New Year, and then special festal meals with different courses to order depending on your budget. I've looked at Christmas cards too, but actually there are none here that have any religious content at all - robins, snow and village scenes all appear though!
But tonight we made an effort to leave our roaring fire and drive up to Taize to begin the journey towards Advent.
As we approached the church it became clear that Advent is well observed and very public.
Right across the rear of the church is an enormous tableau. There is a floor of sand and backdrop of scenes of hillsides and skies. Then on the right - as you can see above, the figures of Mary on the donkey led by Joseph are setting out Lit by subdued light and candles it made an awesome sight in the cold night air.
The prayer this evening was clearly an Advent theme, with the icon of the Annunciation at the front with a candle in front of it lit at the beginning of the prayer and from which our own little candles were lit. We sang - Let all who are thirsty come, let all who wish receive the water of life, come Lord Jesus come. Then we sang in  French an Advent hymn - words below in translation:
 
Give Lord your justice in true measure to our true Prince of Peace,
May he give righteous sentence ever, and e'er defend the poor.
The humblest members of your people shall find in him their friend
He'll give deliverance to the needy and crush their oppressor.
 
Long may He reign in every nation and over every sea!
May his great name endure for ever, our only Prince of Peace.
His blessing be for generations on every age and land,
As he creates a new-born people, open to all humankind.
 
 
After the 10 minutes silence we followed the brothers outside to stand with them in front of the tableau singing again as we began to contemplate that long long journey that Mary and Joseph made to Bethlehem, with Jesus carried in Mary's womb. Somehow I knew as we stood there in the darkness, old and young singing Laudate omnes gentes, that in spite of the world around us, we would journey in  heart and mind towards that stable too, and worship afresh at his birth. I invite you my readers to keep a good Advent!
 
 
 



Friday, November 23, 2012

oh the joy.....

A little while ago I wrote a blog about my search for a Bramley apple tree. There are not many things I miss having lived here since February but one of the most surprising was the Bramley apple. It is so easy to take for granted being able to pop into the supermarket and buy some apple to bake or make apple pie. Anyway, I was all set to try and propagate one with help from my British friends until I had a wonderful message from my lovely school friends in Jersey with whom I had met at the beginning of November. The message told me that together they had organised for 2 Bramley apple trees to be delivered here to me in France so that I could plant and enjoy them in years to come.

On Wednesday morning about 8am the phone rang and a delivery company said would we be in after lunch time as they had a package for us. What excitement! Just after midday the van arrived and a box was left. Joe unpacked them but not unwrapped the roots because it was too late in the day to begin the planting process because the root balls needed to be soaked in a bucket of water for at least 2 hours.
The next morning Joe put the roots straight into a bucket of water as per the instructions included.
 
During the afternoon we clambered up the wobbly steps to the top of the garden to begin the planting process. Joe had been into Cluny and purchased 2 long stakes as the trees have to be supported as they begin to transform into fruiting mode.
 

After the stakes had been hammered into the ground Joe began the digging of the two holes - I did help but I was behind the camera most of the time!!
 
 

Soon the root balls were in place and tied into the stakes then the soil was replaced and added to by a bit of garden compost and bark.
Protected from rabbits and deer we are hopeful that we shall eventually have some wonderful Bramley apples with which to make chutney, puree, apple sauce, bake apples and Joe's all time favourite apple pie!
In all my excitement, I decided to find out more about the Bramley apple.
Bramley's  Seedling apples are so well known that I was surprised to discover that they have only been around since 1809 when a pip was planted in a garden in Nottinghamshire. It was a girl called Mary Anne Brailsford who planted the pip and later on the house with its garden containing the apple tree was sold to a Matthew Bramley who allowed cuttings to be taken from it. The original tree still exists and the BBC have made a video of it - you can see it here - video made by the BBC 

It is so exciting to know that every Bramley apple tree traces its origin back to that one tree.

The new variety was quickly recognised as an outstanding cooking apple and by the end of the Victorian era it was widely planted in England and Northern Ireland, becoming synonymous with English apple cookery. However for the next century it remained little-known outside the UK, since European and North American growers had long preferred dual-purpose apples which could be both eaten fresh and cooked. Latterly with a resurgence in interest in apple cookery it has become well-known amongst North American apple enthusiasts and, 200 years after its birth, this remarkable "cooker" is increasingly recognised as one of the world's great apples varieties.
However it is not well known in South Burgundy but I'm hoping that this will change!!!
Thank you Anne, Caroline and Lesley for my unique 60th birthday gift!
And to add to the special occasion the sunset over the hills opposite the garden was exquisite.





Sunday, November 11, 2012

Remembrance Day in Cortambert

My recollection of many Remembrance Sundays is of cold bitterly winds and often driving rain. The worst of all was a parade in Jersey when I was about 12 and we stood in driving snow and got soaked to the skin.

The view from the Mairie overlooking the valley
Today was my first experience of Remembrance Day here in France. As I looked out of the window I was delighted to see that the weather was dry so I didn't need the new umbrella. It was also mild so I did not need my winter woollies either.
I drove up to Cortambert and noticed that already people were gathering on the gravel outside the Mairie.

The Cortambert Mairie
Meeting the local community is a joy - shaking hands with the ones I didn't know and exchanging bisous - kisses - with those I did. There were quite a few present - a lot more than when we attended the 8th May remembrance for the liberation of France from the Germans.

It took time to speak to everyone and I didn't get around to everyone, but spoke to one of our neighbours who I had seen jogging in the hamlet - I wished her "bon courage"  and passed on to others I had met at Vannerie (basket making) last Winter and at badminton. The faces were familiar but I am dreadful at names!

Pierre-Jean our Mayor called the voluntary firemen to order and the marched at the head of the crowd who followed them the short walk up to the memorial next to the church.

The pompiers voluntaires line up
When we got to the memorial we spread out along the opposite side of the road. Pierre-Jean first asked us to observe two minutes silence in memory of one of our young voluntary pompiers who had been tragically killed on Wednesday evening whilst riding his motorbike on the Cluny road. I was shocked - we had been driving back from Geneva airport on Wednesday evening and the ambulance and rescue services had passed us en route to the accident and we had had to divert to get home again. So it was was one of our community, young too. It brought home how fragile life can be.
After the first two minutes silence the address from the government was read by Pierre-Jean and then the two minutes silence followed.
 
18 peoples' names are the war memorial from the first world war and 4 from the second.  After the silence the bugle was blown.
 


Then we meandered back to the mairie for wine, pizzas, savoury gateau and brioche. Conversation flowed as people got the chance for a catch up!

 
As I walked back to my car I couldn't help but stop and look at the memorial and give thanks for being part of a community of such delightful people who I count it a privilege to live near.
 
 



 

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

A trip down memory lane....

I was born in Jersey Channel Isles, the place from which New Jersey gets it's name...I don't go very often but I do try to get to see my mum when I do get there. This visit was my first from our home in France, and necessitated a drive over to Geneva airport to get a flight to Jersey. There was no-where else from which I could fly direct.
The views from the car were very different when compared with our usual drive to Lyon airport to meet our daughter or other friends. We enjoyed the woods bathed in Autumnal colour and began to spot distant peaks and traces of snow! We even went up one road that recommended having snow chains on during the Winter!

After a smooth check-in I was soon aboard the plane (it had props so it was reassuringly old fashioned to me!) - and we were speeding up from Geneva rising through misty skies to the clouds above.

The flight took over 2 hours and I was struck by just how enormous France is when we eventually crossed the French coast and began our descent into Jersey.

We were soon flying over familiar coast line for me, right over St. Catherine's breakwater (otherwise known as Palmerston's Folly by the locals) and then over the North coast and down to Jersey airport.
After picking up my hire car at the airport I drove to my cousin's flat where I was staying. She is in a lovely complex with over 50 flats, one and two bedroomed and including an indoor swimming pool. I soon settled into what has become a familiar room with a window overlooking the gardens.

 
This turned out to be one of the better days I was there! During the evening after a lovely meal we sat and caught up - my cousin last welcomed me in February just before we came to France so there was a lot to talk about - especially as she has no computer and so had not seen the ever increasing number of these blogs! I took my knitting and as the evening wore on so the knitting grew!
The following morning I went to see my mum. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's some time ago and she has been in a wonderful unit especially for people with it. She has settled in there very happily and seems content there although it was hard at the beginning and often she would pack her suitcase with all her clothes and demand to go home. That has long since stopped and she spends her days quietly, sometimes watching TV, attending social events and occasionally going on outings. Her world is contracting fast but the carers are wonderful at providing events including singing to help the memory. She remembered me, and as I had arrived with flowers she wanted to know why. I told her they were for her and during my visit they adorned her room. Mum has always been fond of flowers!
 
On Friday evening I went down another memory lane. I linked up with my 3 school friends. Only last November were we able to meet together for the first time after over 40 years. We left school in 1971 but truly I would recognise them anywhere they are just the same  - and I love the opportunity to catch up with them and find out what has been happening since we last met.
 
After a wonderful meal - we went to a restaurant that was part of a scheme called Tennerfest, where you can buy a meal for a tenner or thereabouts - it really encourages people to get out at what is really a quiet time for all the restaurants after the Summer and Autumn seasons - we paused for a photograph!
 
What I like about going to Jersey at this time of year is the wonderful chances to take some good photos! The light is very special in the Autumn and I was able to snatch a few shots.
 
These were taken from the car park near to where my cousin lives!
 
Then as I was driving to the airport on Tuesday morning when I saw the sea glistening as the tide was coming in. I had to stop and take some photos.
Looking across to Elizabeth Castle from West Park
 
Elizabeth Castle

 
So it was goodbye to my mum


 
Then back on the plane to France!
 
 
I left behind the cheeky seagull who sat on the grass outside my room hoping to be fed!
 
 
 

Sunday, October 28, 2012

In search of the Bramley...

Autumn has really arrived in Burgundy and I love it. Each day I glance up at the hills above our home and see that gradually the leaves are donning their Autumnal hue and I remarked to Joe just yesterday that along with Spring this is a favourite time of year for me. The tourists have mostly departed and those of us with chambres d'hotes are beginning to see an end to the season - our place is open until way into November but we really don't expect many visitors at that time of year.

A real sign of Autumn arriving was the Fete de la Pomme - the apple festival - which was held in the Salle des Griottons in Cluny recently.

We had seen the signs for it over the last 2 weeks before and I was very keen to go because I have been hunting for an apple seedling to plant in the garden from which I hope to harvest apples similar to Bramleys. It seems amazing to me here, that whereas apple pie is a very popular dessert (tarte au pommes) the Bramley apple is unknown. I was really hoping that among the 300 varieties of apples on display I might just find the Bramley.

The Salle des Grittons in Cluny was a hive of activity as was part of the campsite next door which was opened up for food stalls of various kinds, an ancient tractor display and other things for sale including plants for the garden. We had a good conversation about the Bramley apple with the owner of the nursery on the edge of Cormatin. He was intrigued to hear just how acidic the Bramley is and he suggested what we could do in order to get a Bramley established in our garden. When you next go to England, was the instruction, take cuttings from some Bramley apple trees and store them in your fridge back in France in a plastic bag. Then at the beginning of March when there is a special weekend organised for grafting rootstock we can bring the cuttings to be grafted on to rootstock to plant and nurture.
I still hoped that the exhibition of apple varieties in the hall might prove that the Bramley really did feature.
Joe and I diligently searched through all 300 - yes 300 varieties of apple - but NO Bramley. We talked to the local expert - he had not heard of the Bramley so he is going to investigate! The nursey man wants us to bring a cutting for him! So who knows what will happen with the Bramley in Burgundy!
Along with the 300 varieties of apples there were opportunities to buy either fresh or pasturised apple juice - delicious!
Here the apples are being pressed for the juice!
 
Also on show were lots of potirons - squashes - and the chance to buy some to make soup with. We did this but I'm sorry to say it wasn't as tasty as I thought it would be! Perhaps it is my fault for not searching for a recipe but throwing everything in!
So watch out if you live in the Midlands as we shall be asking our friends to pass on cuttings of Bramley apples so we can introduce it to Burgundy!

Saturday, September 29, 2012

the weather...

Now if you are British, you will know what a reputation we have for talking about the weather! In fact, I've noticed that here in the French countryside watching the weather is really important. In England if the weather was awful, I would put the damp washing in the tumble drier or it was on the clothes horse for several days to get it dry. Thanks to the accuracy of the internet weather I know within 5 minutes if it is going to rain. I have time to bring the washing in, or indeed calculate how much longer it can stay out if rain is forecast. www.meteo.fr  is the site I use and I can even put in my postcode and get the forecast FOR THE VILLAGE!!!!

Perhaps because we are out in the countryside we are also aware of the differences between the climate here and that in the West Midlands. Whereas we could look through the windows of our detached house in England and watch the storms, here we can stand on the gallery outside the house but under the roof and experience the weather. If we want to be inside we can watch the weather across the width of the valley below us and over to the hills opposite.

About three weeks ago we experienced some weather which was quite disturbing. On the Tuesday evening the wind blew and blew, bending the trees over and sending twigs scurrying up the lane in front of the house - the trees really seemed as if they would snap (some elsewhere did!) but here they seemed to have enough flexibility to remain rooted and bend.

The next night was for me the more frightening of the two. First thunder and lightning rumbled and crashed around us and right over us  - the electricity went off and the skies became darker and darker. The  hail began - not the small balls of ice you occasionally see in England - no - these were really big.
 
Outside you could have been in a snowstorm!
 
 
But worst of all was the damage we discovered the next day when we found that the car, parked outside our gates in the lane was pock marked from the force and size of the hailstones. There is nothing we can do about it, but that is just one of those things about the weather here. However, as Autumn now sets in I could not wish for a better sight when I get up than this one below!
 
 

an unexpected experience....

We took a week off the b and b to make our way back to Wordsley for a few days on 7th September. We knew we had no guests booked in so we thought it was about time to continue to clear more of our things from our old house. It was a smashing week, seeing old friends and also visiting my brother and sister-in-law in their new Rectory between Basingstoke and Andover.

However the week was overshadowed for me because I knew that when we got back Joe would be going into hospital. Just before we had left for England he had been diagnosed as being diabetic. He has been unwell for quite a long time but things moved rapidly when he tested his blood sugar on my machine and it registered 355 - for the uninitiated the norm is between 80 and 110. A visit to the doctor and a more extensive blood test confirmed that he was indeed diabetic. The doctor offered him 2 alternatives. He could go back and forth for tests to the hospital in Macon, or stay in for the week and have all the tests done. He chose the latter, so in the darkness at 6:30am on Monday 17th we set out for the hospital. We were (no, I was..) rather scared. We knew our French needs working on, would we understand everything? How would we be treated as foreigners? what would the tests reveal?
We got to the ward at 7:15, and were shown into a twin bedded room. Joe was shown which bed was his and then he was shown his wardrobe and then his height was measured, his weight taken, notes on his medication were taken and the doctor's letter handed over. He was then asked about breakfast and brought coffee and toasted biscuits to eat. His pulse, temperature and blood pressure were taken, and the nurse reassured me that he was not ill, only here for tests and that there was no need for him to be undressed and in bed...they were so kind to us, they understood we were struggling with the language and helped us by speaking simply.
After about three hours I left him in peace and was so at odds with myself that I managed to circumnavigate a roundabout at least 4 times from differing directions before I could find my way home.
The house felt very empty when I walked in but I made myself busy with jobs around the house and garden.
When I later returned to the hospital (free parking - please note Russells Hall and New Cross!), I found the other bed had been occupied by a really rather unwell looking Frenchman in his 30s who told us he had already had 2 heart attacks - however it did not stop him going for a cigarette outside.... He dozed and Joe got the benefit of the TV for which the Frenchman had paid! As the guy was only in overnight and the subscription to the TV finished the next morning quite early I asked Joe if he would like me to go to the TV office on the rez de chausee to pay for longer. His response really made me laugh. "I've watched both Family Fortunes and the Price is Right in French and enjoyed them no better than I did in England - so no thanks, I'd rather read!" And read he did - beginning with the hospital welcome book which proved really interesting - for example if you are in hospital - presumably as an emergency admission, you can ring a number to organise that your pets are looked after during your stay! Wow! There were nuggets of information - names of all the doctors, your rights as a patient, a leaving questionnaire - however Joe was not that impressed with the advert on the back cover for the funeral directors! Fortunately he had taken the large dictionary with him and this proved invaluable when we wanted to know what he was eating. His meals came piping hot with a list of what it was and a little "bon appetit! at the bottom - nice touch! A linen serviette came with the meal and the room had a table and chair so you could sit to the table to eat. Cutlery was metal! There was a starter, main course, cheese and dessert and the obligatory bread - 3 pieces of "flute" 3 fingers long for each piece! Coffee was served after the meal and in the evening a "tisane". Monitoring of Joe's blood sugar went on 4 hourly throughout day and night. He also had numerous other tests-cardiograph (he has the heart of an athlete - slow beating!). His stomach, kidneys and pancreas were scanned by ultra sound, His urine was tested, the back of his eyes was photographed. He was given cream to sooth his feet. In addition there were group sessions for all on the ward who were diabetic. By Tuesday Joe was asked if he would mind(!) moving into a single room as two friends were being admitted and wanted to share! He moved to the other side of the corridor and had a panoramic view over the Roche de Solutre and beyond towards the high Beaujolais hills. The ward was made up of single and double rooms and it was calm and peaceful and orderly. The patient staff ratio was high and everyone seemed to go out of their way to be helpful.
Together we went to 2 sessions on food - what was good and what was bad - and even in French I gleaned more than I had ever learnt in England when I was diagnosed almost 4 years ago. Water is you best friend - tap water. Drink loads. If you use mineral water do not stick to the same brand as they all have different minerals in them and you need a balance - change them each week! Red wine is OK - only drink it with a meal not on its own when it boosts fast acting sugar and can lead to a hypo...and so the advice went on...just so amazing. In addition the dietitian came to see Joe each day and wrote him a diet sheet which we are following at home - bread with every meal, cheese (yes cheese yippee) at lunch time and in the evening (30g each time)! Tea coffee and tisane when you like....even as a treat a vanilla eclair!!!! It was about balance, about not eating between meals and quite honestly after eating with Joe and preparing the food I can tell you that there is no space to eat between meals!!! And so the week went on...Joe is going back for an MRI scan on his kidneys to check for stones - just pop into the office on your way out and book an appointment Joe was told - and he did - how long is the wait - only 3 weeks....staggering.
What also I noticed was the level of hygiene - several times Joe's bed was changed and as to the way they cleaned well, I am astonished. The floor was mopped and swept regularly; when the patient sharing Joe's room had been discharged the bed was stripped, the mattress was washed with a disinfective on both sides as were the two pillows. The table over the bed was also wiped and not just the top, but the legs and underneath the table too. The upright chair was wiped down - back seat and legs, the table, and even the comfy chair for visitors.
When we left we were given the dietitian's mobile number at the hospital and told to call her anytime we had a question! Follow up with her is booked for November and follow up with the doctor in January!
What an experience! I have no fears about being in that hospital and being looked after so well.  Another new experience of life in France and another positive one! We are so grateful!

Monday, August 20, 2012

The sport of Queens and Princes......

I'm almost 60. I remember that my parents seemed to almost visibly slow down in their 60s, but I keep finding new experiences that have passed me by in the past. Today was another!
During the time that we have visited the nearby town of Cluny we knew that there was a national stud  - one of several in France. There are the most beautiful, graceful and attractive horses grazing in the fields around the Cluny area and today Joe and I were introduced to another aspect of the local passion with horses when our dear friends invited us to the races in Cluny. This was a first for us - and a fascinating afternoon although it was very warm sitting in the concrete grandstand overlooking the course -but the view was amazing!



I don't think there are many race tracks with such a lovely backdrop!

We sat in the grandstand and began to study the programme of races!
It wasn't that busy so it was possible to relax(as much as one can sitting on warm concrete) and work out what was going on!
There was a mix of races this afternoon, a flat race, trotting races and steeplechase. We were so near the track that we felt very connected with each race.
The first race was a flat race and the horses started to our left, each horse and rider being put into the starting stalls.

And they're off!
They really galloped past us at full tilt!


It was all quite exciting and as the horses had ridden past us en route to the start we were able to see them and comment on them.

Next I was very surprised to realise that there was a trotting race. The driver sat on a small two wheeled carriage which looked very light-weight but when at full trot they really moved! It was easy to identify the drivers and horses not only by the numbers on the horses but by the colours of the drivers. This was the same with the flat racing.
I really enjoyed the trotting - it requires such control for horse and rider because if the horse begins to gallop then it is disqualified. That happened to some today.


After the trotting race we had a steeplechase to watch. There were only 3 riders and horses in this race and it was very interesting to watch the race officials putting one of the jumps in place.
Then the 3 horses appeared.



It did not take them long to get to the other side of the course! And it was there that the horse in third place did not make it over the jump and the first aid officials rushed across to see if the rider was injured whilst the horse continued to gallop along. I must admit that my regard for the riders went up - it can be a dangerous sport... But I am pleased to report that about 10 minutes after the end of the race the rider walked back from the First Aid post back in front of the grandstand looking unhurt! A stable hand had the task of catching the horse and bringing him back.

What an interesting experience this afternoon has been - thanks to Chris and Mary!