Say what you like, but we do like a challenge.
You know that long blog silence and accompanying mega lull in activity Ms Ann wise over Christmas? Well, I’m about to (at least partially) justify it. There were many reasons to mothball our creation, not least the fact that I temporarily lost the plot again, which is one of those things that seem to happen with alarming frequency, and I AM taking my medicine again thankyou so much, goes well with a glass or two of red. But no, not that; in a rare moment for this blog I’m going to let you in on a little tiny bit of the kind of things we get up to outside the boat. The single biggest demand that made things quiet on board over Christmas was Becky’s fledgling business, the largest part of how that pertains to me (apart from having to live with a completely horse-mad-workaholic) has so far been this thing…
It’s The Yard’s outdoor horseriding arena. I finally finished it yesterday and had the immense satisfaction of seeing a horse ridden upon its brand new surface for the first time ever. It measures 20 by 60 metres and a combined total of 570 tonnes of material has gone into it. 240 tonnes of aggregate, an eventual 300 tonnes of silica sand, and thirty tonnes of chipped rubber. Oh, and a whole bunch of telegraph poles too. Trust me, there’s some science in how that surface has been laid. Almost everyone we know seems to have taken part in its construction in some way or other, so my most heartfelt hats off to all of you. It has taken over three months to build, but it had taken our lives over so much that it actually felt like forever since we staked out the site with some string and a vaguely remembered maths lesson involving some long dead Greek bloke, Pythagoras, that’s the one. It took too long, cost too much, forced a steep learning curve and made us both cry at various points along the way. But it’s all done and now I feel a profound sense of relief that it’s complete and usable, and more than a little pride in the achievement too.
No rest for me though, I’ve got a kilometre of telegraph pole fencing to complete round some fields. Oh Bloody Hell.
Hmmm, apart from the horse bit it all sounds a mite familiar doesn’t it?
It’s The Yard’s outdoor horseriding arena. I finally finished it yesterday and had the immense satisfaction of seeing a horse ridden upon its brand new surface for the first time ever. It measures 20 by 60 metres and a combined total of 570 tonnes of material has gone into it. 240 tonnes of aggregate, an eventual 300 tonnes of silica sand, and thirty tonnes of chipped rubber. Oh, and a whole bunch of telegraph poles too. Trust me, there’s some science in how that surface has been laid. Almost everyone we know seems to have taken part in its construction in some way or other, so my most heartfelt hats off to all of you. It has taken over three months to build, but it had taken our lives over so much that it actually felt like forever since we staked out the site with some string and a vaguely remembered maths lesson involving some long dead Greek bloke, Pythagoras, that’s the one. It took too long, cost too much, forced a steep learning curve and made us both cry at various points along the way. But it’s all done and now I feel a profound sense of relief that it’s complete and usable, and more than a little pride in the achievement too.
No rest for me though, I’ve got a kilometre of telegraph pole fencing to complete round some fields. Oh Bloody Hell.
Hmmm, apart from the horse bit it all sounds a mite familiar doesn’t it?
posted by IsmilebecauseIhavenoideawhatsgoingon at 7:22 pm
6 Comments:
Hi. It's looking great, you have done a brilliant job (again). Lets hope that the horses are going to like it otherwise they will end up in sausages! Lots of love and hopefully see you soon. Jan
A real well done to you both, it looks great.
Ma & Pa
Congratulations and Felicitations! We take our hats off to you both for your guts, determination, courage and persistance. It'll sure be a bouncy ride!
A very big 'well done' to both of you.
Well done to you both, big hugs and
smiles.
All our love Felicity, Mick
and Francesca xxx
Well life can't be all about boats now can it? Well done.
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