Things have been manic here since we got back from Burghley - It is Jay's 21st party this evening and she wanted to have it by the river, which seemed like a great idea at the time, but gale force winds and driving rain earlier on put the whole idea into question - however, we managed to get the 'marquee' up yesterday - 40 big bales of straw with a tree in the middle and a tarpaulin over the top. Very quirky, I thought it was a crazy idea, but I have to say it looks great. Her friends have been arriving in dribs and drabs since Wednesday, and I have a sneaking suspicion that if it's a nice week-end we wont see the last of them until Sunday night. Luckily there is a pub within walking distance so as long as we provide breakfast for them, I'm sure they'll survive.
Burghley was a huge success - we had almost doubled our stock from last year and were heading towards selling out completely on the last day, but unfortunately torrential rain stopped everything in its tracks as potential buyers rushed for cover and then headed for home. We had fantastic feedback for the Stay Cold Boots with customers coming on the stand and saying that they were the best things they have ever bought. All very positive, we are now in the process of developing a cooling rug and did a fair bit of research whilst on the stand to see what people wanted. We have come up with a really good design which Rob Shepherd, our saddler, is dropping around today, we will then put it on our web-site and see what sort of response we get.
All horses are still in the field enjoying the last of their summer holidays before going back to school in a couple of weeks.
The harvest is nearly finished although the rain earlier on has left a few soggy fields waiting to dry. Our swallows have done really well this year and have just seen their third brood leave the nest, they are now re-grouping ready for the long journey back to South Africa.
We had some very sad news yesterday, Doug's father has struggled at home as he is now bed ridden. He will be going to the hospice today. He has been unbelievably strong and determined to fight this horrible illness but he is approaching his last round and it will be a miracle if he returns home this time. Doug's mother, has been amazing, but there is only so much you can do and it will be better for both of them to have the professional help they need around the clock. Terribly sad.