The new shepherd hut is about to be launched - Tomorrow is D Day and the first guest is due in on Friday. It has been all hands to the deck and looks absolutely fabulous.

The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a social whirl as well as getting rather a lot of work done in one way or another. Two Saturdays ago we went to the Glitz and Glamour ball which Nicola and Sam Burton had organised in aid of Cystic Fibrosis.It was fantastically organised and brilliant fun. We went to the ball before the chickens had gone to bed and came back after they had all got out of bed and were back scratching around the yard again, looking somewhat bemused at us arriving with our ball gown and black tie on. The ball raised over £35,000 for a well deserving cause.On the following Tuesday I had to go to a Nuffield meeting and left Doug in charge of buying a horse from Ascot. I had marked off the catalogue and there seemed to be a few nice horses. We had Popaway down to sell but thankfully it was all sorted out first and she is coming back to us next season but with a slightly different syndicate. It is always difficult as a trainer to try and keep everyone happy, but at the end of the day my main priority is to do what is best for the horse. Sadly one part of the syndicate didn't seem to share my view and because we couldn't agree on what was best for her they wanted her to go to the sale. However, we managed to negotiate a deal before it came to that. We now still have the original owners (Rob and Roy) as well as ourselves and we are in discussion with a fourth like minded person so it will be onwards and upwards for the next season.  As it happened the prices were too high for what was there so nothing was bought.

Yesterday I went for a 'girlie' lunch at Jackie Hunt's which was lovely and then Doug and I went to London to have a meal with his sister Kate and brother in law Rob. We met at a restaurant called 'Zuma' which was opposite Harrods. Amazing food and we then went on to have a nightcap on the terrace of their hotel, the Berkeley. It was a lovely quiet balmy evening and hard to believe we were right in the heart of London.