January
Falling on 2 January, Jay’s birthday is always going to be somewhat anticlimactic after the Christmas excesses. We gathered round the faded Christmas tree for a celebration: the main present this year, selected after hours of deliberation and a tour of local saddleries, was a Stubben bridle for Clyde, and most of the presents reprised the horsey theme.
It was a low-key month
for riding, with a return to competition on two Sundays, 15 and 29, and Clyde
opened his account for 2006. The
horse-box complained at the cold weather and we found that a new battery was
required.
Soon after returning to
school, Jay spent a week on work experience.
She had applied for work with a consultant at Cheltenham General
Hospital, but this was oversubscribed, so she spent the week in a selection of
podiatry (ie feet) clinics: in a GP
practice, at the hospital and in a health centre. Towards the end of the month, she ended up as a patient herself –
in the dentist’s chair, for a rather awkward filling.
Almost a year to the day
after the first treatment, a plumber came to put another dose of sealant in our
heating system, and, again, initial signs are that it will do the trick … but
this time, we’re not holding our breath, as they say. So far, this contest is a high-scoring draw – leaks 2, Roger 2 –
and we definitely need to tighten up at the back if we are to get a result.