Chapter 119: Doctor's Orders

nerd blog post #130



I wish I had all the time in the world to nerd blog about the trip to Leamington and Birmingham, but I am on a library compy and will have to be brief...



The Royal Leamington Spa is a wonderful little town and Doctor proved to be, once again, the perfect host. I was there for four nights and could have stayed forever... We ate well (piri-piri and roly polys and micmics - all faves!) and drank well and saw the highlights of the town. We also went to the park twice and enjoyed the last of Britain's summer. Doctor has a nice set of friends from his program there and we saw them quite a bit. We went to a part at Bec's, to a local pub, and to a club that was having a silent disco. I had never been to one before, but you get a set of headphones at the door and have a choice between two channels of fun songs. Very fun. You can also control the volume level or turn them off if you want to talk to your friend. I had one of the best nights in a long time that night and danced my face off. Another fun thing we did was visit Doctor's gym, which is like a night club. Fancy lighting, smooth music and great deco, this place makes you feel more like you're hanging with celebs than exercising. I loved it. But, as always, the highlight was being with my pal. We talk and talk and never tire of each other. I was in need of good company and Doc is the best at being a friend. So I was grateful for such a nice visit. To read more deets, head to his blog: doctorwithoutborders.blogspot.com. He has a better synopsis of our time!



On Sunday, we headed to Birmingham together. USheila and UDoug met us at the train station and we checked out an arts festival downtown before heading to their place for a most delicious lamb dindins! Doc had a sleepy ovary there and we had a leisurely morning eating breakie and drinking cafe before going to the city centre to buy half boot. It was sad saying goodbye to Doctor. I was nervous about leaving for Portugal and this time apart will be longer than usual, so it was sad.



It was so nice being with US and UD again. They remind me of my parents, so it's nice spending time with them. I am always grateful for their hospitality, and for Claire's comfy bed!



Yesterday, I had a very long travel day, including 4 buses, 1 metro, 1 train and a flight. Twelve hours in total before I was on the farm. There is a lot to report, but my time is running out, so I'll just make a list of some key things:



1. There is a horse named Piri-piri. He's a mini-Shetland stallion, so comes up to my waist. He's SO funny and small!

2. There are three other stallions, all Lusitano. And six mares and a foal.

3. There are two other woofers, Gemma (g pronounced like gum) and myself. All girls, all nice. Gemma is actually Dutch and speaks to me in Dutch. One of the other girls is Dutch too and the third is from Belgian. She speaks Dutch as well but her mother tongue is French so we speak in French. Quite the mix!

4. We work from 7am-2pm and then have the day off until feeding at 8pm.

5. No electricity! No fridge, no bathroom light, spooky halloween nighttime!

6. Today I brushed the horses and cleaned their hooves and cleaned their poop and prepped some wood for painting. And some other things I forget.

7. At 2pm I put on my bikini and read in the sun. This will be a daily activity, I am sure of that!



That's all for now... I think I'll enjoy the month. There's a lot I can learn and the work felt good and the people are nice. I'll learn to ride properly, which is cool. I hope this finds you all well!



Much love,

Hincks.



PS - I don't know how often I'll be online, but I am guessing about twice a week or so. Sorry if I am slower than normal to write back, but Piri-piri is counting on me. In case of emergency, call my cellie. It's off mostly (because I can't charge it at the farm) but I will turn it on at least once a day. The number is the same: 33 6 32 01 23 16.