Journal Entries
Guess what I've been doing today?
Posted Jul 21, 2012
Imagine there's no ragwort
(doobydoobydo)
A lovely thought to think
(doobydoobydo)
Clover below us
(doobydoobydo)
With flowers white and pink
(doobydoobydo)
Imagine all the horses eating only grass
(Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah)
Imagine there's no ragwort
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill the livestock
And no more skin rash too
Imagine all the farmers living life in peace
You-oo-oo-oo-ooo, you may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day we'll rid our
Fields of this yellow scum
Imagine no more ragwort
I wonder if you can
No ponies going hungry
And no more farmer's tan
Imagine all the livestock grazing every field
You-oo-oo-oo-ooo, you may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day we'll rid our
Wo-ho-orld of this yellow scum
Discuss this Journal entry [13]
Latest reply: Jul 21, 2012
If Wednesday is this bad, what will Thursday be like?
Posted Jun 28, 2012
I thought I'd take it easy today after a very busy and exhausting weekend involving a gaming convention, a Shakespeare production, and a houseful of visitors. I've had a cough and one of those annoying not-quite-a-fevers for a week, and needed the rest.
Slept for ages, and only got up around 1.00 when my flatmate came home after a 12-day tour guiding gig. We exchanged annoying tourist stories over a pot of tea, and then I made rather a nice pot of soup out of the vegetables left over from Monday's barbecue.
The day kind of went downhill from there. We rang the police to report our stolen bin - third in four months - because the council won't give us a new one otherwise, then The Visitor (who is actually heading back to Germany soon) and I decided to head out to my friend P's for an evening ride into the forest. 
They nearly left without us, because I hadn't been following the news closely enough and got stuck in the sloooow traffic resulting from the tail end of the Queen's visit.
I did get mounted in the end, though The Visitor had to stay home, because one of the horses was lame. We set off in shirtsleeves on a warm June evening for a ride to the forest, with a perfect rainbow over the valley. 
Unfortunately, it didn't stay magical very long - we'd ridden about half an hour when the sky was suddenly covered in grey clouds and there was a lot of ominous thunder and lightning in the distance. It started pouring soon after. Half of Belfast is now flooded, with a severe weather warning in effect for tomorrow, and 'motorists should "exercise extreme caution when driving and only travel if necessary".'
A wet forest on a hill, of course, isn't the best place to be in a thunderstorm. Especially not with a group containing two very green horses, one of which has never been in the forest at all, and an inexperienced rider that means you can't canter home.
We were all soaked to the skin by the time we got back, and I stripped off my soaked shirt and just put on the raincoat I'd conveniently left in the car. Not much I could do about the breeches. Originally, we had intended to do the shopping on the way home, but I was so cold and wet that I just wanted to get home. So I turned the other way back, to avoid any remaining crowds around Stormont.
That turned out to be a big mistake, because it meant I was going away from the repair place I usually use. There was a funny smell, the car refused to accelerate, and I just had time to pull over before the clutch gave way entirely. 
That's the second clutch in nine months, the first one having burned out three weeks after I bought the car.
So I rang P, who lives nearby, knows the garage owner, and has a towbar, and he came out half an hour later and helped me get the car over to the workshop. Of course, by the time we'd hitched the tow ropes up, fetched the warning triangle back, etc, I was completely drenched again, with no more dry things to change into. P was nice enough to drive us all the way home, soaking wet as he was, too - and then got stuck in a flooded road himself going home.
I'm just very glad I had the foresight to make that soup. And that I was riding in the new treeless saddle, because you feel the horse better - at least I had a warm bum. 
Naturally, I blame 2legs for everything, except the traffic. I'm afraid the Queen takes precedence there.
Discuss this Journal entry [14]
Latest reply: Jun 28, 2012
Heavy and persistent rain...
Posted Jun 22, 2012
...especially in Co. Antrim, and especially in the evenings. That's the weather forecast for the entire weekend. Figures, really - we're putting on three evening performances of "Under the Greenwood Tree" in Belvoir Forest this weekend. Sigh. At least I'm only a musician, so I can deliver the fanfares from the relative safety of a cloak.
It'll be fun, though - all the best scenes from Shakespeare, each in a different clearing.
The standing will be the hard part. We had a ceilidh for the end of the set dancing class yesterday. I survived 3 1/2 hours of dancing with no incident, but was simply walking across the dance floor when I fell flat on my face and bruised both my knees. 
Discuss this Journal entry [17]
Latest reply: Jun 22, 2012
Quiet Sundays will be the death of me yet...
Posted Jun 10, 2012
Today's been full of near misses.
I was woken up around 8.00 by a huge crash. More than a square metre of the ceiling had come down and fallen directly on the bed - in the spare room, which for the first time in three months isn't being occupied by a guest...
Since I was already up, and so was my heartrate, I then went out to my friend's place to ride his horses. We went for a hack in the forest. I was on Charlie, who's normally very sensible, but he's also only three, so when a wild golfer suddenly jumped out of the trees, he nearly jumped off the embankment backward.
We did manage to get both me and the horse calmed down enough again to continue into the woods braving puddles, scrambling up banks, that kind of thing. And then we had a few jumps over a little branch, then a few fallen logs - nothing more than about a 40cm high, just to give him the idea. Unfortunately, he got the idea, and went charging straight for a snapped-off tree about 180cm off the ground. Got him turned in time, but I think the silly thing might have tried it! 
My flatmate wants me to go to the Irish dancing class with her in an hour, but I'm not sure I'll survive the experience, if the rest of today is anything to go by 
Discuss this Journal entry [13]
Latest reply: Jun 10, 2012
Whither now?
Posted May 31, 2012
I've just finished all the classes for my Master's, only the dissertation to go. 
Now I have to think about finding a real job, in the real world. But I don't know where to look.
On the one hand, there are lots of things I miss about Germany. My family, places to walk, proper bread... 
On the other hand, I have built up much more of a social and professional network here than I ever had there, and it would be a shame to leave it behind.
On the other other - er... 
on the one foot, there are lots of cool places I haven't seen yet, this is a natural break anyway, and it's the perfect time to travel, while I have only myself to think of.
And finally, on the other foot, I suppose the job market is hard everywhere, so I'd better take what I can get, wherever I can get it...
So, good people, badgers, small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri, etc - would you recommend where you are, what's the job market like, and can you think of anywhere that needs a little more Malabarista? 
Discuss this Journal entry [22]
Latest reply: May 31, 2012
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