Starting from number one there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

The Sulphur Tufts photograph that I took in Ash Wood while I was holidaying at Denbury. As you can see it is published in the February Edition of Countryfile Magazine with a small article. Vicky.

The original photograph of the Sulphur Tufts. Vicky.

Derby Cathedral. Vicky.

Kane and Abel my Driving Horses were originally purchased to do Pairs Competition Driving, but being stabled in the London Docklands there wasn’t a lot of places to train them. That was part of the reason for them being sent to Seven Oaks in Kent. The idea was to get them ready to compete in trails driving. That idea changed when one of my Carriages, a Hotel Omnibus was completed being renovated and we decided that we should enter a Showing Class at the British Driving Societies annual show at Smith Lawn, Windsor.

Kane and Abel were taken out every day to get them ready for the Show. I had decided that the Coachman and his Wife who were training them should drive the Horses and Carriage in the Show. The Coachman was a big man, so it was decided that a friend of mine would make the Coachman’s outfits. New Collar Harness was purchased and every thing possible was done to give us a good chance of going to the Show to win the class we were entered in. But the Coachman’s outfit had not turned up on the day they were promised. The night before the Show my friend who was making the outfits turned up with two period Policeman’s Capes that he had hired as he had not had time to make the outfits. They were as much good as nothing and after frantic phone calls all over the Country we were eventually promised two outfits would be waiting at the Show Ground for us.

We arrived at the Show Ground. I just knew the day was going to be a disaster. The outfits were there as promised, trouble was they did not fit the Coachman. It was decided that I would have to Drive. I must admit the the Horses and Carriage when ready they were by far the best display in the whole Show. The only hat that I had was the Top Hat that I wore on Halloween. Then it was miles to big for me, if it hadn’t been for my ears being in the way the Top Hat would have fell all over my head.

I cant remember the year but it was a very long hot Summer and this day as no exception. With the Coachman’s Wife by my side we drove Kane and Abel to the Show Ring. The looks and comments that we got on the way made us more than confident that we had all but won our class. The Horses were sweating quite a lot not only from the heat but they had never pulled a carriage of this size before. We also realised that they had never been driven in Collar Harness, only ever driving in a Breast Harness, pulling from their breast rather than their neck, that they were now doing. Kane and Abel weren’t that put out and once in the Show Ring with the other Horses and Carriages they livened up. So much so that when we had to drive them to show what they were capable of they were a bit of a handful and quite hard to stop. Concentrating on stopping the Horses I allowed the driving whip to gently touch the rear end of Kane. It made him more than ready to bolt, but some how I managed to stop him, but he wasn’t forgiving and and double barreled kicked back hitting the board that our feet rested on. I heard the wood crack where Kane had kicked it so hard. We really should have left the ring in disgrace but the Coachman’s Wife insisted that we should continue. Needless to say we were last.

It didn’t help when the Class Judge who unbeknown to us had seen the Horses and Carriage before we went into the Show Ring whilst we were getting ready, he came as we were unharnessing the Horses, telling us that before we even had entered the Show Ring we had won the Class and it was only the kick that spoilt it. Just as bad my elder Son was to film the Show. He forgot to push the record button.

Starting from number one there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

The Sulphur Tufts photograph that I took in Ash Wood while I was holidaying at Denbury. As you can see it is published in the February Edition of Countryfile Magazine with a small article. Vicky.

The original photograph of the Sulphur Tufts. Vicky.

Derby Cathedral. Vicky.

Kane and Abel my Driving Horses were originally purchased to do Pairs Competition Driving, but being stabled in the London Docklands there wasn’t a lot of places to train them. That was part of the reason for them being sent to Seven Oaks in Kent. The idea was to get them ready to compete in trails driving. That idea changed when one of my Carriages, a Hotel Omnibus was completed being renovated and we decided that we should enter a Showing Class at the British Driving Societies annual show at Smith Lawn, Windsor.

Kane and Abel were taken out every day to get them ready for the Show. I had decided that the Coachman and his Wife who were training them should drive the Horses and Carriage in the Show. The Coachman was a big man, so it was decided that a friend of mine would make the Coachman’s outfits. New Collar Harness was purchased and every thing possible was done to give us a good chance of going to the Show to win the class we were entered in. But the Coachman’s outfit had not turned up on the day they were promised. The night before the Show my friend who was making the outfits turned up with two period Policeman’s Capes that he had hired as he had not had time to make the outfits. They were as much good as nothing and after frantic phone calls all over the Country we were eventually promised two outfits would be waiting at the Show Ground for us.

We arrived at the Show Ground. I just knew the day was going to be a disaster. The outfits were there as promised, trouble was they did not fit the Coachman. It was decided that I would have to Drive. I must admit the the Horses and Carriage when ready they were by far the best display in the whole Show. The only hat that I had was the Top Hat that I wore on Halloween. Then it was miles to big for me, if it hadn’t been for my ears being in the way the Top Hat would have fell all over my head.

I cant remember the year but it was a very long hot Summer and this day as no exception. With the Coachman’s Wife by my side we drove Kane and Abel to the Show Ring. The looks and comments that we got on the way made us more than confident that we had all but won our class. The Horses were sweating quite a lot not only from the heat but they had never pulled a carriage of this size before. We also realised that they had never been driven in Collar Harness, only ever driving in a Breast Harness, pulling from their breast rather than their neck, that they were now doing. Kane and Abel weren’t that put out and once in the Show Ring with the other Horses and Carriages they livened up. So much so that when we had to drive them to show what they were capable of they were a bit of a handful and quite hard to stop. Concentrating on stopping the Horses I allowed the driving whip to gently touch the rear end of Kane. It made him more than ready to bolt, but some how I managed to stop him, but he wasn’t forgiving and and double barreled kicked back hitting the board that our feet rested on. I heard the wood crack where Kane had kicked it so hard. We really should have left the ring in disgrace but the Coachman’s Wife insisted that we should continue. Needless to say we were last.

It didn’t help when the Class Judge who unbeknown to us had seen the Horses and Carriage before we went into the Show Ring whilst we were getting ready, he came as we were unharnessing the Horses, telling us that before we even had entered the Show Ring we had won the Class and it was only the kick that spoilt it. Just as bad my elder Son was to film the Show. He forgot to push the record button.

Starting from number eleven there are five new photographs on the Photo Page.

View of Coombe Abbey. Bec

Close up of the moat. Bec.

The very long driveway up to the Abbey. Bec.

The entrance door to the hotel. Bec.

We spent the Saturday after Christmas at St. Augustine, Florida. At the Fountain of Youth, a wedding was going to take place. The bride and groom arrived in the carriage shaped like Cinderella’s pumpkin pulled by a pair of black horses. They were beautiful and so very gentle. The bride is in the red dress. Karen, Florida (USA)

Karen’s photograph of the Wedding Carriage brought back memories of when I had a small collection of Carriages myself. I got involved in them in a Carriage that I purchased in Somerset, whilst on Holiday at a Friends before we moved to Denbury. Knowing nothing about Carriages I paid at the time a lot to much for it, but it started my interest in Carriages and their history.

Although I was quite a reasonable Carriage Driver, I was always fearful that the Horses I was driving may get hurt in my care, for that reason I chose to let other Coachman drive for me.

There are some excellent Coachman to be found and I was lucky to have found two of them whilst I had Driving Horses. One in particular was a Coachman that had helped Prince Philip with his Team of Competition Horses. The Coachman had also worked driving the Harrods Horse Drawn delivery van around London.

Whilst two of my Driving Horses Kane and Abel were being trained, we had them in Livery with the Coachman in Seven Oak in Kent. They were there in the great gale when the Seven Oaks were blown down. That was not the only bad memory that I had of the area in that year, for there was a serious fire at the stables where many of the Horses died. Fortunately Kane and Abel were in a part of the barn that escaped the fire.

The fire was started deliberately by a Lad who was known to the owners of the Stables. He had a mental problem and was seeking attention. He believed that he would be a hero by saying that he had found the Stables on fire and had gone in and saved the Horses by letting them out. That was never going to happen. A Horses Stable is to a Horse a safe place. In a fire instead of running from the Stable to escape it will believe that it to be a safe place to be, and will stay until it is to late.