Tea Room the Twelfth

[RacingSnake]

Come in, come in, to Tea Room the Twelfth! We now inhabit a rambling log cabin, surrounded by mysterious pine forests and mist-covered mountains (but also, strangely) easily accessible by regulars, new-comers and passing bishops, ferried in by Mellors driving the troika. All the usual rules apply and all are welcome!

I think instant karma got me. I just managed to pour apple juice down me jumper instead of in my mouth. DOH.

Thats a really nice cossie UniS - I have a (much reviled in S&B) tankini with loose shorts that I bought when I realised that swimming with a baby/toddler involved a lot of not really being in the water or flinging yourself at odd angles.

What a bracing Pony day here. Nice to see Mellors back in the breeches and long boots again too.

Theres a picture of DS on pony in the snow on my profile now - you can see just how hairy the pony is !

Now, see, that pony isn't as hairy as I was imagining, CMOTD - I had more something like this in mind Cute though.

Am impressed at long-legged swimwear - I am still struggling into my black speedo which I have had for a looong time but is the most decent (as in least indecent) swimmming costume.

Good to see the NMBs partaking in the pony day too - those little frogs looked fabulous in their livery! And Mellors has just about managed to clear them out of the punchbowl and the hot tub now...

He's making good use of that swimming pool clearing net fishing the last stragglers out isn't he.....

But no, for winter, that's not a very hairy pony. Now I had one of these 1/2 leased for a while when I was a teenager.... hairy pony except she was a dun (taupe is the best way to describe the main colour, with a dark main and tail and matching stripe down her backbone)(basically mud coloured - very handy!) - now she was a hairy pony!

Welsh A and a Highland! Marvellous.

Mr T is half Welsh D and half Thoroughbred race horse, neatly encompassing the naughtiest characteristics of each: Sheer stubbornness and brute strength, combined with wild speed and a tendency to panic

More snow. Hmm.

these hairy ponies are found round here. just up the track and through the moor gate.

I feel like a hairy pony today, maybe I should go and dry my hair and brush it to get it back under control.

Amber - my friend rescued a 1/2 welsh, 1/2 arab mare. (quite hairy). She used to bumble along quite happily, but if she saw something she didn't like she turned into a dragon - crest up (she had an amazing crest for a mare!) nostrils flared... She was put to an arab, so the pony that my friend rode most of the time was a bit lighter boned, very pretty - still turned into a dragon. 2nd foal, she was put to a thoroughbred. Resultant foal turned into an amazing animal. He was pony sized, but looked like a horse from a distance - and rode like a horse too. Although I'm much larger than my friend, I could ride him. If you really worked at him when schooling he turned from a bit of an uncomfortable pony into something that just glided over the ground with huge amounts of power... out on a hack one day he cat-jumped with me, with absolutely no preparation or warning - about 1' into the air - I came back down sort of into the saddle, having lost a stirrup, and thought he would bolt at that point (= problem!) but he then just wandered on, no longer troubled. My friend broke her mare in (and re broke original mare too) but send the (by then) gelding away - best person did point-to-point horses - you'd see him hacking out on this gelding with his feet handing down each size, but even he said that he didn't feel to big - a lot of horse for a pony of that size!!!!

oooh, am sighing with nostalgia over hairy pony pics! MT, my best mate had a dun pony, Welsh cross something or other, she was fantastic for my mate and bomb-proof unless I was riding her. My friend complained I had an "electric seat" as her beloved never played up with anyone else, and friend (who was an AI) taught with her, drove wedding carriages with her etc. Personally I think said pony was jealous of me but hey

amber, your lovely sounds remarkably like several of the school ponies I used to ride in Bushy Park...[more nostalgia]

Well, it is night time here, and for once MrThumb is still up watching a film. MiniThumb is in bed asleep - he went late because a friend (in Australia) phoned just as I was about to put him to bed and I needed to talk to her about another mutual friend of ours (also in Australia) who has just started chemo for her returned breast cancer . I hope it works, she has it in her lymph system and her liver as well, so am not overly hopeful but fingers crossed please.

Fingers and all else firmly crossed for your friend, TW - goodness me. That calls for the kettle being put on for a strong cuppa, I think...

LOL UniS at fundamentalist Christian relly, its about time someone put some fun into fundamentalism .

I've never had a pony, not even a My Little Pony!

Still lack of snow here, anyone want to send us some, make the kids happy???

thanks amber - I might lace my stong cuppa with a shot of brandy too! Shocking thing to do really but needs must.

we seem to be plagued by tiny flying things at the moment - I have squashed several tiny winged insects on teh screen in the last hour or so. None of them mozzies - not sure if that's good or bad (good = no mozzies in house; bad = mozzies too clever to be squashed) but will no doubt find out tomorrow if more red welts appear. MiniThumb and I are v.v. tasty to Aussie mozzies!

Have uploaded piccy of Mr T for those vaguely interested

I never had a pony either, but I was addicted to Thelwell books.

Thumb, on Dartmoor camping one summer I was eaten alive by mozzies and experimented with rubbing lavender oil over all exposed skin (and hair). It was a very successful deterant / cure for bites. I tried it again in Cannes this summer and it was not as successful - local mozzies acustomed to lavender? It might be worth a try - at least you would be relaxed about it all!

Wow, look at MrT ! That jump looks effortless.

My thoughts are with your friend TW

He can jump, that's for sure. Jumping all of the jumps is another matter. He's very selective about it, preferring to let the rider jump them first whilst he assesses how they get on as they fly through the air and land in a heap the other side.

You can see the logic though can't you ? 'Well, you wanted to go over the jump, and I have facilitated that..'

Amber - the highland mare was very similar. She enjoyed jumping, but she also enjoyed going round the jump - to actually go over a jump you needed to line up precisely, and go at it straight. She ignored reins too which was quite interesting.... Oh and she liked combine harvesters.

As long as she never tried to jump a combine harvester?

No, but she'd have happily followed one round the field.... she used to track them when they were fields away she was so fascinated - sometimes went along with her head facing in completely the wrong direction for ages!

TW - Fingers firmly crossed and sending lots of thoughts and love your way!

Would someone be kind enough to draw a diagram to explicily show who has been to a pony or horse event, who has a pony or horse, who does pony or horse riding on a regular basis and who hasn't simply attended the tearoom pony day as my head is spinning and I am all cunfusided!!!

explicily explicitly

relax tea, its the tea room remember. Literal truth is optional.

I have never ridden a (cough) real horse but did enjoy my virtual pony ride, being led on a rein by Mellors, yesterday.

TW - Lots of thoughts for you and your friend. ((((hug))))

Bolly?

Sounds great MadBad. In the second week of my kick start diet, and though it's not too bad, indulging in the tea room is remarkably effective.

I am learning to ride, as is DS. We don't have a horse. In spite of DS's attempts to persuade us. During the week, I am ridden round the sitting room by DS as a poor standin

I too do not horse ride in real life. There is, however, photographic evidence of me as a chubby toddler on a donkey that I hesitate to mention !!!

Milk, on the otherhand, is often seen being led on a little pony in the park her school is in and it makes me wonder if riding might be a nice sport for her when she is bigger...but... is it...£££££???