So I went to England for a few days, but didn’t see any horses. The video of the pretty liver chestnut I fell in love last week with didn’t impress my trainer, and when I looked again with a slightly cooler head I could see where she was coming from. Yes, it’s a pretty horse, with pretty paces, but for the price demanded, and the level of training stated, the video didn’t show nearly enough. Not by a mile. Also, the horse is apparently mega whip shy, to the extent where it doesn’t even like the rider to carry a whip, which turns me off somewhat. Not that I’m a heavy handed, whip wielding horse thrasher. Not at all! But I do like to carry one to encourage a haphazard hind leg, or to make a point once in a while. Nevertheless, I’ve asked for more footage, so we’ll see. Patience is a virtue, right? As Take That say in their wonderful song: “have a little patience”. I’m playing that song a lot lately. Not sure it’s helping!
I’ve seen a few more videos from Holland and selected a couple of contenders. Both are mares. I’m not sure I want a mare, as I’ve had one and they can be a bit of a pain, don’t you think? Mine was a grouch. I loved her to bits, but she was definitely a grouch. She didn’t like to be fussed over, didn’t like to be saddled up, didn’t like to be blanketed, and had strong opinions about the most trivial things. Of course, not all mares are like that, but experience has made me mare-wary. I mean, I know what hormones do to me, so I can relate. We’ll see. Have a little patience.
Which brings me to a non-equestrian topic. I actually wasn’t going to London to look at horses, at least not in the first place. I went to see a concert, and I took my Mama. She’s 72, it was her first pop concert, and she loved it! We saw Gary Barlow, the lead singer of Take That, at a small venue in Shepherd’s Bush, packed with two thousand love-struck, ultra-dedicated Gary fans. But what made this concert super special was the fact that it was a public celebration of Gary’s fortieth birthday, so you can imagine the atmosphere!
The evening was one long exhilarating sing-along from the moment the party boy came on stage. There were special guests, too, including an endearingly shy Chris Martin (Coldplay) who accompanied Gary in the massive Take That hit “Back for Good”, then ran offstage like he had tummy ache or something. Midge Ure (remember the Eighties group, “Ultravox”?!) was also invited, singing his heart out to a new Take That song inspired by his stratospheric hit, “Vienna”. Brilliant! The rest of the “Thatters” were there too (Jason, Mark and Howard, gotta love them!), singing and dancing up a storm, apart from the fickle-faced Robbie Williams (who recently rejoined the group after causing mayhem for them back in the Nineties) who contributed by sending Gary a video-taped, bare-bottomed birthday greeting from Los Angeles. Personally, I found this a little OTT, but that’s just me. I guess Robbie will always be Robbie. Pff!
Anyway, as concerts go, this one was one of the best I’ve seen as far as the feel-good factor is concerned. There’s something intensely satisfying about belting out one great song after another with two thousand other people, while doing all the accompanying moves. It’s fun! It’s uplifting! And I don’t care about the snide remarks I get from the musical snobs in my entourage, they can diss Gary Barlow as much as they want. He writes great, melodic pop songs, with tunes you can sing, not just repetitive risqué lyrics with boom-boom-pow thunderous bass lines orchestrated for bottom wiggling. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for wiggling my bottom to the risqué boom-boom-pow stuff when bottom wiggling is called for, but there’s something to be said for a great melody and nice, romantic lyrics, don’t you think?
Besides, Gary Barlow’s “Patience” really speaks to me at the moment. It’s a song about a embarking on a new relationship after losing a very special one. Horse-wise, I’m there. So thanks, Gary, for a wonderful evening.
