Things I've learnt in the past week

1. That even if I've done the same journey literally thousands of times, I can still take a wrong turn and end up near Eastleigh airport. I didn't even know Eastleigh had an airport.
2. That a chattering granddaughter can lead to inattention when driving, resulting in an unscheduled trip to Eastleigh airport (see 1 above).
3. That on a windy day, with no other horse for company, Fairfax can be seriously spooked by the following: a man sleeping in a motorised buggy in a field (understandable); dock leaves (no excuse); a butterfly (ditto); a motorbike (he gets away with this. He really hates them); ragwort (yes. Little yellow flowers, and he's a very big horse. Pathetic); smelly effluent from cattle dung (hmmm); nothing at all (this happens frequently).
4. That the best way to celebrate a three-year-old's birthday is not to invite anyone under twelve to the party. This was my small grandson on Saturday, who had a wonderful time being the centre of attention and didn't have to share anything with anyone. (Now, why didn't I think of that, when mine were small?)
5. That when a man who is known to be clumsy dons a large  apron and equips himself with a pile of old newspapers in order to clean one pair of shoes, it is far better to do it for him.