I was on my way out the door off to see the Minions when I saw this lot fast asleep in the never-ending fog we seem to be plagued with.

As I approached, Haakon stood up and I was greeted with even less forelock than last time I looked properly.

He doesn’t look like Haakon anymore.

I can’t get my head around my de-forelocked horse that is meant to be my beloved old boy.

Especially when he makes these kinds of faces.

A feeble forelock makes Haakon’s ears look much bigger too.  A too bit donkey-like.

Meanwhile, everyone else is flashing their magnificent hair at us.

And Haakon has this miserable little affair.

Poor old lad. He has never looked so bad.

He used to be so beautiful.  I shall now scan the internet for forelock growth products.

I left them all to it and walked back over the field to clamber over the fence.

Obviously I was followed by the girls, while Haakon grumbled about his male-pattern baldness problems.

Edited to add if you can recommend any product you have used successfully on your horse, please let me know. x

These three were waiting for me at the gate – from left to right, Newt, Vitamin and Fivla.

Every step I took was being watched.  Sadly, minimal carrots (we’re running very low until someone goes to town) were dished out.

Meanwhile, the other 5 were fast a-bye-byes at the far end of this field.  They now have two fields to play in.

As I walked nearer, Waffle spied me and immediately got up.

Silver was flat out.  Dead to the world.  Dreaming his dreams oblivious of the world.

I didn’t want to disturb him but he soon realised I was around. I gave him his carrot while he sat like this. He happily accepted.

Storm woke up as well.  I got the feeling of the Kraken wakes!

He was like a toddler who has just been in a very deep sleep – boggly-eyed and disorientated but possibly in a filthy mood.

He did his “Tang horse” stretch and yawned.  I shoved his carrot in.

Dear old Waffle. So cool and very endearing.

And then I walked back leaving the “sleeping beauties” behind and back at the gate little Newt was waiting for me.  Always waiting.  And yes, I took his nosey in both hands and gave him a big kiss, which was all he really wanted, apart from the hopeful expectation of more carrots if he smiled hard enough!

I’ll just leave this here. ❤️

A bit of my family history now.

Robert Faraday was the younger brother of Michael Faraday (you may have heard of him – a renowned English physicist and chemist).

His younger brother, Robert was a brass founder and gas engineer.  He is my Great Great Great  Grandfather.

Since working on my Great Great Aunt Kate’s diaries, I have been having a lovely time catching glimpses of their lives. It is all fascinating.  I have reached 1925 now.

Harold Faraday (son of Robert) was my Great Great Grandmother’s brother.  He worked at Faraday & Son, his grandfather’s firm – Faraday & Son – in the 1900’s

I have been watching Ebay and recently purchased two Pullman lights (apparently patented by Faraday & Son) – they were used on train tables in the Pullman coaches – a mainline luxury railway service.

I approached a friend, a qualified and obviously very talented electrician, and asked him if he could rewire them up to modern safety standards and, if I bought a lampshade, could he fit that as well. He said he could so off I shopped…..

And the results are well, quite frankly, awesome (and I don’t use that word lightly).

The first lamp is brass and has a beautiful “Liberty print” lampshade keeping in date with the era.

The second is silver metal and very different.

The lampshade was off Ebay. I asked the seller to show me a picture of it lit up from inside, so he refused and blocked me!  Seriously. As I wanted the lampshade more than I needed a friend, I asked Daisy to buy it on my behalf.  It was worth it.  Stuff the seller, he learnt nothing!

Lit up, the lamp is spectacular.  Like the moon.

I am utterly in love with both of my lamps and it is wonderful that once upon a time they were in the shop of my great great great uncle whose shop my great great aunt frequently visited.

And huge thanks to my electrician who made this dream a reality with his sympathetic choices of cable, switches and plugs.  Utterly perfect.

I went to check the Minions, as per usual, but this time I took a brush with me.  I had noticed, when we were trimming hooves the other day, that forelocks were looking greasy and knotted (it is the old undercoat fuzz making birdsnests).  Not pretty and very tatty.

The Scruffy Herberts

Silver

Fivla

Vitamin

Storm

Tiddles (he looks like a lampshade! – I’ve no idea why)

Albie

Waffle

Newt

I brushed whoever stayed around (I think only Tiddles escaped my  ministrations).

The Beautiful People

Fivla

Newt

Waffle – who went more than a little bouffant!  Oops

Storm

Albie (who now looks like he had a “bowl” cut!

With the inevitable argument, thank you Silver and Storm.

No one looked that impressed with my hard work!

Maybe I won’t bring my brush again, for a while…. but then there is Tiddles still to do.