What a wet Saturday. I had to get up before 7am so that I could pick up my friends to travel to Auchterarder for the Ladies Open. The weather on friday night for the junior golf was not good - several turned in after a few holes totally sodden right thru. So things did not look good for us, but we looked at the BBC weather forecast and it said "light showers". The weather here was bearable, but as we travelled down the rain got heavy, the roads were flooded and the roadside fields were beginning to look like lochs! We arrived at Auchterarder and made a run for the club house - to find that the competition had been cancelled! Mixed feelings- we had just travelled for an hour or so and were geared up for golf, but the thought of everything getting sodden wet was not appealing! so we had a coffee and a bacon roll, spent a few pounds on the tombola (and managed to win several prizes!), then made our way to the pro shop where a few more pounds were spent! We made a few detours on the way home, including one to a farm shop where I bought some local strawberries and some hand made soap - lemongrass, camomile & geranium, and lavendar- wonderfull! So now I was home with no plans, so when one of my neighbours said she was going to the local ploughing match I said I would go too. So on went the boots (great look with the cut off shorts! and waterproof jacket) and off we went with dogs in tow. I was thinking of a ploughing match being like a football match only with tractors and ploughs! The match was being held on my friend's farm, there are 2 ploughing areas - one for traditional tractors, and one for modern tractors. Then each area is split into sections - 1 for each ploughman. It was really interesting watching the traditional ploughs, some of them being driven my some of the boys who attend junior golf. They have to plough their section (probably about 20 feet wide) perfectly - dont ask me what all the criteria are, but I think it has something to do with how straight the line is and how the cut sod falls in lines. we spent several hours wandering around watching these men and boys working away oblivious to the weather. Eventually we called the dogs to us (not sure what one of them had been rolling in though!) and made our way home. The ploughing had not finished, but the speed was not part of the criteria for winning! By the time we walked home my legs looked black with mud - well saves on the washing!. Quick change and clean up ( or was that clean up and change), threw the chicken and veg into the oven then nipped next door for a glass of wine.
lovely dinner, followed by strawberries, raspberries and ice cream, now sitting with a glass of wine watching the Joseph programme!
Hope tomorrow brings better weather - would like to get out in the garden for a wee while.
Oh, just remembered - got some purple balls!
1 comment:
Well, you may have been rained out but it sounds as though it wasn't a wasted day at all! Something like a ploughing match (if it's outside your normal experience) is a lot of fun. I like that sort of thing and all that goes with it - usually a country fair atmosphere. I hope the weather improves for you!
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