Brilliant Blenheim

As someone who works with over 350 volunteers, I know full well that people who volunteer have a whole range of motivations for doing it. So what on earth makes me take a precious holiday day off work, give up a whole weekend and drive a round trip of 350 miles to spend three days living in a tent and getting absolutely soaked?

Well, we got asked to volunteer at Blenheim Palace International Horse Trials. Can't say no to an offer like that, can you? It's the third biggest event in the UK and only Badminton and Burghley are more important. We started out as British Eventing volunteers last February for flips sake! I honestly never expected to be rubbing shoulders with people who'd worked at the Olympics so soon, if at all. It just goes to show that being dedicated (and also chatty on social media!) gets you noticed. Not exactly a case of who you know, but more a case of making yourself known, if that makes sense?

What makes us want to do it? Well, we truly love the sport and this is an amazing chance to be a part of it (and let's be honest, the chance to exchange a few words with fitties like Oli Townend and Andrew Nicholson when they're walking the course doesn't hurt either!). Fence judging usually means a long day but it's always a lively one. We had an enormous amount of fun at Blenheim and as the teams were a little bigger than at one day events, it meant there was plenty of opportunity to mix with other volunteers. We spent most of Sunday having a fab time and roaring with laughter with the three other fence judges at our fence.

Most events look after their volunteers really well but the team at Blenheim were exceptionally good to us. We got free entry and camping passes for all four days, programme vouchers, a cross-country course walk with the course designer, all sorts of brilliant special offers from their clothing partners, a fab goody bag (honestly, the way to my heart lies through pens and post it notes), as much coffee and cake as we could manage without bursting, branded clothing for the weekend and a lovely hog roast on the Saturday night. Who wouldn't want to volunteer?! It was worth every second of that extremely tedious drive down the M6 and M40 to get there.

Let me shower you with photos:

Our fence on the Saturday. Choo choo!

Our fence on the Sunday. A water jump!

Horses, horses everywhere. I was too busy fence judging to take cross-country photos so these were snapped on the Friday whilst we were wandering around.

Shopping happened. Behold my lovely new hat. A) it fits (this is rare when it comes to my enormous head), B) it suits me (also rare) and C) it's waterproof. As it rained pretty much all weekend, this was kinda important.

I did also wear the trusty badger hat though. It was cold as well as rainy. Stupid autumn weather.

The Mothership modelling her official rugby shirt and fab new boots.

Brekkie in the Odd Socks tent, accompanied by about 7 pairs of soggy walking shoes. Did I mention it was a wet weekend?

Well, one has to keep up one's standards, even when camping.

A Treat

This year seems to have marked a change in my approach to spending. I still save, but I'm not as obsessed with pinching pennies as I used to be. I'd rather just save a bit less and enjoy myself a bit more. Why should I constantly put off buying things that I really want? I'm going to have them and I'm going to enjoy them.

Consequently, there's a new arrival in my bedroom and it's something I've always wanted:

Oh my, how I love it! It took some tracking down but ebay produced results in the end. I don't technically have the space for it in my room but what the heck. I'll make room. It's too nice to put anywhere else. Anything that allows me to feel Mary Poppins-esque needs to stick around.

It's very useful too. Lots of the wooden ones had limited space on them but this has tons of twiddly bits and hooks - perfect for storing all my crap! The umbrella stand part at the bottom is just the right height to drape some of my scarves over.

It's a hat stand, so naturally I've been buying hats to put on it. I was always convinced that hats did not suit me at all due to my massive head. I'm not being negative here, merely descriptive. I have got a big head and most hats just don't fit! But I'm broadening my horizons and being brave and that has resulted in more hats. Turns out that I do suit them, I just have to be selective about what I buy and not get too miffed when they perch on top of my head.

You can just see my nice summery trilby (H&M mens section) and the green floppy hat I got on holiday, but the front two are newer purchases. The grey cloche is from Per Una at Marks & Spencer and I feel fantastically Miss Marple in it. The green fuzzy one is vintage and was purchased from Oxfam at the weekend for a bargainous £3.29. Want to see me wearing it and looking mildly jaundiced? Of course you do.

Another recent purchase, via the treasure trove that is Vix's ebay store, Kinky Melon, is this absolutely stunning vintage fake fur jacket. I feel like a glam teddy bear in it. Sadly I look more like a narky witch in the photo but trust me, I love it! Go and buy glorious things from her, you know you want to...

All filled up... Yay!