Christmas came early this year: I've bought a real Romany vardo (gypsy wagon), which is a childhood dream come true. My excuse is that I need it for research purposes, as I'm writing a story about a Romany pony boy. It's a pretty poor excuse, as we use it for cosy evenings round the stove and then pop into the house for an Aga-cooked meal, the loo and/or a bath....so we're experiencing the hardships of Romany life to the full!
The Haworth family were staying in the cottage when the wagon was delivered, so we had a barbecue to celebrate. Baldrick the lurcher really looks the part.
My sister, Betty, was staying with Mum, and she took these photos.

We also have some sad news: we have decided to sell Spec and Sherman (the two black Shire horses) at the end of this season. Sherman will be 17 next year, and he was beginning to find our steep hills tiresome. Spec and Sherman are going a few miles away to Mullacott Equestrian Centre, www.mullacott.co.uk , where they will stay together. We will be very sad to see them go, but we either had to expand the heavy horse business or give up, and costs and regulations were increasing each year. Basil fans (Rahul in particular!) will be glad to know Basil will stay here for the rest of his life as a pet.

We are keeping a wagon and a set of harness incase we discover we can't live without Shires, and we are planning to have fun training up a team of Exmoor ponies to drive (yes, we're completely potty).

On the subject of training ponies, Vanessa Bee is going to come to West Ilkerton again for a couple of days in October to handle the unhandled Exmoor foals. The photos are of Vanessa handling Trifle, the foal Leah Haworth bought, and Leah stroking Trifle for the first time.

This week a very special girl called Nicole visited West Ilkerton. She loves Exmoor ponies and the "Katy" books, and she was determined to touch a real Exmoor pony. Tinkerbell was happy to oblige, especially when she found some coarse mix in a bucket! Here is a photo of Nicole, her mum and Tinkerbell.