Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible

To the two or three of you who care, our apologies for the month of silence. We really have been extraordinarily busy. Here's a short one to be going on with.

We thought that some of you might like to see this little chap.

He's really lovely, isn't he?

One of the many things we like about living around here is that there are lots of horses in the fields and they're 'proper' horses. They're big, solid, heavy horses (such as the percheron) and each spring there are several foals about. They're gorgeous. However, this is a two-edged story because, sadly, a lot of these horses are reared for meat. Now we know all the old arguments about why not horses if we use cattle as food but nevertheless, for us there is a cultural norm which is mildly offended by the thought of these beasts ending up on the table. And yet, we have to recognise that if it weren't for the meat trade, a lot of these breeds of horse would effectively die out. On the whole, we'd rather they existed, even if we feel uncomfortable about the purpose.

Speaking of little chaps, here's another one.

To no-one's great surprise, Sarkozy romped it. As Irving Berlin wrote in one of his most famous songs, 'There may be trouble ahead'.