Breaking Cover

Fi and I decided last night that we'd head to Melton today so we could do a few things and be back in Banbury for the first Six Nations game at about 1.30pm.  We didn't get off to quite the early start we'd originally set our minds on but nevertheless, left home still with plenty of time to do what we needed to do and get back.  Arrived in Melton around 11.00am and headed straight to see E.  One of the things we wanted to sort was dad's car - I found his ownership papers exactly where they should have been (I'd found the wrong papers when I first looked) which meant we could now change the ownership over and tax it.  This was done and dusted soon after we'd been down to Tesco's and replenished E's supplies.  Whilst we were waiting for S to then fix up the insurance F & I decided to take one of dad's '(several!) flat caps out to the Scalford pub.  The folks there have also been deeply shaken by dad's sudden death and are missing his presence in BS Corner.  It was their suggestion that they frame and hang one of his caps on the wall to keep his spirit present with them.  His caps apparently were quite a talking point, mostly because he'd forget it so often when he went home!  Anyway, F and I began the 2 mile drive to Scalford but were drawn to a halt by a bunch of parked cars after less than a mile.  As I looked ahead to see what the hold up was F picked it: "It's the hunt...."  My home town of Melton Mowbray is at the heart of the old fox-hunting country and was often the meet point for one of 3 local hunts that converged on Melton - the Belvoir, Quorn and Cottesmore.  Of course, I was out of the car with my camera and big-bertha lens almost before Fi finished saying 'the hunt'.  One of the things I'd wanted to do whilst I was home in England was to follow a hunt, something dad would have absolutely loved.  The irony of stumbling across the hunt on the very (short) road dad had his accident on sent a shiver up my spine.  Surely it couldn't be a coincidence....

To cut the longer story short, we were very happy to 'follow' the hunt which basically means driving to where the huntsmen and hounds appear to to be heading.  I say 'appear' as following is often done in a car along narrow country lanes whilst the hunt itself traverses the hedges, fields, copses and fences of the countryside and only the hunt master really knows what's happening. Modern day hunting per se is actually banned now in England so when these hunts go out they are now heading out on a trail hunt where a scented trail is laid for the hounds to find and follow.  As we saw today, the hunt has much to-ing and fro-ing, plenty of leisurely riding, some hard riding, a lot of socialising and very little hound action!  At the point I took this picture we'd heard the hunting horn being sounded on the other side of the copse, then heard the hounds gathering and crashing through the copse.  Almost before we knew what was happening, the hounds then the redcoat popped through the bushes almost right in front of us!  We watched them head down the road then tried to guess where they might head next (well - some huntsmen and some much more seasoned followers pointed us in the 'right' direction).  At this next stop we were able to view the hounds in full flight across the countryside, a hare sprinting across a field away from some hunters who seemed oblivious to its presence and some very dubious, sneaky behaviour from a couple of guys, now assumed to be pro-hunters who thought we were 'anti-sabs'......anti-hunt saboteurs.  We have assumed this from their dodgy behaviour.......one guy walking up alongside Fi's car and peering inside, another guy driving their van up behind me and coughing.  I of course turned around to see what was happening only to see the second guy pointing his phone camera right at me!  As we learned later, 'the word' out on the course was that there were some anti-sabs around, one from New Zealand with a big camera!!!

After a couple of hours we made the call to head to the pub to deliver dad's cap and it was here that the second part of our special day unfolded.  It was an absolute pleasure to spend time with dad's friends in his special place, sharing stories and remembering good times and it was whilst we were here that D joined us.  Turned out he was a quad bike rider out with the hunt (trail laying??).  He'd heard 'the word' about the anti-sabs, recognised the description of Fi and I and told them they could rest easy as he knew us and could assure them we were not there to sabotage the hunt!  Small world, tiny area, country folk - love it!

And to cap off this tall tale, I'm sure dad had the last laugh.....

As we drove back down the Scalford back road past a local park, Fi slowed the car and declared......."what the.......is that a wallaby...?!"  I swung my head round in time to see it stand up, look around then hop off into the bushes!  Definitely a wallaby.  Who on earth is ever going to believe this story....??!

We'd well and truly missed the first Six Nations game but figured we could watch the second if we headed to T's armed with a fish and chip tea.  Not the result England were hoping for but a staunch game from Scotland secured the win.  A memorable day...and we hadn't even driven back to Banbury yet  Definitely a day I will remember for a very long time indeed.