Nothing of note. What goes on tour stays on tour.

    Looks like Bingo maybe having a run out at Fakenham on Monday 8th February. More news to follow.

     It's just a puke.

   Tough spot young man. And ?

      Apologies for the late update. Bingo is absolutely fine after his fall and showing no ill effects which is good news especially as the leading horse had to be put down. Bingo travelled very well for much of the race but did make a couple of minor errors before the fall. However he showed that he will plug on even when tiring as he showed from the turn home. He really was in with a chance before falling at that last fence.
     With regards to the fall Noel feels James should have done a little better and will stand him down for the next run. He will be given a rest before deciding the next steps. Maybe just stay away from Huntingdon. I watched it in Ladbrokes,Market Square,Nottingham and for a few moments it was incredibly exiting. Mainly the 2 seconds between the leader falling and Bingo
( who was third at that moment) also falling.
      In other news Sheffield Wednesday continue their run of form by beating Leeds at the weekend. Hardly makes up for the sad death of David Bowie who I was lucky enough to see at Sheffield City Hall in 1972. Must dig out the ticket stub. Love and rockets.

   I went to that game and it was men against boys. There is a big gap between Championship and Premiership and I also think it was very clear that Stoke wanted it a lot more than an out of sorts Wednesday. The main point though is the huge gulf between the two Leagues. Stoke are such an improved club they are unrecognisable from ten years ago. Good to see,like Leicester City in many respects. That's the journey that I hope Wednesday are on and one I thought I would never see again.

              It's all happening. Bingo is having another run out this Friday at Huntingdon. Now we know he can jump and get round a track it seems the trainer is keen to get him in the arena again. It's a NH horses only event so no ex flat runners. Because of his run in France he should get a handicap mark after this run which opens up a host of opportunities for us in the future. Apparently there isn't anything too scary in the other entries so he should be competitive regardless of what he declares. The aim is to get him a lot handier from the outset so should get a better sense of his ability. To those Blondes who use these updates as an excuse to bundle a load on, please don't as we have really no idea how he will do. Obviously enjoy the sweat but please don't hold me responsible when he falls at the first ! He's in the 1.50pm race. Tally Ho.

   So feedback from the trainer. Bingo is fine after the exertions at Exeter and ' trotted up sound and eaten up '. ( This is horse trainer talk). Seems he was a little shell shocked after the exertion and he came 6th from 18 and despite tiring towards the end seemed to get the hang of his job and jumped a lot better. Will know soon when Bingo will be having his next little adventure. Yesterday's trip to Fulham was a great success with an absolute belter  of a goal from Wallace to nick all three points. It's was good to go to a match with Ed and Alice.As they rightly build their respective lives these moments become rarer and as such even more special. The world of work returns with a vengeance tomorrow so it's unlikely there will be much to update on here. Unless of course I bink the DTD  Deepstack this afternoon.

      Well the good news is he finished the race and jumped well in pretty atrocious conditions. The plan was to start well back and move into contention in the final part of the race. The going was so soft he was never going to catch up. Noel says he hasn't been worked to hard since the fall at Huntingdon so this was very much a run out. It felt like a small victory that he got round ok and apparently he jumped quite well so everyone is pleased with the progress. It was quite amusing watching it in the Bet Fred shop at Cheltenham with all the New Years Day action going on all around. Great fun. The next adventure is tomorrow when we regroup by the Thames for lunch and the Fulham game. Apparently Wednesday have sold 3,500 and ours are right in the middle of them. Certainly no prawn sandwiches tomorrow. WAWAW. Hope you all had a great time last night and 2016 brings you all you ask for. Love and Rockets.

     With the boy in a bar at Cheltenham Racecourse about to watch the race in the BetFred bookies. HNY.

     Noel has confirmed that Bingo will race at Exeter on New Years Day. He is going to wear a 'hood' which will help him focus
apparently. The plan is to drop him at the back and let him work his way into the race. We are 'expecting' to be there at the business end of the race because despite the mini disaster at Huntingdon Noel thinks we have a proper one. The jockey will be James Banks who had 3 wins and a second at Market Rasen yesterday.
    I am not sure if I will be going at this stage. To drive past Cheltenham on New Years Day to go to Exeter after the trauma of Huntingdon is a real test,especially as I have a trip to Fulham planned for the next day.
    Hope all readers have had a good Christmas.One highlight was introducing my 86yr old father to the Internet via his new 'Ipad'. Great to see him trawling Utube for images of flying Vulcans and Singapore in the late 60's as well as the video camera facility. I wil keep him off Blonde. Two generations is enough. Ed is flying back from South Africa tonight having spent Christmas with his new in laws. He went to the Test at Durban on Boxing Day so missed SWFC tanking Birmingham at Hillsborough.
     So that's the update for now. Love and Rockets.

      I am pleased to report that Bingo is back cantering and showing no further ill effects from his fall at Huntingdon.From hear on Noel is looking at potential targets for another run out at month end. ( it's taken slightly longer to get over the muscle pull than first hoped). There are three Maiden Hurdles that he's considering at the moment and they are bang in the festive period.
31st December ( Uttoxeter) or 1st January ( Exeter or  Fakenham. Hopefully it ends up being Uttoxeter. 

       I don't know Tighty but will try to find out. Looks like another run out mid December and Leicester is being mentioned. In other news I went to see the Steve Jobs film today.I do like Danny Boyle direction but the 'three act' structure comes over as a little contrived and it's a little bit off the scale to think he would be having the conversations he was having in the 30 minutes before the various product launches so I was left a little disappointed. I am aware that he was a very intense,obsessive and challenging personality who many employees where terrified of.I was exhausted during the first 30 minutes as he is preparing for the product launch of the ' Apple Mac'. There's a touching development of his relationship with his daughter to add a further human element. It's well worth going to see but didn't punch the lights out for me.

     There's a military saying which I cannot quite remember which basically say the best laid battle plans go tits up at the first contact and I suspect something like that happened here. I am no expert but he looked very frisky while being saddled up. He kept kicking the side of the stable etc. He looked fine in the parade ring and we all seemed hopeful. He had been jumping really well and the experienced jockey was instructed just to get him round and be galloping at the end. From the grandstand at Huntingdon ( and I say grandstand in a generic way) the start was some way off and by the time I had focussed on the large screen in the winter sunlight it was all over. Having waited well over a year for this you can imagine the deflation. Like getting aces first hand in the Main Event and busting out.
     The amusing part was the horse bolted off in one direction whilst the race continued in the other. So there I am in the 'Grandtstand' looking left with everyone else looking right. Had a chat with Noel afterwards and horse and jockey fine. I returned to Nottingham,had my picture taken by one of those yellow camera things for the end of a perfect day. You see people think my life is just one big party.
       However the day did get better with the Wednesday fightback in the last twenty minutes against Huddersfield. Another part of my life where I suspect it will be the hope that kills.However at times it all seems a bit superficial considering what else is going on in the world.

 First horse,first race.Falls at the first fence as it tries to jump over the moon.