Into the wild

The alternative.

My sister Geraldine with her horse Ash, flighty and fresh from a gallop under thunderous clouds which angrily threatened, but in vain, spilt not their rains upon us. Have you ever lain in the grass whilst a horse took flight beside you to feel the exhilarating shudder of earth below?

A glorious day on the farm with the boys, climbing haystacks, mucking out the stables (well, watching Geraldine do so), seeing the refuge animals, geese, pigs and cockerels in their happy new home and then a family meal back at Cubby Cottage with Mum, my brother Joe with Amanda and son Max, Geraldine and husband Mark, all with bountiful bottles of red and white wines enjoyed with a rare Sunday roast chicken in the garden, to the sounds of late spring lambs bleating in the bordering farmlands.

Not only is Geraldine a most accomplished dressage rider, and an artist, drawing horses with such precision and grace, understanding their muscularity like da Vinci, but she plays the flamenco guitar with intense passion and intensity as to make the least romantic of us weep for want of love. And I might add she cooks a damn fine meal in her restored country kitchen too!

The slideshow series from UK and Scandinavia as it develops, though it'll take a while.