Well it's been an unusualy busy and interesting couple of days. We finished our work at the racetrack on thursday afternoon, quite happy with the footage of happy clients talking in gushing terms about the fine service they receive from Centaur Global - which is good because that's why we were there.
At around 6.30 we got to our Hotel in Manchester - it was called The Diamond Lodge, Belle Vue - right across from the dog track we were going to later. We checked in and unloaded our stuff into the 'clean yet functional room' which smelled of cigarettes - then popped over the road to the Belle Vue Stadium to partake in an evening of dog racing and more videoing happy Centaur punters.
An evening at the dogs, for me at least, was more fun than an afternoon at the races. There were more races for one thing - 13 in total - and there was less time between races, and the raqces were shorter - so there seemed to be more happening. And the dogs are much closer to you than horses, and seem to travel much faster - even though horses and dogs both run at about the same speed, apparently - around 40mph. They were very difficult to photograph, because they were running so bloody fast. Still - the blurry effect of the photos helps to convey the speed and excitement of the race. Thay also seem to really enjoy racing - wagging their tails when the race is over. I always think racehorses are running under a bit of stress, but greyhounds seem to be having a great time. I don't care if Im wrong.
We had a decent meal there too - duck and pancakes followed by pork and veg then profiteroles. I didn't expect much of the food at all, but was pleasantly surprised by the quality. So a good evening then, even though I didn't win anything (my random selection of dogs system not working quite as well as the horses, unfortunately). I left at 10 and went back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.
In the morning (friday) Ian and I left the Diamond Lodge ( the Manchester sirens kept us awake a bit thrugh the night) at 7.30am after a rather disappointing uncooked breakfast, and travelled to the stables of Martin Todhunter just sout of Carlisle. It was raining and horrible on the way up, but by the time we arrived, after a short stop off at the services near Shap.
The stables were very nice indeed - set in beautifull rolling hillsides. I shot some video of the trainer, martin Todhunter, talking to keith Sobey, managing Director of Centaur, about the horses that were kept and rained there. Ian and Keith and I then watched some of the racehorses being excercised up a stretch of uphill track - and it was actually quite a lovely thing to see these finely tuned beasts galloping across beautiful countryside for our pleasure. The weather was clear and autumnal, and the surroundings were stunning - a beautiful farm.
After we'd got the footage we needed for the pomotional DVD I'm working on with Paul Hooper, Ian and I left for home and arrived back in Newbiggin at about 1pm. I slept some of the way home, and must have needed it.
Friday evening was a gig at Hexham with Soul Doubt - a wedding at the Beaumont Hotel. We arrived there (Christine, Anita and Katie the singerws, along with Ian and Rebecca who had come along to have fun and photograph the event for the forthcoming DVD of the band) at around 7pm. Hexham was very busy, and we unloaded in front of the hotel, then I parked in the tiny car park at the back of the place.
The gig was fun - despite the wedding party leaving, largely, during our second set. It didn't stop us having a good time thoug, and I think we played well. Certainly, some of the photos showed the atmosphere of the gig, and it was a good laugh - as most of our gigs are. Getting out of the car park at the end of the evening was a long and drawn out affair, partly because of the narrowness of the exit, and partly because of the size of my car. Ian managed to talk me through the hundreds of precision reverses and turns required, and eventually we got out without a scrape or dent. A quick burger / kebab / portion of chips later and we were all safely back home in Newbiggin.
On returning home, I noticed Ginger, my ginger cat, 'playing' with something amongst the flower pots at the front door. The something turned out to be a very young mouse - which now looked a little the worse for wear, although still alive. I took it into the house in my hand, and attempted to help it over the shock, but after about 20 minutes of tender nursing, it died in my palm, curled up in a tiny frightened ball. Thet's the second time I've watched a mouse die in my hand - and it's a surprisingly moving thing to witness - even though most people think they're disease ridden vermin, which I suppose they are. But they look so cute.
Great night would love to do that again sometime. Enjoyed the photograhy immensly and the more gin the better the photos as all my inhibitions (much to Ian's dismay) left me.
Posted by: Rebecca | October 21, 2006 at 08:16 PM
But you did enjoy it all, didn't you.
Posted by: Liz Curtis | October 22, 2006 at 01:05 PM
Jason .... could you possibly put a time frame on the word "forthcoming" .... its been a while!
Posted by: Mr. Mavin | October 24, 2006 at 08:23 AM