With the summer holiday now a distant memory, Als and I got together last week and made the final tweaks to our next book, Tummy Trouble at Roberts Farm. The good news is that we are now ready to get it art worked and sent to the printers, with the full launch scheduled for November.
I am particularly excited about this book as it is based on a very topical subject - healthy eating and exercise - and one that I am sure is extremely important to all you parents out there. If we can educate our younger children on the importance of eating well and leading an active life, surely we can change the current statistic which states that around 30% of children and young people are now either over weight or obese. Equally frightening, around a quarter of children aged two to 15 spend at least six hours every weekend day being inactive. I just hope that our book can make a difference and that our gorgeous pony Cassidy can inspire all our little people out there! Check out the preview at Our Books - we would love your feedback.
Anyway, back to the farm! As promised, I have posted up the video clip of our 'Beauty Salon' day with the horses (see the video clip above). It was when the weather was at its best, right at the end of August, and just before the children went back to school. Jo in particular loved being pampered. Bagel, on the other hand, was not quite so impressed especially when Soukie tried to put a pink ribbon in his mane! All our efforts were of course wasted because as soon as we put them back out in the field, they rolled and once again were covered in dirt and dust!
Our new pony, Jasper, is doing really well. He loves to hack out and over the weekend had his first experience of pony club games, which our children set up in the fields. They are all keen to help look after him and even muck out his stable and poo pick - long may that last!
Have a great week.