Little Wandering Wren …. chats!

Learning to drive has changed since my day... In my day, your Father took you out for a quick lesson down a quiet country lane. This inevitably lead to a three point turn, much graunching of the gears, lots of bunny hopping, a few words like " Not like that!" A row, and then days later your Mother would book you in for a few lessons with an AA driving instructor... When you were 17 years old you took and passed your test - easy, or so I recall! Learning to drive in Australia is not that easy ... In Victoria, Australia (each State has different rules) learner drivers under 21 years must complete 120 hours of recorded driving alongside an experienced driver....You can start learning at 16 years, but must be 18 years to take a driving test. Yep, that is a scary loooong time for any Parent, and especially if, as in our household, it takes FOREVER to accumulate a fully completed log book... Every time the learner drives, even for a short trip, we record it in the Log Book... Th

Wow, great excitement! A weak field in a Group Three race at the prestigious Goodwood Stakes Day has grabbed attention, and a last minute nomination means our Little Miss Hussy is off to gallop with thoroughbred big guns...The only problem is that it's in Adelaide, South Australia, a short 750+ kilometres away. She joins two other stable mates for the overnight drive in the huge Cranbourne Mornington float to Adelaide - travelling in style courtesy of a fellow runner in the $500,000 Goodwood Cup! Arriving Thursday gives everyone just two days to adjust to the new surroundings before the National Stakes race...It's a precious cargo as all three arrive as favourites in their respective races... Our flight to Adelaide is full of owners and support staff for the Richmond Footy Team and there is, forgive the pun, an air of competitive excitement as we take off for the one hour trip. We are learning never to have things fixed in the diary that can't be moved... We thoug