"Oh how I would love to regale you with tales of high artistic and intellectual merit concerning the goings on in a show office, but unfortunately it is more one of hysterics, dappy comments and arachnaphobia – particularly bad this week - I think it must be made worse by show related stress, but there was nearly a particularly nasty accident that would have seen the entire sponsorship department wiped out when I spotted an ENORMOUS spider and Catherine had to be saved from plunging to her death over the balcony in our office out of fright!

So, the countdown has officially begun… you know when you’re in the office at 7am on a Sunday morning OUT OF CHOICE (!) because there is just so much to do, that it’s show time!

Rather sadly, as if eating, sleeping, breathing the place isn’t enough for me, I’ve also been devouring my copy of the book and, again rather sadly, it seems that we can talk of nothing else! My absolute favourite quote so far has been one about Hickstead legend and four-time Derby winner Eddie Macken. Demonstrating the steely determination and dogged one-mindedness needed to make it to the top of the sport, Alan Smith writes about Eddie’s equine-obsession which was apparent practically from the minute he was born:

‘Eddie’s only interest was in riding horses. Given a cowboy suit for Christmas he galloped a farm pony up and down the main street firing his toy pistols – though when he tried the same thing with his local hunt he was, understandably, sent home.’

I can just imagine this little nutter zooming up and down terrorising the local well-to-do hunterati, brilliant! Something obviously worked though…

It's not just the book though that has been providing us with amusing quotes, as as the show looms closer, the familiar slightly hysterical mood in the office has produced some corkers. In fact our show jumping secretary has just declared herself ‘as uninspired as a dead duck’ and Catherine, my esteemed colleague in sponsorship has just declared that she is going to ‘fight the bullet’, I didn’t quite have the heart to correct her and wish her well on her matrix-trilogy inspired conversation! So as not to give too much away and get the lady in question in trouble, my absolute favourite of the day however has been her mutterings about our new muck removal charge, lamenting the fact that it is not so easy to have her ex-boyfriend removed from her life, as as far as she is concerned he should qualify for the same service!

On a (vaguely) more serious note, the last bit of carpet is being laid as i type, the finishing touches being put to the snazzy new hospitality areas, and the last (very late, naughty Irish!) entries are being processed. The sun-dances have been done and the first lorry has rumbled in, and we are ready and set to go on our 50th year. Bring. It. On."