when i was about 7 or 8 i used to go with my grandad all the time to the lord mayors parade or the may day parade and other shows. My grandad used to be a carter and so he loved very passsionately Shire Horses. Him and his friend tommy bainbridge used to show shire horses in the shows i mentioned above. So on the morning of the show i used to get up dead early and meet my grandad on park road by the bank and we used to go n get the bus. When we got there i basically just watched even tho i used to tell everybody i helped. My grandad never corrected me! Him and tommy would lay out all the tack and the ribbons and then start doing there stuff. The end result was amazing! Sydney nearly always won the dress section of the competition! (Sydney is the shire horse by the way). Anyway, One year on the lord mayors parade my grandad, tommy and me was walking with sydney in the parade from woolton to st georges hall. we got as far as leece street and i got tired. So my grandad shouted to his friend in front and asked him if i could sit on their cart. The man of course said yes. So my grandad bunked me up on the cart where he could see me. In those days the parade was very popular and people lined the streets to clap and cheer. The next thing i know the shire horse which was pulling the cart i was on decided to take a wobbler! ha,ha!!! It bolted off and started leggin it down hardman street. I was screaming my head off and my grandad thought it was highly amusing! so off it ran down towards rapid and the crowds were all cheering! My grandad started chasing it cos i was on the back but he was still laughing his head off shouting 'jump girl i'll catch you!'. AS IF, have you seen the size of a shire horse and how fast they can run?. Anyway in the end i did jump and my grandad caught me! Like he'd ever let me fall!!!! I was hysterical and my grandad was pissin himself laughing! From that day on i never moaned about being tired when we where on a parade! My grandad still used to tell everybody this story right up till the end. I'm glad he found it amusing cos i loved to see him laugh! I'd give anything to see him laugh one more time. Love and miss you soooo much grandad. Wish you were here to sort everything out! You are my sunshine! xxxxxxxx