Much to write. Went to Manchester last week to speak at an Apse meeting on smoking related litter. Was supposed to meet old boss Phil, but he was poorly so had to cancel. City centre was interesting. They have trams. At one point saw a tram going to Eccles and a man walked past me with two whippets, and I thought, Blimey, how northern is this? Meeting was held in Town Hall, which is a truly splendid piece of Victorian Gothic architecture. I was blown away by the stained glass, statues, and decoration inside. I would have liked more time to explore but as is often the case with meetings, it was all a bit rushed. Beautiful train journey home through gorgeous green countryside of Shropshire. Lovely.

Busy weekend. Friday night, went over Robyn's house for a very nice evening. Met her husband for the first time, Christopher was there, sadly without his partner, and Robyn's very elderly cat. Showed proud photos of Andy and Booty. Saturday took dogs to Heath Park. Andrew went for a run and in the evening went to see Oceans 13. Good fun, and if you enjoyed the first two, you'll enjoy this. Sunday morning took dogs over to Cosmeston lakes for a lovely walk, then stopped off at garden centre briefly to pick up canes to stake sunflowers and a couple of water plants for the pond. Visited Liz in the afternoon. Dogs had a ball, we actually saw Andy and Booty at full pelt - it was awesome. Sadly there was no way of capturing it on camera - too damn fast. Had a wonderful, damp time. When we eventually returned, dogs were completely knackered for the rest of the evening and we hardly had a peep out of them. Even today, they are a bit quieter.

Apologies for the delay since my last post. Booty has settled in wonderfully without any hiccups and now I simply can't imagine life without her. On Monday night though I came down with a throat lurgy and was off the rest of the week, having lost my voice, and being flattened by whatever it was. Some sort of virus? Had the perculiar feeling of quite painful aches in all my remaining lymph nodes - they were obviously struggling under the pressure. So there isn't really much to say about being ill - it's boring for everyone else. Andrew as usual was saintly. Dogs didn't really pay much attention.

Missed a few things in work but I have long since ceased to worry if that happens. Very few meetings can be said to be life or death. We are trying to piece together the schedule for the demolition of the terminus building at the bus station, which contains one of our public conveniences. The toilets are falling apart at the seams but I am very reluctant to spend much money on them as it seems the works will begin in October. We did bid last year for refurbishment cash but were turned down. I find this so depressing as the loos were last refurbished in 1980 - can you believe that? I was 15, with a dodgy haircut, masses of spots and some interesting taste in music. Ah, the 80s.... Cue happy memories of Joy Division, Kraftwerk etc...

Over the weekend we went to the garden centre again. Honestly, it's like a drug. I wanted to buy some nice plants for later in the summer so we did, including some echinacea, black eyed Susans, and chrysanthemums. The garden at the moment looks wonderful. There is so much in flower or growing or sprouting - every day something new happens. We are still picking bunches of sweet peas, they are everywhere in the house, in those gorgeous rich colours and with their wonderful scent. How amazing that such a simple plant can create so much pleasure.

My foray into the world of Bebo continues. I must admit it makes me feel incredibly old compared to many of the posters - I have a head start of around 30 years on many of them, but it does mean that I can talk to Sarah, Katie and Dan which is great. Have to say I also admire greatly the creativity and wit that goes into the creation of the pages - it's great. I'll draw a line over the spelling, punctuation and grammar though - best regarded as wayward.

Will close with a photo of Booty.

So much has happened! We went up to the kennels above Merthyr on Saturday. It was great to see Sue, and she was very happy to see Andy looking so happy and healthy. She also thanked us for the photos we had sent - they like to see the happy endings. Anyway, out bounced the prettiest, daintiest little cute greyhound bitch. She danced out of the yard and sniffed Andy. He sniffed vigorously back and they did all the doggy getting to know you routine. We had a nice chat with Sue about her history while patting her, then Sue reappeared with her paperwork and said "Well, it's nice to see she's found a good forever home - she'll have a good life with you." So, without any further ado, here we are, now with two hounds.

She is much smaller than Andy, with a very dainty, pretty little head. Very chilled, very friendly. Hopped straight in the car without any problem and has made herself completely at home in the house. Good on the lead. She is seven years old, and has previously been used for breeding and is a bounce from a previous home as apparently she chased a sheep. On returning back home, we took them for a walk over at Tredegar House, and gave her a bath as she had that kennel smell. Her coat is lovely, very soft and silky and now she is a lovely clean girl. So far I've referred to her as she - her name is either Beauty or Bootsie - we've compromised on Booty (as in Shake your>...!!). I had hoped to change it to Buddug perhaps but having met her that is so unsuitable as she is clearly such a girly girl.

Last night we left them together in the house while we went out for a meal down the Bay. Tried Garcon, the new brasserie run by the same people who run Le Gallois which is one of our fave restaurants. This was well up to standard. We were lucky enough to have an outside table looking out at the thronged area below and the water, and it was a truly beautiful evening. Had a vol au vent au fruits de mer - yes the 70s icon is back and judging by that performance it's welcome. A delicate basket of puff pastry enclosing a mountain of delicious seafood, scallops, mussels, salmon etcc.... yum.... Wonderful French waiting staff and a really good wine list which we got stuck into. Afterwards, went for a romantic stroll and returned home to sit in the garden in the twilight, dogs nearby, bats swooping, stars emerging, water gurgling, fantastic......... just what you want on a summer evening.

This morning took them over Tredegar House again before it got too hot. Called in at Pets at home for a collar tag and another bowl for her. Went to Tesco for our weekly shop and did some purchasing this afternoon via the net. Ordered some beautiful custom made hound collars from "Around the Hound" - check out their website if you like lovely dog collars. Also had fun measuring them while Andy attempted to run off with the string, then ordered them some hound coats, a lightweight rain coat and a fleece lined winter coat for each of them. While at P at H, also bought some squeaky toys. Booty not interested at all, Andy has already desqueaked one and is busy with another, having a whale of a time.

I attach some photos of Booty and Andy, and the young master out the garden earlier, eating some crevettes with garlic mayo. Needless to say, watched with great interest by four beautiful brown eyes.

It's interesting how your motivation and energy levels vary at work, and indeed in other areas of life. I've found it a struggle in the last couple of weeks at work - I think because I'm getting quite cheesed off with the waiting for the structural issues to be resolved. This uncertainty is exacerbated by an inherent instability in our immediate depot management team with one about to go on maternity leave (and already on reduced hours) and the other being a short term consultant, with several questions to be fully resolved about his role. With the issues our department faces in terms of regulation, safety and public impact (and Member interaction) this doesn't feel right.

The good news is that the Chief Officer position has now been advertised and was in the MJ on Thursday. The bad news is that they have only taken out Transport Planning so there is a huge question over the remaining scope of the role and I am not at all confident they will be able to fill it, especially given the relatively low salary for what is such a responsible role. I also wonder if any internal candidates will have another go at it. I guess they may do.

More immediately, it's been quite tiring with a run of disciplinary hearings I've been chairing, many of them serious, and leading to dismissals for the people concerned. This is where we earn our money, it's a big responsibility to take the decision to dismiss someone from their job and is not one to be taken lightly. My father was a trade union official for many years and I used to be a union rep so often find myself looking at the situation from both sides of the table so to speak. My father would often talk about his cases - this was very interesting and a fantastic way of understanding and unpicking the key points of a case. I learned a great deal from him about how to approach a case and review the salient points.

Most of this week, Andrew has been at home which has been fantastic. The garden is looking wonderful. Sweet peas are flowering wonderfully and we have bunches all over the house. The foxgloves are lovely - we have a white one which is very delicate and ghostly. Andrew continues his war against the slugs - we were out there late last night with a torch (and a very confused dog) picking them off. Andrew has decided that this is war and has ordered some nematodes by post. They arrived yesterday and have to be stored in the fridge - should be watering them in over the weekend. I will report on their success. Sunflowers (those that remain, weep) are growing well, and the gourd plants are beginning to flower.

What can i say about Andy? Last night we had an incident with a muffin which was so funny I nearly cried laughing. Andrew decided to have some soup and a muffin after returning from his evening run. We were watching "The Devil Wears Prada" which was actually quite good. The young master went out the kitchen to fetch his soup, brought it in and returned to the kitchen for muffin. Not fast enough. The naughty little mutt had swiped it and was now standing in the doorway with that "Yes, I've been naughty" look on his face, muffin still in his chops. Andrew then had a tug of war with Andy to try and retrieve it, untimately unsuccessful. That dog was not letting go. It probably didn't help that I was on the sofa, laughing hysterically, which made Andrew laugh and therefore severely hampered any attempts at Voice of God authority. Wish I had a camera on me for it.

This morning should be exciting - we are visiting the GRW kennels again (where we collected Andy) to see a possible second hound. She is a black bitch, about 3 we think. The key thing will be how Andy gets on with her. I will try and take pictures. Watch this space.

My middle aged forays into new technology continue apace. I have now joined Bebo. I still do not fully understand all the features but will have a go. For those readers who are au fait, my user name is houndmistress - you can look me up. This is so I can communicate with Liz's offspring (of whom I have written before)as being teenagers they spend their entire lives online. Sarah has posted the most fantastic dragon artwork - amazing, so talented. Katie, predictably, has loads of pictures of Cobbie, her elderly horse, her dogs and some hilarious experiments with makeup. Fun.

Another great weekend. Popped into town yesterday - finally bought Andrew his Christmas present, a watch. We had been looking since before Christmas but he had never seen one he liked sufficiently for me to buy for him. Anyway he did yesterday - hoorah! Very handsome Tissot - it appears to have lots of different functions, and you could probably use it for remote detonations of nuclear submarines, driving your Aston Martin and various other James Bond style functions.

Picked our first sweet peas of the summer yesterday - gorgeous! I love the smell and the colours. We have a pot filled with twigs they clamber up, and also some planted in the ground which are just a little bit slower. The garden is looking fabulous at the moment - I will try and take some pictures.

Gave Andy a bath last night - although traumatic, he was very well behaved. I attach a couple of photos Andrew took after he emerged - you can see that look of wounded dignity, that air of resigned martyrdom. He is now a lovely clean, fragrant and fluffy hound. His coat, thanks to the hound mitt, now looks superb. This was particularly important as today we took him over to Cosmeston Lakes for a greyhound "walk and talk" held every month. I thought he behaved superbly, being relaxed, friendly to both the other owners and dogs and very chilled about the non-greys we met around the lakes. A really friendly bunch of people which was lovely. Definately going to be a regular event, I hope. Just been looking on the internet at some of the lovely American hound collars. If we are joined by grey no 2, then we will definately invest in some - such gorgeous hounds deserve the very finest.