Well, I think we ought to have season tickets for the vets. No sooner had we got Murgatroyd all sorted, then Booty is in the wars. She and Andy had a most uncharacteristic food fight on Thursday and the net result is a damaged ear, with visible cartilage (not nice!). The vet has prescribed antibiotics and four daily salt baths - unfortunately, these are sore, and as soon as she sees Andrew with the basin of salt water, she runs away. We are also dealing with quite a bit of spatter from when she shakes her head - blood stains are appearing in remarkable places. We are hoping she will soon recover - I hate seeing her in any sort of pain.

Fortunately, it has not stopped her from enjoying her walks and she is being remarkably perky. We had a nice walk today along the river Wye, parallel with the showground and I took some pics which are shown above. I'll also upload these and more into my Facebook page. It's been a beautiful afternoon which I've enjoyed cross-stitching and Andrew is now preparing Jamie's Chicken Caesar salad. However, as with all Andrew's cooking, the recipe is always a starting point - Andrew always enjoys going off-piste. Last night, we had the first strawberries of the summer - wonderful. Later, we are going to watch the film "Twilight"; I'm aware the books have been very successful with the teen market but have not read any myself. Working on the basis that we always enjoyed watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer when it was on, we thought it would be harmless fun for a Saturday night.

While I was cross-stitching this afternoon, I was listening to Radio 4. They are starting a year long series of dramatisations of the Smiley books by John le Carre, with Simon Russell Beale in the title role. I absolutely adore Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and Smiley's People and was also a huge fan of Alec Guiness's magisterial performance in the TV versions some years back. SRB is a very good actor and on the basis of this afternoon, this will be a real treat all year.

As I write this, I have just received news about my cousin Robyn - I know other family members read this blog and uncle Dave has emailed round most people. If you haven't received the email from Dave, please email me and I will forward what I know. Let's hope Dave can be with her soon and she makes a full recovery.