Well, my goodness, what a day it's been. This morning Andrew ran in the Cardiff 10K race. He's raced in this in previous years, although they tend to change the course around a bit each year. Last year, they finished outside the Millennium Stadium, this year the start and finish were outside the beautiful Edwardian City Hall. Weatherwise,the day was perfect. Sunny, with a slight breeze, but neither too hot nor too cold. After his traditional pre-race supper last night of pasta and no alcohol, followed by an early night, we left home this morning at around 9. We were soon in town and parked up for a cup of coffee from the thermos before making our way over to the start. I was given the drink and hoody to hold, took lots of pics at the start then they were off! At this point I then toddled back to the car to read for a while before returning to meet Andrew at the finish line, complete with medal, complimentary water bottle and goody bag. I attach some pics - Andrew didn't think it was his best time, but said it was an enjoyable race. In a couple of weeks, he's doing the Swansea Bay 10K, one of our joint favourites. As usual, I was filled with pride and admiration, not just for Andrew but for all the athletes taking part.

Then home, for Andrew to shower and have a bite to eat. Today, annoyingly, was also the Greyhound Rescue Wales Annual Show down at Pembrey, and Greyhound Welfare (another local greyhound charity) were also having their show in a Cardiff churchyard. In previous years, I've been heavily involved in the GRW show, usually taking entries and so on, so this year we were looking forward to going as participants/spectators. However, with Andrew running in the 10K, we decided against it, as travelling to Pembrey would have taken too long, after the race. So we decided to swing by the Greyhound Welfare event, held over in Llandaff, near the Cathedral.

We've been before to shows at this venue, and it's a lovely little churchyard, filled for the show with various stalls, selling bric-a-brac, plants, the local Dog Warden was there, a BBQ was grilling burgers, and there was a roaring trade in cups of tea from the back of the vestry. Around the ring were those lovely old church chairs with holders in the back for hymn books, and there was a tent for taking entries. We had a nice chat to Paula, the lady who runs GW, who we know quite well, as she often comes to GRW events, and vice versa - we try to work in co-operation as much as possible with other greyhound charities. The classes were divided into two groups - Kennel Club groups and the novelty (fun) classes. We decided to bring Boola along, as he is so mellow with other dogs, and left Andy and Booty at home. Wrangling three dogs in a confined space can be a bit hairy, so by bringing just one, everyone could relax a lot more. I entered Boola in the Hound group class in the KC classes, and Most Appealing Eyes, Best Veteran and Best Rescue Dog in the novelty classes. We enjoyed trotting round the ring, and Boola behaved impeccably, unlike some of the dogs! There was a terrific contrast in some of the classes with all sorts and sizes of dog - glad I wasn't the judge. To our absolute delight and amazement, Boola won the Best Veteran class - this is open for dogs over 7 years. For greyhounds, I think of that as being quite young, but of course for lots of breeds, their life expectancy is much shorter. We got awarded a magnificent rosette and I am not ashamed to say I was quite moist -eyed with pride at our wonderful dog. Boola had his rosette pinned to his collar and once out of the ring, in true greyhound style, promptly lay down for a nap, after all the excitement. Winners of all the novelty classes were called back in for a Champion rosette and trophy. We trotted round the ring, and then as if in a dream the judge awarded the prize to Boola. At this point, I was definately watery eyed - as we got presented with the most enormous rosette, a challenge trophy (which will have his name on it!), a massive bag of dog biscuits and he got to pose wearing a special winner's coat. The reserve went to a lovely little terrrier who had done well earlier in the show. At the moment, I feel as though I am in a most enjoyable dream - naturally, I'm biased and think Boola is the best thing since sliced bread, but it was so lovely to have someone else show their admiration for him. After the show, he trotted back to the car, and is now relaxing downstairs on the sofa. What a wonderful day it's been.