I haven't written for reasons that will become apparent.  On Wednesday 9th May I went to work in the library for the evening shift.  When I returned home it was apparent that Booty was very unwell.  I took her to the vet on Thursday morning, and she was diagnosed as having suffered a mini stroke.  She was also dealing with the problem of a recurrent eye infection that she is prone to.  Our poor darling girl was in a very bad way indeed.  The vet prescribed a drug called Vivitonin, and said that she would have to stop taking her codeine (a painkiller for her arthritis).  

For pretty much a week, things continued unchanged.  She ate very little, lost a great deal of weight (not good on a slender greyhound), slept a lot and seemed very withdrawn.  Finally, a week after she started taking it, we awoke to find her roaching on her back, wagging her tail - a joyful sight.  The medication seemed to have kicked in, and she finally began to perk up.  We are not out of the woods yet.  Her appetite is not fully recovered, she tires very easily, and she is now looking very, very old and frail.  The stroke has partially paralysed her facial muscles so she is now drooling, her lip is drooping and eating is difficult (though we are helping her as much as possible).  She is still going for walks, though is tiring easily and needs to rest during them.  The good news is though that she has her spirit back and though she is very frail, she has regained her joie de vivre and interest.  

The vet has advised that she can go to hydrotherapy, so we are taking her on Thursday, but I am personally not convinced she will be up to it - this may need to be her last session.  However, I am willing to be led by her and we will give it a go.  

In the course of this week, we have moved very much closer to the end of her life, and it is breaking my heart.  Our top priority though is making her as comfortable and happy as possible, and taking each day as it comes.  At the moment, she is still very much enjoying life and we are doing everything we can to keep it that way.  

I'll do a separate post for our other news. 

Last weekend, we went over to Llandaff for a Ghost Walk with Jim of Cardiff History and Hauntings.  We had previously done one of his walks with Rita and Roger last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, so as we had done one of the Edinburgh walks several years ago were keen to see this one.  A small group of us met Jim at the stone cross outside the Cathedral.  It was a cold night so I was wrapped up warm with a long coat and boots, and we'd remembered to bring torches too.  

The walk was an amazing mix of local history, folk tales and spooky happenings.  Jim does a huge amount of research so I was gripped by the many true stories about the Cathedral, the pilgrims who visited, the role of the area in many of the wars between the Welsh and the English, the English Civil War and its effects, Owain Glyndwr and his activities in the area, and stories about the village of Llandaff itself.  We explored the grounds of the cathedral, the Bishop's Palace,  the river bank, local woods, the graveyard and a piece of open ground just behind the Cathedral.  We also learned about the changing course of the river over time.  As the evening got darker, the bats flew overhead and the wind rustled through the trees, it was genuinely eerie at times. 

I can genuinely recommend the walks for anyone who is interested in the history and folklore of Cardiff.  Thankfully, there are no silly gimmicks and in fact Jim was showing us by the Cathedral a trick with his torch that made a very ghostly friar appear on the side of the building (clever use of shadows).  Whatever your views on the supernatural, this is a really interesting evening, but WRAP UP WARM!! 

I've been working in the Library today - extra shift for the Bank Holiday.  Worked yesterday as well.  The weather today has been dreadful - constant heavy rain and still quite cold.  In spite of it being May, I am still wearing winter jumpers and cardigans.