It's been really busy lately.  I've been making regular trips down to Singleton to see my friend.  One of the most encouraging things is seeing his excellent progress, so much so that he'll soon be leaving hospital.  Of course, there will be a long haul of recovery after that, including further physio but he is definitely on his way.  This has eaten into my time though, as of course each visit is bookended by at least an hour and a quarter of driving, and then getting through the large hospital to his ward.  One of the things he asked me to do was to support him by attending a meeting, where his future treatment and discharge could be planned by a multi-disciplinary team including his social worker and medical team.  It's always useful to have a spare pair of ears at these sort of things to remember who said what.  It's also been really lovely to connect again with his sister and mum.  

Andrew has also been working away a lot and this has a big impact on my time during the week.  When he's away, it means doing two lots of dog walks (four is too many to walk singlehanded), and this really cuts into the day.  One of the things we've decided is in the future, not to go above three hounds as that's the magic number for walking by yourself.  Usually I take the boys to Tredegar House and the girls to Hendre Lake.  At the lake there is always so much to see - I love watching the heron, and now there are freshly hatched goslings and ducklings to admire.  Most of the dog walkers over there are very friendly and the fishing guys are too.  I haven't seen the red eared terrapin over the winter but am keeping my eyes peeled for it to resurface now the weather is warming up.  

Last weekend we had our first show of the season.  We were at the West Somerset Whippet Racing Club for their annual dog show at Taunton Vale Polo Club.  Lovely venue, and we had a really fabulous day.  Beautiful spring sunshine and a gentle breeze to stop it getting too hot really helped. It was so warm I was wearing a sleeveless top all day.  Andy and Mick stayed wiht Rita and Roger for the day, and we took the girls.  I entered them into a couple of classes though sadly they didn't win anything.  The show had a really relaxed, friendly vibe and we were lucky enough to also meet up with some friends.  Sue brought her lovely greyhound Mick and also a big tray of marzipan Chelsea Buns, so us, Sue, Jackie and Paul, and Jenny all got together for a slice and a natter.  Brilliant.  Once the show was over, they laid on some lure coursing/racing.  We were busy packing up the stall so didn't take part, but the girls were really excited, and we've decided to take them back for another go, when we are not encumbered by the stall.  

Subsequently, our lovely day was given extra poignancy.  One of Jenny's two beautiful dogs, called Shadie, aged 15 came along, and to our delight won in the Best Veteran class.  Sadly, Shadie had to be put to sleep at home on Friday, after a very short illness, but it's lovely to think of him enjoying his day and that he was so well virtually until the end.  These pics were taken by Jackie.  Her greyhound, Cat, is in the first one, along with Sue's Mick and our two girls.  The second one shows the stall - Andrew is the headless man and I'm obviously talking to Sara.  Sue is next to me with her head turned.