What a busy and memorable weekend. We were blessed with the weather. Leila arrived on Friday lunchtime. We had some cheesy chips (her invention), then popped over to Tesco to get some food. In the evening, we had some avocados, lemon garlic chicken and ice cream with hot chocolate peanut fudge sauce. Delicious. We had a breeches-fest, watching the DVD of Persuasion, the BBC version with Amanda Root and Cieran Hinds. It hardly seems fair to single them out as although they were excellent, it was a high quality production with beautiful performances from all the cast. Persuasion is one of my favourite novels, and is my favourite Austen novel. The adaptation did it justice and I was gulping at the end when they finally came together. We also watched the DVD of Miss Pettigrew lives for a day (also featuring Cieran Hinds) - again, a real pleasure to watch, with wonderful costumes and excellent ensemble playing. Having Andrew home was a pleasure too.

On Saturday, a busier day. We headed off to the Cheese Festival in Cardiff Castle, which was a disappointing rip-off. After paying over £8 to go in, you were expected to shell out £4 more if you wanted to watch any real action such as cheese making demonstrations, and there was a massive half hour queue for the main attraction, the cheese tent. Otherwise, there were just a few food and herb stalls dotted about, and it seems cheeky to charge to go to what is essentially a posh farmers' market.

Then went over to Howells on a perfume hunt. One of the fragrances I wear, by Clarins, is being discontinued, so I wanted a replacement that both Andrew and I liked. No easy feat. After much testing, sniffing, squirting and sneezing we settled on a Guerlain fragrance - Aqua Allegorica - Tiare Mimosa. It's lovely. Then a coffee and over to the Madame Fromage, one of the cheese shops in the arcades, for a more successful cheese buying mission.

Came home and read the paper and chilled out on the sofa then in the evening we went down the Bay to see No Fit State Circus. I had borrowed a stick from my friend Paula as the entire show was standing for the audience, and was very glad to have it. The circus left me speechless and awestruck. No animals. No hideous clowns. Just fast, sexy, gorgeous people doing amazing stunts, around you and above you, and in front of you. Sliding and climbing up and down the rigging, acting as counter balances to trapeze artists. Tightrope walking in high heels, stripping, then rolling a cigarette while nonchalantly balancing on a line, then casually doing the splits. Nipple pierced men swinging on ropes, wearing leather and piratical grins. A woman doing a flamenco act on a high rope accompanied by highly sexual breathing. Fire-eating. Fire hoops. No silly juggling. Clever lighting. Trapeze artists that tenderly undress each other then make the throws and catches and swings so powerfully erotic the entire audience was entranced. Just go and see them. They are brilliant.

Sunday, Andrew was running in the Swansea Bay 10K, so we set off around 10.20 to give us plenty of time. A very pleasant day, with hazy sunshine, not too hot, just right for the run and the spectators alike. Andrew did a very respectable 51 minutes, and picked up his goody bag, containing the usual odd mixture of a medal, a bottle of shampoo, a water bottle and a fruit loaf, which proudly claimed that 2 slices would provide one of your daily fruit servings. Not my idea of healthy eating. Then took Leila for the delight of a Joe's ice cream, a Swansea institution. Had sundaes all round, with a cone each for the dogs. Came home and relaxed, and enjoyed some roast beef with Andrew's amazing Yorkshire puddings. After watching a bit of TV, headed for bed as all were tired.

This morning, took Andrew early to the station, for the 6.55 train, and walked the dogs at Hamadryad Park. Then came home, and Leila and I sampled some of the fruit loaf, which was very nice but I still don't think of it as being one of my five a day. Leila left for home mid-morning, and I have had a quiet day, feeling a bit tired after all the excitement. Some pics attached.

On Thursday evening I started my ECDL at the local Community Education Centre. Our tutor seems lovely, very helpful but I was disappointed to see that we appear to be using an older version of Word (the 2004 one) not the most recent - we have 2007 at home. This is a Council run facility and I think this is a shame. ECDL is a course taken by people who want to improve or enhance their job prospects and it seems barmy to train them on software that is at the end of its life, rather than more current versions. I am tempted to say that this is typical of local government - it almost seems too easy to point this out. Here we are in a recession, with Cardiff hugely dependent on jobs in finance, offices, call centres etc - all of which require good IT skills. And what does the city do? Provide training in out of date software. You couldn't make it up. Anyway, I want to get the qualification, but am disappointed I won't be learning more along the way.

Last night we went down to the Millennium Centre for WNO's new production of La Traviata. This was the first opera Andrew and I saw together, when WNO were touring it in Plymouth, and so it is always special for us as a couple. The new production was very good, with the chorus and orchestra well up to their usual high standards, and excellent production design. Monochrome Belle Epoque sets with huge taffeta drapes, and glorious costumes with lots of Moulin Rouge style frills, bloomers, corsets, bustles and heaving bosoms. For anyone with a breast obsession, the evening would be well spent. Most of the principal singers were good rather than spectacular and worked well together. Unfortunately I couldn't get on at all with the soprano singing the title role - she was screechy and harsh in her upper register and when she turned up the volume. She was also unfortunate in being very slender and having to wear costumes that really didn't flatter her figure - instead of curves there were hollows. Arguably of course, this is more realistic in that the title character is dying of consumption but we are also supposed to believe she is a leading courtesan of great beauty. I think the costume fitting could have been a bit more rigorous.

Once again, I always enjoy an evening spent in the Centre and simply enjoying the building and the theatre - it works so well. Also, no matter how many times I go to the opera there are few feelings in life so utterly shivery as when you have taken your seat and are waiting for the show to start. The lights dim and the orchesta starts the overture. It literally brings me out in goosepimples of excitement and anticipation - hearing those first few notes of music and knowing that everyone in the theatre is going together on a journey through the production. Wonderful.

I was disappointed to see that there were quite a few empty seats in the theatre and several of the bars/coffee shops within the centre were closed, whereas normally during a performance there are a plethora to choose from. I have written before about the building's magical ability to swallow large numbers of people and deal with them, but with the smaller numbers, and closed bars, there was a spooky air during the intervals of being in a vast ship with no passengers. Quite strange.

While we were there, we picked up our tickets for two forthcoming events, the opera gala with Bryn Terfel singing Wagner (it doesn't get much better than that in my book) and a performance by No Fit State Circus. These are a wonderful circus - no animals, just amazing, sexy people doing very clever, scary things on trapezes over your head. There are no seats for your performance - you all stand and are likely to have someone firebreathing or juggling in front of you or doing acrobatics above your head. Can't wait.

Yesterday was the annual GRW show down at Pembrey Country Park in Carmarthenshire. We left home at 8.30 and arrived at 10, with a car full of stuff. It was a truly beautiful day, with cloudless blue skies and very little wind. Set up rings, stalls etc and took up my post in the secretaries tent - where we were taking entries for classes, and giving rosettes, trophies and class lists to ring stewards. It is a busy role although I must admit I enjoy doing it. We also had the charity's merchandise caravan set up, a plant sale, Folland Ferret Welfare (with ferrets!) and a couple of stalls selling dog food and animal accessories (pony stuff such as headcollars, grooming requisites etc).

Despite being so busy, Andrew was able to collect Rhian (Callie's new owner - Callies is Murgie's adoptive name), along with her friend and a new dog that Rhian is herself fostering. It was an extremely emotional moment for me to look up from the entries and to see Callie and Rhian trotting along, with Callie looking absolutely magnificent. Her coat is now thick and glossy and she has gained enough weight to maintain her figure but look very well indeed. Her red collar was gleaming in the sun and she was her usual friendly, cheerful self. Rhian is devoted to her and to her new foster dog - in fact, in conversation, Rhian admitted there is a strong possibility that Mickey may not be rehomed but has found his permanent spot! He is a lovely boy, also black - I must admit I am biased but the black hounds look so stunning together. When all the dogs met up again, there was a fiesta of bum sniffing and tail wagging - very pleasant to see.

Callie and Mickey both finished the day garnished with rosettes - there are lots of fun classes including one for Baldie Butts (so many greyhounds have those embarrassing bald patches on their rumps), best six legs and waggiest tail. Callie and Rhian entered the waggiest tail but unfortunately Callie only wagged her tail when she was close to Andrew who was watching the class, so only got a "Well Done" rosette for that class! Rhian and her friend thoroughly enjoyed the day and Andrew was able to pop them home (as they live very close to the park) before coming back for me and all the stuff. Rhian looked very stylish with an enormous, shady straw hat and oversize shades - very suitable for the hot sun and temperature. It was great to catch up with her and swap tales of hound mischief and magic - and I'm hoping to pop down again to visit soon.

After packing up, we returned home - it had been a busy, social day, with lots of fellow greyhound lovers having fun, enjoying the sun and catching up with other friends and enthusiasts. We were both shattered but very happy. The dogs were tired too, and have been quiet today as well. When we got home, we found a heap of feathers, some by the pond and some floating on the water - it looked as though the sparrowhawk had claimed a victim from the sparrows.

We walked the dogs this morning over at Tredegar House - both of us were commenting on the amount of leaves that were falling and starting to turn colour. There is a spectacular display of berries - it seems to have been a very good year for them. Blackberries, rowan berries, elderberries and the bright pink glow of spindleberries. The park also has cherry laurels which have been allowed to grow to a considerable height and these were plastered with fruit.

A couple of pics attached.

When I haven't posted for a while, it's difficult to know whether to start at today and work back or to recount events in some sort of chronological order. Last weekend, Andrew ran in the Cardiff Kidney Wales 10K, starting in Bute Park and finishing outside the Millennium Stadium. Some pics attached. The well known singer Katherine Jenkins also ran in the race - apparently last year, she was invited to start it, but was so impressed she decided to run it herself this year. Fortunately, a lovely day. I watched Andrew start and then walked back through the park up to the stadium, pausing at a Wetherspoons to have a coffee. Was then able to time my arrival at the finish line perfectly to watch the young master sprinting gleefully towards the finish and his medal. Even though he has done so many races, I am still incredibly proud of him. There was a good turnout, with around 2300 runners.

This week has been busy with a meeting in Pontardawe on Tuesday for the Welsh Festival of the Horse and a greyhound meeting on Wednesday evening.

On Thursday we had the pleasure of hosting Sarah and Johnny, just before he goes back to New Zealand after spending the summer here. Sarah of course has stayed many times before but this was Johnny's first time in Cardiff. I took them for a brief orientation tour of the city by car, then dropped them off in the city centre to allow for some browsing in the shops and a visit to Cardiff Castle, which they thoroughly enjoyed. In the evening we had some home made pizza, a request from Sarah whenever she visits. On Friday, I took them down to the Bay, and we wandered round Mermaid Quay, the Welsh Assembly, the Millennium Centre, the water feature that is of course so important for anyone who watches Torchwood and lunch at the Bosphorus, sitting outside in the sunshine, with a glorious view of the water and the bay. Then back via the Red Dragon Centre for Johnny and Sarah to visit the Doctor Who exhibition and finally home. We had time for a cuppa then back into the car to drop them at the station, via the vets where the woofs were having their annual boosters. Usual glum postures from the dogs - tails between legs and general dejectedness.

Today has been another gloriously sunny day, with time spent pottering out in the garden and doing some greyhound paperwork as well as a load of ironing. The sparrow hawk visited us again - he was lurking in the ground cover near the birch tree. I am not sure if this is normal for them or if he/she is the novice one we have seen previously who sits on the back of the garden bench looking hopefully for a sparrow to alight in front of it.

In the best British traditions, it was a Bank Holiday weekend and it rained a lot. And we went to the garden centre! We needed to do a few things out there; when we came back to Cardiff, we tidied up the beds and there were a few casualties. We also needed to refresh some of the pots and baskets - I love having hanging baskets most of the year, and it's possible to enjoy lots of plants this way. The wet weather we've been having had bashed the summer hanging ones to bits so we replaced them with some pretty miniature chrysanthemums, ivy and some cheerful pansies. Another miniature chrsyanthemum in a pot, with a selection for the raised bed, including some thymes and more lavenders (one of my weaknesses). Decided not to buy any bulbs on this trip - that would definately feel too autumnal, will probably go back for them in three to four weeks. Above the raised bed, we've got intertwined climbing roses and clematis montana - a pic is in the title bit of the blog. Most of the roses have finished flowering but we are getting a few late ones. Andrew needed to add some additional wire points and wire to tie in the plants as they had massively outgrown the existing trellis they were scrambling across. Comedy moments ensued with a wobbly stepladder, much swearing, hammering and tying in of recalcitrant plants. All is now much more secure, thankfully. During the performance, the sparrows were highly entertained and the dogs would come out and check up on us occasionally.

On Friday night we had a surprise night out down the Bay at Woods' Brasserie. Andrew was late returning so suggested we eat out. We had a great time down there, but were both surprised how relatively quiet the area was for a Friday at the end of the month. The food at Woods was as usual very good but the service seemed a bit hit and miss - drinks took ages to arrive, and there either seemed to be three wait staff round the table or none, all individually very sweet and willing, but seemingly lacking in co-ordination. Wine was fab and I finished the meal with a bas Armagnac - delicious. Because of the leisurely service, we were longer than expected there so after went for a stroll round the Bay before diving into a taxi and returning home to the usual ecstatic welcome from the woofs.

Yesterday we went down to Morriston Hospital in Swansea to visit my great-aunt who is currently a patient. Delighted to find her in wonderfully good spirits, knitting happily, and full of news. If she continues to make such excellent progress, she will hopefully be out in a couple of days.

My other achievement over the weekend was to finish up a website I have been working on for the Welsh Festival of the Horse. This is taking place next autumn at Margam Park and GRW became involved via the dogs side of things. My contribution was to to set up and manage the website - visits and comments welcome, better still, come to the event itself. You can find the website at www.welshfoh.co.uk This is the first website (not counting my blogs) I've done by myself like this and I really enjoyed doing it. It's got the usual Google analytics to provide the necessary metrics - who's using it, where are they from etc... plus a range of dedicated email addresses which were created specifically for the site. This provides a much more tailored and consistent approach than volunteers' own individual Hotmail account or similar complete with comedy nickname.

OK, first with the toothache. What had been an intermittent niggle turned by Saturday night into one of those horrible, intense, raging pains that turns you into a miserable, sleepless creature, restlessly stalking the house and seriously considering using a pair of pliers just to make it go away. Used the emergency dental system on Sunday, and ended up in Pontypridd (what a horrible place) where a very nice dentist not surprisingly diagnosed an abscess. Prescribed antibiotics and went at high speed to pharmacy at nearby Tesco (in a place called Upper Boat - why? Is there a Lower Boat? ) plus large quantities of over the counter painkillers. The pain continued to be so annoying that even scarfing down the tablets like Smarties wasn't making much of a dent and I spent another pretty miserable evening and night. Slept for a lot of today and there is beginning to be a slight improvement. Seeing my own dentist on Thursday morning - I will be marching in there with the pliers, saying "Just do it."

Since I last wrote, the summer avalanche of visitors has continued. The weekend after Rita and Roger was busy, with a wonderful lunch party on the Saturday for Penny and Paula. Very pleased with how menu turned out - did a sort of Meditteranean assortment of mezze - with lots of different salads, home made flatbreads, Andrew's home made hummus (which is great), chicken and to finish home made strawberry shortcakes. Fantastic to enjoy Penny and Paula's company with plenty of time for chatting and laughter. Paula brought along some of her home made beading and jewellery to show us - it is stunning and I was very touched when she gave both Penny and me a piece of her wonderful di-chromic glass as a gift. I've mounted it on a chain and it makes a stunning pendant which attracts very positive comments whenever I wear it. You can see me wearing it in some of the attached pics.

On the Sunday, Andrew's sister, her husband and three boys arrived from Bath for a day visit. The boys are enjoying their summer, even though the weather hasn't been too good. We all went over to Cefn Mably Farm Park for a look at the animals and a picnic. The farm is only about 5 miles from us, well laid out and as well as the animals there are plenty of old tractors and combines, and toy vehicles for the boys to play on/with. Picnic went well - made a tray of Rocky Road for the first time and can recommend it. We were lucky with the weather - a few intermittent showers, but nothing to spoil the day. Came home and boys had a bowl of pasta before leaving. Some pics attached.

On Monday, the next day, Hilary arrived from Swansea for a four day stay. We went to see the new Harry Potter film while she was up. Some good bits, but overall I felt it was too long and needed some more editing, especially to remove some of the teenager related romance. The performance was marred by the Chav Brats From Hell who were sitting behind us - although sitting was not really much on the agenda - with plenty of kicking, fidgets, texting, whining, loud eating and drinking, crying, sneezing, sniffing, more whining at quiet bits and other anti social behaviour. To be fair, the children were I think too young to have been taken to such a long film, but this type of behaviour is why we so rarely go to the cinema - and it is certainly not just confined to children. Openly talking through the film, making and receiving calls, fidgeting and kicking and loud eating/slurping have all rapidly become the norm.

We also enjoyed a lot of craft related activity - with visits to the new Hobbycraft and to Inkspot. Overall,the days just flew by and it seemed no time at all before we took her back to the station on Thursday afternoon. Her next visit will be for the big annual craft exhibition/fair at the CIA in the autumn, one of the highlights of the crafting year.

Friday was a catch-up day on the domestic front and on Saturday afternoon, Anna and Bec came over with Pacman, both for a catch up and for Andrew to help Anna with some of the bits to do with her new website. Pacman and Andy had a wonderful dudely afternoon together, with a lot of synchronised weeing in the garden, Paco emitting very powerful farts, cuddles all round and Booty enjoying having some new people to adore her - she is such a diva!

Tomorrow should have been the St. Mellons show over at Tredegar House. However, due to the appalling weather last week, the show organisers reluctantly decided to cancel it, as the ground is like a quagmire. So my first foray into competitive showing of crafts has been suspended.

Over the weekend, Andrew's parents came to stay with us, the first of a succession (very welcome, I hasten to add) of summer visitors. They arrived on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday we were blessed with blazing sunshine and scorching temperatures. Amazingly we then woke up on Monday after they had gone to be faced with more rain. We had an enjoyable weekend. On Saturday we visited the Brecon Mountain Railway - a gorgeous little baby steam train, above Merthyr running along into the Beacons National Park. Glorious scenery, plentiful wildflowers, absolutely lovely. I attach some pics. Sunday was again very hot, so we ended up just having a walk with the dogs over at Tredegar House, before coming back and soaking up the sunshine in the garden, with Pimm's in a big jug and a delicious crab tart.

While we were over at Tredegar House, and just walking back to the car, we bumped into Marianne, my quilt tutor from Busy Bees so it was great to say hello and introduce everyone. Andy is notorious for flirting with her - he likes leaning against her and looking up at her with adoring eyes. On Saturday night I made some Turkish style flatbreads with Moroccan lamb - very successful, served with big piles of salad. The dogs were very well behaved and all enjoyed themselves.

Went over to friend Paula's tonight, for Andrew to assist in bathing her greyhounds. Although they are not the heaviest of dogs, they are large and an awkward shape to lift, so Jim and Blue are now beautifully clean, fragrant and fluffy.

A peaceful weekend before a very busy August. Yesterday, we bathed the dogs, fortunately not something we do too often as it is traumatic for them and damp for us. Pics attached. Even though Booty loves water when she is out on her walks, she is not a fan of the bath. Her tail goes between her legs and she shakes while she is in there. I love the way they look when they emerge - fluffy and spiky and somehow so naked without their collars on. When Booty is draped with the towel while she is being dried, she always reminds me of a medieval charger, wearing heraldic livery.

I popped down to Hobbycraft yesterday afternoon - this is in a new retail complex adjacent to the new stadium in Cardiff, shared between Cardiff football and rugby club. Swansea have done a similar thing. Treated myself to some crafty bits, before coming home. We watched Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull last night which was awful, truly dismal and astoundingly bad. If you haven't watched it, please don't. Tonight, we watched Mamma Mia, at last, long after the rest of the world I guess. Loved it - slightly surreal, very perculiar to see an actress like Meryl Streep cavorting and singing so badly - and Pierce Brosnan! But all in all fab, and I was very happily reminded of the many nice holidays we have enjoyed in Greece, which Andrew particularly loves.

Rather worryingly,we are beginning to look ahead to some autumn activities - planning a weekend in London and a pre-Christmas trip over to Germany to enjoy some of their festive markets. How quickly this year is going by!

Since I last wrote, Booty has continued to be well and quickly recovered from her adventure at the vet's. On Saturday, our friends Anna and Rebecca brought their greyhound Paco over for a sleepover, while they went to a combined engagement/30th birthday party in Swansea. They came over in the afternoon and we had a tray of lemon vanilla cupcakes that I'd baked - these disappeared very quickly! Most amusingly, Andy stole a couple of the discarded paper cases from the garden table where we were all sitting out, as they still had lots of yummy frosting on them. We all expected him to just lick off the frosting, but not Andy. No, he promptly ate the entire case, frosting, crumbs and all. It doesn't appear to have done him any harm but I hope he doesn't make a habit of it.

It was lovely to have Paco around - he's good friends with Booty and Andy as they all go out for walks together regularly and Paco comes over with Anna and Bec when they visit us. He quickly made himself at home, enjoying sniffing all the garden plants, having peeing contests with Andy, drinking from the pond and lying on his back with his legs in the air waiting for tickles. In the evening we all watched the final Bourne film with all three dogs reclining gracefully on their respective cushions.

In the afternoon, I also went over to Busy Bees, my local patchwork/quilting store and where I go for lessons. They were having a weekend remnant sale and also launching their new programme of classes which start in September. As usual, there is a mouth watering selection of stand alone day classes and series of lessons - there are several which look particularly tempting. I will probably write more on this over on my craft blog. While I was there, I also bought a few fat quarters in the sale, and then treated myself to a Moda Scrap bag of lovely blue and buff fabrics and the most adorable Moda Honey Bun - basically a miniature jelly roll. So sweet. So now I have a new stash of strokeable fabric and several ideas buzzing round my head for items to make. The last couple of nights I have gone to sleep picturing quilt blocks and counting squares! My initial thought for the scrap bag fabric is to make a Christmas present for a friend of mine, with nine patch blocks in the centre and flying geese round the edges as an inner border. We shall see.

On Sunday afternoon, Anna and Bec reclaimed their hound - we had walked him and ours in he morning over at Tredegar House. Fortunately we just missed the rain and by the time Paco left us it was a downpour. This summer is not as bad as last year, but I would really like some settled sunshine - it would be so nice.

On another craft related note, I have taken the momentous (for me, anyway) decision to enter some cross stitch into our local show - the St. Mellons Agricultural Show. This is held at Tredegar House every August - we went last year and it was like the Somme with mud everywhere and appalling downpours. This year, fingers crossed for better weather. There are several adult craft classes, including one for cross-stitch, one for a greeting card and one for an item that could be sold at a bazaar or fete. For this latter one, I think I might make something like a cross-stitched coaster or possibly a key-ring. The piece of cross -stitch I will enter will be the baby sampler I am currently working on, not the largest of pieces, but a pretty piece with coloured aida, some fractional stitches, backstitch and some beading. Entry is the princely sum of 50p per class so I think I will go for it.

Paco is coming over again on Thursday for the day - Andy and Booty are looking forward to seeing him again. I attach a couple of snaps from his visit on the weekend.

So it's Thursday and Andrew will soon be off out to running club. I've just finished prepping some home made pizzas and these will go in the oven to be ready when he returns. Watched the ITT this afternoon on the Tour - Lance has scrambled back into third (riding the most awesome customised bike) with Contador holding what looks like an unassailable lead. Going into the last two stages tomorrow and Saturday there will be everything to play for to see who gets the other two podium places. Much depends on how much Brad Wiggins has got left in the tank - I'm not yet convinced he's got the stamina for two more long climbing stages but it would be interesting to be proved wrong.

We took Booty to the vet yesterday for her big day. A general anaesthetic, shoulder Xray, blood work, and a dental. The vet showed us the shoulder plates - there is a little hook of protruding bone which is causing her the pain and a tiny piece of wear on the other part of the joint. However, it was a relief that nothing else was lurking. Her blood test results were great and the dental went very well with no extractions. The level of residual staining means she still doesn't quite have a Hollywood smile a la Tom Cruise but she does look a lot better and this will have a big impact on her general health.

She was quiet but happy yesterday evening and slept peacefully on the bed with us. Today we took her and Andy over to Heath Park. She bounced, sniffed, growled, barked and trotted with every sign of full on joie de vivre - a pleasure to see. The park is full of beautiful rowans that are covered in berries - seems almost autumnal - aaargh!

When we came back from the park I made some puppy soup for her and Andy as a special treat, involving large quantitites of liver. Liver is my food Waterloo - I have hated it since early childhood and even trying the most beautifully cooked morsels in fine restaurants has never convinced me otherwise. However, in this case, all I had to do was cook it and feed it to the adoring hounds and not surprisingly they loved it.

Regular readers will know I am a huge fan of the Tour, so for the last few days I have been glued to the TV, watching highlights and where possible, live stages through the magic of the Sky Red Button. Wonderful. This year, the Tour organisers have not given us a vintage programme, with a lot of the second week being less eventful stages - I'd have preferred a mix of mountain and sprint stages through the programme, rather than the heavy emphasis on the mountains in the last week.

However, the rest of the race has amply compensated for this in terms of drama and events. Sadly, a spectator was killed yesterday in an accident with a police bike (seems the French police are as dangerous on the roads as the British ones). But this apart, we've had riders being shot on the route, riders punching spectators, mechanics punching cameramen, amazing falls and crashes, with awesome remounts to the end of the stage, intra-team rivalries, name calling about the Green Jersey, George Hincapie narrowly losing out on a stage win with an vicious argument over who was to blame (mostly his own team) and of course the return of Lance Armstrong. No drug scandals yet but Lance has been tested forty (yes, forty!) times in the past two months, with three tests in a 48 hr period at the first week of the Tour. All of this has been taking place against the background of the finest scenery in Europe with everything from rural scenes of sunflower fields down to the white horses of the Carmague and the mountains of the Alps.

British riders have been playing a large part in the dramas and excitement with Mark Cavendish doing brilliantly in the sprints and Bradley Wiggins in the top 5 of the GC. Other British riders are prominent support riders (domestiques) such as David Millar and Charlie Wegelius. We are now in the final week with a number of very tough mountain stages and a time trial with hardly any time separating the top riders. I will continue to be glued to it, so don't expect any but the most cursory blog posts this week. Normal life will resume next week.

Generally, I loathe most televised sports particularly football - finding it boorish, blokey, boring and banal. The Tour is my exception to this - I am completely addicted to every second of it. One thing I would like to consider is visiting a stage- this is perfectly feasible in future years. It seems likely that we will be going away for our first non-dog accompanied holiday in the winter - if that goes well, we could well consider a trip over to the Tour next summer. Spare a thought for Andrew in all this. Even when we walk the dogs in the morning, I tend to wander along burbling happily about green jerseys, team tactics and Contador's climbs. He is admirably patient, probably thinking that at least he only has to put up with this for three weeks a year - compared to the length of the football season, it's a cinch. As I write, he is enjoying a gin in the bath, after doing a lot of gardening today between showers. Lots of frogs out there which si good.

We went to the Farm shop yesterday morning on our way back from our walk, so got some lovely aged steaks for dinner last night (they were excellent) and a pork loin joint for tonight.

Recovering from a busy and enjoyable weekend. My father is the eldest of seven siblings so as a consequence I have a huge number of cousins - we range in age from 44 down to about 6, with a number of cousins also having their own children, to add to the generational confusion. What makes the mix even more interesting is that my dad's siblings (5 brothers and a sister) are geographically scattered both across the UK and the world, so some of my cousins are only seen on infrequent inter-continental trips. One such took place recently with my cousin Sarah visiting from Canada, doing a fortnight of sightseeing and family visits. Sarah is 35 and I last hosted her when she was 18, and I was living down in Plymouth. Fortunately this time round the house was pretty much straight after the move, and we met her at the station on Friday afternoon.

It was good to catch up with her - we had a fairly quiet night in on Friday, just chatting, enjoying a meal and catching up on family news. On Saturday we took her down to the Bay - to see the Senedd, home of the Welsh Assembly, the Millennium Centre and all the bars/restaurants/shops at Mermaid Quay. We enjoyed wandering about between showers then went over to the Terra Nova for a drink. This pub is named after the ship Captain Scott used on his voyage to the South Pole (the ship set sail from Cardiff) and has a ship-like prow with arrow shaped balcony. Sarah thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Senedd and when we got to the pub set about sampling a variety of Brains beers (the local brewery) which is not available in Canada. On the way home we dropped her off in the city centre to allow her to do a little shopping and I went home to glue myself to the Tour de France time trial prologue.

Saturday evening, we again enjoyed a peaceful dinner with wine then on Sunday we visited Caerphilly Castle, one of the finest castles in South Wales, and fortunately very close to us - about twenty minutes in the car. Again, we had to dodge some showers but it was an impressive and interesting visit. Came home for a sandwich then met up with friends down at the Wharf pub for a drink (again, Sarah enjoying the Brains beer). Home for dinner then bed, before an early start on Monday morning to take her to the station for her train to London and Gatwick airport. The weekend seemed to fly by and I attach a few photos.

Well, it's finally happened. We took Murgatroyd to her new home yesterday morning. Ironically, it was very close to where she was found after she had been dumped. The actual handover was easier than I expected it to be as it was busy with paperwork, collars, tags and so on. It really began to sink in once we were home, and especially last night. The night before (her last night with us) she has spent the night on our bed, her bony little bum and legs poking me and then coming up to me for a morning cuddle as soon we all awoke. Last night, the bed was greyhound free and it seemed odd this morning without that wonky nose and bright eyes greeting me. Still, her new home will look after her - I was particularly impressed that her new owner has designated a very comfy green velvet reclining chair for her. She is also living in an area blessed with fabulous walks.

Photos attached of her last walk with us, down at Rumney playing fields.

When we got back from delivering her, a very pleasant surprise was waiting for us in the post. The landlord and landlady of the property we rented in Powys had sent us a very nice note, wishing us all the best for the future, and thanking us for leaving the property in an "immaculate" condition - with the note, was a Book Token! What a thoughtful and kind gesture, followed up today by an equally nice letter from the estate agent we used returning our deposit in what must be record time. Having lived in a variety of rented establishments during my life I can honestly say this is the first time a landlord has ever done this, although to be fair when I lived in Plymouth my landlord/lady lived upstairs and would often leave little notes or bars of chocolate - as they were an exceptionally nice couple. Something like this goes a long way in boosting my slightly jaded faith in human nature. The irony is that i felt there was more cleaning that could be done, and Andrew was not happy that the garden was up to his standards.

The weather continues to be very hot. Andy bit a hole in the paddling pool when Andrew was trying to inflate it for him and Booty (that dog was definately behind the door when they were handing out the brains). Andrew tried squirting them with the hose pipe today - Booty loved it but Andy ran away and hid in the undergrowth.

So, another scorching day. It has also been very humid which I must admit I dislike intensely. I much prefer a dry heat, which is one of the reasons I love the Canaries - there, the climate is sunny, dry and breezy and absolute bliss. We spent the day up in Powys, doing the final cleaning of the rental property before returning the keys to the estate agent. Andrew mowed the lawn and re-arranged some fencing that we had put in place to safely accommodate the dogs. I indulged in an orgy of mopping, dusting, wiping and polishing - so ensuring the bungalow was left as I would wish to find it. Incredibly hot work - both of us were literally dripping when we finished. The temp was 28 when we were returning to Cardiff - thank goodness for aircon in the car - at least that way the dogs could be travelling safely and in comfort.

Further to some phone calls when we got back, it looks likely that Murgatroyd will be rehomed on Wednesday. Once again, I feel this dreadful tug of emotions; happiness that she could have a loving permanent home and sadness at seeing her go - she is such a character. I will miss her little wonky nose as it gets into all sorts of mischief. Ironically, and this is true of so many physical characteristics, it is her nose that I now love the most about her - it is her special characteristic. I can think of a number of people who have distinctive features (particularly facial) who don't like them - but again,they are often what makes them so wonderfully unique. Heaven forbid we all get into a Botoxed and lifted ubiquity.

Andrew did one of my all time favourite dishes tonight - tomato salad with mozzarella - incredibly simple, but so delicious. We didn't have any fresh basil, so he made a pesto dressing - yummy. Then we watched the first of the Bourne trilogy - nice to see Matt Damon, especially when he had his kit off and had clearly been working out quite a bit. Now it is time for bed. Hoping to be up early in the morning so we can walk the dogs before it gets too hot.

We are back in Cardiff and the Met Office predictions have finally kicked in - the weather is blazing. We had the official move yesterday - I felt sorry for the moving guys as they must have been cooking. Today has been the usual slow and steady moving and emptying of boxes, and gradually plugging in things - the Ipod dock, the dishwasher and the washing machine. This afternoon the computer was turned on and we had Sky and phones yesterday. So normal service is pretty near resumed.

As it has been so hot today, we took the dogs out early over to Tredegar House. It was Murgatroyd's first visit and she thoroughly enjoyed it, especially as the grounds were swarming with rabbits. The dogs couldn't believe their eyes - even better than squirrels!

In preparation for the move, we had run down our food stocks to the minimum and of course emptied fridge and freezer. So this afternoon we went over to Tesco for a stock-up. I bought a couple of pretty tops while I was there - a nice stripy green T shirt and a floaty, wafty top to wear over trousers, perfect for an evening out.

I also want to say that I am not going to take having access to supermarkets for granted in future. They get so much stick and I have to now say that after seven months of living in an area without a superstore I am heartily grateful for Terry Leahy and his empire. While in Powys, we had a small high street with excellent butchers ( a real bright spot, and one I will miss) but for other stuff, forget it. The fishmonger visited once a week, on a Friday morning. If you were ill, busy or just wanted fish on another day, forget it. Even with his excellent produce, the choice was necessarily limited. Other grocery shopping was provided by a Spar and a Co-operative in the town, both very small, expensive and with limited stock. In Llandrindod Wells there is a Somerfield (even more expensive) and an Aldi. Now, Aldi are fabulous at what they do - no question about it. But part of their model is that they carry a very basic range of groceries - for example, they don't carry packet yeast or strong flour of any sort for breadmaking.

What I found is that instead of being able to do one weekly shop, and be done with it, I had constantly be having to break it down into its constituent parts and wonder what (if any) shop would carry it. We sorted out pet food by using the excellent home delivery service from Pets at Home, but much of the other stuff was spread across several different outlets and with variable guarantees as to availability. Things like fresh herbs (especially things like coriander or lemongrass)simply have not been available. Menu planning was essential - forget spontaneity - and I always had the nagging feeling of never having quite completed the weekly shop. I could go to Aldi and get some basics, but would then have to remember to go to the Co-op for free range chicken, call in the butcher for some meat and brave somewhere else for things like mirin or good coffee or poppadoms. The worst was the variable quality of fresh fruit and veg. There was a small and tired selection in the Co-op, and a fruit/veg stall visited Builth on Mondays and Fridays. This sold basics - great if you wanted parsnips in industrial quantities, but we had several warnings about the quality and these were justified. Too often, we would get stuff home and find that fruit was bruised and rotten. There was a similar stall at Llandrindod on Fridays with a better selection - but again, you had to make sure you caught it on that day, and as for things like big bunches of herbs, ranges of mushrooms, even chillies and garlic were hard to come by.

Anyway, off to Tesco we went this afternoon, and it was a cornuocopia of inviting fruit and veg. Plenty of organic choices, masses of berries, lots of pineapples, melons, masses of different tomatoes, fantastic. Most excitingly, big bunches of herbs. Andrew and I practically leapt in excitement at seeing an enormous bunch of parsley - what a sight. Got home and had pasta with chillies, parsley and scallops - groovy. Our wine stocks are rebuilding, and a bottle of Pimms is chilling in the fridge.

There is a great deal of food snobbery about supermarkets - I am constantly reading about how we should all be shopping at farmers markets and little local shops. Well, the reality is that is this is a completely impossible dream. Even the most chichi of houses still needs to clean their loo, wash their clothes, their dishes, their hair and their windows. And if you are a foodie you want good quality things like tea, coffee, marmalade, mirin, flour, and so on. Little local shops in general simply cannot compete with supermarkets on price or range - so how about quality and service? Well, the butchers in Builth are a fantastic example of how this works positively in practice - both shops have expert staff, who are friendly, polite, remember preferences and carry superb local meat, game and produce - they literally had people queuing out the door and long may they continue to do so. But man does not live by steak alone (unfortunately). My favourite example of how not to do service is the Post Office - on Monday we were packing, and Andrew sent me to get some more parcel tape for the boxes. Now, I think it is reasonable that my first port of call was the PO for this - after all, where else do you go with a parcel? Yes, you've guessed it, no parcel tape. They sent me up the road to the excellent local newsagents, Conti's, where they had copious quantitities, served with a smile. Aaargh. Anyway, rant over. I do really hope that Tesco take over parts of the PO - it would be great if you could post or pick up parcels at supermarkets. At least they would be open reasonable hours, for a start. So, I'll finish here, before I start ranting on anything else.

After the excitement of the weekend, this week has been a bit quieter. On Tuesday we travelled with little Murgatroyd to a potential home for her. The couple had already been homechecked and given an enthusiastic rating but as they had a cat, we needed to see how she would behave. We drove off when Andrew came home from work, leaving Andy and Booty in the house. We travelled over the mountain road, through the Elan Valley. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and hedges were full of foxgloves, roses and first honeysuckle. It was stunningly beautiful and also very quiet - not much traffic about which made the journey even more enjoyable. The couple lived not far from Strata Florida, where we were quite recently but their cottage was miles off the road, down a variety of little lanes past forestry and fields of sheep. Eventually arrived to a warm welcome but it became apparent very quickly indeed that a happy co-existence between Murgatroyd and the cat was extremely unlikely. Such a shame as it was an idyllic spot with people who would have given her a loving home. Still, I remain certain she will find the right home for her. Even though that was potential home No. 3, it is still difficult - I remain cheerfully besotted and was struggling on Tuesday not to even think about her imminent departure. Now she is back with us, and continuing to be a star, albeit with a moth eaten appearance at the moment, as her kennel coat is gradually coming out and a sleeker, darker coat is coming through. There are little tufts and sprouts of her old coat sticking up and out at strange angles and when you stroke her, drifts of the old coat come out. Soon though she will be looking fabulous.

We are continuing with preparations for the move next week. Andrew has said goodbye to the running club - his last session tonight. That is a wrench as they have been very friendly and welcoming to both of us. I have been trying to cook this week out of the freezer and cupboard to run down stocks of food before things are turned off. We have a big American style fridge-freezer which will be fun to move and will probably need to settle for around 24 hours after it has been transported.

Tomorrow is Andrew's last day in his job - he will be coming home with his aspidistra from his desk. The next few days are likely to be a bit chaotic so I may not be blogging for a little while but will return as soon as I can. I have emailed most people with our new (old!) address and new phone number - if you are reading this and haven't yet got it and want it, then do please email.

Lastly, on an unrelated search, I came across the Cardiff Council Unison (trade union) website and noticed that they now have a blog. Well, many congratulations to them for taking the step. i would just say that it does need a few more posts and possibly a bit more visual attractiveness. you can access it here - http://cardiffcountyunison.blogspot.com/

When I used to work for the Council, it seemed Unison was one of my most regular readers so I am happy to return the favour and point the way to their dip into the blogosphere. The most recent posts appear to be in support of Cuban communism and in favour of expelling members of political parties who do not share Unison's aims - hmmm, bit of a sticky one that. I wonder how many ordinary Unison members are actively in favour of Communism as practiced in Cuba? Still, generally speaking, union members get the union they deserve, in that pro-communists are often the only ones who can be arsed to get organised and active - the vast majority of union members are completely apathetic until they need the help of the union, scream loudly for action then return to a state of political torpor. So, hats off to hard working socialists - who can enjoy the splendid intricacies of composite motions.

Well, the big day was yesterday. Andrew slept well the night before, and on Saturday morning went over to Llanwrtyd Wells (the start of the race)early to register for his team of three. Relay teams wore green numbers and you can see that Andrew is wearing a sweatband with a number on it. This had to be handed over at the interchange points. For runners and riders who were doing the whole race, they were given a set of tags which they had to hand in at each interchange point, partly to prove they had done that bit and partly for safety.

We both went back to the start area in time for the official start and I took some vids which I am hoping to upload later. A local brass band was playing, the Mayor made a speech which nobody could hear, and there was a small and very good natured crowd. Runners had come from all over the UK - I could see club vests from Sheffield, Yorkshire, Surrey, London and the Midlands as well as a number of Welsh clubs. The race is notoriously tough - regarded by many as being harder than many marathons due to the severe changes in gradient and rough ground. I was particularly struck by the elite runners in the front of the field - one or two were only wearing their shorts and numbers, with just a hat (Foreign legion style with neck flap). Most runners have fabulous legs but quite slim upper bodies but some of these guys had incredibly well muscled upper bodies as well - I did wonder if they were either triathletes or service guys (as we are smack in the centre of a huge Army training area) and they have to carry weight as well as have strong legs. Anyway it was a most pleasant sight to behold. Eventually, the field went off in a surge at 11 a.m and the horses followed later at 11.15 - there were 47 equine competitors. Some were Arabs, which are often used for endurance riding, and I also saw a couple of TB crosses and some Welsh Cobs.

Once the competitors were safely on their way, I made my way back to the car and drove slowly over to Abergwesyn, the changeover point where Andrew would finish his leg, and hand over to his team mate. Abergwesyn is a tiny and beautiful hamlet off the Beulah road, and to get to it I had to drive along the most wonderful valley, thick with forests on its steep sides and with a scattering of remote farms and abandoned chapels on the valley floor. Stunning views and an awesome run. Getting to the hamlet, I parked in the hedge (quite literally!) and waited by the changeover spot. Runners and riders could also have water, and there were crews present for the horses in case they needed anything. By the first changeover, several horses had to pull out due to cast shoes and apparently one rider did fall off. The runners came streaming down a steep hill at the side of the valley (you can see it above) and it was also possible to see the horses also picking their way along the narrow paths of the hill. Then they dropped down into the valley floor, across the stream and back past us onwards to climb back up and over to the next part of the run. It was exciting to see the beautiful horses coming through and the hot runners, all looking muddy and sweaty. Andrew came in and handed over his sweatband to Jenny, his running mate and off she went, fast and determined. He had worn his Garmin and later when we got back to the house, he downloaded the route and linked it to Google Earth so I could see exactly where he had run via an aeriel view. We cheered on the club runners who came through and when the bulk of competitors had gone past, we fished out the car from the hedge and came back for Andrew to have a shower. He then returned to Llanwrtyd for the finish - apparently a horse won, but there was allegedly some kerfuffle in that the man who was first thought he had beaten the first horse and was not pleased to find he had not, so much so he threw his beer everywhere! Anyway, Andrew, Jenny and Emma collected their medals and were all very happy to have finished safely. Pics attached of the start, the muddy legs at the end of the stage, the monster hill and the tired competitor. The good news is that the resident athlete really enjoyed it and felt that his training and preparation had been sufficient and thorough.

Not surprisingly the rest of the day was quiet. Today, we went for a walk this morning with the dogs along the Wye valley - one of our favourites. Most of the wild flowers have finished now as the tree canopy was in full leaf, creating a beautiful dappled effect as we walked, hearing only the river and birdsong around us. However, the hedges were full of sprays of wild roses and spiky foxgloves, and there was still a bit of stitchwort, campion and buttercup at the edge of tree line. After walking along the bank in the shade, we then came onto an open meadow, used as an access point for the river Wye by canoeists, and full of wild flowers. We felt like we were wading through a coloured sea of blossom - it was lovely. Things only improved when we saw dragonflies, bright jewelled turquoise with wings marked with black discs, fluttering over the bank. We took the dogs down to the river for a drink and a paddle then slowly meandered back - a fabulous morning. Have had a quiet rest of the day but we do potentially have a home for Murgy - third time lucky? I will report on this later in the week.

Andrew had running club tonight but instead of their usual Thursday suffer-fest, they did a fairly moderate run - this is because many including Andrew are running in the Man vs horse race on Saturday. I should stress this is man in the generic sense - Andrew is running in a team with two women, and in fact the majority of runners in the club are female, many of whom tackle mountain marathons, cross country and similar with great aplomb. He recently received all the info with pages of safety warnings and disclaimers - quite impressive to see. What made us both smile is that equine competitors are very well served with vets and water stations at all sorts of points along the way, but considerably less fuss made of the humans. Andrew is taking this one quite seriously and has even given up alcohol this week; I realise this makes him sound like an alcoholic putting it like that, but he does occasionally enjoy a glass of gin, or a bottle of cider in the week and of course we both enjoy wine drinking at the weekend. Our main concern now is the weather. It'll be tough if it's blazing hot, but hard going if it's pouring with rain. The ideal would be a cool, cloudy day - fingers and toes crossed! Link to the official website for the race here:- http://www.green-events.co.uk/index.php

Today I travelled down to Margam Park for a meeting to look at an event to be held next year that GRW might be getting involved in. This initial meeting was with the park authorities to discuss the broad outlines, such as dates, availability, parking etc.. My role was pretty minor, basically to listen and learn, but I always find these interesting. The journey down and back was lovely - via the Heads of the Valleys Road which was looking spectacularly beautiful. Because we've had so much rain, everything is so green. Shaggy hedges, lovely pastures and rolling moors covered in whin berries - should be a good crop this year. At the park, we were inside part of the Gothic Victorian buildings where the park staff have their offices - what a lovely place to come to work. The estate was lived in by the Fox-Talbot family - one of their members was one of the earliest pioneers of photography. Nearby is Margam Abbey, interestingly a daughter abbey of Strata Florida where we were last week. Regular readers will also recall the park as a venue for one of Andrew's 10K races. This was the longest time I have left the dogs alone for some time and they were squeaking with excitement when I came back home. Dear little Murgy kept coming up to me and putting her head on my chest as if to say "Is it really you? I'm so glad you're back" - yes, I know I am probably anthropomorphosing hopelessly but sometimes you just need to feel the love.

After we had eaten our couscous earlier, Murgy hopped up on the sofa and snuggled up with me under my quilt - all very cosy. Unfortunately, the second home offer is looking less likely but they may be coming back to the charity if their work circumstances change. So, for the moment, she remains with us, very happily for all concerned. She often now likes to come on the bed during the night and this morning I woke up with a familiar cosy shape nestling against my legs. She and Booty seem to have established some sort of rota for this - if I wake up in the night and want to check which hound is lying on my feet or has stolen my duvet, the quickest way is to feel their collars, as Booty's is textured fabric, while Murgy still wears leather. This morning, we had the excitement at 5.30 of Andy (most unusually) suddenly launching into a tirade of barking - you'd swear a boatload of marauding Vikings were swimming up the Irfon. Andrew launched into an equally exciting tirade of swear words, when after a thorough inspection, no Vikings could be found and the guilty party was lying on the rug, rolling his eyes and looking sheepish. Don't believe anyone who tells you greyhounds are quiet dogs.

Quite a bit to write about since my last post. After a beautiful start to the week, the weather got progressively worse and by the weekend we were having torrential monsoon style downpours. On Saturday, we travelled down to Cardiff for a night at the opera. The appalling weather which was also quite chilly put paid to my idea of wearing my new summer frock and open toed sandals, in spite of a lovely pedicure with coral coloured varnish. I ended up wearing a tiered skirt with some green shoes and a little shrug, which managed to look quite summery but also kept me warm!

We saw La Boheme and it was gorgeous -actually the very last night of this particular production. Beautiful seats in the stalls and everything came together. The principal singers were all lovely, although Musetta was a bit stiff to begin with and the production was fabulous. No messing about, just a nice straightforward take without any attempt to be modern. As usual, I loved the building too - I adore it with a passion, as it is so gorgeously fit for purpose. Even with a full house, there are never queues for loos ( the only theatre I have ever been in where that is the case for ladies) and so many wonderful nooks and crannies where you can relax and enjoy an interval drink - not just bars either, plenty of cafes and lots of space for promenading, or just people watching. Wonderful.

Spent the night in the Cardiff house afterwards with all three greyhounds in the room with us. Murgatroyd is now getting the hang of the stairs, and is confident going up but still a bit nervous going down. With a bit more practice she'll be flying up and down them. It was great to see the garden - masses of roses and all looking very green. Very pleased to see a fantastic crop of berries on my blueberry plants.

We've decided that we'll be coming back to the Cardiff house to live permanently in about two weeks. Andrew is returning to his previous role as a consultant, and as we've had no credible offers on the house, it is obviously not the right time to sell. I will be very sorry to leave Powys as I love living in the country, but on the other hand I like our Cardiff house, and it makes much more sense for Andrew's work, given Cardiff's quick rail links to London, access to motorway network and airport. Unfortunately, Powys would be completely impractical given the amount of travelling involved. We are now in the process of booking moving men, and sorting out Sky and phone connections. Watch this space for further updates. It will be great to be back out the garden and we've decided to paint the C and C - the bedroom which doubles as study and craft room. We'll be doing this just before we move back in as it will be so much easier to do this while the room is empty. We will also be having my cousin from Canada to stay almost immediately as she is over in the country for a three week trip and it will be fab to see her.

While we were at the Millennium Centre we checked out the forthcoming programme and have managed to get tickets for WNO doing La Traviata in September (the first opera I ever saw, aged about 12) and excitingly an opera gala night of Bryn Terfel singing Wagner - bliss!! I would love to have seen him sing the Ring that he did in London but tickets were like gold dust. Apparently he will be doing a lot of Die Valkure which will practically guarantee me in raptures.

Finally, more news on Murgatroyd's adoption. It looks possible that a home has been found for her where she will be living with another dog, a whippet. I am expecting a call on this later tonight or tomorrow but it is fingers crossed.

Today was due to be the day that Murgatroyd went off to her new forever home. I've had incredibly ambivalent feelings about it - on the one hand I am so delighted for her, but I cannot deny it will be a wrench saying goodbye to this adorable creature. After the couple made contact last night, we arranged for them to visit us today at 5, for a quick look-see and then hopefully to take her home with them. The day has been awful - as I was doing the housework, a little face would come up by mine, nudging me for a tickle, or I'd walk into the room and find her roaching on the sofa, wagging her tail at me with a big grin on her face. In short, she was being particularly herself - loving, playful and mischievous. I prepared all her paperwork and had already made up a mini scrapbook of photos and notes for her new owners. There was even a little coat that some kind friends had given her.

Anyway, at 5, the very nice couple turned up, came in and had a chat and were introduced. I went out to the kitchen to make everyone a cup of tea and found that on my return she was enjoying being tickled and all seemed to be going well. Just as I was about to pull out the paperwork for signing, the husband announced that she had the wrong sort of fur and that he could feel he was allergic to her (chest tightening, typical allergic reaction, similar to that Andrew has with cats). I couldn't believe it. They were extremely apologetic - no need - I am only glad we found out before she had been settled with them. It would have been extremely disruptive for her and upsetting for them to have started the bonding process only to abandon it later. Now we go back to putting her on the website and I expect we will have a lot of interest in her. But I really don't want to go through a day like that again in a hurry. Am now feeling quite drained. Ho hum.