Grrr. After going to bed last night, was rudely awoken by some muppet letting off fireworks. Booty was nervous and growling at them, and came onto our bed for a bit of reassurance and TLC. She was curled up quite happily after that stopped, so I decided to leave her there and go back to sleep. Just getting off to sleep and the police helicopter decided to hover noisily over the estate, with its search light flashing back and forth. Yes, I know they have to catch villains, but do they really have to be quite so noisy at half past one in the morning? Finally got to sleep after much muttering and swearing.

Took the dogs this morning up into the forestry - they loved it and we did too. I love the smell of woods at this time of year, damp and earthy and gorgeous. There were horses there too which Andy liked and wanted to play with.

The most important news is that Hil has a date for her operation so all systems are go for that. Saw her yesterday and did some food shopping for her.

A very busy week ahead in work. Lots of meetings scheduled and a lot on the go at the moment.

Greetings comrades! Hot greyhound news is that the ABs are now kicking in and while pegleg's paw continues to improve, things are not so good at the other end. Green and yellow not so good. Scooping while out on walks is becoming extremely difficult. Is this TMI? Perhaps. The invalid joined us in bed last night, not something he makes a habit of when both of us are in it. Woke up this morning to find a large hound securely wedged between us, looking contented and sleepy. Booty continues to sleep in her normal location. What is noticeable is that as the mornings are becoming less light and definately colder, they are not so keen on the 6 am wake up call, in fact a comfy duvet is more attractive and some days they have to be "encouraged" to come downstairs. Rattling the Bonio box always seems to work. My tactic is to lure them outside with Bonio bribes and then shut the door behind me, so they cannot return to the warm until they have performed. When it's cold and wet, they are much less interested in prolonged and leisurely sniffing, and a more businesslike approach prevails.

Quilting class tonight. I had done my homework, and was pleased with what I had done, although I did need to redo a couple of the squares, when the smaller square pieces weren't quite lined up. After stitching them all, pressed them, which does make a difference. Tonight we joined up rows of the squares, and then joined rows together. All very exciting. Then we moved on to cutting out the pieces for the next chunk, which involves triangles. This is more tricky as you cut the angle on the bias which means the fabric can wiggle as you sew it and there is the possibility you won't end up with a perfect square. More homework to do, involving both cutting out and making up pieces. Should keep me out of mischief.

Debating at the moment whether to go to see Christy Moore, when he plays here next month. Andrew has bravely offered, which I'm impressed by, as he loathes folk music or anything like it (yes, I know CM is not a "pure" folk artist). Have also been contacted by Sarah, who wants to come up for a weekend soon. Since leaving school and going to college in Llanelli, her fledgeling Gothiness has matured, and her Bebo page is now very black, and full of pictures of skulls and so on. Ah, happy memories. I must admit I am very glad she is a Goth, as it's a look I like very much and it offers a lot of scope. I'd be mortified if she turned into Chavzilla with an orange tan, enormous hoop ear-rings, scraped back hair, and her muffin top on display, nicely accessorised by a tacky thong and naff tats.

On a more positive note, Leila has booked her flights and hotel for New York - hoorah!! By the wonders of the internet, she can now call up her hotel booking and gaze at it lovingly. At this rate, she should be a union rep.

How many pop songs refer to Monday in the title? Lots. Why is this? Should I start a campaign on behalf of Tuesday? New Order - Blue Monday. Boomtown Rats - Tell me why I don't like Mondays ( I concur, by the way) Bangles - Manic Monday. And so on.......

And another thing, a warm, fraternal welcome to all and any union colleagues who may be reading this. You're very welcome. Feel the comradely love. Our greyhounds are paid up members of NASHER - National Association of Squirrel Hunters and Exterminators of Rabbits. I, on the other hand, am not. I must admit to a certain amount of mystification at my blog being of any interest to union colleagues - perhaps one will post a comment. Meanwhile, I'm sure your knowledge of my quilting habits and greyhound poo will be very useful in future meetings.

Top news. The young master did excellently yesterday - despite miserable conditions. We both got soaked. He did a time of 49:13, a new PB and sub-50 which is what he was aiming for.

I have posted a photo and also one from his last run at Bute Park. The invalid makes good progress. His poorly paw appears to be improving and thankfully we are having no problems in getting him to eat his antibiotics. Mixed with kibble they disappear in a flash. Also fortunately not too many effects at the other end - just turned a very peculiar colour, now being bright green. Walked him and Booty after work over at Park Tredelerch and got caught in the deluge - glad they had their coats on as it is definately getting colder now. The invalid is now lying on the bed watching me type. Jacket potatoes are in the oven and will be ready shortly. Later, my quilting homework will be completed, which should not take too long. If time permits I may photograph each stage, to illustrate progress made.

My life at the moment feels like I am in a tumble dryer. Just as one thing gets sorted out, another upset comes along. Where do I begin?

On Tuesday I left work early and went down to Swansea to see Hil, new emerged from hospital. We went and did some food shopping as of course she had run down all her supplies thinking she would be away from home for a few weeks. It was good to see her and I am so amazed and impressed by how philosophical she is being. Much more than I would be. She went to GP on Tuesday am and it looks as though her BP was good,normal. Sounds like she had severe "white coat syndrome" (completely understandable) while she was on the ward. Now she needs to clock up at least three of these normal readings and then we're back in to the ward. Watch this space.

Got home, found dogs a bit subdued and their leads/muzzles lying in a heap in the utility room. Message from Andrew shortly after - our dog walker Sue has resigned with immediate effect. Apparently she took the dogs (wearing their muzzles and on leads, as normal)over the park, and Booty got into a scrap with another off-lead dog. Somehow, her muzzle came off and as Sue was trying to sort out the melee, got bitten on the hand. Understandably, she has resigned. So search for replacement dog walker has been going on all week and we have one visiting us for an assessment next week. Fortunately A was working from home on Wednesday and Thursday, so woofs have been in good company.

Wednesday night, started my quilting class, over at Tredegar House. It went very well and I really enjoyed it. One of the few bright spots in the week.


We also dealt with a query from the accountants over the demographic basis for some of the bids in the MTFP. So spent some time rounding up various stats on the growth in number of students (15.5% over the last three years), increase in visitor numbers, car journeys etc.... as all of these of course impact on our services.

By Thursday morning, the tumble dryer was taking effect, as I turned up at our Highways depot for a union meeting that is actually taking place next Thursday. Well, at least all the papers are printed out ready.

Thursday evening - mixed. Andrew found some baby fish in the pond - very exciting. They are tiny little goldfish, about 2 cm long each. I had no idea our fish would breed. We can see them swimming about happily in and out of the waterlilies. Andy began limping and was holding his paw in a most pathetic way, so we took them for a shortened walk. It was the paw he ripped the nail off and it was apparent that that toe was the one with the problem.

By Friday, I was wondering what else would happen. In work, we progressed with the interviews for the Clean Streets Manager. The concentration required is tiring and draining and it was obvious by the end of the day that with four very talented yet different candidates there was no easy choice. Rather than try and stick it out, I decided to think about it over the weekend.

It brightened a little yesterday evening when Andrew returned home with the new Terry Pratchett, Making Money. Started reading it. Good so far. Andrew took Andy to the vet this morning - while they were gone, Booty was howling mournfully. I do mean howling - with her head thrown back and a proper vulpine "Grr-ooooooooo". I bet the neighbours loved it. Still, I think it's a much more attractive noise than brats screaming, and we have to put up with plenty of that. The patient returned with over a £100 (!!!aargh) worth of antibiotics as he has an infection in the nail bed. Apparently, these should do the trick, but if not, his toe will have to be amputated. Aaaargh. So our dear hopalong is moseying round the house on three paws at the moment, and I am sending out vibes saying "HEAL". One of the less attractive side effects is that apparently the ABs will induce the runs. Lovely. But let's hope they cure the infection.

So far, the rest of the day is spent undertaking domestic chores.Later, I will be doing my quilting homework. Tomorrow is the Swansea Bay 10K where the young master will be running. Watch this space for photos and update on his time, along with greyhound poo, I expect.

Sometimes life sucks. Sometimes it doesn't. As per my previous post, our week off "at home" flew by in a deeply relaxed and enjoyable way. We spent a day with Hil doing some shopping for her forthcoming hospital visit, took in a film (the Bourne Ultimatum, which was good), a lovely meal out down the bay at Le Garcon and plenty of dogs, wine and garden to keep us out of mischief.

Returned to work to 280 emails and a hectic schedule. Jason left on Friday, so it's been busy with last minute handover stuff. Shortlisted for his replacement and did the interviews for the CC Support Officer. Tried to plough through the correspondence and am still doing so.

Andrew ran the Bute Park 10K last weekend and did an excellent time - he was very pleased and had a nice medal at the end. His next run is the Swansea Bay 10K this coming weekend.

After one cancellation already, Hil had her operation date confirmed and we took her in to Singleton Hospital on Sunday morning. Got her settled in and left her with a mix of feelings - glad it was finally happening and some nerves. Took the woofs with us and went for a lovely walk afterwards in Clyne Valley. Went to work today and got a text from her - operation cancelled due to her blood pressure being too high. Aaargh! Poor Hil. Now back to square one while they sort out and stabilise her BP - no idea how long this will take. After this, work went swiftly downhill with annoying emails from a variety of senior colleagues, prominent Cllrs and stupid press queries about nonsense. Just one of those days when nothing seems to go right. Grrr. Very glad to come home to the dogs who are currently reclining stylishly. Hope the week improves for Hil and for me.

The weather continues to be very fine, and today has been a most enjoyable and relaxing day. We took the dogs this morning over to Park Tredelerch which they and we enjoyed. Returned home and enjoyed a breakfast of home made bread. A washed the dogs' duvet and I got down to some serious card making. Went over the garden centre in the afternoon and had an enjoyable browse, treating ourselves to a few nice plants. Came home and pottered happily in the garden, before enjoying a stir fry and watching "Pan's Labyrinth", a very interesting film by Guillame de Toros, the same guy who made "Hellboy". I really enjoyed it. With it being Tuesday, CSI Miami followed, with some vintage Horatio posing action - his hands never seemed to be off his hips. Great! Now writing this before retiring to bed in a happy and contented frame of mind.

I write this with a certain sensation of surprise. We went on our holidays yesterday and am now home again. We loaded the car to the gunwales with dog food, duvets for us and woofs, suitcases, clothing for every weather eventuality and plenty of wine, before setting off for the cottage. The key attraction was the 2.5 acre wild flower meadow, securely fenced that would allow off lead romping for woofs. We eventually found it in the hills of the wild west, not far from Lampeter. Banjos played softly as we approached. Sure enough, the cottage was remote and pretty and certainly had plenty of wildlife.

What we were less happy about were; the fence that allowed a greyhound leap into the next door field of sheep, the appalling lighting that meant you could only read something if you stood underneath one of the lights in the sitting room, the cold, the damp, the smell, the dirty mattress, the Baby Belling stove that would let you put the oven on but not rings simultaneously, the bed that creaked and was probably the most uncomfortable I have ever slept in, the bathroom that would not allow A to pee standing up, and a sit down shower(!!) as well as non opening windows, a staircase of Alpine proportions and glacial slipperiness, deeply uncomfortable seats, gothic levels of cobwebs, and so on........

A pathetic attempt at dinner meant that the quiche had to be heated first in the oven before we could cook any veg on the rings. Consequently a simple meal took around an hour and a half to prepare. By this morning, we were both desperate to leave, so resumed the long job of packing, and left with a glad heart. Home again by around 1. I have never been so glad to come home to a house that is clean, warm, dry, comfortable and sensibly proportioned i.e. you can stand up without braining yourself. I appreciate even more our comfortable furniture, Sky Tv, ensuite shower, king size sprung mattress, halogen spotlights, fan oven, gas hob, three loos, and secure fencing. Bliss. Thank god we live in the 21st Century with all its comforts and ease.

A roasted a duck and we have spent a leisurely evening watching an old black and white movie from the war years enjoying a bottle of red wine. Andrew had a long pre-dinner soak in the bath, and both of us are slowly feeling less traumatised and more relaxed.

Yesterday was a productive day. Went to the hairdressers in the morning, after spending the early part of the day engaged in a vigourous bout of housework. Having the hounds means that regular hoovering and mopping is essential to keep the place looking clean and tidy. With Andy's paw still sporadically bleeding as well, it is important to remove that "crime scene" look on a regular basis. Also have been catching up with washing and ironing, always a never ending job.

Returned from the hairdresser with a trim and new colour - a deep reddy brown, looks good. As I was leaving the car to come round the house to the front door, my Lands End parcel arrived. I had ordered a little fleece jacket and a fleece sweatshirt, both in a deep browny purple colour - lovely. In the winter, I adore fleece, and would happily dress in nothing else. It's warm and light and snuggly and just mmmmmmmm - lovely.

Dogs mysteriously failed to pass any comment on my hair (tchah, eye-roll) but were otherwise very pleased to see me. Had a good chat to Hil in the afternoon, catching up with all the news.

Today Andrew comes home - hurray! I left the house early and went first to Inkspot and enjoyed a good browse and bought myself a few nice crafty bits. Then went over to Pets at Home for some holiday kibbles for the woofs, and thence to Tesco for a shortish shop to get some things to take away with us.

Returned home to the usual ecstatic welcome from the woofs, along with a mysteriously clean floor (I'd been intending to give it another go later this afternoon.) A note from Sue our dog walker explained. Over-vigourous squirrel chasing had resulted in more bleeding, leaving the house like Macbeth's castle, so Sue had done some hasty mopping up. At the moment I am beginning to feel like Lady Macbeth myself, as I do seem to be spending a lot of time wiping up blood spatter. I am once again very thankful that we opted for wooden floors downstairs and have tiles in the kitchen.

Just done another marathon ironing session, leaving me feeling that the beast is pretty well conquered. A good sensation. Next, some bathroom cleaning, then if time a little play with my new toys from Inkspot before doing some leisurely chopping and prepping for tonight's curry.
May also put a few clothes in a suitcase to help encourage that holiday vibe......

A happier post today I hope. Disappointing CSI last night, especially as last week was a real corker with full-on H doing his manly posing and quotable lines - "Burn, baby burn" being a fine example as he walked away from an exploding car that he was brave enough to drive away from people so as to minimise blast damage - ah, bless..... all the while of course, wearing his darkest shades, flexing his hands on his hips, and flashing that badge. It's like the world's most stylish panto and I love it.

Took the dogs over to Tredegar House this morning. Walking round the lake, I noticed the cygnets - they are now nearly as big as their parents, although still grey. It's been lovely watching them grow over the summer. After returning the woofs to the car, I then strolled over to the craft shop and successfully enrolled in an autumn quilting course. The lady in the shop was very helpful and showed two examples of the quilt we will be making (a sampler quilt). Each quilt was in a different colourway which changed the look of the finished item dramatically- so I now have to give some serious thought as to what colours to choose, which in turn will be dependant on where I put it and what I do with it.

Have just finished another mountain of ironing, and am about to do some card-making. Bliss. The hounds are fast asleep on the bed, looking very peaceful. Booty came in to me in the middle of the night - I was vaguely aware of her hopping up and when I woke this morning she was still curled peacefully at my side. Jake continues to hop along happily, still licking his paw regularly. He is thoroughly enjoying his walks and appears incredibly bouncy the rest of the time so I am not too worried about him. He is also enjoying the extra attention. Loads of cuddles and lots of soppy brown eyes looking cute.

A sad day. Kayla, another lady with cervical cancer has died. Kayla and her husband Stu fought the recurrence of this disease so bravely for the past two years. On many occasions I've laughed while tears ran down my cheeks, reading Stu's blogs, or Kayla's posts on Jo's Trust (charity to support women/partners with cervical cancer/pre-cancer). Kayla was treated at the Royal Marsden, and even they struggled at times as she went through the hell of all sorts of complications, infections and her condition went through a roller coaster of ups and downs. Yet all the time each obstacle overcome still seemed only to take her back to a slightly lower start point. I had been expecting the news for some time when Stu said that they could offer no more treatment, then the cancer spread to two new sites and then the only concern was to make her comfortable. In one sense I am so pleased - her fight is over, and all the pain too. In another, it breaks my heart, as Stu and Kayla were one of those couples whose love was so strong that it quite literally shone out of their communications, their behaviour and their love for their children. In the bizarre world of cancer, nothing could seem as romantic as Stu's loving description of his little pit viper snoring and dribbling with vomit in her hair, or as blackly funny as the descriptions of the stranger ways of the NHS. Stu is one of those husbands who love and care tenderly for their wives through the most horrendous times, and completely gives the lie to the nonsense some women spout about men. Andrew is another, and I can think of several more, some known IRL and some via Jo's.

Couples like Stu and Kayla are an inspiration - I frequently fail in my attempts to live as I should but draw strength and hope from people like these. Some people have the wonderful gift of acting as lights to point the way - quite literally wayfinders in Burton's case but there was another man who was passionate about doing the right thing. His motto was "Honour not Honours" and is entirely in accordance with how he lived. It would be right to say that I cared deeply about living the right way before I was ill (as befits a keen 7 Habits girl) but the illness really emphasised it. When I went back to work, I really couldn't see the point in a lot of the things I saw - I had chosen consciously that job, in the full knowledge that I could be living on borrowed time, and therefore when the end comes I don't want to look back at wasted time spent on petty nonsense. It was very helpful and refreshing having Phil as a boss, as he seemed also to understand this and gave short shrift to political posturing or morally questionable behaviour (never in short supply in the workplace). I never asked him if he had gone through any illness either himself or with someone close - it never felt right to ask such a personal question. One of the difficulties I have now is the seeming lack of clarity in the current management arrangements - the view of the 5th floor at County Hall has been disappointing in many ways, although an eye-opener.

A phenomenally long and busy week since I last posted. Whenever I go on leave, there is always a frantic attempt beforehand to clear out my email inbox and sort things out. Also had further meetings to do with budget bids and have presented them to the unions. They opposed the savings I had put forward, but did not make any suggestions for where the cash should come from. Met our new CO for the first time. Difficult to make much of an assessment, she was polite, seemed friendly, but obviously early days yet. She is hoping to start at the end of October.

Thursday was busy as Chris and I were interviewing for the CC Support officer. We had scheduled seven, two pulled out, and we have another three scheduled for September after all the holidays. Interviews went well and we were generally very pleased and impressed with the calibre of candidates. It will be a tough decision whoever we pick. We have recently adopted a new feature in interviews and used it in this one - we gave each candidate a written copy of the questions, so they could refer to it. This seems to go down well, and helps them to keep abreast of things.

Decided to leave work early as was going out later. A came and collected me as he had been working from home. Got home, parked car, and walked round the front of the house, hearing the usual tumult from the dogs, excited squeaking and bouncing against the door. A put his key in the lock and suddenly we heard a high pitched scream instead. Rushed inside to find that Andy had bounced up to the door, but got one of his front toenails caught in the big keyhole and then ripped it out completely, leaving the bleeding stump of the quick. The hall immediately resembled a murder scene from CSI - paws and nails always bleed so much. Eventually the bleeding slowed down, and we now have a new nickname - Jake the peg for him. We took him to the vet, who gave him the once over and an antiseptic spray, but there isn't really much more to do except wait for it to grow back.

After all that excitement, we went out with Alan, over to Caldicot Castle for an open air production of Twelfth Night, with a picnic. We loaded up the coolbox, with lots of nice things, including home made bread - especially delicious with about a third rye flour vs wheat. Really adds a lovely flavour, texture and aroma. Enjoyed the evening thoroughly - the production was enchanting, the setting beautiful and intimate, the company congenial. Amazingly the weather was perfect - one of those gorgeous summer evenings you imagine in the middle of winter. Cloudless blue sky full of swallows, evening shadows golden on the grass, perfect. I had been struggling all day with the beginnings of a sore throat, but simply enjoyed the anaesthetic effects of Pinot Grigio in the evening. Eventually drove home, dropped off Alan and collapsed into bed, officially on holiday - hurrah!

Found out Sarah's GCSE results on Friday morning - she has seven, including two A grades, one not surprisingly for Art, the other for Science. Fantastic, I am so pleased for her. Her next step is to go to college in Llanelli to do an Art course.

Less happily, by Friday morning the throat had developed further, and by today, I have officially lost my voice and have a hacking dry cough. We reluctantly cancelled our attendance at the Evans family do - frustrating on a number of levels, as we still pay the dog walker and will have to pay for the buffet and the room hire - £30 a head is not cheap. Andy is continuing to hop around with his poorly paw - he wants to do things but it is apparent that it is still very painful for him at times. We took them over to Tredegar House this morning, for a shortened walk, mainly on the grass so it would be softer for him. Rather ironically, we finally had our home visit yesterday from the Greyhound Rescue Wales people to see how the two dogs are settling in. I was able to make squeaking noises at Sandra - we see her at the monthly greyhound walks over at Cosmeston so she knows the dogs and us. Went through the questionnaire and it seems all is well. Sandra commented on how well the two dogs look, Andy's foot notwithstanding. I must admit their coats are looking fantastic. The hound mitt, along with the sardines and the cod liver oil has really done the business. Andy especially just gleams. There, I will stop here, as it is time for them to be fed.

The weekend was cold and wet. Yesterday we met up with Andrew's sister, husband and three boys, down at Pembrey Country Park, near Burry Port. We brought a picnic, after a stroll along the beach. I had imagined lots of sunshine, instead we froze, in a howling gale and spots of rain. A typical British summer! The beach at Cefn Sidan was beautiful, and not surprisingly, not too crowded. Miles of golden sand and the boys enjoyed picking up lots of lovely shells.

Busy day today in work. The advert has appeared for J's job, and I've been finalising the cover arrangements. Had a meeting at County Hall this morning to discuss budgets - MTFP bids, savings, capital, and this year's picture. Quite gloomy. Ho-hum. The usual Monday assortment of odd Cllr correspondence. Loads of Cominos to sign off, for some reason. Also our monthly IIP (Investors in People) review with our consultant. All in all, a busy day.

Much more to post.

First piece of news is that J, our Clean Streets Manager is leaving us! He is headhunted by his old boss and is going to be working with the company that makes Welsh Whisky - a bit of a change from street cleaning. He'll be leaving in mid september just after I return from my leave. I'll be very sorry to see him go, as he is incredibly good at his job and what took a bit longer to reveal is his evil sense of humour, aided by his ability to maintain an absolute poker face in all circumstances. This is a rare gift. I have just completed all the forms for progressing with the recruitment for his replacement. Some tweaks demanded by HR as apparently we can no longer use words like "enthusiastic" as this could be ageist...... ho, hum. Our new colleague in Waste Management, Robert, who's covering Tara's maternity leave, has kindly agreed to assist with shortlisting. He'll bring an interesting take on it, as he's got a broad range of experience, and no baggage with any parts of the Council.

Chris and I have completed the shortlisting for the CC Support Officer, ironically this would have made J's life a whole lot easier. We've shortlisted ten candidates, the majority graduates and some even with Masters. It's becoming noticeable that graduates are doing a lot more entry level jobs than they used to. A function of supply and demand, I guess?

Today we waved a temporary goodbye and had a presentation for one of our colleagues who is about to get married and go on honeymoon. Very exciting for all concerned, and Chris put it very well when she said that she hadn't been a Bridezilla at all.

Went this afternoon to a meeting with the Environment Agency. They've proposed a flytipping officer in an area on the border between us and a neighbouring authority, with funding contributions from all three. We are very keen on this idea as it offers a real possibility of improving an area with some serious issues. Had the luxury of finishing early as their offices are only about five minutes or less from the house. Came home and greeted by a storm of hound tail wagging, bouncing and general glee - very happy for all concerned.

Last week was one of those long, busy weeks that seem to go on for ever. Tiring and humid, with lots of activity in work, including a lengthy and odd disciplinary to hear, and the annual round of budget proposals and savings. I completed these today and sent them in, along with a frankly peculiar risk analysis for each spending bid, which I don't think will be much help to anyone. Total value of bids is over £2 million - I don't for a moment imagine we'll get all of it, but it's important to bid and each individual element would add something positive to the service.

Had the fortnightly meeting with our portfolio holder on Friday morning. It turned out he couldn't find the bike shed (he's a keen cyclist) and to my horror, his bike was nearly taken away and scrapped by an over enthusiastic member of staff who thought it had been abandoned. Saturday we went over to Somerset for the day to visit Andrew's parents. The dogs were very well behaved and loved the big garden where they could run around and sniff lots of interesting aromas. Took them for a nice walk around the village. Sunday was very hot and our monthly greyhound walk over at Cosmeston Lakes. Over 80 and we were out at the hottest part of the day. I am never doing that again - I was melting!

Work today was more work on the bids before they were finally submitted - it is very satisfying when you complete a big piece of work like that. Also had some discussions with HR about a possible re-deployment candidate for a post we have vacant at the moment. I am due to shortlist with a colleague, Christine on Thursday. She is off at the moment as her beautiful daughter Lauren is just off to California for a semester as part of her university drama course. Incredibly exciting but also we will all miss her too. Still, I'm sure the time will just fly by, and Chris will be going out there later in the year to visit and see the sights.

Will post some photos of dogs in Somerset.

A busy weekend with Daniel. On Sunday, we all got up early to go down the Bay, as Andrew was running in the Bupa Great Wales Run 10K. He did a PB of 50:55 which was awesome, and said it was a good, flat, fast course. Run very well organised. Not helped by walking back from it towards the car, and in front of thousands of people, several of our workforce were arsing round by having a mock sword fight with their litter pickers. DOH. I despair.

Came back to the house, Liz had arrived, and had a nice lunch. Then Liz and Dan went and we had a quiet day. I watched the end of the Tour, which was enthralling to the very end with only a few seconds separating the top three.

today back to work. the usual assortment of bizarre Cllr emails, wacky corporate policies and cumbersome form requirements included. Ho hum. I attach some photos of A at his glorious sweaty best.

Tour first. Since my last post, Vino and Rasmussen have both gone and the team roster is much lighter. What a race. How much more scandal can it take? Bradley Wiggins gave the most impassioned press conference yesterday - his team (Cofidis)was out after one of their riders tested positive too. He was not a happy bunny at all. From the way he spoke, it was as though his aspirations and dreams had been shattered. I felt for him. The race will be decided today in the time trial and appears to be between Contador and Cadel Evans with Leipheimer in with a chance. It will be riveting.

Dan arrived on Wednesday night and it's been busy since then. Unfortunately, although he immediately got on with Booty (well, who wouldn't?) Andy has taken a dislike to him and we have to keep them apart as much as possible, which id difficult as Dan keeps wanting to play with him - aargh! I don't particularly want to return Dan to his mum minus an ear or an arm.

Thursday, we went into town for a spot of shopping. Managed to successfully stock up on new uniform for next term, trousers, shirts and socks. Boring but necessary. He also got some Chanel fragrance, (start classy, I say), Thorntons chocs, Lush products, and a new hoody in H & M, as well as some more bling. A successful trip, marred only by monsoon conditions. Returned home, walked dogs. Then went and saw new Harry Potter film. V enjoyable, well made but it is the weakest of the book series and therefore the plot wasn't doing a lot. Had an Indian which we picked up on the way home.

Yesterday, took the dogs out first thing up to the Forestry in Rhudry. A good walk with stunning views over the Severn estuary and across to Somerset. Picked some wild strawberries and saw some amazing dragonflies. Returned home for lunch, and then went gun shopping in Gabalfa and Grangetown for a telescopic sight and some particular pellets. Mission successfully accomplished, much to Dan's satisfaction. On the way home, stopped off at Pets at Home for some dog food (we seem to virtually live in that shop now!) and another squeaky toy. Also went through a car wash, much to my and Dan's satisfaction. For some strange reason, I love the triple coloured foam. Bizarre.

Had a cup of tea, then Andrew and Dan went out cycling while I got on with some housework. This turned out to be much more eventful than I was expecting, as Booty fell in the pond. Managed to get her out, but all of us were traumatised. Towelled her down as much as possible and cuddled her for ages. She eventually decided to recover on the sofa and had a little rest there. She appears to be unhurt, just very shaken. The reason was that the people who live at the back of our garden have a yappy dog visiting them, and our two decided to rush out to investigate and respond when they heard it barking. Often in their rush they jump over the corner of the pond rather than going round it, on this occasion, this was not such a short cut.

Anyway Dan and Andrew had a good bike ride. Andrew then made some risotto, and we watched Hellboy. All retired to bed tired but happy.

By some miracle it is dry today and Andrew and Dan have headed off down the Bay for a pre booked boat trip. I'm catching up with the blog, then doing some ironing. Dog walk later and possibly a Chinese tonight. Dan may also go swimming. Tomorrow morning is the Great Wales Run. I will add some photos.

A hectic week in work. Yesterday morning, started the week with a big disciplinary hearing involving two staff. These are always gruelling for all concerned. Quite rightly, a lot of concentration goes into making sure the process is followed correctly and having to absorb and analyse a lot of new information which is the evidence in the case. In this case, I was satisfied that the correct outcome was achieved.

Lots of emails to deal with, including one from a Cllr who was asking me to deal with lights in a subway, tree crowns and a myriad of other issues that are nothing to do with me. Sigh.

Today was busy again. Our monthly Investors in People meeting first thing. Back to the office shortly followed by a fire drill, as we've recently all been allocated new muster points. This was quite entertaining for the wrong reasons as everyone promptly went straight to the old muster point, and ignored the valiant efforts of the fire marshal to encourage the strays to their correct spot. It was also very nice to have a brief moment inthe sunshine, as today is actually dry. Andrew was working from home today and managed to dry two loads of washing on the line, something we haven't done in ages.

Spent most of the rest of the day preparing a presentation for tomorrow's Scrutiny meeting. Unfortunately all the servers were playing up so it took an incredibly long time, as various colleagues had kindly forwarded me an assortment of figures, photos, stats, etc that were all due to be incorporated. Eventually completed it just before going home, via a nice walk with dogs over at Park Tredelerch, which is just across the road from work. Ambled happily around the lake admiring all the ducks and plants. Dogs happy to chase rabbits. Returned home and enjoyed a sit out in the garden, again seemingly miraculous. Enjoyed a sausage casserole and a glass of red wine.

Daniel has just phoned. He is coming to stay tomorrow night and will be here until Sunday. He is looking forward to it, as are we. Have a few things planned, including a boat trip and some shopping for gun pellets. Now I am returning downstairs to watch the Tour. The final stages are exciting. Although Vino can't now win, I'm sorry as the guy has such courage. Otherwise, I'd like to see Contador take it from Rasmussen. Regrettably, there is more rain forecast for the weekend.

Yes, astonishingly it's raining again. More bloody rain. And dark early. And thunder. And humidity. With, surprise, more rain forecast for the weekend. Humph. When are we going to have a few nice days? Grrr. One of my colleagues has cancelled a planned camping trip this weekend to Three Cliffs with his family because of the weather forecast. We've been having flash Met office warnings all day in work today. Did I mention it is raining?

We also have a new Chief Officer. They will be starting at the end of October. The rumours say it is a woman from Gloucester/shire - that's the bush telegraph for you. As soon as I know anything definate I will post and of course get busy Googling. I've never had a female boss - that would be interesting.

Should be an interesting weekend. Harry Potter is published, so I'll be reading that along with watching some interesting bits of the tour. There's a time trial on Saturday. It's turning into a real suffer-fest - I keep watching Vinokourov with a kind of awe that a person can voluntarily go through so much. Wow. Team Barloworld are also having a fantastic race - they have more than justified their wild card.

Friday tomorrow. A meeting with our Portfolio holder first thing. Then putting the paperwork together for a new graffiti officer and preparing a presentation for Scrutiny next week, who are doing a task and finish session on flytipping.

Another busy weekend. Had my hair done on Friday. Saturday went down to see Hil in Swansea. Came home and watched some of the Tour, I am glued to it, especially now the mountain stages are beginning. Sunday was another foul wet day, and went over to Tredegar House in the afternoon for a talk on herbs. Many of the people attending had cancelled even though the talk was held in the orangery. More Tour.

Today back to work. Several nice comments on my hair. Spent the day working on spreadsheet for new office furniture, matching up with the plan of the premises. Also a lot of email, sorted some paperwork, and had yet another gloomy message from Finance about the dire state of the Department and the Council's finances. More thunder and rain. When will we ever get a summer?

The long awaited photos of the collars......