I've written before about our broadband problems.  It's painfully slow, intermittent and gets noticeably worse when it rains (yes, really).  We've had some recent problems with it involving lots of phone calls to BT, and then on Tuesday night it went off completely.  Andrew rang BT and after the usual faff, they arranged to send out an engineer on Friday (yesterday).  He came around 10 and stayed until 1.30 - he liked Booty and Boola who were particularly keen to have someone new to tickle them.  I kept Andy well away from him since he is so nervous around men he does not know.  

With having to wait in and not being able to do any work, I decided to start with the beautiful fabric that Leila sent me last week.  I did some cutting out, and some of the initial stitching before leaving for work in the afternoon.  

The engineer mentioned that we will be having fibre optic cabling laid in the next couple of months which should help enormously in the speed of the service we get.  I can still remember Mr. Gruffydd teaching us about fibre optics in Physics O Level class and him getting very excited about what he saw as a groundbreaking technology.  He was right of course, but it's frustrating when we live in a a suburb of the capital city of Wales not to be getting decent speeds (we can't even stream video).  Hopefully this will change soon.  

Today's been a lovely day.  We walked the dogs this morning, while the rugby match was still on.  It was eerily quiet - the last time I can remember like this was for the Royal Wedding and for Princess Diana's funeral when simply everyone was glued to a TV.  Oddly there was a mobile speed camera van on the main road to Tredegar House - I can't imagine him getting a good haul of motorists this morning.  We had a lovely walk with Andy chasing squirrels and Booty running around too - so nice to see her enjoying the benefits of her hydrotherapy.  Thursday was her last weekly session - we are going to continue with fortnightly sessions and see how she gets on with that.  

We came home to a leisurely breakfast of scrambled eggs and toasted muffins and read the paper then we got busy in the kitchen. Andrew was making marmalade while I was in charge of chutney.  Andrew used an Ina Garten marmalade recipe which involved slicing the fruit and giving it a quick boil before leaving it overnight to continue cooking it tomorrow.  We've not tried this method of marmalade before and will be interested to see how it works.  Andrew hates following recipes, and has made two batches of the quantities suggested, with one being a variation using limes instead of lemons.  The smell from the bubbling marmalade and the chutney together was amazing. 

The chutney I made was apple and cranberry using some dried cranberries and a selection of the apples Rita and Roger brought last weekend.  We keep a selection of used jars in the utility room so always have plenty for preserving.  After cooking the chutney turned a lovely rich, plummy brown colour, but quite different in appearance from the illustration in the recipe book where it looked bright yellow with very discrete blobs of scarlet cranberry visible.  I think this is the curse of Nigella at work again- over the years we have had so much trouble with her recipes being badly written and poorly illustrated, so much so that I will simply not use her baking recipes any more as I've been caught out too many times.  This is a pity since her ideas are good, but I think there is no excuse for poor editing in a cook book - stages missing in recipes for instance or photos that don't help the person making the dish.  This is in contrast to Delia, Mary Berry or Good Housekeeping - for all of these you can relax knowing the recipe will be crystal clear, fool proof and tested so you can make it with confidence.  My Mary Berry cake book, for instance predates our wedding, it is covered in flour and smudges (always a good sign in a cook book) and I have never yet failed with one of her recipes.  Also, where illustrations are used, they are recognisably what the home baker makes - usually with slightly neater icing etc but clearly what you should be aiming for.  

Once the chutney was made and bottled I returned to my sewing and finished making a lovely tote bag with Leila's fabric.  I am absolutely thrilled with it.  I used a plain cotton from my stash in a crushed raspberry colour for the lining and the back of the bag.  I still had a little of the umbrella fabric left at the end so used it to make two tissue holders - one which I will keep in the bag and one which I will send to Leila as a Thank you.  Some pics attached of the finished items after pressing.  I'm delighted with the way they've turned out.   

We were listening to PM on Radio 4 last week when they did an obituary piece on Steve Jobs.  Not being an Apple-head I listened with interest, but was really impressed by an extract of a speech he did to  Stamford students back in 2005.  I found it very moving, very powerful and very impressive.  Click here to see the text and a video.   

Rita and Roger came for the weekend and it was good to see them. They came bearing gifts, some erigeron for the garden (a plant I love) and lots and lots of apples from their trees.  These will be turned into apple and rosemary jelly, though I'm also thinking apple and sage might be a good combination. 

On Saturday we went for a wonderful guided walk, with a guide called Jim (see his website here).  We did the Parkland and Palaces walk and it was fascinating.  I knew bits of it, but Jim really wove the whole thing together to make a coherent narrative.  We started at the Hayes, and as we walked Jim pointed out the Roman, medieval and Victorian elements of the city before we hit the Edwardian developments round City Hall.  We were lucky with the weather, as it stayed dry and sunny and it passed very quickly.  Jim also does ghost walks over at Llandaff - these look great and perfect for a blustery autumn evening.  Rita and Roger really enjoyed it too, so all in all a great day.  

On Sunday I was working so Andrew took the dogs with R&R over to the greyhound field.  They had a great time and when I came home I was faced by three greyhounds in a state of contented collapse after running round happily.  Had a lovely beef casserole on Sunday night (cooked with Old Speckled Hen ale) and a mixed berry crumble - perfect for what had turned into windy, wet weather.  The sloe gin is coming along nicely - bottles are being turned regularly and the liquid is a magnificent purple colour.  

Last night we went out to the National Museum of Wales (ironically, one of the buildings Jim had been telling us about) for a science cabaret, entitled Pythagoras' Trousers (website here).  It was a real mix of scientists, doctors, engineers and educators doing a kind of variety show of science - a bit of a mixed bag but very good in parts, and an idea I really like.  I especially liked the systems engineer who demonstrated safety critical system thinking by wriggling out of a straitjacket and a short piece on the Hershel telescope and radio wave astronomy.  As a result of the evening, we've also discovered that Cardiff has a Science Cafe with monthly talks/discussions on scientific subjects so will be going along to these.  

Sloe gin puts hairs on your chest and a spring in your step, and we think it makes an important part of our winter.  We also love giving bottles of it as Christmas gifts.  So, on Sunday, Operation Sloe Gin commenced with Andrew and I setting out for a sloe berry picking session.  We'd already identified a promising lane on a foray with the dogs, so took our carrier bags and set out.  It was a beautiful, sunny, hazy afternoon and the hedges were thick with all sorts of berries, blackberries, hawthorn berries, rosehips and sloes.  They looked wonderful - beautiful glowing colours against the turning autumn foliage.  The sloes were a good crop with a real variety in size - some about the size of blueberries but with lots as big as a small plum.  These have gone into the freezer and then they'll be transferred into their bottles for the mixing with the gin and the sugar.  All being well, it will be ready just in time for the festive season.  Picking was enjoyable though many of the hedges were above steep ditches so we had some fun with me hanging on grimly to Andrew while he leaned over to get at the the pick of the berries while trying not to plummet into a ditch.  Fortunately we only got a few scratches, and our total haul was just over 3kg - plenty to make a good batch.  

On Tuesday, I attended a Dog Law Professional Seminar at the Holland House Hotel, in central Cardiff. Trevor Cooper is very well known in dog circles as being an expert on dog related law and there was also a barrister speaking on the Animal Welfare Act.  Around 35 people attended - a good mix of vets, police, dog/animal wardens, rescue people and RSPCA/big charities. We covered a lot of ground with a particular focus on the Dangerous Dogs Act - a complex and deeply flawed piece of legislation.  Personally, I still don't think this Act makes anybody safer and arguably has led to an explosion of "pit bull type" dogs, who are actually (paradoxically) more attractive to criminal elements because of their banned status.    I had lunch with Sian from the Dogs Trust, and she was telling me about the excellent work she is doing with social landlords, building in responsible dog ownership issues to tenancy agreements - a very welcome step.  Saw a few other familiar faces and was chatting to a couple of very pleasant vets over coffee - they are often at the sharp end of very tough ethical decisions.  It was an excellent day, though I came home feeling shattered - after a lot of concentration and learning.  I am still digesting the implications of what was discussed and will probably write more about these as my thoughts crystallise.  

Andrew set off early for the station this morning so I took him, with the dogs and headed to Tredegar House for an early morning walk after depositing Andrew.  It was lovely - a beautiful autumn morning, dew thick on the grass, masses of rabbits and squirrels, fungi sprouting in the grass and ducks everywhere.  The swallows have now departed.  Boola was running round like a mad thing, grinning all over his face and Andy was squirrel hunting in all the trees.  After having their breakfast, all the dogs are now peacefully asleep though Andy was snoring gently while I had a quick game of Angry Birds after my own breakfast.  Booty is now lying upside down on the bed with her legs in the air - she'll probably be snoring too shortly. 

The departure of the swallows from Tredegar and the house martens from our house as they set off for Africa makes me sad.  They are such a part of summer and when they go, I really know autumn is here and we won't see them again until the third week of April next year. This year, I think about my father - he'll never see them come back again.  One of the things I remember about him is his love of birds (and the natural world as a whole) and as a child he would teach us about birds, point them out to us and identify them, and encouraged us to enjoy watching and studying them.  I can still remember vividly his excitement at showing us choughs on the cliffs near Pennard when we were small.  Our postman was also a keen bird watcher and encouraged us as children to join the YOC - the junior branch of the RSPB.  Nowadays, I don't suppose they can do this sort of thing - it would probably be regarded as highly suspicious though I am very grateful for this kindness that was shown to us when we were younger.  The understandable concerns about child protection have, I think sadly, permanently lost a lot of the very good contacts between adults and children that used to take place. 

Thursday was a back-to-school day.  Trevithick Library had organised a mini awayday for all the staff to get us updated on what's happening in the Library service and to review the year.  We had an excellent morning and it was great to see people after being off for the summer.  Ruth, the library manager, decided to improve on perfection by bringing in a batch of home baked red velvet cupcakes and some almond frangipane tartlets for us to enjoy with our coffee - what a great idea! 

We talked about ways we could improve customer service in the library, the ongoing Lean programme for the University and the library's new Twitter feed.  The morning flew by and we finished with an inspiring tour of the SCOLAR section - Special Collections and Archives. This includes the rare books previously owned by the City Council that were controversially sold off a couple of years ago and a variety of specialist collections, including Welsh literature and specialist medical textbooks.  Much of this is now being digitised to share with the world via websites - it was fascinating to get a glimpse into this aspect of the library service. Click here   to link to the website for more info. 

On Friday I met up with my friend Helen for lunch down the Bay.  Unfortunately it turned out to be a bad day for her - their much loved Shetland pony, Doughnut, a real character, had to be put down by the vet after breaking her leg, so Helen was in need of getting away from the farm and a change of scene.  We ended up lunching at Cafe Rouge, and had a leisurely and very relaxing meal, catching up with a bucket of news.  Food was great, then we sauntered over to Starbucks for a coffee and more chat.  I popped into the Millennium Centre to buy some tickets - I, Andrew's sister Claire and Rita are going together to see Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker in November, which will be Rita's birthday present. 

Today had another birthday themed activity.  Last year, for Andrew's 40th, his parents and sister clubbed together to get him an Adopt a Vine certificate at Three Choirs Vineyard, Herefordshire.  As part of the package, Andrew could go and visit, and had a voucher to spend in the vineyard shop, as well as being entitled to two free bottles of wine. The weather today was lovely, warm and sunny, so after walking the dogs and having brunch we headed up the M50 for a beautiful drive up to the vineyard.  We were warmly welcomed and enjoyed looking round - there is lots to see and the vineyard has a restaurant, shop, cafe area, walks, ponds, wildlife zones and accommodation.  You can see their website here.   Dotted around the vines were smart gazebos, and when you approached each one, inside there was a solar powered audio pod, with touch controls, which gave you a brief audio guide to some aspect of the vineyard, such as the wildlife, the grape varieties, the calendar of activities through the year and so on. This was a great idea.  

We finished up by browsing in the shop and Andrew choosing a wonderful variety of wine to take home.  Some is going to be kept back for Christmas, but a couple of bottles are in the fridge and we are looking forward to one tonight as we're having squid and then fish.  We took lots of pictures, including of Andrew with "his" vine.  Then it was back to the car, and a short journey home.  

Opera gala, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

The opera gala first.  Held in the Hoddinott Hall, a complete sell out and the final event of Cardiff Music Festival, this was something we'd been anticipating for some time.  It featured a range of up and coming younger singers as well as a special guest appearance from the much loved Dennis O'Neill.  He has been working hard to set up the Wales Academy of Voice (see link here) to bring on younger opera singers and has a real dedication to this which is to be welcomed and commended.  We have seen Angharad Morgan before (she was one of the soloists with the Cardiff Bach Choir) and she has a gorgeous voice, with a lovely warmth and richness, plus a great stage presence.  There was a nice mix of classic arias plus some pieces for the orchestra like the intermezzo from Cav Rust.  I was less impressed with the conducting, but Andrew felt it was fine, so perhaps that was just me.  

It was also another opportunity to spend time in the Millennium Centre - I love this building with a passion.   It works so well when catering for crowds, and has enough space that you can wander about during the interval and just enjoy being in there and admire the views without being crushed in a bar or having to queue endlessly for the loo.   I like the sound in the Hoddinott Hall - there's a warmth and clarity there.  While we were there, we looked at what was coming up and have booked for Parsifal next year (done by the Mariinsky, as was the Ring Cycle) plus Derren Brown. 

Yesterday, we went to see "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy",  the new film of the novel, starring Gary Oldman and with an excellent ensemble cast. I approached it with particular anticipation.  The book is one of my favourite novels, my copy of it is battered with many re-readings and of course it was made into a truly magnificent TV series with Alec Guinness as Smiley.  The film had had good reviews and was made by the director who did "Let the Right One In", a Swedish film I'd enjoyed very much, so the auguries were good.  

We hadn't been to the cinema for a while - generally, it's expensive and audience behaviour is so bad that you can't enjoy the film because of rowdy teenagers and rioting children.  Fortunately, this isn't the sort of film that children would go and see, but we were both horrified at how expensive seats are now - nearly £20 for a couple if you want the Premium Seating, and around £8 for an ordinary seat. Fortunately Andrew had a discount, and I also had an offer via my phone for some free popcorn - but over £3 for a bottle of water!!! Aaargh.  Not funny.  At these prices, cinema going will continue to be a rare treat, and we will enjoy watching films via Sky. 

Anyway, almost from the first frame, I felt an enormous sense of relief and a deep sense of pleasure - the book had been respected and a wonderful film had been created.  The acting was superb - I foresee a huge crop of Oscars, Emmys, BAFTAs etc for this.  Difficult to pick out individuals since there really wasn't a dud in it - but Benedict Cumberbatch was superb as Guillam, Cieran Hinds brought a real sense of thuggish intimidation to his role, and of course Gary Oldman acted as the pivot for the whole thing as Smiley.  He was truly superb, and top marks to him for not overdoing things - so much of the character of Smiley and his portrayal is about absence, repression and observation, rather than action and expression.  It was such a pleasure to watch a truly adult film, not in the sexual sense, but in the sense of it being made intelligently, and allowing the audience to fill in gaps, join dots and infer things that were hinted rather than stated.  Visually, it was also wonderful - a murky, sepia reminder of the decay and depression of the 1970s.  I really can't praise it highly enough, and even by the time we walked back to the car, I mentioned to Andrew that I was looking forward to seeing it again when it reaches Sky, as I've no doubt there will be even more nuances I'll pick up the second time around.  

I haven't felt this happy about the adaptation of a much loved book since we watched Lord of the Rings.  Conversely, when an adaptation goes badly wrong, it's hard to explain the sense of fury and almost of violation that you feel - where much loved characters, places or language get trashed or misunderstood. 

The past ten days or so have been, perhaps understandably, a time of great emotional turmoil, but I've tried to keep going and stick to planned activities wherever possible.  On Thursday afternoon, I attended a meeting of the new Cross Sectoral Companion Animal Welfare Group - chaired by WG, with attendance from local authorities, vets and various voluntary sector organisations.  It was particularly interesting, and one thing that did give me some hope was that WG laid out their planned schedule of work for Animal Welfare over the next year.  They seem very determined to drive through the dog breeding legislation and I'm hopeful that by this time next year, we may actually have some legislation that will begin to bite in combating the dreadful problems of puppy farming in West Wales.  The proposed legislation requires microchipping for puppies and breeding bitches at registered premises, but one of the things that emerged from the meeting was the almost unanimous agreement from everyone involved in dog issues that chipping is the way to go and if at all possible should be made universal and compulsory, as it covers so many issues.  WG indicated that the other British administrations are looking very seriously at this issue, and I'd hate for Wales to be left behind if this were the case.  I really cannot understand why they cannot act in a more co-ordinated manner on this issue.  Anyway, it was good to see some familiar faces, meet some interesting new people, and I tore myself away as Booty had her hydrotherapy appointment.  That went very well.  

On Saturday (pic attached) I attended Rumney Folk Festival.  I've been along several times to the folk club and to their annual festival, both of which are relaxed and agreeably low key.  Yesterday continued this theme - bands started playing at around 5 p.m.  and there was a good mix of musicians and singers, with an agreeable range of styles - from "classic" one person and a guitar to a pretty full on rock style band 

This time was my first foray into stall holding - and I was quite pleased.  A few drawbacks - the venue is a church hall with all the windows covered by curtains (you can see one behind me in the photograph) with small candles on each table and flickering sconces on the walls - fabulous for atmosphere, but hopeless for selling stitched goods, especially when they're brightly coloured! I didn't sell a huge amount but was cheered by the fact that everyone who actually came to the stall ended up buying something, and I had some very positive feedback.  So the stall will be making future appearances.  We picked up a Chinese takeaway on the way home (which was delicious) and had a quiet evening catching up with Doctor Who and Torchwood before bed. 

Today we went over to the greyhound field and as usual the dogs had a whale of a time.  There were a few intermittent showers but on the whole we were lucky with the weather.  There was a great deal of grass munching, lots of scampering about and a good time was had by all.  We always take a thermos of coffee, and it's great to be able to have mug while the dogs are sniffing and chasing about.  Some pics attached.  

Tonight, as part of the Cardiff Music Festival, we're going to the Opera Gala at the Millennium Centre.  

Finally, a big thank you to all those who've sent or passed on their condolences, it is very much appreciated. 

Michael John Evans

2nd October 1943 - 13th September 2011

RIP Dad  

Today was a big day for me - my first foray into judging at a dog show. Paula from Greyhound Welfare asked me back in the spring if I would like to judge at the annual late summer show at All Saints Church, Llandaff North. I agreed, with a certain amount of trepidation. Over the summer, we've taken Boola to plenty of local charity shows and I've been keeping a close eye on judging practice, and wherever possible, looking at dogs with a "How would I judge these?" sort of view.

It was at this show last year that Boola really made his showing debut, and of course won a beautiful challenge trophy, which sadly had to be returned today, though now of course with his name on it. I dithered about what to wear, and eventually settled for a black printed cotton fitted dress with a below the knee full skirt and a long sleeved black linen mix broderie anglaise fitted jacket, which I bought many years ago at Marks and Spencer and has been one of those reliable old faithfuls that every wardrobe should have. Unfortunately, my choice of outfit was not successful as the weather was changeable, and in particular the wind was very gusty, so I spent most of the afternoon battling with my billowing skirt.

We arrived in good time, armed with trophy, water, clipboard (for Andrew, who agreed to steward for me) and a tin of Quality Street and a bottle of wine for the raffle. The weather all day had been veering between clouds and showers, with the occasional flash of blue sky. This, along with the rugby, had affected numbers attending, but there was a good crowd and it was nice to see stalls for Greyhound Welfare itself and Four Paws, another local all breed dog rescue. The church hall was doing a roaring trade in teas and coffees.

We started at 2 p.m. promptly and I recognised several faces from other shows we've attended over the summer. First up were the pedigree classes - these are contested very hotly, by people who take their breeding and showing seriously. It's a big responsibility when competitors are so committed to ensure they are judged as fairly and thoroughly as possible. There were some gorgeous dogs and it was a pleasure to give out the rosettes, which I found out were made by one of GW's volunteers, a very talented lady. Then I judged the Best Pedigree (another super rosette) and it was half time and time for the raffle, to draw breath and have a quick drink of water. Then back into the ring for the novelty classes, and these were great. A much bigger variety of dogs, with lots of non-showy owners and handlers - mainly family pets, often with the dog charging round the ring and showing the child! The classes that are hardest but also the nicest are the ones for the veterans/oldies and also the Best Rescue - I'd love to be able to give a rosette to every competitor in those classes as they all have heartrending stories to tell. Today was no different - there were dogs who'd been dumped on a motorway (understandably still nervous around traffic), dogs who'd been pulled out of a pound hours before facing the needle, dogs who'd been abandoned, beaten and starved. To see them all now with delighted happy owners, looking well fed, happy and loved was a wonderful and joyous occasion and it was a real pleasure to be able to, in some small way, celebrate their new lives. These classes will always matter to me much, much more than the "pure" pedigree ones, lovely though the pedigree dogs are.

Finally, after the mayhem and anarchy of the egg and spoon and the sausage eating race, it was time for the Best Novelty and then it was all over. Andrew and I helped return the chairs to the church hall and just as we were leaving, down came the rain. It had been a very enjoyable but surprisingly tiring afternoon. We've had a quiet evening, with a beef casserole that Andrew prepared last night and a nice bottle of red wine.

Next weekend is another interesting first for me. I've decided to take the plunge, and am having a stall at Rumney Folk Festival, a local, annual event hosted by our local folk club. It's very low key, and rather nice, with lots of local bands and musicians, food and stalls, all raising money for the church restoration fund. I'll be selling a range of stitchy gifts, with some pretty gingham applique drawstring bags, tissue holders, lavender bags and fabric holders for cleansing wipes and so on. It'll be a nice foray for me to see what sells (if anything!) and if all goes well, I'd like to have a stall at a few more events in the run up to Christmas. So, I've been pretty busy over the past few days, stitching up a storm, with lots of cutting, pressing, trimming and measuring. My job tomorrow is to order some tissue paper and paper bags via Ebay. When I'm ready for packing up the goods, I'll post some pics on the blog. The drawstring bags will, I think, be handy for things like laundry, lingerie when packing, nightwear and so on. I could also see them being handy for children, or even for popping into a gym bag. I'm particularly pleased with the cleansing wipe holder - though I don't use them myself, these have become very popular recently with lots of the big cosmetic companies like Nivea doing them as well as the supermarket own brands. They are generally a standard size, so I worked out (with much swearing and cursing at my appalling maths) the measurements needed and made a prototype which went to Leila for approval (she's someone I know who uses the wipes, and I can trust her to give me straight answer). She gave them the thumbs up and production is now rolling. If successful, I think the idea could also be extended for baby wipe holders - I will keep thinking about this.

Last Thursday, Boola was booked in for a GA at the vets - this was for a dental and for a hip X ray. We've noticed that his back leg "wobble" has got more noticeable recently and we wanted, if possible, to get to the bottom of it. The hip X ray confirmed there is no cancer or arthritis and it is what the vet suspected, a neurological problem. As such, we won't make any further attempts to investigate or treat, since he's far too old for any invasive surgery and isn't in any pain. Sometimes, just the reassurance of knowing what something isn't can be very helpful. While he was having the dental, the vet phoned to confirm taking out a tooth that was cracked - we knew he was having problems on that side of his mouth, so were happy to give the go ahead. As usual, he came home and was quite distressed on Thursday evening, as he doesn't react at all well to the anaesthetic. I stayed up with him till about 2.30 and he did eventually settle. He managed a short walk on Friday and by Friday night was a lot happier. On Sunday morning, we were preparing to go out for our walk, and he was so much brighter that he decided to do a leap of excitement just as I was bending down to put on his lead. There was a cartoon style "Clonk" and I spent the next few moments reeling around the hall, swearing. By the time we got back from our walk, Andrew informed me that my eye socket was swelling and changing colour, and sure enough, I've now got a magnificent black eye. On Sunday afternoon, we went with a friend and Boola to the Greyhound Rescue Wales annual show at Pembrey Country Park. Fortunately the weather was dry, and it was wonderful to see lots of greys and lurchers together. Boola had a wonderful time sniffing lots of bottoms, and came 8th in the Best Male Greyhound class, and 4th in the Best Veteran, so came home with two more very smart rosettes. We saw Penny and also Margaret, who was absolutely delighted to see Boola. She has a very special soft spot for him, as she was the person who picked him up from his surrendering owners and immediately fell in love with him. She was telling us about her new foster lurcher puppy and about the progress of the GRW charity shop, so it was great to catch up with the news.

We took Boola back to the vet on Wednesday for his post operative check up and the vet said he was fine, and looking very healthy and happy.

I've been slowly trying to do more work on my stray dog stats but am still waiting for Newport to come through, then I'll have the complete figures for the past four years so should be able to do some more detailed trend analysis.

Booty went for her hydrotherapy session on Thursday afternoon, and her therapist measured her limbs to assess progress - she has put on a cm on two of her legs. It's so lovely to see her going there as she gets really excited. In the car, she knows when we are nearly there, and gets up and starts wagging her tail. When we get inside, her tail is going like mad, and she trots round to say hello to everyone, has a good sniff and then waits very happily for her harness to be attached, before heading off to the treadmill. After her session, she loves her treats and seems to really enjoy the rub down with the towel. We usually find that once she's home and had her tea, she then spends most of the evening fast asleep, and is pretty perky the next day. She has her picture on the wall of the outer office, along with many of the other clients.

Freedom of Information requests can be made to any public body in Wales, and a huge amount of information can be obtained. For my Houndmistress website, the information compiled is mainly generated by a combination of viewing Council websites and by FOI requests. FOI requests are governed by a number of legal requirements set down by the Government, in particular requests must be answered within twenty working days.

I’ve done several batches of requests to all 22 Welsh Councils for statistics on stray dogs, policy on stray dog payments and revenue budgets. All of these requests have been clearly and politely made, and where possible I’ve directed them straight to the FOI Officer (where this information is clearly given on a Council’s website). All requests are made by email and specifically request information to be provided in the same way (though I provide my home address and telephone number).

Council financial years work from April to March, so by waiting until July, there should be no year end problems with figures not being compiled. As with previous FOI requests, responses have varied considerably and it is this that I wanted to highlight. For previous requests, I’ve sometimes had to wait months for basic data, and it’s not uncommon to have to escalate complaints to Chief Officer or Chief Executive level before information is provided.

There is an argument for saying that much of this information should be provided anyway on Council websites and in England, the Westminster government is encouraging Councils to be far more transparent with the publishing of financial and other information. Sadly there’s no indication of this approach to openness and transparency in Wales. With web publishing being such a relatively low cost option these days, I’m struggling to see what the problem is. I certainly wouldn’t advocate any requirement for paper based documentation.

My most recent request was to all Welsh Councils, and was made on 13^th July 2011, which means that the deadline for information to be returned is 10^th August 2011.

The text sent to all Councils is this:-

Dear Sir/Madam,

I wish to make a request for the following information under the FOI scheme.

For the financial year 2010/11, please supply :-

· The total number of stray dogs dealt with (preferably broken down by month, if possible)

Of these, please enumerate which are : Returned directly to owner, of those kennelled, those collected by the owner, those rehomed, those put down, and any other destinations.

Please enumerate any puppies born in kennels.

· What is the total revenue budget for the stray dog service for the financial year 2010/11 and for 2011/12? Has the service had to undergo any service restrictions in light of the current financial climate?

· Are stray dog kennelling services provided in house or by a contractor?

· If services are in house, has any market testing been done in the past three years or are there plans to undertake any?

· If services are provided by a contractor, when are they due for renewal?

Thank you for this information. I’d be grateful if you could acknowledge receipt of this email. Please reply by email and do not hesitate to contact me if you require any further clarification.

If some information can be provided quickly, I am happy to receive it in advance of the full response.

Mrs. K Woodhouse

The only thing I’ve removed from the above is my address at the top and the date.

I’ve put together a table which shows the responses I’ve had so far.

Name of Council	Acknowledgement received	Information received within 20 day deadline	Information all provided and correct
Anglesey	Yes	Yes	No, minor clarifications received very promptly on 19.7.11.
Blaenau Gwent	Yes	Yes	No – previous year’s figures initially sent.
Bridgend	Yes	Yes	Yes – on 9.8.11.
Caerphilly	Yes	Yes	Yes, in paper form, though asked for electronic delivery.
Cardiff	No	No	Partial answer received on 23rd August, still waiting on remainder of information.
Carmarthenshire	Yes	Yes	Yes – on 10.8.11.
Ceredigion	Yes	Yes	Yes – on 26.7.11.
Conwy	Yes	Yes	Yes – on 29.7.11.
Denbighshire	Yes	Yes	Yes – on 27.7.11.
Flintshire	Yes	Yes	Partial answer sent on 25.7.11. Clarification sent on 26.7.11.
Gwynedd	Yes.	Yes.	No - still waiting on 29.8.11.
Merthyr Tydfil	Yes	Yes	No – 2008/9 figures provided. Had to be chased to provide correction.
Monmouthshire	Yes	Yes	Sent in two tranches on 22nd and 24th August.
Neath Port Talbot	Yes	Yes	Initial information sent on 15.7.11 – completed information received on 23.7.11. after queries
Newport	Yes	Yes	Yes – on 10.8.11.
Pembrokeshire	Yes	Yes	Partial info received on 10.8.11. Clarification received on 11.8.11.
Powys	Yes	Yes	Yes – on 4.8.11.
Rhondda Cynon Taff	Yes	Yes	Partial info received on 4.8.11, and clarification received on 15.8.11.
Swansea	Yes	Yes	Yes on 27.7.11. with a minor clarification received on 11.8.11.
Torfaen	Yes	Yes	Yes, on 26.7.11.
Vale of Glamorgan	Yes	Yes	Yes, on 10.8.11.
Wrexham	Yes	Yes	Partial info sent on 29.7.11. and fully corrected info on 1.8.11.

Only ten Councils were able to provide the information requested in the correct form within the deadline – that’s 45.45%. Is it just me or is that a shocking indictment of the sloppy way Welsh local government manages its correspondence, and the low regard it has for its customers?

A further ten sent information within the deadline, but answers were incomplete or just plain wrong. For example, both Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil sent figures for previous years rather than the one requested. If I hadn’t already had the previous figures to compare with, and had carefully checked each answer as it arrived, I would never have known these figures were wrong. Merthyr didn’t even apologise when they sent out the corrected figures, and had to be chased to provide them.

I am also utterly baffled by Caerphilly’s determination to send out paper based communication when I had specifically requested an email response. More worryingly, a letter will incur printing and postage costs that an email will not.

Most worrying of all, is that at the time of writing, I am still waiting for a partial answer from Cardiff Council and haven’t received ANY information from Gwynedd. Gwynedd explained the delay when it was queried by saying that their officers have been on holiday for the past two months. I swear I am not making this up – I really couldn’t be that brazen to fulfil every cliché about the slowness of Councils. I escalated my Gwynedd complaint to the Chief Executive of the Council last week. You probably won’t be surprised to know that Harry Thomas was away on holiday, so his charming PA valiantly sent me a very polite apology and told me that the Head of Environmental Health would be looking into the matter. I’m still waiting for this mythical beast to contact me – presumably he also is enjoying a lengthy summer break.

And let’s not forget what we’re dealing with here – nothing complex, no lengthy trawls through historical archives. Just simple figures on the dogs dealt with last year, and how much money they spend while doing it. These should be used by every service manager on a regular basis, assessing trends, monitoring hotspots, driving efficiencies. The fact that these figures are so difficult to come by suggests that they are not being used by service managers.

And in the bigger picture, Wales is poised later this year to produce legislation on breeding dogs which will almost certainly push microchipping as part of the planned programme. Issues around stray dogs and their management are timely, and Councils themselves should be looking at these figures to assess the impact of legislative changes. That’s exactly why I’m chasing the numbers, so I can run some assessments and forecasts on an all Wales basis. You might even reasonably expect that Welsh local Councils would share this level of data with each other –again, looking at legislative impacts and being prepared. That’s a reasonable expectation but unfortunately it’s wrong. No such sharing is taking place, and not even WG are looking at this detail in the data.