Yesterday was the day I'd been dreading, our darling girl Booty has gone.  We walked the dogs as normal on Tuesday and although she'd been having a good sniff, she was definitely more lethargic and struggled to get back to the car.  When we took her home, she refused all food and even water during the day, never a good sign.  As the day progressed, it became clear that she was slipping away.  We made the decision that if she made it through the night, then we'd call the vet out to the house in the morning.  We've discussed this previously and think this is by far the best way to go (if possible).  Through the night, neither Andrew nor I slept very well, Andrew had her on the bed with him, snuggled up next to him.  On Wednesday I stayed with her all morning, just having a very gentle cuddle, and letting her know we were nearby.  Because of the double Bank Holiday the vet was very busy, but agreed to come out at around 1.  

Just before he came we moved her downstairs, she was too weak by that stage to walk, and settled her on a comfy duvet on the sofa.  We took Andy upstairs and he got quite distressed (he obviously knew something was happening) and I stayed with him.  My over-riding memory is of cuddling him and his head getting wetter and wetter as the tears fell on it.      

Booty passed away very peacefully at 1.30.  The vet left us for a little while to say our last goodbyes and we made sure the dogs also had a chance to, before the vet came back and took her away for cremation.  We have asked for a private cremation and for the return of her ashes and will scatter these in her favourite places. 

After the vet left, we took the two boys and went for a walk.  At this time of day, Tredegar is very quiet and it was raining intermittently, our tears mixing with the rain, as we walked in a fog of grief.  

Today has also been difficult but I've been comforted by a number of things.  We've had some lovely emails and messages from friends and I'd like to thank all those who've done so.  Secondly, it has helped having Andy and Boola around - they still need to be fed and walked and cuddled.  Thirdly, I have no regrets about the time we spent with her.  Every single day she spent with us was a blessing and a privilege - she brought so much love with her but we were also able to make sure that she was loved and cherished every day.  

I've attached some photos of her. RIP Booty.  Your race is run.        

Yesterday morning, we had an enjoyable walk in the park, quite early.  We returned home and had breakfast, then I spent a couple of hours attacking the house and getting it straight.  Went upstairs for a shower, then came down to watch the river pageant on TV and do some cross-stitching.  The event itself was marvellous, but the BBC's coverage was simply dreadful.  Z list celebs, nauseating nonsense, artificially jolly presenters, and a real lack of knowledge or interest in the subject.  Shame on the BBC for this - for so long they have been the default broadcaster for these big occasions but after this - not so.  One thing that was genuinely touching about the event was the real pleasure and excitement on the face of the Queen - she looked so delighted.  Also, hats off to her and the Duke of Edinburgh for standing during the procession - several hours in the cold and wet - more than I would have managed, yet she is 86 and he is 91.  Impressive.  

Had a relaxing evening watching some TV. 

Andrew is off this week and it is lovely to have him home.  We walked the dogs this morning, and had a little sunshine, but it's getting colder, greyer and chillier as I write and the sky looks like rain is imminent. 

Andrew is busy working on a website - I'll do a separate post about this.  Time for the big reveal, I think!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So much to write about! After my last post, we headed swiftly into Easter and my birthday.  A huge thank you for everyone who sent gifts, flowers, cards and greetings - very much appreciated.  On the day itself, we had tickets to see Derren Brown in the Millennium Centre.  He was utterly amazing - very talented and funny and quite jaw dropping in what he does.  I loved his set too - had a fabulous steampunk look to it.  

Andrew had the week following Easter off work and we really enjoyed it.  It was great for him to be home and he painted the bathroom - the ensuite to our room.  We were fairly limited in the colour palette we could choose since we had decided to keep the tiles in there and we wanted something that would work with the colour of the main bedroom (a soft lavender).  Eventually we ended up with a lovely pale grey, with a white ceiling and woodwork.  It looks great - very crisp and fresh.  We also put in a new floor covering - a white design with a silver mosaic, again very simple and working well with the overall colour scheme.  

Then on the Thursday, we headed off to London for a quick weekend away.  The dogs went into kennels (always a wrench but we know they are very well looked after there) and we caught the train.  We stayed at the Premier Travelinn right in Southwark, just across the road from Vinopolis. We love this part of London.  While we were up in London we caught up with Warwick and had a special birthday dinner with him - a joint celebration.  It was lovely to see him.  We also had a special and very romantic dinner in Vinopolis itself - I had my 40th birthday party there and whenever we are in London we always try to eat there - it has so many special memories for us.  In the cocktail bar beforehand, Andrew had a cucumber Martini and I had my favourite, a peach Bellini.  Andrew let me try his Martini and I was bowled over by it - so cool and refreshing.  Definitely one to make over the summer.  

We also went on the DLR over to Stratford to have a look at the Olympics site which was very impressive, and came back via Canary Wharf, one of my favourite places.  On the Saturday morning, we had a lovely wander round Borough Market before getting a lunchtime train back to Cardiff.  We were able to drop off our luggage and have a quick coffee before heading out in the car to collect the hounds.  It was blissful to be reunited with them.  

Below I've attached some pictures.  

 

What a wonderful weekend.  Friday night was my last night in work before the Easter break - great to have a couple of weeks off.  On Saturday I had a really busy day.  In the morning, I went over to Busy Bees for a quilting course called "Flying South" with Marianne.  I knew I was going to have leave a little bit early so was organised and did all my fabric cutting out and organising before the course - fortunately Marianne had given us very clear instructions.  Originally, my thought had been to use some wonderful New Zealand fabrics that my aunt gave me last year (who lives in NZ, with my uncle).  But on reflection, I didn't think it was quite right for showcasing them and decided to go scrappy and use stash fabrics - no new purchases at all.  I'll post some pics separately of the fabrics and the blocks taking shape.  

The course was wonderful and flew by and soon it was time to take my leave.  Then back home and just time to say a quick Hello to Rita and Roger who had come over to look after the woofs while Andrew and I went to see Parsifal in hte Millennium Centre, performed in a concert setting by the Mariinsky.  It started at 4 and finished just after 10.  As usual, the performance was of a very high standard, though I was disappointed to see lots of empty seats.  We had booked a meal package with our tickets, and this was the usual very smooth, well organised operation.  As with much Wagner, I don't find the concert staging to be a problem - the music and singing is good enough to stand up by itself, and actually you're not distracted by odd or peculiar costumes, lighting or staging.  When we emerged, physically tired but greatly uplifted, I felt as though we had been away from home for much longer.  

Then it was back home for a much needed coffee.  On Sunday it was a beautiful day, sunny and warm, far too nice for our original plan to see an exhibition at the National Museum of Wales about Scott's departure in the Terra Nova from Cardiff on his last voyage.  We looked for some alternatives, and came up with a garden in Monmouthshire called Dewstow.  This was a garden with underground grottoes and caves that had been developed by an eccentric owner then after the War, had been filled in and neglected before being rediscovered and restored.  It's a beautiful spot with views out over the Severn estuary.  We loved the garden and were enchanted by the tunnels and grottoes, many with a wonderful selection of ferns and climbers.  As we wandered around, there were many Easter bunnies hiding among shrubs, trees and vegetation.  Rita and Roger loved it too and it was a gorgeous afternoon completed with a cup of tea and slice of cake in the cafe afterwards, accompanied by a little robin, who was hopping about taking crumbs from the tabletops.  I took lots of lovely pictures - a few are shown below.  

Rita and Roger stayed over on Sunday night,  and we enjoyed a special glass of bubbly as an early celebration of my birthday (next Sunday for those needing a reminder!) and on Monday Andrew left for a client very early.  So all three of us walked the dogs over at Tredegar House and then they left from there.    I returned home to spend a quiet day catching up on domestic chores.    

It's been one of those weeks where I felt that things were shifting, changes that had started were becoming more tangible.  Sometimes change can be minor and running quietly through your life, and then you have a week where you can sit up and really notice it, even though the final increment was not that huge.  

I've got a project going on in my life that I'm not quite ready to write about, but will be able to reveal quite shortly, hopefully after Easter.  That's making progress and is part of what I'm talking about.  

However, the main thing to write about is that this week I went riding, over at Helen's.  Helen is blessed to be the owner of four horses, with a fifth currently residing with her as well.  She has two Lusitanos, and last year took on two black veteran cobs, Brynne and Rudy.  On previous visits we've done stuff with the horses- I've been involved in tack cleaning, feeding, grooming and clipping, but haven't ridden.  Tuesday was our first outing.  Helen was riding Jaitoso, her beautiful Lusitano and I was riding Brynne.   

As you can see from the pics, Brynne is a very hairy boy - he's not clipped at the moment (apart from his feathers) and of course at this time of year, is just starting to lose his teddy bear coat for the summer.  After catching and grooming him, we tacked up and had a comedy moment when it was time to mount.  Fortunately an old oil tin was pressed into service and from there I made my rather inelegant ascent.  However, once I was on, wow! It felt wonderful - and I realised how much I had missed it.  Horses are a bug that are pretty much impossible to cure.  There have been times in my life where horses havent' been a part of it, but it's amazing how often they creep back in, usually because I end up being friends with people who have them or work with them.  

We set off for a rather leisurely hack - Floss the sheepdog came with us, and we set off down the lane, Helen in front and Brynne having to trot every few paces to keep up as his legs are so much shorter.  He hadn't been ridden since arriving on the farm, and it was obvious that he was very interested but also very nervous.  He got spooked by a few things along the way - Floss leaping out of a hedge, dogs barking, a pheasant shooting out of a copse but was clearly also immensely interested.  After some road hacking we turned into a field of Helen's and onto grass, and at this point he nearly took off as it appeared that in his previous life grass was indelibly associated with galloping.  I didn't feel that a flat out gallop was what I wanted on our first ride together so we walked for a bit and then returned to the lane.  An hour was plenty for our first ride and on the way back Jaitoso hurt his hoof on a stone so Helen walked him.  After we returned, I got off (still not very elegant), untacked and then we turned them out.  It was a delight to watch Brynne having a blissful roll and then cantering round the field as they played together.  

Not surprisingly, I was stiff the next day but I am really looking forward to riding again, and forming a partnership with Brynne.  

Another very interesting week.  Last Saturday,  I went over to Busy Bees for their annual fabric sale, an event I've written about before and one I look forward to very much.  Using my experiences from previous years, I delayed my visit till the middle of the afternoon - going earlier in the day means fighting through a rugby scrum to see the fabric and in such a small shop it's really difficult, and much less pleasureable.  My patience was amply rewarded.  I've bought some lovely things - a selection of fat quarters, mostly in lovely autumn shades and some really cheerful zingy 30s feedsack prints in those lovely clear, fresh colours that put you in mind of a summer day.  I also treated myself to another Tilda fat quarter (though they are slightly bigger than that) in gorgeous shades of tan and cerise featuring a pretty design of a bird and foliage, very romantic and shamelessly indulgent.  

While I was there I paid the balance on a course I'm doing in a few weeks on Flying Geese.  Marianne, the tutor had the quilt top she's doing up on display and funnily enough, another lady was in the shop with her quilt top done in the same pattern but in a different colour way, looking for a binding fabric to complete it.  As always, with designs, it's absolutely fascinating to see how one design can look so different using different colour ways.   Marianne had done it using marine prints featuring sea creatures like sea horses on blue with sandy elements - the other lady had used beautiful greens and coral shades with white and grey accents.  She was very fortunate as Sandra in the shop was able to find her a lovely coral fabric that was just right for her backing and another green one for her binding.  As always at Busy Bees, this is one of the chief pleasures of visiting - it's so nice to meet other people picking out fabrics and sharing ideas.  After all this excitement, I was dropped off by Andrew near our house to visit a lady who had recently adopted a lurcher from GRW and had a few questions to discuss.  She was really nice, and her partner too, and they were both absolutely in love with their gorgeous new dog, who was utterly adorable, and incredibly handsome despite being rather badly mutilated and scarred from his previous life.  It was a real pleasure to be able to help in a small way with settling him in and helping his new owners feel supported.  As they only live round the corner, it's likely we'll probably do a few joint dog walks in future.  Andrew then walked round with Booty on the lead to pick me up and we walked home together for a gin and a happy look at my new stash. All week, the fabrics have been sitting on the coffee table and whenever I sit down with a few minutes to spare, I have been looking at them and thinking about ideas for making things with them, and admiring the colours and patterns.  As all sewers know, a bit of stash- stroking is very soothing and good for the soul.  

Andy has been a bit off colour this week.  He has an upset in his digestive system leading to a few problems and he has been very quiet and subdued, not at all his normal self.  He's eating a little bit, and is fortunately drinking normally.  We'll give him a couple more days and if he is not improving will take him to the vet, but at the moment, I am not too worried, though we are all struggling to live with the noxious smells he is producing. 

On Thursday, I attended a long awaited and very interesting meeting at RSPCA offices on the outskirts of Cardiff.  This was to discuss better data sharing between local Councils and the voluntary sector - not at first glance the most exciting of subjects, but one that is essential for campaigning organisations and hugely important for rescues.  As well as the RSPCA, the Dogs Trust were present, reps from local Councils, WG civil servants, a very nice lady from the BHS Welfare dept, and a telephone participant, the head of Animal Welfare at WG.  We covered a huge amount of ground and the meeting was very constructive and positive.  It will take a long time for some of the changes to filter through but I think we laid some good foundations.  By the time I got home I was shattered, and it was so nice just to spend some time on the sofa with Andy giving him a cuddle - he's been quite clingy while he's been ill and just keeps coming up mournfully and looking dejected until a cuddle is applied.  

This weekend has been quiet - nothing very exciting to report.  The weather today has been lovely - I've enjoyed hanging out washing in the garden and the frogs are still going great guns in the pond.  We've got narcissi, crocus and grape hyacinths in flower at the front of the house, with tulips in pots and annual seeds like Californian poppies starting to sprout interestingly.  On our walk today at Tredegar House, it was lovely to see one of the rhododendrons in flower, a beautiful white bloom with the faintest tinge of pink round the edge of the petals.  Also, I didn't need my coat, and all three of the dogs were coat-less - first time this spring as we are usually very cautious with Booty, wanting to keep her warm for her arthritis.  At this rate it will soon be time for the summer wardrobe switchover.  Hurrah!

Yet again, it's been a busy week,along with being the start of Lent.  Last year, for various very good reasons, Lent was a complete disaster but this year I thought I'd try again.  So I'm doing 40acts - a slightly different approach.   Rather than the traditional "giving something up" the idea is to take a more positive approach and it gently invites you each day via email to undertake a positive step. Today's was about moving outside our normal social sphere, and trying to engage or connect with someone from a background or culture that you wouldn't normally come across.  As things turned out, this was perfect.  

My friend Caroline, who is a Dog Warden and runs dog training classes does a great deal for local dog charities and of course knows nearly everyone involved in dog rescue and welfare in South Wales.  By a series of chances, she was offered the use of Fonmon Castle, a glorious castle in the Vale of Glamorgan, by Sir Brooke Boothby to use as a venue for a dog related event to raise money for local dog charities.  Caroline contacted me to see if I'd like to be involved and of course I said Yes.  We held the first organising meeting on Saturday, and already a huge amount has been accomplished.  My responsibilities are to act as secretary and minute taker during the meetings, to organise and run the dog show and to provide and run the show's website (with help from Andrew on that). 

From a standing start, we've got a date (Monday 4th June), a venue, a range of events, demonstrations, displays, two dog shows, sponsors, a gundog display, huskies, bouncy castles, a show raffle with great prizes, face painting and even paddling pools for dogs! The show will principally benefit three local dog charities - Friends of Cardiff Dogs Home, Hope Rescue and Four Paws Animal Rescue.  Hope and Four Paws take a lot of pound dogs from local authorities.   I've been charging around doing various elements and this morning, we were able to go over to the castle for a site meeting and to meet Sir Brooke to go over a few site details.  Unfortunately I had to drive over there via a great deal of rush hour traffic, but it was easy to find, being very close to the airport.  The castle is beautiful (see their website here) with lovely gardens and grounds.  Caroline took me down to the castle to meet the office manager and Sir Brooke joined us before we walked back to the group and did our site visit.  This went very well, and helped to clarify our thinking about the site layout, parking arrangements and so on.  I don't know many baronets so this was a perfect example of meeting someone from a social background that's outside my everyday experience.  Mainly, like the rest of the group, I was highly impressed by Sir Brooke's generosity in allowing the use of his land for the event, and even more so by his very positive, can-do approach - really helpful.  The site is used each year to host a variety of other events such as the Vale of Glamorgan show, polo matches and weddings so the estate team are well used to hosting this sort of thing, but even so we all found the morning a very positive experience.  

Firstly, my apologies for the hiatus in posting.  Things have been busy and in particular I've been involved with Cariad, a partnership of twenty eight different animal welfare organisations in Wales, who are campaigning against puppy farming.  WG published the second draft of their dog breeding regulations so it was essential we got together to do a detailed, authoritative response that covered all the areas of concern.  We managed to do most of this by email but had a long meeting in Carmarthen just over a week ago to thrash out this and a few more issues - it was very productive and also a pleasure to meet up with people who I'd previously just known as a voice on the phone or via email.    I'm delighted with what we've finally produced - I think we've managed to capture most of the key issues, though of course it remains to be seen how many of these will make it into the new Regs.  Cariad have also been busy with another huge planning application for a puppy farm in Carmarthenshire.  The planning Committee are having a site visit on Tuesday, so Linda, the founder of Cariad, hit on the excellent idea of sending Valentine's cards to the Planning Committee encouraging them to "have a heart" and say no to the proposal.  I made and sent four cards (pictured above). 

On Tuesday, I went over to Helen's for a sausage making party.  Helen had two pigs back from the slaughterhouse that she wanted to have a go at turning into sausages and bacon - so I went over to lend a hand.  We rubbed some cure into some bacon joints - these will now cure for around a week to ten days in a cold, dry environment.  We also made some sausages - my first time doing this and it was fun.  Took some large joints, and separately removed  the skin, the fat and then carefully chopped the meat into dice.  We massively overestimated this bit of the work and even with three of us this took ages.  We ended up with about fifteen pounds of meat.  

Some of the cubes were put into the freezer for casseroles and then we minced a mix of the fat and lean twice to produce a nice fine texture through an old fashioned heavy metal hand mincer.  This stage could probably be done in a food processor but again it's all about experimentation.  Once we had the minced pork, then we added water, cereal and seasonings, mixed again and test fried a couple of small patties. They were delicious - a lovely meaty taste.  So then it was time to have a go at the sausage machine.  The casings were carefully soaked and rinsed to remove any salt then threaded onto the extrusion bit of the machine  - this bit was exactly like applying a condom! Then the sausage machine handle was gently pushed and the auger pushed the mix out into the tube then through the casing.  I suspect it's definitely a case of practice makes perfect, but I'm delighted to have done it, we had a wonderful afternoon and I came home with a bag of sausages for us to try out, as well as some lovely meaty bones for the dogs.   I can definitely see how it could be a very addictive thing to start doing - you have total control over the ingredients for one thing, and you can do almost endless variations on flavour, size and texture. Picture below shows the meat before we started.  

Today, we had James and Alex over for the Greyhound Welfare dog show.  It was Boola's twelfth birthday on Thursday and he enjoyed celebrating by spending time with his favourite small boys and meeting lots of other lovely dogs.  James is now an old hand at these events and Alex had expressed an interest in coming along.  It was decided that he is now old enough to have a night away so he came along too, with the idea of starting at a nice small show by going in the ring with James.  The plan worked well and Alex ended up coming home with a rosette in his own right (2nd in Best Veteran) and James picked up three - 1st in Best Child Handler, 2nd in Best Hound/GunDog and 2nd in Best Matched Pair - which involved his jester costume and Boola's matching jester outfit which I made last year.  The show was quiet since of course it clashed with the Wales match (at home to Scotland) but again, for Alex's first outing that wasn't a bad thing.  Alex has said that he'd love to go to some more later in the year.  Boys then came home and had a quick chat with parents and grandparents.  We had some chicken followed by Boola's birthday cake and the boys watched a bit of TV before heading up for bed.  Both were absolutely shattered and I suspect will sleep well tonight.  Tomorrow Claire is coming over to collect them and to stay for lunch, and will be bringing their older brother Thomas who's been away at a Scout camp. So we're looking forward to a good family day tomorrow.  Some pics attached from the show.  

A Happy New Year to all my readers. 

New Years Eve was quiet for us as fireworks are often let off which upset Booty, so we don't like going out and leaving her.  There were lots around midnight but much of the night was fairly quiet as (thankfully) the bad weather kept most people indoors.  New Years Day we took Boola over to Barry Beach for the Greyhound Welfare Walk.  To our surprise the beach was heaving with people and dogs.  

Boola really enjoyed meeting lots of other dogs and it was lovely to see so many beautiful greyhounds in one place.  One family had brought the most adorable lurcher pup -  a real bundle of mischief that had been left, hungry, bleeding and wounded, tied to a lamp-post.  Seeing her now with an adoring family, tumbling about on the beach was joyful.  We were lucky with the weather - it stayed dry until just before we got back to the promenade, then the heavens opened and we headed for home and a much needed cuppa and snooze.  

Since then we've had a quiet week.  It's been lovely having Andrew home and we've enjoyed just pottering round, walking the dogs (through seemingly endless mud) and catching up on a few domestic chores.  Andrew tidied the garage, and disturbed some mice who'd set up a winter home in a bag of compost.  On Wednesday, we took advantage of Andrew's Orange contract and went to the cinema, doing an Orange Wednesday (where you get two tickets for the price of one).  We went to see the new Sherlock Holmes film with Robert Downey Jnr and Jude Law, and I must say we loved it! Great fun.  Fabulous steampunk feel, lots of knockabout fun.  No point in trying to keep up with various intricate plot details - it was just a really fun evening.  Grabbed a Chinese takeaway on the way home, which I shared with Andy - he really seemed to like it, and to my surprise took the chillies in the duck sauce completely in his stride.  Brave hound! 

While we were there, we saw a trailer for War Horse, which opens this coming week.  I won't be going to see this - I found even the trailer very upsetting.  Somehow the idea of watching for entertainment the slaughter of the trenches and seeing terrified animals getting blown up doesn't appeal.  Maybe it's because dogs and horses are very special to me, and particularly as I'm involved in rescue - I feel as though I already see far too much real animal suffering to ever want to voluntarily watch a drama about it.  From the human perspective too, there seem to be endless dramas and documentaries about the suffering of the first World War - again, very harrowing stuff.  

On a related note, I've now started work on a response to WG for Round 2 of the dog breeding legislation consultation.  This time, I'm helping to write the response for CARIAD, a new organisation which is a coalition of the various rescue charities in Wales fighting against puppy farming.  Our hope is that we can do a detailed response and highlight the key points, which our partners can then use to inform their own responses.  I am so desperately hopeful we can get some decent legislation in.  Puppy farming is a stain on rural Wales and has a horrible effect on the dogs involved, both bitches and the pups themselves who are often prone to behavioural issues in later life because of the appalling lack of socialisation early on.  On top of this, many of the pups are from parents that are not health tested and are thus often prone to genetic issues affecting their health and wellbeing.  

As well as this, we've been catching up with a rerun of Brideshead Revisited which Sky Arts ran over Christmas.  It's been a treat to watch such a lavish production though Jeremy Irons is astonishingly wooden in it and wears the most hilarious moustache.  In the later episodes he attempts to look older by constantly sticking a large pipe in his mouth (always unlit) - it doesn't work.  Apart from that it's been enjoyable to watch though.  Andrew and I have discussed it and felt that it simply wouldn't be made today (certainly not in that way).  There's a great deal of discussion about the church and faith ( the central theme of the drama) and it's treated with respect in the TV production.  I genuinely don't think it would be handled like this today, or the unquestioning acceptance of the aristocratic lifestyle that is portrayed.  Nowadays there would be much more emphasis on either portraying this negatively (perhaps being horrible to servants?) or bringing in more characters of other social backgrounds.  We are particularly enjoying the wonderful cameo appearances by John Gielgud - gloriously bitchy and delightfully eccentric.  I must also say the costumes and settings have been sumptuous - a real visual feast.  

From that to tonight's viewing was a bit of a contrast.  Casualty filmed in our street in late November and early December and tonight was the episode that featured our street and house.  We haven't watched Casualty for years and I was interested to see how it was.  Sadly, it was dreadful and I won't be watching it again.  It really made me realise how slick things like ER are and in general American TV seems to do this type of thing so much better and with more conviction.

Charlie is still as wooden as a door.  And there were a whole raft of other medical cliches.  Tarty Scouse nurse who has a heart of gold - check.  Feisty female doctor who has a run in with rugged fire chief and refuses to leave her dying patient even though she is in danger - check.  Nicely multi ethnic paramedics showing exemplary teamwork and mutual support - check.  Heroic off duty nurse who rushes in to save her neighbours (and is black, so an extra bonus point) - check.  Unfolding family drama with wife and mistress being positioned on each side of wounded man, each waiting for the royal hand to be extended - check.  Any normal woman would have kicked him in the nuts for being a cheating bastard.  Surprising toxic waste that bubbles and steams in a dramatic way - check. Heroic fire chief who ignores safety protocol and rushes in to danger zone to rescue man and ends up being taken to hospital, now being tended by feisty female doctor who has realised that under his gritty exterior he is really A Heart of Gold - check.  Estranged husband of said feisty female medic portrayed looking wistfully at a picture of their wedding day when she is brought back in from emergency location - check.  Miraculous ability of said female doctor to work in area of toxic gas and be the only person to be completely unaffected by blisters, burns etc.  even though she was heroically dragging wounded patients about - check.  Cute dog who plays heart warming but peripheral role in story (and is also miraculously unaffected) and reunited with loving children at end - check. 

And of course every patient that is brought in now has to have the obligatory paremedic rattling off the "Suspected contusion to upper right clarinet, with a broken bassoon.  BP is 80 over 20, his airmax is 27, his airmiles are 200 and his clubcard is maxed out."  Everyone else has to constantly be seen peeling off latex gloves during every conversation and to constantly be wrapping stethoscopes around their neck but strangely never actually using them.  And of course no medical drama is complete without the lead doctor doing CPR on a dead patient while his colleagues say "John, he's gone" in a concerned sort of way until he finally gives up in disgust, peels off a latex glove and wearily says "All agreed? Time of death 15.20" and stalks off looking vulnerable in a heroic and manly sort of way.  Actually, thinking about it, it might be fun to set up a Casualty bingo.       

Firstly, a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my readers. 

Since my last post, Christmas has simply flown by.  Rita and Roger arrived on Christmas Eve - seems incredible that's a week ago now.  We enjoyed our usual Christmas Eve seafood feast.  Andrew prepared a ceviche of bream fillets, followed by scallops with samphire and some squid.  After the meal we all watched Muppet Christmas Carol, and singing along was compulsory! 

Christmas Day followed its usual routine.  After waking up, we all opened our stockings, and Father Christmas had managed to find Rita and Roger too.  Then we had some coffee and took the dogs out for a nice muddy walk.  Andy lay on hte bed while I was opening my stocking and was utterly enthralled by the wrapping paper, and enjoyed tearing it all to shreds.  

Once we came home we fed the woofs and had smoked salmon and scrambled egg with toasted muffins. Thus fortified, upstairs for shower, out of muddy clothes and put on something smarter (my favourite black dress with roses print) and jewellery/make up.  Then back downstairs and we had a leisurely afternoon of present opening and drinkies.  Made phone calls to various family members, then ate our festive meal around 5 ish.  Roast turkey, goosefat roast potatoes, home made stuffing, lovely gravy, sprouts, cranberry sauce, pigs in blankets and carrots.  We served it with a Shiraz, which was delicious.  In the evening we relaxed and chatted and enjoyed watching Downton Abbey's Christmas special.  Definitely a return to form.  Eventually to bed, tired but very happy.  

Boxing Day was leisurely and enjoyable too.  We took the dogs for a very wet walk up to Garw Nant, walking round the Llwyn Onn reservoir.  On the way we saw a local gun pack working the mountain with their hounds - beautiful Welsh foxhounds, shorter and hairier than the English and as daft as a brush, but so lovely.  We took a thermos of coffee and some flapjacks with us which were very welcome before returning home to enjoy traditional turkey sandwiches. We were astonished at how busy the retail park at Merthyr was- I think that would be my idea of Boxing Day Hell.  

The day after Boxing Day, we took the dogs for yet another muddy walk (very drizzly at the moment) had lunch then Rita and Roger departed back to Bridgwater.  We had a very quiet day on Wednesday and on Thursday we went down to Swansea to see Hilary.  Spent a wonderful afternoon with her in her lovely conservatory although it rained solidly the whole time we were there.  

Today has been another fairly quiet day - we popped into town this morning as L'Occitane were having a sale and I also visited Cath Kidston.  I bought her newest book "Patch" which had been on my Christmas list, and a very lovely small handbag which was in the sale.  The shop was absolutely heaving and I was stunned to see a man with the most enormous pushchair (why are all the modern pushchairs so damn HUGE?) lurking in the shop while his wife/partner shopped.  He caused constant queues, bottlenecks and problems and I felt sorry for his baby who was constantly bumped and shoved by people (and their baggage) trying to get past.  I really couldn't understand why it would be simpler to just wait quietly outside the shop while his wife browsed.  

It's lovely having Andrew home and being able to simply relax and enjoy each other's company without clock watching or dashing about.  The dogs are enjoying themselves too - they all liked having some leftover turkey but just seem to be constantly muddy at the moment.  We made a big effort to clean the car interior before Rita and Roger arrived - hoovered out the inside,  washed the dog bed covers and fleece on the back seat and put in a new air freshener thingie from Yankee Candles. There was a brief, glorious moment when the interior actually looked and smelled quite acceptable.  After a few days of muddy walks it is now back to its default state of hairiness, muddiness and a certain ripe aroma comprised of damp dog, mud and essence of countryside. Sigh.   Now we are looking forward to the New Year. 

Last week was incredibly busy, but the upside was that I completed most of the Christmas preparations.  All the cards and parcels have been made and sent, all presents wrapped - this is surprisingly time consuming.  

On Tuesday afternoon I went over to Macarthur Glenn, near Bridgend, which is an out of town retail park which specialises in discount stock.  On the way I got caught in the most ferocious hail storm and lightning which made the motorway visibility very poor.  I got the last few things there for gifts - but wasn't particularly impressed.  Most of my shopping this year has been done via the net, and this is simpler, often cheaper and much less hassle.  I've bought a few things in town from shops like L'Occitane and John Lewis - but these are both stores with excellent customer service who really look after their customers. 

At Macarthur Glenn, shop assistants were disengaged, with no eye contact, clueless about stock and about as festive as a soggy walnut.  I went into Austin Reed - they do great "classic"  menswear and I've often bought from their main store in town for Andrew, particularly their dress shirts, ties etc.  I found a beautiful tie, a shirt and some attractive cufflinks.  Nobody offered any help even though the shop was deserted, and when I got to the counter, the shop assistant had his sleeves rolled up displaying a fine array of rather wobbly tattoos, and was chewing gum.  I asked for a gift sleeve for the tie (something I've been offered routinely in their main store) and he looked like I'd asked for a diamond encrusted jockstrap.  He then muttered that a lot of customers had asked about them, but he didn't think they had any.  As today's young folk would say, EPIC FAIL! A real shame since they had some gorgeous tweed jackets too, and if the service had been good I'd have seriously thought about taking Andrew back there in the New Year.  Ironically this was the same day that Mary Portas released her report on to the plight of the high street and how to reinvigorate shopping.  Well, the first priority has to be to get customer service right.  What's annoying about AR too is that they are not a cheap brand - and I'm guessing most of their customers will be older/middle aged customers who aren't looking for "fast fashion" or a "pile it high" approach. They really should be better than this.  

Another minor irritant related to the charging for bags. I took my own with me but wanted a bag in the Cadburys shop where I bought some festive selection boxes for the nephews plus a few other stocking fillers.  I accept (grudgingly) that I have to now pay for a bag - however, the bag was made of the flimsiest possible plastic and as the assistant shoved the items into it, (again no care taken) the bag split and broke, meaning that she then had to put the whole thing inside another one, which barely made it back to the car.  If a charge has to be made, at least make it fit for purpose.  The whole experience was miserable and just made me glad I'd done so much while sitting comfortably in my pyjamas at home, sipping a coffee, and receiving goods promptly, usually beautifully wrapped.

Thursday I made two big batches of fudge, one white chocolate and cranberry, the other chocolate and coconut.  These have been chopped up and put into some lovely gift bags I got from Ikea and have been given to various people over the last few days.  

On Friday, James our nephew arrived while I was at work (my last shift before Christmas).  On Saturday morning he and Andrew took the dogs for a walk while I baked some bread rolls (spelt and oatmeal), then when they returned we all had a plate of bacon and eggs, with rolls warm from the oven and home made marmalade to follow.  Lovely.  Then it was time to get ready for the Greyhound Welfare Christmas show.  James is now an old hand at these (along with Boola, his compadre) and we arrived in good time.  James entered the Best Hound class, Best Child Handler, Best Veteran, Best Rescue and Best Matched Pair.  To our delight, James won the Best Child Handler class, and was awarded a gorgeous festive red rosette, which he immediately pinned on his hoodie.

He then got a Fourth place in Best Veteran, and a Second in Best Matched Pair, when he donned his elf costume and Boola put on his festive outfit.  I had actually prepared these for the Christmas show last year, but the heavy snow prevented the event from taking place.  It was quite noticeable that James had grown a lot since last year, when he put the costume on. Anna the judge (who also makes the rosettes for the GW shows) looked (and sounded) wonderful, as she had donned a home made green elf costume complete with jingling bells on the points of her skirt and on the curls of her shoes.  

 

 When we got home, Boola decided it was time for a well earned snooze and James called home and to his grandparents to share the day's good news.  We had a relaxing evening, with an enjoyable meal - Andrew did a turkey and leek pie, with James then choosing a film to watch before bed.  

On Sunday, Andrew took James, the dogs and a big haul of gifts (including fudge, sloe gin and preserved lemons) in the car, and headed for the old Severn bridge where he was meeting Basil and the other two boys before heading off to the greyhound field. The boys really enjoyed watching the dogs doing zoomies and it was good for Basil and Andrew to catch up and swap news.  At the end of the hour slot, Basil took the boys home and Andrew returned home with the dogs.  

I stayed at home when Andrew went as I was heading off on my own adventure.  Penny my friend had told me earlier in the year that she was doing part of the finale display at Olympia (annual Christmas show jumping festival) and this made me think about going up to see it.  I mentioned it to my friend Helen and she was keen to go, so off we went. We drove up and the M4 was pretty quiet and we made good time.  Frustratingly we couldn't access the pre booked parking space we had reserved until at least 5.40 so this meant by the time we'd parked and got into the venue, we didn't have  a lot of time to look round the shopping village or to meet Penny as we'd hoped.   The shopping village was awesome - full of every conceivable requirement for the lover of horses, and with plenty for dog lovers too.  I bought a greyhound coat for Andy as he is too big for the ones we had from Paula.  Then it was into the arena for the evening performance which was amazing and spectacular.  

 

We loved the Kennel Club dog agility final and the Shetland Pony Grand but the real highlight was the Lusitano riders who did the most breathtaking display of dressage and riding on these amazing and wonderful horses.  Helen of course was thrilled since she has two of this breed herself and is very knowledgeable about them -  I loved the dressage performance and the amazing ride with the flaming torches - quite dreamlike and stunning.  

 

Then we enjoyed some top class showjumping - our seats had an excellent view and we were practically close enough to touch the riders.  The seats themselves were astonishingly uncomfortable - seemingly designed for midgets.  I'm only 5'5" and my knees were under my chin and my left thigh is still hurting today after the way the seat kept digging in.  Poor Helen, who's now five months pregnant, also found it uncomfortable especially as she is much taller than me.  

 

After the showjumping, which flew by, the finale took place .  There were Camelot inspired knights  on foot, children on ponies, a wizard, various monks in a carriage (??), Penny's guys doing some jousting, (and it was great to see and recognise Joe in the ring) followed finally by that well known star of Arthurian legend, Father Christmas.  By this time, we'd abandoned any attempt at a coherent narrative so just enjoyed the spectacle.  It finished with the whole arena on its feet singing carols while Father Christmas and the others paraded round the ring, with snow falling.  Amazing.  

Then it was back to the car and time to head for home.  The sat nav threw a major strop but fortunately it was easy to find the A4 and back on to the M4.  We got back around 1.45 a.m.  and yesterday I was shattered but feeling very happy and festive.   Tonight is the library Christmas meal so more Christmassy fun and frolics. 

 

A fortnight to go until Christmas.  We're doing fairly well on the Christmas shopping.  Yesterday, we went to Ikea to get our Christmas tree.  It's a Nordmann fir, and it smells gorgeous.  Andrew put it in its holder, watched by three very curious pointy noses.  While I decorated it, Andrew put up the lights outside and in the windows so the house looks very festive now.  The Advent candle is lit every night, I've brought out various other Christmas candles and ornaments including a lovely Christmas cross stitch sampler. 

A big batch of cards has been made and posted, with some more to go over the next few days.  I worked this afternoon, and while I was out, Andrew was busy cooking.  He did a gorgeous braised pheasant in cider with parsnip mash and made a wonderful pumpkin pie with a recipe he found on an American website.  The quantities in the original were enormous so he cut them down by half.  Now that we've bought our cup measures from Lakeland, following American recipes is a whole lot easier.  Before, I'd often see things I'd want to try but would be put off by the laborious mental arithmetic of converting cups to imperial, and sometimes into metric.  Now, we can just measure away - much quicker and easier.  

The filling in the pie was a mix of roasted pumpkin flesh, dark sugar, evaporated milk, eggs, and a glorious selection of spices including nutmeg, cinnamon etc.  Sniffing the mixture was wonderful and it smelled very festive.  The mix can also be used in pumpkin bread which I think sounds great.  We may have to try that.  

This week, the weather has got a lot colder.  We had our first proper frost, and all the dogs are now wearing their housecoats at night plus their very warmest coats when out for a walk.  Booty's coat was a gift from Paula - it originally belonged to Jim, but when he died earlier this year, she kindly gave it to us as Jim and Booty are very similar in size.  Seeing her wear it now that the weather is so cold made me think of Jim and of course also of Paula - this time of year reminds me of her strongly as she loved it so much.  It's surprising how much you can miss a friend and even though things have slowly eased, there are still some days when it really hurts, but oddly, in a good way, since the memories are such happy ones.   

Drat.  I did a huge, long post and Blogger and lost most of it.  NOT HAPPY.  

Again, a busy time.  Last Saturday night we went over to Llandaff Cathedral to hear Brahms' German Requiem, sung by the Cathedral Choral Society.  It was absolutely beautiful and sung very well.  The programme also included some Mozart and a short Schubert piece so a real treat all round, including a very beautiful prayer read by the Dean to open proceedings written by John Donne.
Here it is.  




It was the first time I've visited the interior of the Cathedral.  It's an interesting mix architecturally as bits go back to the Norman era (and there have been buildings there even before that) but it was bombed in the war and was subject to extensive enlargement in the Victorian era.  Compared with other cathedrals I've been to, it still feels very small, but the most dominant thing in the building is an Epstein statue of Christ In Majesty which stands on a concrete arch bang in the middle of the nave.  I spent the entire evening looking at it from a variety of angles and I'm sorry to say I couldn't find a single redeeming feature.  It's

Llandaff Cathedral Epstein Statue of Christ In Majesty

hideous.  What I also disliked is the concrete arch it sits on.  To me it was strongly reminiscent of the sort of architecture liked by Communist regimes and Middle East dictators