Doggo (10/08/2001 - 05/03/2018)

Sadly I lost my best mate today.

With the decision made Doggo typically decides to rally, starts walking a bit better, has breakfast and then curls up in the hall waiting for us to go to work.

Instead Daughter comes over to join us and we all head to the vets where having expected to have to carry the old man, he walks in and starts charming the vet. Everyone is in floods of tears and typically Doggo prolongs the agony by not going easy as they struggle to find a vein in his old body. He is easily the calmest one there, I think he knows its time to go.

There’s plenty to reflect on concerning life with possibly the most travelled dog in Britain. From the Isle Of Wight to the Hebrides, from the Lakeland Fells to the Scottish Ski resorts he was there with us on all our trips.

He was a constant presence in our lives for all of his sixteen and a half years. He was our running partner and although he never got to parkrun, he was a parkrun veteran and attended loads. Sadly his last one, on Saturday, ended up with him being carried away from it.

Then there’s his Agility, which we learnt together and muddled our way through to Crufts on two occasions. Happy days.

We almost thought he could go on for ever and he was still enjoying his walks with me last week. We were also so glad that it snowed for him in his final week, he always loved the snow.

“If at some point we all succumb, for goodness sake, let us be young. 'Cause time gets harder to outrun, and I'm nobody, I'm not done. With a cool, cool breeze and dirty knees, I rest on childhood memories. We all got old at breakneck speed, slow it down, go easy on me.”

Sadly, my friend, we’re done. RIP

(Monday 5^th March)

Disappointing Weather

Another Lakeland day but this one dawns wet. If anything it’s been a bit of a disappointment weather wise, we’d hoped to have been snowed in by now and shovelling our way to the pub but it’s not happened. There was a bit of snow on the tops yesterday but that’s mostly gone now.

The wet weather forces us into another long lay-in but it does abate and we walk up the valley again but in the other direction towards Skelwith Bridge before returning for another night in the Wainwrights.

The beer may be good but the food isn’t really anything to write home about. It never has been but it’s certainly not heading in the right direction.

(Sunday 15^th January)

Quite An Amble

We had considered Millom Parkrun and we’d also considered the one at Barrow but both are a fair old trek away on narrow Lakeland roads. We’d also looked at Keswick and Fell Foot which are both a lot nearer. L’s done these before but obviously I haven’t. In the end the forecast is for possibly freezing temperatures and the last thing we want to do is drive for an hour to end up at a cancelled parkrun when we could have simply stayed in bed.

So we simply stay in bed and get up late, obviously. Eventually heading to the local shop to get the ingredients to do a Full English for lunch.

Then we go for a bit of an amble. It turns into quite an amble, if you’re Doggo, and we make it all the way to the Sticklebarn. Which turns out to be closed for refurbishment, again. So we have a hot chocolate in the New Dungeon Ghyll instead before heading back to base camp and then later another night in the Wainwrights.

Alongside the Sneck Lifter on the bar is a rather nice ale named after Loughrigg Fell from Hesket Newmarket. Sadly it’s not dark enough for the list but it’s still very quaffable. 

(Saturday 14^th January)

The Woodcutter

I have finished Reginald Hill’s The Woodcutter book, which was pretty good and based in some of our favourite parts of Cumbria, which was a plus. L loved it too, although I’m struggling to understand why she didn’t make the sign of the cross at it, as a lot of it is about money.

Seems she has the hots for the principal character Wilfred, better known as Wolf. I hope it’s because she saw something of me in his character. He's a bit the worse for wear - weathered and with a limp, he lives with his collie in his rustic little Lakeland cottage. I tick all those boxes, even the Lakeland cottage.

Sadly this was Hill's last book in 2010 before he died last year.

We’re also finished the DVDs of Pillars of the Earth. Which L has sat through, mostly with her head in the hands muttering ‘why why why’ as they butchered the novel she so loved. I suppose it’s not unusual for the scriptwriters not to bother reading the book they're scripting but as Ken Follett had a hand in this one himself, you would have expected better.

It’s not put her off another of his books though; just don’t watch the TV version.

I have a committee meeting tonight, so no dog training. Which the dogs don’t seem to mind because I take them on the park first. Though Doggo apparently rebels after I've gone and when I get back, it's a surprise that L hasn't carried out her threat to tie him to a lamppost in the street.

(Monday 29^th April)

Operation 70.3

We had a few drinks last night but not too many, or so I thought. L claims not to recall a lot of the evening... tut tut, including how amorous she was. So when I give her chapter and verse on it, she doesn’t know if I’m winding her up or not.

I'm back on the bike today, to top up that improving fitness.

Sort of inspired I enter us for the Cross Bay Challenge. It will be a useful training run.

I will loathe it but it’s the sort of thing you have to say you’ve done at some point. Although the means of proving it, e.g. the t-shirt, is extra.

It could be done as a double header with the Great North Swim the day before... so I book that as well. My first open water swim entry and this was before the first drink of the evening. It has to be done at some point if ‘Operation 70.3’, a project hopefully culminating at the 2014 Nottingham Outlaw Half Ironman, is going to happen. 70.3 miles is the distance covered by swimming, running and cycling.

So I book into the one mile swim, my smart arse partner books into the two mile, naturally. She says I’ll never forget my first Lakeland swim. I’m sure I won’t, particularly if it’s spent clinging to one of the rescue canoes.

(Friday 26^th April)

Child Related Shocks

There are only so many child related shocks one can take in a year. One of them is talking of opening a savings account... while the other has taken up walking. Perhaps the enforced hard labour that we subjected them to as children has paid off after all and one day we’ll be embarrassing them as we bump into them at a Lakeland watering hole after a day out on the fells...

Today Daughter invites us up to walk with her. She has planned a hike from Bolsterstone on to the edge of the Peak District nor far from Sheffield. We assume that our attendance isn’t required too early, what with student sleep patterns, so we have a leisurely morning at home before heading up after lunch.

The dogs are confused because I commit the cardinal sin of feeding them before they’ve been out. This immediately makes Doggo suspicious; whereas I’m sure MD thinks it’s simply a bonus meal.

They willingly leap into the car as we head up to Bolsterstone via Daughter’s Sheffield lodgings and a trip to a walking shop to get her some boots. This just gets weirder and weirder.

The walk is an 11km circular affair to Midhopestones and back. Although we don’t actually get to Midhopestones because a group of cows form a road block and make us take a short cut. This should have made the route shorter but L’s Garmin records nearly 12km, so somebody’s measurements somewhere are clearly amiss.

The dogs enjoy themselves, particularly MD who decides to chase a bird that low flies above him, whilst chatting to him in a mocking tone. He takes the bait and, with the red mist fully descended, chases it around several fields before thankfully giving up when a wall and a stream block his path.



I manage to grab him, now mud splattered and soaking wet, just as the bird comes back for another go at him.

Walk finished we leave the boys to dry off in the car and take sustenance at the Castle Inn.



Food wise both my menu choices - starter and main course are off. So it continues... this vendetta.

(Sunday 17th June)

A Little Bit Fit

Neither L nor I ache as much as we did after the Lakeland Dirty Double. So I guess we must be just a little bit fit.

MD enjoys this evening’s dog training so much that twice when I try to get him to go in the boot of the car after his training is complete; twice he turns heels to run back into the training arena for another crack at the equipment. I have to admire his dedication but it’s time for Doggo’s walk around the car park, then it’s time to barter with the cheese man for a slab of Stilton and then its home time.

Well after I’ve rescued L from the International Hotel where she’s talking champers and trying to negotiate the minefield that buying some is. She welcomes my advice but speaking as someone who has yet to find champagne that he likes that could be difficult. Do I recommend we go cheap on the assumption that I won’t like any of it or go expensive in the hope that you might get what you pay for? Looking at those prices... decision made. Hope her folks aren’t reading this, as it’s for their anniversary bash on Saturday.

(Monday 21st November)