Synchronised

Again we manage to synchronise a parkrun and a dog show, this time in Shrewsbury. None of my events are early on at the dog show, so I decide to join L in the run much to her surprise.

It is my fourth parkrun but my first without MD and I run a PB by about two minutes. So obviously he needs to up his game if he wishes to join me next time.

L has already upped her game, so she might be running with me next time instead of MD. She sets a new PB at 30:01, obviously she’s gutted at missing the big 30 by one second, particularly as I watch timed her at about 29:50. This is what you get for starting way back and taking ten seconds or more to get over the start line. I’ve told her so many times to put herself on the front row.

Back at the dog show, MD is still not hitting his contacts so the agility runs are a bit of a washout. In the jumping he is much more consistent and we get two clear rounds but we’re outside the rosettes in both.

Back in Nottingham we head out into town and once we find the Chocolate Gorilla sitting on the bar in the Blue Monkey pub. So naturally we stay there all night.

(Saturday 17^th October)

A Risky Fifth

Its bank holiday Monday and we’re at Shrewsbury dog show, even L is with us. This is the first time this show has extended over the weekend into Monday and entries numbers are low for the extra day. Subsequently we are finished by lunchtime.

MD performs very well, we get a clear round and 2^nd place on one course. We would have got a second 2^nd if I hadn’t rushed him and he felled a pole. As is tradition, one run is an absolute stinker but then we get another crack in the ring where he felled the pole. The end of the course is identical and this time we are clear but a minor mid-course disagreement leaves us out the rosettes.

We head home and catch up with some bed time.Then later we head out for two pints in Crafty Crow and then two more in the Hand and Heart. By now it has started raining and with twenty minutes until the bus we go for a risky fifth in the Ropewalk, purely to wait for the bus in there out of the rain you understand. This turns out to be the best pint of the night, a stout. I think our heads will regret it later.

(Monday 4^th May)

Skiving

Today I’m in the glamorous surroundings of a field in Solihull and its raining. In fact it drizzles for most of the day and for the rest of the time we get proper, full on, rain. Consequently it’s a very muddy field. I could have returned to help the club out in Shrewsbury today but it’s about half the distance to here. It’s amazing how many others from the club have pulled the same trick, basically skiving.

Our first run is Doggo in the Vets. He goes clear and gets a rosette for third. MD meanwhile demolishes the first jump of his first course but then does a perfect run for the rest of it. His time would have put him third and considering he hit that jump rather hard, disrupting his stride, he may well have made up the second or so he was behind and won it. Ho hum.

After that poles go down everywhere, MD doesn’t run well in the wet. Just like one of my old cars. So no clears. We stay for our last run, even though with it being for Grades 1-5, we stand little chance of success. By this point most sensible folk have gone home, having had enough of the mud. As we watch the competition I realise that we haven’t seen anybody go clear on it yet, with the difficult first section catching everybody out. So I try a different tactic that works a dream on the difficult start. Then it all goes pear-shaped as I traumatise MD by trying to change sides in front of him. We head home in disgrace.

L’s had a better day than us, 58.03 for her 10k on what is a far from fast course around the undulating grounds of Wayne Manor (formerly known as Wollaton Hall). The girl done well and is edging ever closer to the magic 500 miles.

She heads over to her parents’ from where I collect her later, after a stop off at my parents’ so that the dogs can spread their mud over their kitchen. My folks don't seem to mind and the boys even pick up some roast beef for their tea. I get a biscuit.

(Monday 9th April)

Not Quite Rocket Enough

I get up early and scrape the ice off the car before heading to Shrewsbury. I leave L in bed, where I understand she stays for some considerable time. Which is very studently of her and very wise.

I’m at a dog show of course and once the ice has melted off the equipment we get our first run. I’m only half joking. It’s pretty cold here.

That first run is a clear round for the Pocket Rocket but just not quite rocket enough. He comes fifth, which is promising but it could all be downhill from here. Yep. We can’t buy a clear round after that although Doggo is eighth in Veterans but MD’s fifth is the only rosette of the day.

The club are running a ring here and I’m managing it. We are given a ridiculous amount of dogs to get through and consequently I’m here from 8am until 6.30pm. A very long day. At least I get a decent lunch, including apple crumble, which is one of the compensations of ring managing. So all is not lost. The downside is being home for about 8.30. I tell L to chill the wine, the beer, the brandy, everything.

She's been painting in the bedroom whilst we’ve been out. It looks good but means the dogs, most likely Doggo, could end up stuck to the wall by the morning if they’re not careful. It might stop him scratching though; an uninterrupted sleep would be nice.

Another good day at the cycling. Victoria Pendleton has a very flaky psychological state at the best of times so when she crashed, hitting the track hard, in her sprint semi-final against her nemesis Anna Meares, you feared the worst.

You didn’t expect Vic to pick herself up, defeat Meares and then clinch the gold as well. Superb stuff.

(Friday 6th April)

Glutton For Punishment

Probably not the best way to kick off a bank holiday, by getting up early and driving to Shrewsbury. Yep, dog show. L even comes with me and hits the sights of Shrewsbury, which were apparently pretty sightly.

Despite not liking the film, L is reading ‘Beastly’ the book. Glutton for punishment. I’ve said this before, but she has a serious reading problem. Reading a book to see if it’s as bad or better than the film is a bit obsessive. No?

Well, I thought I got all the preparation right for Doggo’s first course. I even got an Alsatian to run in front of us, which winds the old boy up a treat. Somehow we missed the weaves (my fault) and had a pole (his fault). Then on his second and only other run, he had the long jump down. So nothing for him today.

MD has a cracking first run, that is until we come to the last section where I can either hang back and push him from behind (verbally not actually push him) on to the final straight and risk him veering off right or get ahead, make sure he doesn’t veer right but risk him taking a short cut to me and missing out a jump. I do the former. He does the former and veers to the right. The judge does that throat slitting movement with one hand across his neck. Elimination.

His second course is a toughie. We do ok but not clear. His third is easy, we nail it. Clear. Disappointing only 10th but a rosette is a rosette. We go straight on to his fourth and last run. It’s hot and he looks tired. He demolishes the courses. Never mind, we have our clear and we have our rosette.

We get home, dump the boys and slip out for a few Abbots.

(Friday 22nd April)