End Of Another Era

It’s the end of another era today, the council are collecting the old double bed today along with its lightly notched headboard. I did remember to remove the handcuffs first. I'm more sad about the headboard than the bed, which was truly knackered. I’d bought that headboard especially as the old one had nothing to grab on to, so I didn’t really see it as having much use. Ah, the fond memories.

I have a very eventful morning on the bike. It wasn’t the rain that was the problem, more the wind and the two punctures. I went down a rather large pot hole and punctured both tyres at once. Never done that before. It has to be said the roads are in a dreadful state at the moment but they don’t tend to start fixing them until late summer.

The Brunswick has its Damson Stout on at lunch time, which goes down very well.

Squash is off, as there are still no vacancies for a game this week.

I get back on the bike to ride home and cross my fingers. I can’t have any more punctures because I’ve used up all my tubes.

L heads off to do a duathlon. Running to spin then running home. She arrives home dripping with sweat. Very nice.

(Thursday 26^th February)

A Health and Safety Breach

At work, half of our floor has lost power, so we have strung cables across from the working side to get us functioning again. Which is a bit of a Health and Safety breach I would imagine. An electrician is on his way apparently.

This is clearly the week for things being off. Tonight’s squash is also off. My opponent’s back is playing him up. At least postponing the court until next week can now be done without a murmur of opposition now that the council are no longer running the centre.

As compensation I force myself into a lunch time run. I go out and run-walk 5k. Cough cough wheeze wheeze. Not good.

The electrician puts on his serious face and tells us he has to come back at the weekend because he needs to rip the floor up.

(Thursday 15^th January)

Shouting Is The Way To Go

Third day.

Less stalls to deal with today as some of the smaller ones give up battling for trade with the bigger ones and go home.

First aid duty brings an epileptic fit and a competitor who is also a paramedic running. Good job really, as that’s a bit out of my sphere of experience. I’ve only done a council run emergency first aid course.

Our members are looking ace in their new polo shirts, even though they are a bit on the warm side. I get chance to speak to the company who made them and they vow to find something cooler for next year, when of course the weather will be much more typically British and everyone will be asking for club anoraks instead.

L asks if she can watch the dogs compete today, which is not a problem or rather not THE problem. I think the problem was bringing MD to watch Doggo and then allowing Doggo to watch him.

With MD watching, Doggo goes off like a turbo charged rocket on his Veterans course, as if trying to impress him, and for the first time in three years I can’t keep up with him. We mess up jump number five. Where did that start come from? Actually I might ask L and MD to watch again, just next time I’ll be ready for it.

MD is then so hyped up that most of his first course ends up on the floor as he dismantles it. He does calm down though and he’s next two runs are both clear. Wow. They were two tricky courses where I had to shout at him a lot. I figure shouting at him a lot is the way to go.

We get 12^th in the Olympia qualifier that is open to dogs two grades higher than him and into a run-off for 9^th in his own Grade 3 Agility. A run-off we sadly lose. I didn’t think there was much chance of us going clear twice on the same course but we gave it a good shot.

My brother turns up to watch, sadly as things are winding down so I can’t really show him much. Doggo takes the chance to have a good growl at him, they never have got on since that ‘issue’ eleven years ago. Doggo never forgets.

Then it’s time to pack up and then to head home. Show done for another year.

(Sunday 28^th July)

Carpet!

Another cold night but still not particularly icy.

On Saturday, when we finally got someone to visit us, the floor man decreed no hard floor. So it’s carpet again, after all that. So tonight we head to their Beeston shop after work as its open conveniently until 7pm on a Wednesday night.

Despite this advertised late opening they are closing up as we arrive just before 6pm... and we even let them know in advance that we were coming. This company really do not want our business do they?

Despite that we order the carpet and buy a rug. See guys, it was worth you opening late after all.

Dog training tonight and I’m on the graveyard shift 9pm-10pm, which I manage to get out of by swapping into an 8pm through our Facebook site. Handy isn’t it, it’s a good job I set that up for them.

Back home we lug the old three piece suite outside and place it at the front of the house. The Council are apparently coming to collect it tomorrow. Yeah right of course they will.

(Wednesday 12th December)

The Blitz

It’s dropped a bit cold today and L takes the dog’s ice skating, in preference to their morning walk. I derided the council for using grit unnecessarily the other day, perhaps today they did need it after all.

Tonight is Bonfire Night of course and I get home to be greeted by one dog. I have to free the other from the spare room. I assume the explosions had started early and somehow he had managed to batter his way into there. Once there he normally digs a hole in the carpet or tunnels his way through the cables under the computer table. At least there’s no sign of digging and he hasn’t managed to electrocute himself, not yet.

Dog training tonight would have been good for him, as we’re in the middle of nowhere, so there shouldn’t be many fireworks. Only, it’s cancelled for un-firework related reasons.

So Doggo spends the evening indoors listening to Kerrang Radio while MD spends his barking at the blitz in the garden.

(Monday 5th November)

Still Going Strong

It started raining yesterday lunchtime and it’s still going strong. Which means my newly arranged dog training night is rained off and will now, hopefully, commence next week.

L has to defer her daily 5k run as well, probably until tomorrow and is apocalyptic about her failure to go out in the deluge. She suggests that Mo and Usain wouldn’t skipped their 5k because of the rain. Actually, I bet they would. They’ve had gone and done it at some indoor facility with a 400m track. The council haven’t built ours yet.

Meet Clyde, a ‘sport-loving thistle full of cheeky Glaswegian charm’, apparently. The official mascot of Glasgow 2014.

The rain actually stops around 4pm. So when I get home, the ‘boys’ get to go on the park instead. Although it has to be quick one, as the council are locking the gate earlier and earlier due to the darker evenings. Doggo overdoes it and returns with a limp again.

Then we collect L from Derby, where’s she’s been to see some strip show, ‘Calendar Girls’ stage version.

(Monday 24th September)