Abandoned

I’m on dog duty this morning as L is in London on Harley Street. Yes I’ve been abandoned on my birthday. Not that I mind really, today is just a normal day at work with dog class in the evening. Where they threaten me with the bumps. That could take a while.

(Monday 27^th April)

Run And Swim Day

I’m on dog walking duty again this morning and then I hand over to L for the ball chucking before heading off to work in the car. It's a run and swim day.

L’s hobble must be improving as she’s wearing the trainers that she couldn't reach down to fasten on Monday.

A speeding fine arrives by email from Switzerland. Bugger.

My lunchtime training run is more of a trot than a run and is a massive 3.9k. Wow. It would have annoyed L all night if she'd stopped at 3.9k but I actually stopped just in time. 4k is next week’s project. I’m well on my way to half ironman distance, just 17k to go. 

Then it’s straight from work to the pool where I have 50 lengths to do. The pool is packed and there are only three lanes in use. The slow lane is standing room only, whilst the fast lane has one guy who is attempting to drown himself by trying to keep up with the two fast women in his lane. Can't be done mate. I've been there, done that and had the post-attempt CPR.

In truth I’ve only been slaughtered by one of them and I know she is incredibly fast. I haven’t seen the other one before and she seems to be even quicker... avoid me thinks. So the middle lane it is then, despite the four people already in there and one of them wearing flippers.

I get my lengths done then I head home, hopefully with some power left in my limbs, where a woman and two dogs await my attention. Busy night.

L had promised that MD had so much ball chucking this morning that he'd be begging me not to throw it tonight. Hopefully. Wishful thinking. She’s wrong, as she probably suspected.

(Friday 24^th April)

Quaint And Old Fashioned

I’m still on dog duty and amazingly Wollaton Park is open this morning and it was only 6:40am. Presumably they forgot to close it last night, either that or the park keeper has a spot of insomnia. The boys were thrilled naturally but it meant I had to throw some sticks, which I wasn’t keen on. Particularly because I had already aggravated my shoulder at squash last night. I tried throwing then using my left hand first, which is my good side but MD just couldn't get the hang of the accurate throwing this produced, he kept losing sticks. Honestly collies’ eyesight is appalling, so I had to switch to my right which didn't do the shoulder much good.

Then I cycle again, which is my third bike ride in a week, it's been a long time since I've done that. I’ve been doing too much running obviously, not that I’ve done any since Sunday. I didn't actually intend having a week off running but that's how it's worked out. It’ll probably do me good. The ride was quite nice again in glorious weather, I think the shorts might have to come out next week.

L’s at the gym, probably working out to Ian McEwan, then again perhaps not, she’d fall off the dreadmill. I keep forgetting she reads ‘paper’ books. How terribly quaint and old fashioned.

She and the boys meet me on the way home. They’re just ambling across the park as I turn on to the estate. If this counts as their evening walk, then that means we can go out tonight without them.

Yep. We head into town and check out the Cross Keys where we haven’t been before.



Not bad, six beers but nothing that really grabbed me. Although we'll certainly pop in again. It’s a short hop from there to the Keans Head, which we find is a bit better.

(Friday 25th March)

Such A Thing As A Free Lunch

I have a very pleasant morning on dog duty with Doggo and the one L calls the vicious brute. The park was open, which was a pleasant shock, and we had it to ourselves. So VB had a wild time chasing imaginary squirrels and birds, with the occasional bit of foot biting which forced me to throw a stick for him. Meanwhile Doggo did Doggo sort of things. Sniff, sniff, sniff etc etc. Doggo got his nose out of a molehill long enough to try to take a stick off VB who wouldn’t let him have it and Doggo, the old git, couldn’t catch him. There were plenty of other sticks but of course he only wanted the one VB had or perhaps, maybe, they were simply playing together. Awwww.

VB did manage to get a few vicious barks in on the way back, so his ears are now a little sore where I reprimanded him.

As I drive to work and around the corner into Pride Park I’m greeted by the sight of two horses grazing on the grass verge. Hmmm. Closer inspection shows there is a gypsy infestation in Toys r Us car park. The owners seem to have locked the gates to keep everyone else out, unless it's to keep the gypsies in. Bad call though. It’s half term, they should have just left the car park open as usual. Loads of parents and their screaming kids arriving to shop, whilst poking the horses on the way past, would soon have convinced them to move on.

I have a pub lunch but only a liquid one because there’s been a meeting on at work e.g. loads of leftovers and there’s no such thing as a free lunch... except when there is.

My second committee meeting at the dog club tonight and I arrive armed with enough ammunition to cause quite a stir, with requests for plenty of changes to the format of our summer show. I don’t expect revolution. Revolutions take time but I do get a few of my proposals passed.

L has a nice hot chilli ready for when I get home, but hopefully not made with Infinity Chillies, hotter apparently than chillies used in warfare. Not that I knew chillies were used in warfare until I read that!



(Thursday 24th February)