Inexplicably Sideways

Today we have a dog show at Thoresby Hall, which is not too far from home. It is MD’s first outing at his new illustrious level of Grade 5, although all today classes are lumped with Grade 4 anyway. So, for today at least, it’s nothing different to what we’re used to.

MD misses the dog walk in both his agility runs, coming off inexplicably sideways on the first one. The second one is very close, so could probably be excused or put down to the judge’s poor eyesight. Otherwise they were good runs.

He is clear on his first jumping course but it is a scrappy run and he is only 6^th. Only! He has a pole down in the other jumping run.

Plenty of promise but no delivery today. Doggo has a great day people watching.

Talking of promise, L is apparently out shopping for a denim mini skirt and for a new pair of swimming goggles. Sounds very promising, well the first bit does. Naturally she comes home without the skirt but with the goggles. I think she needs assistance with this shopping lark. 

(Saturday 5^th September)

Paid Help

The final outdoor dog show of the year today and surprisingly the weather isn’t too bad for it.

MD’s first run is as close to brilliant as we could have got, had we not had a pole down that is. His third run was the opposite, a clear round but not a very good one. Really scrappy plus we had a minor argument, although he did come 8^th but there was no rosette for that.

His other two runs... run two was largely rubbish, whereas run four was entirely rubbish. Doggo was clear, of course.

I offer to help out for a bit as one of my club mates is judging. I even get paid for helping. A whole £8, wow, but as L says that’s two pints of OP. Which we won’t be having tonight as I’m doing this Peterborough thing tomorrow.

(Saturday 11^th October)

Understudies Eat Crumble Too

Today a dog show on Southwell Racecourse. Doggo does his only run first thing, he's clear but as usual doesn’t get a rosette for it.

MD’s first run was really good until he messed up his weaves. While his second run was scrappy throughout but was clear. Which is the way it always seems to go. So we’ll probably get a rosette for the second run but it won’t be a highly placed one. We come 12^th.

His afternoon runs are also all good but not quite good enough and all have small errors in them including another cock up in the weaves.

My ankle is not as good as yesterday (before my training run) but it’s not too bad. The uneven ground at the racecourse isn’t helping and it’s also a bloody long way to walk from rings 1 to 8 with them placed end to end rather than in a square as normal. No one else is muttering about that though, so perhaps it’s just because I’m injured.

While there I get MD a new bed. I hate it but L will love it. It’s got hearts on it. The beds MD and I preferred had a skull and crossbones on them but weren’t available in the correct size. It looks well comfy though, so MD will put up with it. It also looks well shaggable so Doggo will like it too.

Meanwhile Derby County are busy losing the local derby at Nottingham Forest 1-0. Hardly a surprising result but it has the surprising effect of getting Nigel Clough the sack. Wasn’t expecting that but YES, about time.

Back home I take L to the new Specialized bike shop in Basford. The Specialized Dolce seems to take her eye more than the Scott Contessa we’d been eyeing up at Evans Cycles. So we decide we’re going to order the Dolce through the insurance.

We stay in with pasta and pudding, topping up my energy for tomorrow’s 13 mile hobble. L insists that my attempt to limp around Nottingham tomorrow is a good reason to have pudding, so she does a crumble. I assumed that was just me, as she’s not doing racing but no, apparently understudies eat crumble too.

(Saturday 28^th September)

A Letter From The Post Office

The post office send me a generic letter acknowledging my ‘enquiry’, nowhere in the letter does it mention the missing package I reported.

Things go sort of well at today’s dog show at Scunthorpe. Two clear rounds for MD, which is a rare thing in one day. We do a really scrappy jumping run and get 7^th, which is a nice surprise. Then we do a really controlled agility run and get 8^th, which is disappointing... and confusing, as to how our scrappy run was better than the controlled one. His other runs aren’t too bad either, just a pole down in each. Doggo is also clear.

L does the Park Run at Forest Rec again but nearly a minute slower than last week. Oh dear.

She asks if I’ll be AF tonight before hobbling round, and it will a hobble, the 10K tomorrow. No but I guess we ought to keep it LA (low alcohol). Then we go down one of our locals, the Wheelhouse, for some pasta and a few Abbots. So it turns out not very LA at all.

(Saturday 13^th April)