Stir Crazy

This weekend saw three days running and competing at my own club's dog show.

The running of the show bit goes really well, the competing bit not so well, although it is very difficult to successfully combine the two. Meanwhile L goes stir crazy and can’t wait to get demobbed at the end of the weekend. I did take a whole mini-keg of Hobgoblin as way of a survival kit but I'm not sure it worked.

MD and I get one clear round on the Friday and that’s it for the rest of the weekend. Apart from clears in both team and pairs on Saturday but neither our team mates or our pairs partner reciprocated. The highlight however was actually Sunday’s 7^th place, but with five faults, on a really testing agility course.

The other highlight was, naturally, the eating and drinking. After the Last Heretic and a curry on Friday we book into a Thai restaurant called Nipa on Saturday, after a drink in the local White Swan at Walton on Trent first. The Thai is on Barton Marina in Barton Under Needwood.

We return to the Marina again on Saturday night where we meet my parents for a meal at The Waterfront which is a bit rowdy and the meals are a bit weird. Two of our meals had curry sauces (one Thai, one Indian) but were generally 'English' style dishes and I'm not sure it worked. Still a decent meal though.

(Sunday 30^th July)

Out Of The Closet

After another quiet relaxed weekend it’s back to work. I’ve had cheaper weekends, it’s not every weekend you shell out for a new bathroom but it was probably best to get on with it while the pound is still worth something.

Dogging is off as everyone wants to watch the football, which also enables me to finally get the lawn done and before kick-off.

I bet my fellow doggers all soon regretted cancelling training once the game got started. The England football team quickly show us all how it's done as they manage to do in ninety minutes what the nation has failed to do in four whole days since the referendum and extract themselves effortlessly from Europe. With this exit there really is no going back.

L is secretly pleased as she's a closet Iceland fan.

(Monday 27^th June)

Personal Statements

After just finishing one exciting weekend, we get ready for the next one which starts tomorrow. Just the one day at work then in the morning we head to Bristol before hopping over to Glastonbury on Wednesday.

My tennis/squash opponent keeps sending me articles on how to survive Glastonbury. I think he’s jealous really or perhaps he’s just trying to be helpful. It’s good to know that they’re showing Paddington at the on-site cinema, that’s decent replacement for the Foo Fighters.

L’s sister requests to take a look at our kids' personal statements for their University applications. I dig through my email archive and forward on a couple of incomplete drafts complete with terrible grammar and spelling mistakes. Makes you wonder how they got in.

Dog training is cancelled at the last minute due to heavy rain. I think as a form of compensation, L promises to have something hot laid out on the coffee table later. That’ll upset the dogs.

(Monday 22^nd June)

All Revved Up

I'm on the bike today in pretty grotty conditions but it has to be pretty full out training now for next weekend.

Come the evening MD is looking very revved up for his return to dog training and I’m expecting a big performance from him tonight. L describes it as if he's been caged all week and been fed a diet of chocolate, chips and coke. Well he has been caged at the kennels but I’d hope he hasn’t been fed on the national diet, which doesn’t seem to rev the general populace up.

Thing is although I undoubtedly have a lively dog at training tonight, he is getting everything right. So I can’t complain really.

I meet L afterwards in the Masons, she’s been visiting friends in Mickleover. 

(Wednesday 25^th February)