Dog's Day Out

It's been a busy week for one of the puppies. Wendy, Ollie's new owner, had entered him for two shows. One Easter Monday and the other today.

Everything was new to both him and Wendy and they both coped very well.

At the first show Ollie was in a class with about 9 other dogs, some of which had been showing themselves off for years. Ollie, being a very lively dog, thought he was there to play with all the other dogs in the ring and as he walked around first tried to play with the dog in front of him and then the one behind him but they were having none of it.

The judge picked out about 5 dogs to stay in the ring but unfortunately Ollie wasn't one of them but he did do well for his first ever show.

Today we went to Shepton Mallet, Bath and West Show Ground. I had asked Wendy to phone me at 7.15am to wake me up so I wouldn't be late to pick her up at 8.30. I left home at 8 giving myself 30 minutes to do the 30 minute journey to her home, even in the Saturday morning traffic that would be plenty. Well it would have been if I hadn't got lost again.

When I did arrive at her home it was nearer to 9am and I was panicking. Wendy lives near the M5 and so we had to go straight across to the other side of Bristol to get onto the A37 and once on the right road we still had the drive to Shepton Mallet.

We arrived at the show ground with about 10 minutes to spare. We quickly put the table up, Wendy did Ollie's hair and they were off, into the ring, to show off to the judge.

There were 5 dogs in the class and they were all puppies, but only one was younger than Ollie so Ollie was still at some disadvantage.

He walk around the ring like he owned the place. Head high and proud and tail up and over his back, just as it should be, he looked lovely. Then came the time to put him on the table so the judge could have a good look at him.

He stood and waited for her and as she approached he decided she was a long lost friend and jumped up at her, tail wagging so fast his hair was going everywhere.

The judge tried to calm him by talking to him but this made him worse and so after a quick look Wendy was asked to walk him around the ring again and then back in line with the other dogs.

The judge took her time, looking at all the dogs again and then she picked out the winner, then the 2nd placed and 3rd. She then turned and picked Ollie, he had come 4th. Wendy was very happy with the placing and Ollie was just Ollie, trying to play with any dog which come within smelling distance.

Now sat at home and watching my two puppies, nicked named the terrible twins, I wonder if they will ever be ready to go into the show ring or am I doomed to have two hairy dogs that never grow up!

Ollie's Family

Why?

Today I went swimming in a local public pool. There were two little girls, about 5 years old, in the pool with a woman, I don't know if it was their mum but I suspect it was.

We were in the pool for about 15 minutes just swimming up and down, then up and down again, when I noticed the two girls were in the pool without the woman. As I reached the end of the pool they were in, I looked to the side of the pool and the woman was there, stood under the shower, not taking any notice of the girls in the water. The girls were playing happily and making lots of noise like young children do.

After some persuasion, from the woman, the two girls got out and went and joined the woman under the shower. I carried on swimming back up to the other end of the pool. On my way back down I could hear the girls still to the side of the pool and as I got to the end of the pool I could see them, standing under the shower, the woman was just going out of sight around into the changing rooms.

The two little girls were now stood under the shower with no clothes on. I watched as a man got out of the pool and went and stood under the shower next to the girls. He was there for no more than 5 seconds and then moved off into the changing room, glancing at the girls on the way.

Five minutes past and there was no sign of the woman's return and not wanting it to seem I was staring at the girls I decided to do another up and down of the pool taking about 3-4 minutes. The girls were still there, naked, with no adult with them, stood playing under the shower.

Several other people had gotten out of the pool while I was swimming and the only way from the pool to the changing rooms was past the girls. After about another 2 minutes the woman came back holding a towel and the girls, after a little while, went to join her and walked into the changing room with her.

The situation this woman put these two girls in was quite concerning to me.

Why, when there are private showers in the changing rooms, would she leave them there, in a very vulnerable state? This is a public swimming pool and so the woman would not have known what sort of people were using the pool.

Why take off their swim suits, leaving their small bodies exposed to anyone who wanted to look at them?

Why take any chances with children when there are so many unsavoury people living around us?

These are questions I would have liked to have asked her and if I was at work I would have. I would have told her about the 5 year old girl I interviewed once and had tears rolling down my face by the time she had finished telling me about her trip to the seaside with her 'uncle'

I hope next time she takes them swimming she thinks twice about who else may be in the pool and the importance of keeping her children safe.

Take a look at Child abusers 'slipping through' vetting system

Lyrics To Remember

When I listen to music I always try to listen to the lyrics, sometimes this is impossible as I can't understand a word that's being sung.
Anyway I thought I would copy some lyrics from songs I have heard and liked and mean something to me or someone I know.

The Best Days Of My Life
Your whispering girls said don't be a fool
don't give into him
He's an animal
treat you like dirt then he'll turn you in
You two are not compatible
It'll never never last
They said I wasn't even suitable
But you're giving me honestly
the best days of my life

Don't Stop Me Now (so like my dad used to be)
Don't stop me now, I'm having such a good time I'm having a ball.
Don't stop me now, if you wanna have a good time just give me a call
Don't stop me now (cause Im havin a good time)
Don't stop me now (yes Im havin a good time)
I don't want to stop at all

Three Times A Lady (one that reminds me of my mum)
Thanks for the times That you've given me
The memories are all in my mind
And now that we've come to the end of our rainbow
There's something I must say out loud
You're once, twice, three times a lady
Yes you're once, twice, three times a lady
And I love you
I love you

Some Of Us
Heard you today, that isn't my name, you were fast asleep,
forget what he did, can I be the kid for your soul to keep.
Some of us laugh, some of us cry,
some of us smoke, some of us lie,
but it's all just the way that we cope with our lives.

Cannonbal
Still a little bit of your taste in my mouth
Still a little bit of you laced with my doubt
Still a little hard to say what's going on

Still a little bit of your ghost your witness
Still a little BIT of your face I haven't kissed
You step a little closer EACH DAY
Still I can't SAY what's going on

Seems Like A Long Time
War time is only the other side of peace time
but if you've ever seen how wars are won
you know what it's like to wish peace time would come
And don't it seem like a long time
seem like a long time, seems like a long, long time

Reason To Believe
If I listened long enough to you
I'd find a way to believe that it's all true
Knowing that you lied straight-faced while I cried
Still I look to find a reason to believe

Everytime I think of some lyrics I have to listen to the song and this is taking forever so I'm giving up here and going to bed.

Now only one more decision to make, What shall I listen to in bed?

Hotmail Anyone?

I was just sat looking at my contacts on messenger and I've just realised that I have someone on there twice but with different names. I have seen them sign in with one of the names a lot but the other name is hardly used, the one they talk to me with. This doesn't bother me too much as, although I do sign into MSN, it is usually just to check my emails and get notified when I have a new email. I usually sign in as 'appear off line' as I am usually in the middle of something and don't want to be disturbed.

All this got me thinking, I know I don't usually think a lot and especially being a Sunday, usually not at all, but today was different.

I have 5 MSN addresses. 2 of the addresses are for official type stuff and 1 is the one I use on public websites, like this one and for messenger. The other 2 are for sites you need to sign up to with an email address but you don't want anyone else to know that you have done this. I wonder what they could be :-).

Anyway back to my thinking.

I was wondering how many other people have several web addresses and what they use them for?

Do comment and let me know or all of my thinking on a Sunday would be for nothing.

Heart Attack Scare

Earlier this week my brother had a heart attack and gave us all a big fright. After spending a couple of days in hospital and having two blockages cleared he is back at home now, hopefully taking it a bit easier.

So this is for Ivor, my brother:

Jedi Thoughts

Every day this week I have found myself thinking it's a day further on that it really is.

Yesterday I thought it was Thursday all day and when I woke up this morning I thought it was Friday.

It's not as if I haven't had anything to do on certain days either. Tuesday I had a medical appointment and yesterday I had to go and see a lady regarding my work. Today I have some training this afternoon and tomorrow I'm having my hair done. So why is it that all my days are mixed up but I still know what I am doing?

One reason I thought could account for this is, Monday night I met up with an old friend, well he's not old but I've known him for a few years. We went out for a drink and being the gentleman he is, he drove and I was able to drink. We had a really good time catching up on what had be going on in the last couple of years, since we had seen each other last and even made up a new religion, Jedi, but more about that later.

After the pub closed we called into a friend of mine whose birthday it was. A few more drinks with him and then home. I think I had about 6 or 7 vodka's, an amount which wouldn't usually effect me but there must be something strange about drinking on a Monday night as I felt very drunk.

Tuesday morning was a bit of a blur and although I had promised my friend we would go to the gym, I just couldn't face it so I sat in her house drinking coffee, trying to clear my head.

You would have thought I would have relived Tuesday again since I wasn't really with it all day, but no I think I must have taken it completely out of my week which is why I've been one day ahead.

Wouldn't it be good if all Tuesdays were gone and only had a 4 day working week, well we could leave in the ones that landed on the last day of the month cause thats when I get paid.

Monday's you would get out of bed feeling alot better knowing you only had 3 more day till the weekend and Wednesdays would be great because they would come a day earlier.

So, from now on, don't make any arrangements for Tuesdays, they will soon be a thing of the past.

Update:

I just did a search for Jedi and found there is already a religion called 'Jedi' and it's quite popular. here is what it says regarding the religion on Wikipedia:

England and Wales
In England and Wales 390,127 people (0.7 percent) stated their religion as Jedi on their 2001 Census forms, surpassing Sikhism, Judaism, and Buddhism, and making it the fourth largest reported religion in the country. The highest percentages of such responses were typically in cities with high student populations.[10] In the 2001 Census 2.6 percent of the population of Brighton claimed to be Jedi.

The percentages of religious affiliations were:
Christian: 72.0%
No religion: 14.8%
Chose not to respond: 7.7%
Muslim: 3.1%
Hindu: 1.1%
Jedi: 0.7%
Read more here

Slug Sex

Ever wondered how slugs make babies? It's quite fascinating.

Ringcraft Classes Around Bristol

I've noticed a few visitors have come to my blog via a search for ringcraft classes so I thought it may be a good idea to put a few more contact details regarding the ones I have found. I know it's a bit late for Crufts but there is always next year!

The Burnham training classes are held on Monday nights and start at about 8.15pm. They are held in the scouts hut which is behind the rugby club house. The map below should help you to find it.

Another one has just started up again after taking a break for the winter. It is run in the village hall in Norton Malreward on Wednesday nights from 7.30pm.

Norton Malreward is a little village just past Whitchurch (going out of Bristol) off Norton Lane. Turn right by the children's park, into Norton lane, carry straight until the road forks and take the left fork. The hall is on the left near to the other end of the village.

View Larger Map

Maybe see you at the Norton Malreward one next Wednesday.

How Many Swallows?

While writing a post for my other blog, Plymouth's Pilgrims, I looked at the Plymouth Argyle football site to see what was being said about yesterday's game.

One sentence which made me smile was this by Paul Sturrock:

"One swallow does not make a summer"

I'm sure all the men will be pleased about that!

Why the big smile Paul?

Just Another Friday Night

She walked in from the outside area where they had been banished and draped her arms around his neck. “You ok luvvy?” she asked.

He turned looked at her then stood up, picked up his chair, so it towered above her head and went to throw it across the room. She quickly moved around him so she was stood in-between him and the rest of the room.

“What the fuck are you doing? Put that chair down!” she shouted. He did as she told him but his eyes were fixed on someone across the room. She followed his gaze and found a stocky lady in her 40’s sat on her usual stool staring back at him. Abusive words were exchanged between the man and lady as they both started to move towards each other.

Friends of the two surrounded each of them in an attempt to ease the situation. She being a friend of both of them had to decide who she was going to stand with. She moved towards the woman and tried to tell her he was not worth it. He was young and drunk and not worth getting into any kind of argument with.

The lady, who was also drunk, was repeating the same sentences, in a just about understandable slurred voice, over and over. “He can’t say things like that about my dog. My dog comes in here all the time. He can’t say things like that”

All the while, Gus, who hadn’t been in there for a while and gets quite violent when he’s had a drink, decided it was his role to take a stand for the morals of all men and started telling the man just what he thought of him for picking the chair up against the lady, who was now on her way out of the room to go to the banished spot.

Now the argument was not just between the man and the lady but the man and his friends and Gus and his friends.

This was when the man in charge of the place decided he should walk around to where all the noise was coming from to find out what was happening. He had timed his walk to perfection. By the time he got there the friends of the two bickering men had diffused the situation and things were calmer. Now they were all stood around happily analysing what had just happened as if they just watched Plymouth Argyle beat Bristol City on the wide screen TV.

Time for another drink.