Right, getting onto a more serious note… ooh, look, a shiny!

I finally managed to get a couple of days off and I have the snots, bloomin’ typical. I don’t have anything particular planned for the time off. I probably just lounge about for a bit, I have a friends laptop that needs looking at, a talk on Lydden Spout to prepare and somewhere in the region of 250 miniatures to paint. I think I’ll manage to get two of those done, although I should get on with the miniatures as I want to have as many as I can finished before Christmas. The problem isn’t so much time as space. It’s a fifty/fifty split on the location of models that need building and painting some are at Tea’s whilst the others are in storage. In order to transfer the remaining models to Trudes I need to make some space for them. That means either sorting out the spare room or the shed. I need Tea’s permission to transfer everything to the spare room and I think she’s a bit loath to give it the ok as it’s currently a study for her wee man. Either way I need her to tell me what can be put where and when. The problem with me is that I like to be around people when I paint, firstly because I like to get feedback on how a model is coming along and secondly because I like to be around for Tea when she needs anything. So even if she does give the go ahead to take over the spare room I expect I’ll still sit in the kitchen.

We went down to Hythe today; we were heading to the Barrow Hill vets, for two reasons. First we were going to collect Molly pops’ ashes, we decided to have her cremated as we would not want to leave her remains in the garden should we ever move. Trudes has done this for two of her other dogs. Secondly, we had to take the new full time foster dog to the vet for a check up. The poor little lad has been through quite a rough time in his short life. Let’s start right at the front, shall we? Ok, first he has a wart on his nose, it’s about the size of a pea and he catches it now and then, which makes it bleed. His teeth are in a very bad state; at least one is loose and will need to be removed. His teeth also need a major clean, it looks as though they have never been cleaned. His right eye has been removed, we don’t know why. Rich’s left front elbow is, as the vet described it “trashed!” it seems it had a condyal fracture this is where the humerus splits at the elbow some time ago, as a result he has very limited movement in it and he has stretched the ligaments in his right foot where he has been compensating for the difficulty he has walking, although he does walk very well. moving on from the problems with his feet, he has a grade five heart murmur, whilst this is serious, possibly life threatening, as long as he isn’t over exercised he shouldn’t have to many problems because of it, the heart murmur is being treated with medication. His general physical appearance is reasonably good, his coat is soft and shiny but he could benefit from a little weight gain. We do have to be careful with this due to the problem with his heart. Finally Rich is monorchid, this means that one of his gentleman’s jewels didn’t drop properly when he was a pup and is currently hiding in a cavity in his groin. We also think that he may have been treated quite roughly in the past, he tends to cower and pull his ears tight to his head, he also wraps his tail tight to his hind area, from what I understand, this is a typical fear stance in a dog. We have no real clue in to his past because he was found abandoned in an alley, fortunately a kind member of the public found him and took him to their local dog pound who contacted The Little Dog Rescue. We were asked if we would consider another full time foster and Tea agreed to have the little chap bought to the house to meet Molly. They took to each other very well, there were no signs of aggression from either dog and they interacted well together. So, based on Molly’s opinion of the little chap we said we’d give him a loving and caring home, lord knows he needs it. Sadly, Molly didn’t get to welcome him into the house, but he came to us anyway.

Again, we have no real idea of how long he will be with us; all we know is that he will end his days with us. We have the full support of TLDR with his vet bills, these will be covered by money raised by the charity, and they will also cover any special dietary needs he may develop.

As i said earlier, the poor little chap has had quite an ordeal, however Tea and I will ensure that he gets all the care and affection that he deserves. Hopefully my friends will show him the same warmth they showed Molly.

In the words of Mrs Doyle, go on, go on, go on!

I know, I said I wouldn’t post for a few days, but I thought I’d drop in and write a few words. Firstly a huge thank you to everyone for the wonderful messages of support and sympathy since Friday, you have no idea of how much it has helped us. We both miss Molly a great deal, and although it will take time, we will come to terms with her passing.

Not a great deal has happened over the weekend, Tea and myself popped into town to see a friend and have a coffee, then do a little shopping. Ooh exciting stuff! I managed to get my mitts on a copy of Island of blood on Saturday, drool. I also managed to pick up this little beauty, it’s called the Chapel of Sanctuary. It’s resin and has a really nice weighty feel to it. It’s an unusual model by GWs standards, firstly because it comes out of the box already painted, and there’s no real assembly needed. Although it comes in two pieces, the sections slot together nicely and it can be taken apart for taking home. Whilst it can be put on a table as a terrain piece, it also makes a rather fine display stand for a well painted miniature or a diorama.

Whilst I was at the shop on Saturday, Pete, a fellow gamer, mentioned that he was looking for a random game at some point. We talked about various options one being my folding table, the other being the dining table at Tea’s. Fortunately her royal gorgeousness was at the shop, talking shoes with another friend, so I got the ok from herself and then gave Pete my contact details and let him know that he and Ali have the standard open door policy. I spoke to Smiffy last night, with luck he’s going to come up on Wednesday, possibly for a spot of painting. Painting will be good, I need to throw myself back into it, I have so much to do and it’s about time I cracked on with it. Especially if I do get Island of Blood, otherwise it will mean that there will be another seventyish models waiting to be painted, at the moment I have more than double that. So I must crack on and finish what I started.

I’ve also been asked to do a talk for an archaeology club that some of my friends are part of, they want me to do a presentation on Lydden Spout. Usually when people think about archaeology, they tend to think about the Romans or Vikings and older periods. Few people think that something from the mid twentieth century is archeological, is that a word? I suppose they feel that because it happened within living memory, it’s not worth the effort. Personally I think it is, and I can think of a few people who would agree with me. Well that’s on the 29^th so I have three weeks to get it sorted. I have some pictures that were taken when Lydden Spout was in service, and I have a map of the whole emplacement somewhere. I think the time limit is 45 minutes, but I’ll have to check that. I think the presentation should be in two sections, the first half being about the role it played in the war and the second being about the condition it’s been allowed to get into now. It makes me sad to see these places being so neglected.

Well that’s me done for now, I’m getting back on track. Forgive me if I digress now and then, but that’s what I do.

One last thing, as you know, Molly was a foster dog from The Little Dogs Rescue, they’re a charity that works toward providing homes for dogs that are unwanted and/or unloved. Some of the dogs, like Molly, require special care and need to be fostered because the illnesses they have incur high costs which the rescue covers. This means that although the people caring for the dog have the chance to give a foster dog all the love he or she may need, they don’t have to worry about the vet bills and, in certain cases they are also provided with food for the dog, should a special diet be needed. The money to cover this is raised through fund raising events and donations, without these they would not be able to help the poor abandoned, unloved and often mistreated dogs that come to them. So if you find yourself at a loss for what to do with a handful of small change, pop in to the shop where I run the gaming group, we have a collection tin there, or why not visit the website and take a look at some of the little furry lads and lasses who need your help. Go on, give a little dog a chance for a better life. You can donate by visiting http://thelittledogrescue.proboards.com/index.cgi and clicking on the donate button.

Thank you for taking the time to read down this far

Kindest regards

ME

Toodles my little cream puffs!