Well 2010 draws to a close as I write this, so I guess it’s time to review the past 12 months. I suppose it’s always good to start at the beginning. January was a fairly quiet month, I visited the Toy Fair with Sue and Mickey, Mickey and I also found the time to visit the Natural History museum and the Forbidden Planet where I managed to get hold of the, now difficult to find, River Song Sonic Screwdriver, honestly they’re as rare as hens teeth now, E-bay is about the only place you can find them now. I only had one trip to the NHM this year instead of the standard three; I plan to go in the New Year but maybe a bit later in, although I would like to see the deep sea exhibition that’s there at the moment.
February was fairly quiet, Very early in the month Trudes and I went to the SFX Weekender, I got to meet some of my childhood heroes, Tom Baker and Elizabeth Sladen, Trudes went all gooey over James Marsters and the bloke from Torchwood who isn’t Captain Jack.
March and April were actually quiet; as well as the Chambers Beer Festival, Frulli’s nice, the major event was the arrival of a certain Yorkshire Terrier that ended up firmly entrenched in our hearts. Over the next few months Molly touched the hearts of many of my friends who were all enamoured with her, and who could blame them?
In May we temporarily fostered a sweet little chap called Harry, those who read about on the blog will be pleased to know he’s doing very well and has found a superb forever home where he is truly loved.
June was the usual daily stuff and was fairly dull as months go, I may skip June this year as it was so dull. July however was a bit more exciting as I walked from Capel to Dover with some of the best mates a man could want; there was some pretty decent nosh at the end of it too, plus a fairly good pint.
July saw the first of many trips to the vet for Molly, this first visit result in molly having a short stay in hospital. This brought home the reality that our sweet Molly Popples was only going to be with us for a short time so we decided to make the most of every single moment we would have with her.
August saw a return visit to a place we stopped at whilst walking to Dover, an area called Lydden Spout, during the Second World War this was part of the defensive emplacements along the Kent coast. This second visit saw us exploring the area in much greater detail, not only all three gun pits but the magazines and plotting rooms. There are plans afoot to return to the plotting rooms to install a desk for the book of remembrance that has been placed there. We also went camping at the end of the month, Molly had a special set of pyjamas made for her and was absolutely doted on by all who were there. She had the time of her life, wandering around fields and nomming rabbit poop, she even joined for an hours fishing. She sat with us around a bon fire and toasted marsh mallows and sang songs; well we sang she looked on with that look that an embarrassed child might give you. Despite the bad singing and late nights, a good time was had by all. August also saw another serious trip for Molly to the hospital.
As it turned out, it was Molly’s last trip to the hospital, on Friday the third of September, my sweet little Molly Popples crossed the rainbow bridge and my heart shattered into a thousand pieces, I hadn’t realised until then how much that little pup meant to me, I don’t think I’ve blubbed so much for many years. Shortly after saying goodbye to Molly we were joined by Richie. He’s another LDR dog and despite my best efforts to keep a sensible distance and not get too attached he’s now a major part of our lives and also loved by friends, as it should be really. What helped us decide to foster him was the fact that Richie was bought to the house to see how he got on with Molly, they got on really well and it was almost as if she had chosen him to be our second dog, so it seemed only fitting that he should come to live with us. I also gave a talk for an Archaeology club that makes a total of four public talks I’ve given. I’m scheduled to give a talk for the Astronomy club in November, at present I have no idea what the subject matter will be but I will allow a month or two to work that out.
October saw the arrival of Ronnii, she too is a TLDR dog but with a difference, she is ours! I know that makes no real difference regarding how the dogs are treated, they are equally loved and cared for and neither dog is more special than the other, although I’m sure there’s times when that’s open to debate. Trudy managed to retrieve her Meade telescope from her ex, I may have gotten a little excited about that, after all you know me and new gadgets. October also saw us visited by an old friend who had come over from the States, it was great to catch up and hear that friends over there were doing well; I’m so pleased that everything has worked out for Phil and Sue, and I wish them both every happiness for the future.
That leaves November and December, These were quiet save for a rather fantastic Boxing Day get together with some great mates and a trip to Dover Castle the following day, I have to admit that I was a bit stiff the next day after running around like a possessed school boy, not a good idea when you reach my age.
On the whole 2010 has had some high points and some very low points, health wise I’ve lost almost 3 stone and plan to continue doing whatever it is I’ve been doing. The problem is that I’m not sure what I’ve been doing, all I know is I’ve lost the weight.
The one thing that has amazed me is the fact that so many people around the planet read this drivel, Over the last few days I've visitors from Malaysia, all over the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Russia and Poland to name but a few. All I can say to that is, "wow!" and thank you all for taking the time to read about the (mis)adventures of such a grumpy and cantakerous old so and so, I shall try to make my blog post more interesting over the next 12 months so please keep dropping by.
So that’s it for 2010, in January I already have plans to take part in another toy fair, which may also include a museum trip of some sort, we shall have to wait and see, the last thing for me to do is wish you all a happy and prosperous 2011, may you receive everything you wish for and deserve.
See ya!
