The final visit from Saint Nick

‘Twas the night before Christmas and one thing was clear--
that old Yuletide spirit no longer was here
inflation was rising; the crime rate was tripling;
the fuel bills were up, and our mortgage was crippling;
I opened a beer as I watched TV,
where The Saturday sang "Silent Night" quite badly;
the kids were in bed, getting sleep like they should;
or else they were stoned, which was almost as good.
While Ma with her ball-point was making a fuss
'bout folks we'd send cards to who'd sent none to us;
"Those ingrates," she thundered, and pounded her fist;
"Next year you can bet they'll be crossed off our list!"
When out in the yard came a deafening blare;
'twas our burglar alarm, and I hollered, "Who's there?"
I turned on the searchlight, which lit up the night,
and, armed with my handgun, beheld a strange sight.
Some red-suited clown with a white beard immense
was caught in our eight foot electrified fence;
he called out, "I'm Santa! I bring you no malice!"
Said I, "if you're Santa, I'm Telly Savalas!"
But, lo, as his presence grew clear to me,
I saw in the glare that it just might be he!
I called off our Doberman clawing his sleigh
and, frisking him twice, said, "I think he's ok."
I led him inside where he slumped in a chair,
and he poured out the following tale of despair;
"On Christmas eves past I was jolly and chuckling,
but now 'neath the pressures, I fear I am buckling."
"You'll note I've arrived with no reindeer this year,
and without them, my sleigh is much harder to steer;
although I would like to continue to use them,
the wildlife officials believe I abuse them."
"To add to my problem, Norman Baker dropped by
and told me my sleigh was unsafe in the sky;
I now must wear seatbelts, despite my objections,
and bring in the sleigh twice a year for inspections."
"Last April my workers came forth with demands,
and I soon had a general strike on my hands;
I couldn't afford to pay unionized elves,
so the missus and I did the work ourselves."
"And then, later on, came additional trouble--
an avalanche left my fine workshop in rubble;
my building insurance was worthless, because
they had shrewdly slipped in a' no avalanche' clause."
"And after that came an business tax audit;
the government claimed I was out to defraud it;
they finally nailed me for 65 grand,
which I paid through the sale of my house and my land."
"And yet I persist, though it gives me a scare
flying blind through the blanket of smog in the air;
not to mention the hunters who fill me with dread,
taking shots at my sleigh as I pass overhead."
"My torn-up red suit, and these bruises and swellings,
I got fighting muggers in multiple dwellings.
And if you should ask why I'm glowing tonight,
it's from flying too close to a nuclear site."
He rose from his chair and he heaved a great sigh,
and I couldn't help notice a tear in his eye;
"I've tried," he declared, "to reverse each defeat,
but I fear that today I've become obsolete."
He slumped out the door and returned to his sleigh,
and these last words he spoke as he went on his way;
"no longer can I do the job that's required;
if anyone asks, just say,' Santa's retired!'".

Now there’s a thing!

With the festive season looming menacingly on the horizon, I have a plan to post some vaguely Yule based stuff. I don’t doubt that a fair amount will be nicked from the Interweb but with luck it will bring a smile to my loyal reader. In the mean time you’ll have to settle for my usual drivel.

I was at the shop on Saturday, I played a young lad who certainly had a good understanding of the rules, but his tactics were a little lacking. Although he gave me a tough game, Space Marines v Necrons, I managed to secure a victory, only just mind. I’m sure that with a little direction he will get a grasp of playing to win, after all that is why we play the game, although we try to have fun on the way to victory. I honestly do believe that playing a game where both players enjoy the time is much better that gloating every time a squad is removed from play. I make a point of congratulating any opponent when they pull a kill point out of the bag, no matter how lucky they are. I feel that if the person I play against hasn’t had a good time playing then I’m doing things wrong, especially for the younger players.

When I got home on Saturday I came back to a very excited Trudes, she was desperate to get the Christmas tree up and decorated, well the tree was already up and with the help of a friend; it wasn’t long before the front room was looking very festive, huzzah.

Sunday was a quiet day; my sister paid a visit, oh joy! Don’t get me wrong, I think the world of my sister, but she does have a terrible habit of regaling Trudes with tales of my youth, most of which are somewhat embarrassing. Sandra left to see other relatives and Trudes and I settled in for a quiet day. I was surprised to get a call from my father, he rings about once a year and it’s nice to hear from him. He lives just south of Boston in the US and I hope to be able to visit him in the future. It would make for an interesting visit as he has children, which means I have two half brothers and a half sister. Apparently one of my brothers is very much like me with a similar sense of humour and a liking for all thing sci-fi. Who knows there may come a time when I get to meet them.

Back to work today, we drew the secret Santa, there’s a spend limit of £10, unfortunately I have drawn one of the more difficult choices for buying a gift, what do you buy the bloke who has everything he needs plus almost everything anyone else might need too? Although I’m sure I’ll come up with something.

My first festive post will be on the first of December, duh! There may be a post between now and then, watch this space.

Bye for now.

Musing, pondering and paint

Today is not a good day, I returned to work after a week off which wasn’t too bad, I felt a bit out of sorts, almost like I didn’t belong, it seemed that there was something else I should be doing. I took the week off so that I could help Trudes rest and be there for her whilst she concentrated on recovering after another chemo course. She has been told that no matter what the result is after this treatment, she won’t be able to have anymore, so now we hope for the best. Trudes hasn’t been overly clear about what happens next but I’m sure she will tell me when she’s ready, there’s also the possibility that she doesn’t know herself yet, in which case she’ll tell me when she does know.

It wasn’t until later in the day that I realised what had been playing on my mind and putting me out of sorts. Today, 22/11/10, is my daughters 23^rd birthday. I was shocked when I realised, I haven’t seen TJ since she was six and the last I heard she was living with her mother somewhere in Northshire around the Preston area. Every now and then I search for her on face book, although I think finding her will prove very difficult as all I have to go on are two possible surnames and both of those produce several thousand results. So as you can imagine trawling through all those names would take some time, especially when I give it another shot I have to start right at the beginning of the list. I also have to consider the possibility that she could be using a name I don’t know or even married. If the married thing has happened there’s every chance that I could have grandchildren, oh lord now I feel old! To be honest, there’s not a day passes by when I don’t think of her and wonder what she’s doing or where she is. I also wonder how much she knows about me, does she even know who her real father is? The only thing I can be sure of is that if I ever get the chance to meet her, I would welcome her with open arms.

On to lighter things, well for me at least, I painted tonight, I have to say I’m very pleased with the result, I’ll put some pics up somewhere for those that like to see what I do. Yet again I’m having a whinge about the amount of models I have that need painting, I find the activity very relaxing and I enjoy the painting side of the hobby much more than playing the game, although I did play on Saturday and won using the Space Marines for the first time in a while. I know that most of the people who read this particular blog have no idea what Warhammer 40k is about, but some have a rough idea. I have a dedicated 40k blog that the more boring stuff gets written about on, but every now and then I have such a nice time painting and get such a sense of achievement from it that I feel I have to mention it here, plus it gives my followers something to read. One day I shall do a stage by stage painting guide for the Warhammer blog, something else that I’ve been meaning to do for a while now.

Changing subject again, its astronomy club this Friday, with luck I’ll get to take the Meade along and get some advice on how to use the thing properly, particularly setting it up. The weather hasn’t been very favourable for astronomy; in fact we’ve had one clear night over the last two weeks. We had a close call on Friday, but by the time I was ready to go out into the garden the cloud had rolled in. Still the good thing about bad weather is that it washes fossils out of the clay at the Warren so I could always head down there for a few hours. I’m sure the dogs would love a stroll along the beach and the sea air might do Trudes some good.

Right, I’m off to take Ronnii out for her last stroll, Richie had his earlier, and then off to bed. Sweet dreams one and all.

If by some slim chance of fate a certain young lady who just turned 23 ever reads this, I want you to know that I love you and I have missed you every single day since we last saw each other, good night my sweet little lass.

I’m big, you’re little, I’m right, you’re wrong!

I spend a lot of my weekends supervising a gaming group in a shop in Hythe, the owner of the shop is one of my very good friends, she’s been an ear for me when I’ve had to vent. The lads who come to the shop to play on Saturdays are a good bunch, so they may break stuff now and then but it only takes a minute or two to fix it. The shop itself is a toy shop, the stock ranges from the usual array of card games, jigsaw puzzles and board games through to action figures from the Doctor Who, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Transformers range, you can also find the latest Merlin releases there. Then we have the hobby range from good old Airfix through to model train sets and, of course, the Games Workshop range, finally there’s an extensive range of baby clothes and toys. The atmosphere is always welcoming and although Saturdays can be a bit loud the lads are never rude or offensive, over the last three years Sue and I have worked hard to build the gaming days up to the point where we were able to hold an independent gaming tournament, something that GW claim simply can’t be done. It was a roaring success and there is a chance that we may do the same next year.

Hythe High Street has an interesting array of retailers that all manner of quirky little things that make you wonder what use the thing is, but you buy one anyway. There is a good range of places to grab some nosh, the Torbay fish and chip shop is probably one of the best in the area, and if you so desired you could get a week’s grocery shopping, except parking’s not so good but there’s always Waitrose and Aldi has a pay and display.

There is now a dark cloud looming over the future of the High Street in the shape of a Sainsburys supermarket, set to open in early 2011 it will offer almost everything that the high street traders do, this will result in the eventual closing of shops such as the green grocers, the butchers, a couple of newsagents and a few of the cafes. The top dogs from the chain have come up with some plans which they claim will help encourage people into the high street such as getting traders to agree to offer a discount to any customers that have shopped in the supermarket. The chain have also offered to improve lighting along the High Street, to be honest that won’t help the traders at all, when the street lights are on, most of the shops are closed except for about half an hour in the winter. They have also offered free advertising to shop owners, of course they have to write out the details of the advert themselves, and then stick it on the ad board. One of the traders I know has already written his ad, it says “Closing down sale due to Sainsburys putting me out of business!”

Once the shop is up and running, who in their right mind is going to do their shopping and then take a walk along a high street, full of empty shops, whilst their frozen food thaws in the boot of the car. The alternative is to visit the high street before doing your shopping, yeah that’ll work, park the car and think to yourself do I wander along a road that has very few shops or shall I go into the supermarket, grab a quick cuppa and some nosh and then do my shopping and naff off home? The Hythe town councils response was that they would expect people to visit the high street before shopping, in the same way I expect people to start being a bit nicer? Bear in mind these are the same town councillor that do their shopping in Tesco and Asda, neither of which are in Hythe. Of course the day will come when they say things like “we don’t understand why so many traders have closed” and “we had no idea that this would happen!” they did have some idea of the nice little pay off they received for selling the land to a multi million pound organisation that already plans to go against certain aspect of the planning permission. The shop was supposed to be open between 8am and 8pm, but potential staff have been told that it will close at 10pm and the staff will work until midnight, that explains the need for extra lighting on the high street, so that the staff can walk home safely at night.

Does every town need a huge supermarket? Hythe already has two, plus an Iceland, so a third is overkill, there’s a large Asda 6 miles away a large Tesco and two large Sainsbury stores plus a Morrisons, anyone with half a brain can see what this store will do to an already struggling group of traders, every Saturday I hear of another shop closing because of lack of trade, it won’t be long before my friend loses her business. Eventually Hythe will be a dead town, not only will the traders suffer, but home owners may not benefit too well from this either, unless having a supermarket opposite your home could increase the value of your house. The council will wonder where their revenue has gone because no one’s paying any business rates and they’ll have to increase the council tax to compensate for the loss all because they allowed themselves to be paid off so that a supermarket, that no one seems to have wanted, could be built. It’s nice to see the big wigs looking after the community.

Bye for now.

K

How far into the darkside are you?

There is a word in the English language that can cut deeper than any knife; it can cause a wound that will never fully heal. We use it daily in reference to such trivial things like soup, cabbage and washing up. It’s a small word, four letters long and yet it can reduce the strongest of men to tears. It can break hearts and smash the resolve of anyone who it is used against. Personally I try very hard to avoid using this particular word against a person as I have been on the receiving end of it too many times, so I know firsthand how much it can hurt. If you haven’t figured it out yet, the word is “hate”. To be honest, I don’t think I actually hate a single person, I’m not keen on soup, I can take or leave cabbage and I avoid washing up whenever I can, but I do it if I have to. I dislike a few people, my bank manager, the tax man and the illness that is slowly destroying the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. Do I hate a living breathing person? I think I can be truthful in saying that I do not. There have been times when I’ve thought that I do but I realised that what I really feel is anger at the person(s) who have wronged me. I honestly believe that there’s enough hate in the world without me adding to it. I guess what I really want to know is, why do we hate? Is it because the person we hate has exposed a weakness within us? Or perhaps it’s because we feel wronged in some way. Is revenge the same as hate? The two certainly come as a pair, hate is probably one of the stronger human emotions, and it can also be one of the most expressive. We show hate easier than we show love or care, it’s destructive and, to me, more than a little bit pointless.

A very close friend recently asked me if I hated him, my response was to look him straight in the eye and respond “NO! In fact I don’t think there’s anything you could do that would make me hate you!” I don’t doubt that I have the capacity to hate within me, I am human after all. What I don’t know as yet is what it would take to release such negativity. To be honest I hope I never have cause to discover what it will take.

Wow, that was deep!

I have nothing else to say so I leave you to contemplate the three things that society should be built on, peace, love and good strong cheddar.

Walk tall, carry a big stick

It’s actually been quite an uneventful week, work has been good and I hope it stays that way.

Ronnii has settled in very well, she’s snuggled up beside me as I type, bless her! Richie has taken the whole situation well too, he comes looking for her in the morning to lead her to the garden and she lets him think he has the alpha male status by letting take the lead role when they go for a stroll.

I managed to get hold of a 3x Barlow lens for the Meade, after trawling the web in search of one and ordering one online, only to be informed that the online store I tried to get one from doesn’t actually stack Meade accessories, that being the case why the heck do they advertise them on the site? I finally tracked one down to a small shop in Hythe which although they no longer stack Meade stuff they had one or two items left, one of which was the part I wanted. Huzzah!

Unfortunately the weather’s not been very accommodating and since I acquired the part I haven’t had a single clear night. Insert expletive here! Never mind though, it’s not as if the universe is going anywhere.

I’m off to the shop tomorrow; I’m hoping that Smiffy will drop in so that we can arrange a painting evening or, perhaps, a gaming session. Hopefully we’ll be able to arrange it for when I have some leave so as then I won’t have to worry about an early night. Apparently he’s got some new models that will make excellent cannon fodder.

Sunday should, with luck, be a quiet day and I can catch up on stuff that I’ve recorded over the last couple of days, I’m going to try getting up early and letting Tea have a lie in, she starts yet another course of chemo on Monday so I want to make sure that her day is as restful as possible, best laid plans and all that.

I had the good fortune to spend a few hours in the company of some good friends on Tuesday night, it was nice to catch up and enjoy a spot of good old fashioned trek, well DS9!

I wonder if any of my readers watched any of the paranormal program that was broadcast on living TV over the Halloween weekend. I never thought I’d say this but Most Haunted was gripping stuff in comparison. I forced myself to sit through an hour in the hope that something interesting would happen but no. If it gets another run, I shall avoid it. I would still very much like to be involved in some form of serious paranormal investigation, I’m sure I could do a better job than the so called experts that were involved in the weekends trite.

Well I’m done for the night, up early to head down to Hythe so I shall leave you to ponder these words.

ALMANAC, CHEESE, EFFERVESCENT and BUNGALOW

Nite.

I have discovered the location of hell!

It’s in the middle of Folkestone town centre, just south of the bus station. I’ll explain more in a bit, that’ll keep you reading to the end!

I was up early this morning, Richie had to go see the vet so we were out of the house at half eight. we got the bus down, bless the pup, he doesn’t like travelling although he wasn’t too bad, he started complaining quite loudly when we stopped for a couple of minutes at Waitrose in Hythe. We were a bit early getting to the vet so we had a bit of a stroll before going in. Rich was very well behaved for the vetess, he let her pull, poke and prod him as she needed and he just let her get on with it. she asked about his cough, it’s due to the problems with his heart, and I explained that since he was put on the extra meds, his cough is nowhere near as regular as it was. when he first came to us he would cough a couple of times every hour or so, now he can go a few days without coughing and even then we only get two or three. all things considered his heart beat is good, although quite erratic, but he has a good quality of life and that’s the important thing. all the while he’s as healthy as he can be we have nothing to worry about. I also think the addition of a new member of the family has helped him to calm down a bit. last night, Friday, we had a knock at the door and he did the whole GRRR woof woof thing, in dog language I think it means “Oi a big mean bum biting dog lives here so watch it!” of course he’s not. he’s a small cute pup with breath that could strip paint. the new addition a a very adorable Yorkie named Ronnie. She’s 6(ish) and is very quiet and just a little timid. She’s a rescue and we don’t know her full history but we suspect she may have been used as a breeder. I’m sure that it wont be long before she figures out that Trudes and me are total push overs and she has us wrapped around her dainty little paw. Oh who am I kidding, she already has where I’m concerned! She has the sweetest little face and I’m sure that anyone who meets her will think she’s a real cutie.

 

 

 

As you can see, she’s a very dainty little lass who is going to need a great deal of TLC, well we have loads of that and there’s plenty for the two pups to share, plus a little extra for friends and relatives.

I’ve taken myself off Facebook for a little while, I just feel that I’m spending too much time on it and not focussing on other stuff. I have a ton of miniatures to paint and facebook was one of the many things holding me back in that area. In hind sight I should have let my friends know that I was deactivating for a while, particularly as one of them thought i was dead and a few are a bit worried. herself has suggested that I simply reactivate it, but I’m not so sure as I want to.

Anyway, hell! hell is now located in Folkestone’s ASDA, I went shopping after getting back from the vets, what was I thinking? The place was full of gaping jawed halfwits, if we were in the US I'd be able to use the term “slack jawed yokels” but I'm sure you know the type of person I mean. If it isn’t the brain dead savants getting in my way, it’s all the mothers with pushchairs who have decided to set up a crèche in the middle of the frozen food aisle and are now having an in depth discussion on the best way to potty train a 1 year old. if the gormless shoppers aren’t bad enough, the tobacco counter has a queue that’s almost out of the shop, there’s two badly trained monkeys working it, well, I say working but i mean having a chat about last night out to the local cattle market, read night club, and whether or not they were going to be sober enough to successfully snog a member of their own species, puts a whole new spin on going to the fag counter, todays fag count was 2!

I’m hoping to get out in the garden with the Meade for a while tonight, of course it depends on cloud coverage. so that’s it for the moment, I’m off to the loft, we have a water tank that wont behave so I’m going to bash it with something heavy!

 

ta ta

Wooty woot woot

I’ve had a stroke of good fortune, during my week off work I went down to Hythe to see the future in laws, part of the reason was to collect Trudy’s telescope. When I first met her she told me that only the main scope was in the box, the tripod optics and controller handset were still with her ex. Over the last two weeks I’ve had the scope in the back garden and have enjoyed using it. Sadly I haven’t been able to get the true use of the scope due to the missing bits. I phoned telescope house and they said that they would look out for one and mail me if they had any luck tracking one down, so far no luck. Earlier in the week, Trudes mailed her ex to once again ask him if he could locate the missing components. He replied saying that he had the tripod and would bring it to her mum & dads at the weekend. It has transpired that he has done as he said and not only is the tripod in the bag but also the controller and the eye pieces. Oh sweet joy, now all I need is a clear sky to give the thing a proper workout.

Ooh look, a great big threatening button!

My my what a week it’s been, I’ve been back at work after a week off, I returned to work in anticipation of all manner of things having gone wrong and i was pleasantly surprised. no major catastrophes and no changes to the way things are done, and, most pleasing of all, no sharp pointy implements between my shoulder blades. I’m having another week off soon, I really hope to have the same situation when i go back.

During my week off I paid a visit to the shop, it actually turned into two visits, I went in to resurface the main gaming table and to improve the second table. it all went rather well and I’m pleased with the end result, although I think the second table could do with a bit more work, i have plans but i have to do a bit more thinking on it before i go ahead with things. the lads were also happy to see the tables looking a bit more scenic. we’ve set a new ruling where the tables are concerned, the buildings and terrain sections are not to be moved with out the express permission of either myself or Sue. Over the last couple of years, Sue and I have invested a great amount of time, and in Sue’s case cash, on getting the 40k days established and the main issue we both have is the lack of respect the lads show the pieces of terrain and buildings that have been provided, so not only was i resurfacing the tables, i was repairing damaged buildings, still it was fun so I suppose it’s not all bad.

I have fixed my telescope this week, huzzah! I had the help of Jim at work, he knows how to weld, so with a bit of his know how and my talent for scavenging bits I have a new slow motion fixture for my dear old Tasco, it just needs a touch of paint and it’ll be done. I’m so pleased it’s done, as I have a great feeling of joy in my scope. it’s not the greatest bit of kit, but it does a superb job for what it cost, and I get some really good views of the moon and planets such as mars, Jupiter and Saturn. however, the plan is to add a new scope in the new year. i have my eye on one that has a motor driven mount and is a tad more powerful than my old Tasco, plus I can get a camera mount for it so I may even be able to get herself interested in astrophotography as it combines one of her hobbies with one of mine, and I’m sure that members of the Astro club can give some hints with regard to kit.

I learned something on Wednesday that has made me very proud of myself, as many of my friends know I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes last year, as a result I’ve had to monitor what I eat a bit more sensibly. I must admit it’s not been easy but I not doing too bad, I have the odd occasion when I crave sugary stuff and need a fix, but then I manage to get over it, well most of the time. anyway, getting to the point, I was weighed on Wednesday, since February I’ve lost just over 2.5 stones. I’ve still got a way to go, but if the trend continues I could lose another half to three quarters of a stone by Christmas. Somewhere between would be great, it would be nice to end the year having lost around three stones. I(t’s surprising how good I feel, I’m not getting out of breath so easily and I seem to be able to move a bit easier. once I’ve got the blood pressure under control, I will be able to increase my exercise routine and that will help even more. So here’s to the new year, with the best of intentions, I could be fifteen stone by the end of 2011.

We also have a big secret, something is happening to this house on Sunday, I can’t say much more on pain of my already limited sweet treat supplies being totally withdrawn, suffice it to say that the house will once again be complete and I shall be a very happy chappy, well that’s the plan anyways. Well dear reader, that’s about it for now. I shall reveal all on Sunday, although I’m sure that you can probably guess what’s happening, but if you can’t then I shall leave you shivering with antici…

 

pation!

 

 

Ta ta.

Of pups and pottering!

Ok, it’s been pointed out to me that this should have been posted before the post about Cole and Cars.

Last Friday my nearest and dearest went off to Hertfordshire for the weekend, apparently there was a county show and The Little Dogs Rescue were going to be there promoting the charity and excellent work they do. I took the day off work so that I could spend time with her before she set off and go with her to catch the coach and see her off. She left at 15:30 and wouldn’t be back until late afternoon/early evening on Sunday. After she left I stayed in town to grab a few provisions for the weekend and then I returned home to the pup. Who promptly got taken out for a stroll. When we returned we settled down to watch mindless rubbish on the telly box for a while until heading out on another stroll. Nothing really exciting happened on Friday night, except for getting a call from the person Tea was meeting who told me that she could be found and wasn’t answering her phones. At this point I started to worry a bit. Trudes had been very apprehensive about going away and doesn’t take well to new environments and crowds, so learning that she was “missing” and incommunicado was more than a little cause for concern. Eventually I managed to get hold of her and she was ok and in the car, Hoorah!

Saturday was shop day; this presented me with a bit of a worry, the pup! I wasn’t totally comfortable with the idea of him being at the shop for the whole day and I couldn’t cancel the shop as Sue was going to the model railway exhibition and without me at the shop she’d lose a day’s trade, and with the current financial climate that wasn’t really an option. So what to do? Fortunately a plan was formulated and we agreed that a friend would come to the house at 08:30 and sit with the pupmiester for a couple of hours then bring him to me at the shop. So off I set leaving my wee man in very capable hands. I got a call just after 12 saying that they would be down soon and he was out for a stroll. When they arrived pup was being his usual shouty self, when his sitters departed I tried him with his calming band, which he immediately removed, clever pup! Eventually he settled down and I hardly knew he was there, apart from the odd grumbling for cuddles, toward the end of the day I was confident enough in my little man that I let him wander around the shop off the lead with me. He was so well behaved, the door to the shop is open all the time and leads straight out to Hythe high street, and he never once tried to make for the door. When I was in the gaming room with the lads he simply curled up under one of the tables and didn’t move until I called to him. Smiffy and his wife arrive and Suze fell in love with pup straight away. Well eventually the time came to head home, pup doesn’t like travelling and our only option was the bus. He was a bit whimpery but on the whole he was very well behaved. When we got home I dumped my bags and went straight back out to reward Rich for his excellent behaviour with a good long stroll. Over the course of the evening we had a few strolls. Sunday was quiet; we went out for a long stroll to the warren. More rubbish on the TV and a few more walks and then a call from Trudes to say that she would be home at 18:45. So pup and I pottered about until I went out to meet her coach. Trudes came home to a very happy pup who was very pleased to have her home, and to be honest, so was I. I missed her a lot, although I was very pleased that she had a good time and hope that she takes the chance to have another break. Maybe next time me and pup will go with her, although there is the whole thing about absence making the heart grow fonder and not appreciating something until it’s gone, by my girl doesn’t have to go away for me to realise how much I love her. I think she knows.

So there it is, my second post of the day is a little less ranty.

Ta ta

There comes a time when every man has to admit, it needs a spoiler!

Today is total rantification day, I’m not a big fan of so called talent shows, I dislike the fact that some people choose to embarrass themselves and stand up in front of the nation’s TV viewers after having convinced themselves that they can sing and dance, when in fact they have what could be called shower talent. Well the latest fiasco has resulted in Cheryl Cole being labelled racist for not choosing one lass out of thousands.

My point is this, walk down any city street and pass by homeless people who sleep in the cold and the rain, think about children being abused, starved and beaten because mummy and daddy can't afford this week’s rent, perhaps even consider the hundreds of British soldiers fighting in a conflict that they should never be involved in, spare a thought for thousands of people being held against their will and being beaten and tortured because of political or religious view.
Now before folk go getting on their soap boxes because a young lass with her whole life ahead of her got reject from a talent(less) show, and ask yourself which is a more worthy cause?
This isn't about racism, sexism, the fact that she's below a certain height, too fat, too skinny, too northern or too southern. It's about viewing figures and lining the pockets of the people involved in producing such programmes. Every time the X-Factor runs there's some sort of controversy, and every year thousands of threads are started to encourage people to stop voting/watching or buying the music. The only result is that every time it happens the viewing figures increase as people tune in to see more of the arguments and tantrums. The solution is simple, if you enjoy the x-factor, watch it and continue to enjoy. If you don't like it, change the flippin' channel. Or watch a DVD, or take the dog for a walk. The girl concerned will benefit more from not getting through than if she'd won the thing. Look at the results of last year. The lad that won is doing what? One single in 12 months, Jedward a UK tour and a TV series. So winning means nothing in the end anyway. With the right management team behind her she could be a rising star without over priced phone in votes that are fixed.

It’s not even down to Miss Cole who goes through, that’s just part of the show, a token sequence to maintain the illusion that the hopefuls are being given a fair chance. The producers decide who goes through and tell the faces of X-Factor who they want for the live final. So all these deluded fools who start hate groups on facebook need to take a good look at the real world and see that the campaigns of hate are just as bad as the racism they clam occurred. Hate does nothing more than create hate, there’s enough of that in the world without more being generated over the rejection of a child from a singing contest. There was never this much commotion over New Faces or Opportunity Knocks, and let’s face it that’s all the x-factor is. Oh I could now go on about the other talent type shows, Take strictly come ice skating for instance, take a handful of out of shape celebrities and throw them in at the deep end learning to do “proper” dancing or skating. Then when they have their first go at it, so called experts tell them how rubbish they are. Well of course they’re rubbish, they’ve never done it before. How about this for a concept, celebrity tree felling. We can get some relatively unknown TV peeps to cut down trees, from a sustainable source, but only give them 2 minutes training with a chainsaw and then when they’ve dismembered themselves we can tell them they’re rubbish. OK so probably not a good example, but you see my point. Alright it’s all in the name of entertainment, but wouldn’t it be better if the experts told them that they’d shown great improvement after three lessons rather than go for personal attack. But then I guess that’s not what these shows are about.

My next rant is very far removed from the above, cars! What the heck do car designers think they’re doing? The government babbles on about how we should be more eco friendly and join Greenpeace and all become ecomentalist. They tell us we should drive green cars that use alternative fuels. Have you seen the option available? They’re ridiculous, they can’t design cars anymore, it’s all done by a computer that takes a ball of plasticine and squishes it about a bit and ends up with something that makes the Jetsons space car look high tech. Why these people think we want to drive around in four wheeled bubbles is beyond me. The thing is they can make a cool looking electric car, they proved that with the Tesla. Seat have a concept called the IBe, it looks a bit like an Astra but it’s electric, Jaguar have designed the C-X75, it’s rather nice. We then move on to Kia’s endeavour in the field of battery powered cars, it’s called the Pop, and from the look of it, it very well might, Bubble #1. Bubble #2 is the Toyota FT-CH, Toyota take bubble #3 with the FT-EV II both TOYotas are along the same lines as the monstrously hideous Prius. A brilliant idea, an engine that runs on petrol/diesel and electric motors that are charged by the engine, the drawback is that it makes for a very quiet car; this means that people are more likely to get splattered because they never heard the car coming. Back the bubbles, Peugeot have a concept they are calling the BB1, oddly that almost spells bubble, it is hideous! No really, it’s the most ridiculous looking thing I’ve ever seen. I thought the Smart for2 was stupid, but the BB1 out stupids even my idea of a three wheeled wheelbarrow for carrying you’re drunken mates home on a Friday night. Other bubbles include the Renault Twizy which looks like a cross between a smart for2 that been shrunk in the wash and an action man tank. Not quite a bubble but still rather stupid looking is the Nissan Townpod, it’s a chunkier version of the Note, but a bit rounder.

Before I go I would just like to mention Lotus, with Rover and Jaguar owned by BMW and Aston Martin owned by Ford, the last bastion of British car design is probably Lotus, although they’re owned by Proton they still count, just! Lotus has, in the past, made some fantastic looking cars, the Esprit, the elan and the over powered go-cart that is the Elise. Looking at their concepts it seems that they’ve stolen the front end from every Lamborghini ever produced. Except for one car, the City Car. It’s not even original, it’s nothing more than an overpriced Toyota Yaris, Google it it’s an insult to the whole of Lotus’ history. Two blokes called Percy were sat in a shed in Norfolk and thought lets rip off the Japanese. Whatever happened to classics? They’d have done better if they put an engine and a spoiler on a grand piano.

Right I’m done,

Hopefully I’ll be in a better mood for my next entry.

Ta ta

Just when you thought it was over, what is with the new trend of putting the letter “I” in front of everything? Not to mention all the different pods that are about now. It’s not as though we’re peas! Or should that be I-peas

Who ya gonna call? well someone with a bit of common sense would be a start!

Those of you who know me well will be aware that I have more than a passing interest in the paranormal, and I have long been interested in conducting an investigation in an alleged haunted location. I have considered various places to carry out such activity and have considered many factors, the first being access. Ideally the location should have free and unlimited access and fairly isolated from built up areas, so as to rule out distractions from traffic and public activity. So somewhere off the beaten track would be a good start. The location would also have sufficient parking or be well within walking distance of such parking. Once a location has been agreed upon by all interested, we should carry out a daylight visit to risk assess the place and decide on the areas that warrant particular attention. The main issue here would be equipment, I have a DVD camera that has a night vision facility and, if I ask nicely, access to a video tape camera that also has night vision. I don’t see any issues with cameras, almost everyone I know has a digital camera, and considering that most mobile phones feature a fairly good camera we should be able to get plenty together. I also have access to a rather good 35mm still camera, although I would have to ask permission to use it. Considering that such investigations normally take place at night, a good supply of torches and batteries would be a necessity. One piece of kit I would like to have is either an EMF meter or a K2 meter. These are available to buy, but I can’t warrant purchasing one if it isn’t going to get used regularly. Another useful bit of kit to have at hand would be some form of audio recording equipment. Again I have 2 of these, one is powered by a single AAA battery, the other has a built in rechargeable battery. Of course the most vital part of any paranormal investigation is a group of investigators. A few friends have expressed an interest and I’m quietly confident that I could muster the troops for a Friday or Saturday night effort. Where locations are concerned, one place that has intrigued me is a place known as Oxney Bottom. It’s an area of woodland between St Margaret’s and Ringwould on the road from Dover to Deal. It has the remains of a 16^th century chapel and a ruined manor house. I grew up hearing many tales of the area, including the legend of the grey lady, seen by motorists; many of them claim that the apparition forced them off the road. There is also a claim that a small boy ran away from home, made his way to the woods where he fell down a well. Apparently there is a capped well in the area; it would have served the manor house and small village. There are rumours that the boys’ remains are still at the bottom of the well, and he has been seen running through the woods. The only issue with an investigation here is that I suspect the wood surrounding the remains of the chapel are private property and that police were investigating the removal and damage of the no trespassing notices. An obvious choice for a location would be Pluckley, but I think the locals take a dim view of people running around the village with camcorders and torches. Of course if any of my readers have any suggestions for a good place to visit leave details here or mail me at the usual address, you can, of course, contact me via facebook.

Well that’s it for this entry, sleep well.

A haunting we will go!

Hello there, you’re back, it’s been a while, how have you been? I’ve been quite busy since my last post, work has been fun, I’ve been in the workshop this past week and a bit, the interesting thing is that once I got back to my main role at work I realised that it’s the flipping computers that are getting me down. Six years ago they were slightly above average Dells, now they’re slow cumbersome monsters that actually manage to ruin my day. Combine them with what could be the worst internet connection in the world and the computers are just about beyond useless. Still, the chances of getting upgrades are extremely unlikely so I guess I’ll make do and keep my gob shut. Nuff sed!

Way back at the beginning of the month I was asked if I would give a talk about the south east coastal defence batteries, I spent a bit of time putting something together and reading through my notes (not that you’d think it) and on the evening of 29^th I gave my talk, whilst I was a bag of nerves I had some positive feedback and it seemed to go very well. I’ve discovered that I’m a bit odd when it comes to giving talks, I’ve given three for the astronomy club and now one for the archaeology club, it seems no matter how much I prepare I lose it a bit at the time. Oh well I’m sure I’ll get better as time passes.

Getting back to the subject of work, one of the guys has been watching videos of alleged poltergeist activity; he’s been asking me if what is in the video is real. How on earth do you answer a question like that? I decided to go down the logical route and give him my honest opinion, not always a good thing in my experience, I explained that whilst I would not rule out the possibility of genuine supernatural activity, I am fairly convinced that most if all of the videos that are available to view on you tube are either blatant fakes or simply a case of misdirection. After this chat I could see cogs whirring and he eventually asked me how such videos could be faked. Well rather than go into elaborate details I thought I I’d show him. So yesterday I went to work armed with my video camera and a rough idea as to what we would do. Fortunately my workplace has a very well equipped woodwork shop and a couple of my workmates go fishing so there was plenty of props and the guys soon entered into the spirit of the thing. Initially the lads were a bit bemused about what we were doing, but once they saw the results of our early efforts they were both amused and impressed. We had a couple of takes, ooh technical terms, out of the six separate sequences I selected one good one and one slightly daft one, although I find the whole concept of these sort of videos more than a bit daft. After a bit of tweaking the video was ready to be posted on YouTube. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the videos that get put on the web claiming to show ghostly goings on, but I wonder if they are doing more harm than good to any chance of genuine discoveries in the area of paranormal studies. Either way the video is available for all to view, and can be found by going to YouTube and searching for kalon1701. Go take a look; it’s worth a giggle, if nothing else.

If you do choose to view it, please don’t have nightmares, after all it’s just for fun.

Bye y’all.

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!

I don’t do little dogs!

Feeling a little out of sorts and not sure what to do today, Trudes was insistent that I kept to my usual Saturday routine. Although I wasn’t really feeling up to it, I also didn’t much fancy sitting in the house. Whilst I would have been happy to leave my wonderful fiancé sleeping in, the house just doesn’t feel the same. There’s no clickety click as molly goes for a drink, Trudes and I are just sitting quietly doing our own thing, both very solemn. Despite the sadness I’m feeling, I know that our little lady is running through the fields, her sight restored, her Cushings and diabetes have gone, and she has a full and beautiful coat of soft, warm fur. She will be easy to spot as she will be the sweetest, prettiest Yorkshire terrier there. I’m not a religious man, I lost my faith many years ago, but I am spiritual. I am sure that when I am called I will cross that bridge and my dog will be waiting for me with a pink sparkly ball resting between her front paws. For me that may be many years, but for Molly it will be only a moment. She will be so busy chasing squibbles with her friends that she won’t even notice time passing.

Molly had such an effect on me that I felt compelled to do something to commemorate the time we had, so over my heart there is now a little turquoise paw print with a tiny little on the large pad. I chose this because she truly has left paw prints on my heart; Tea suggested the colour as Molly had a turquoise T-shirt with Daddy’s Girl on it. Tea says that she was a proper little daddy’s girl, and for the most part I would have to agree. For the last two weeks or so, she was coming up to bed with me. She made me laugh as she bounded up the stairs, occasionally miscounting and expecting one more than there was. She’d snuffle around the landing before going into my room, where she would wait for me to lift her on to the bed. After a minute or two of shuffling around to find a good spot, usually right in the middle of the bed so that I would have to move her over. We would then have a cuddle and a little play before settling down for the night.

Something else that I loved doing with Molly was taking her out. Tea would get her ready in one of her, many, little outfits. My favourite is her little red dress with white spots.   Because she didn’t walk too well we carried her most of the time, but we let her have a bimble about now and then. Because we carried her it meant we got lots of cuddles and the odd whiff every now and then, oh my that girl could fart! It didn’t matter to me one bit what anyone thought when they saw me with her, I was so proud that she was with us and nothing can take away all those happy memories.

Almost everyone I know who met Molly Pops couldn’t resist her sweet endearing face, her fur had grown since she first came to us and she had the most adorable fringe that covered her eyes.   She had started to grow fur where she had lost it and she was covered with a very soft coat of fine fur, almost like a puppy. My favourite time with Molly was bath time, Tea and I felt that as she spent most of the day with Mo-Mo, I should have bath time. If I had my way I would have bathed her every night. She had special soap that helped with her itchy skin, which she had as a result of the Cushings and allergies. After getting her out I would take in to the bedroom and put her on some towels, so that the bed didn’t get wet, she would roll around on the bed whilst I blasted her with a hair dryer. She would smell so sweet as the soap was an aroma therapy type thing with all manner of oils and stuff in it. Molly also had the most amazing smile, people tend to look at me like I’m a bit odd when I say that animals smile, but from the picture of Molly posted here, I think it’s fair to say that’s a huge grin.

So there you have a brief insight into the wonderful times Tea and I had with our little Molly. I write this not because I’m sad but because I want to share the wonderful sense of joy that she bought to us, the love we gave her was returned, plus more. Was she spoilt? Yes, but after all that little dog had been through she deserved every second of it. Was she loved? I don’t think the word truly describes how we felt about her. Was she happy? I don’t doubt it for a second. Would I have another dog? Yes, we both feel that it would be wrong for us not to give another dog a loving home where it would be safe and well cared for. Plus I think Molly would want us to, she knows how much we loved her, and she would want us to show that love to another little dog.

The next dog we have is down to Tea, although I would like to meet it before a definite decision is made. Ideally I would like a Yorkie puppy, but again that is down to Tea. I know she would like an older dog; all I want is a dog that’s well behaved, house trained and affectionate. Not too much to ask is it?

I may not blog for a few days now; I will probably throw myself into painting miniatures and spending time with Tea so that we can start our healing together. Trudes has had a pink version of the paw print tattoo put on the inside of her left wrist. I shall probably blub a few more times over the next few days when I tell friends who are not online but have met or knew about Molly.

Hopefully my next entry will be brighter and back to my usual standard of rant filled rubbish.

Until then, stay well, and let your pets and your family know how much you love them, especially your pets because your time with them is short and every moment should be treasured.

Goodbye my sweet girl, you will be so sorely missed.

Of all the blog posts I’ve written over the last few months, this is probably the hardest. As you would have read on yesterday’s entry, Molly came home from hospital. Although she wasn’t herself, she appeared to be on the mend. Trudes and I were so happy to have her home, she snuggles up on the sofa beside her momma and had a sleep, she then bimbled over to her bed by the TV and dug out a pigs ear and spent about twenty minutes having a chew. I fed her at eleven, as per the vets’ instructions, and gave her a shot of insulin. With her fed, watered and jabbed I let her out for her night time pee and we set of to bed. I put her blanket on my bed, in case she was sick during the night, and spent about an hour lying with her gently stroking her and chatting to her. Eventually we fell asleep. I woke up with light the still on and our girl snoring away in a state of total comfort and bliss. I gave her a kiss and settled into bed properly. I awoke to Molly desperate for a pee and eager to get downstairs, so off we went. Knowing that wasn’t due to be fed I just sorted out her tablets and tried to give them to her, she wasn’t interested. This is when I realised that she was still poorly. Trudes had heard the sound of my panicking and came down to offer the voice of reason and suggested putting her pills in some cheese, that worked! I set off for work more than a little worried. My phone rang at about ten, it was Trudy saying that I should come home as Molly had been very sick and was not eating; she added that she had spoken to the vet and that he had said that if she was not keeping food down without the help of a drip it was not a good sign. In a way it was, Trudes and I both feel that Molly had manage to recover enough to be well enough to spend one last night with us at home, with that done, our sweet little Molly Popples let Trudy know that she was ready to cross the rainbow bridge. I spoke to my boss and explained what was happening and he told me to go. I phoned the friend that had taken us to collect her last night, I guess from the tone of my voice she knew why I was calling, and she simply said that she would meet us at Trudy’s. Shortly after I arrived home two of my very close friends, who also adore our girl, came to say goodbye. We drove to the vets in Hythe and shortly after we got there I had one last cuddle with our Molly and Trudes carried her in to spend the last few moments with her.

So I write this with a shattered and heavy heart in the front room of a very empty house. Trudes and I feel blessed to have had the few, all too short, months we had with Molly, but we rest easy knowing that she loved us as much, if not more, as we loved her. I don’t doubt that we will, given time, foster or adopt another little dog, but I will always have a Molly shaped hole at the centre of my heart. She was the first dog in my life that was mine, and that makes her extra special. Despite all her ailments she never once complained, not even at the end.

So goodbye my sweet little Molly Popples, I will love you forever and you have left paw prints on my heart.

When you have read to the end of this entry, please take a moment to speak a few words for our girl, and then, if you have a pet you hold dear, go and love them. Hold them and kiss them and tell them that they mean the world to you. For the love of a pet is unconditional, and they return the love you give without question.

To have loved and then said farewell is better than to have never loved at all.
For all of the times that you stooped and touched my head, fed me my favourite treat and
returned the love that I so unconditionally gave to you. For the care that you gave to me
so unselfishly. For all of these things I am grateful and thankful. I ask that you grieve
not for the loss but rejoice in the fact that we lived, loved and touched each other's lives.
My life was fuller because you were there, not as owner, but as my friend. Today, I am
as I was in my youth. The grass is always green, butterflies flit among the flowers and
the sun shines gently down upon all of God's creatures. I can run, jump and play
and do all of the things that I did in my youth. There is no sickness, no aching joints
and no regrets and no aging. We await the arrival of our lifelong companions and know
that togetherness is forever. You live in our hearts as we do in yours. Companions such
as you are very rare and unique. Don't hold the love that you have within yourself.
Give it to another like me and then I will live forever. For love never really dies
and you are loved and missed as surely as we are.

Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of Heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an
animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet
goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our
special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of
food, water and sunshine and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and
vigour; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong
again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times
gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small
thing: they each miss someone very special, someone who was left
behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly
stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; his
eager body begins to quiver. Suddenly, he breaks from the group,
flying over the green grass, faster and faster. You have been
spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling
together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses
rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and
you look once more into those trusting eyes, so long gone from your
life, but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together...

I think this last one sums up our last day with Molly.

Do you think the time is right?
May I say goodbye to pain filled days and endless tired nights?
I've lived my life and done my best, an example tried to be.
So can I take that step beyond, and set my spirit free?
I didn't want to go at first; I fought with all my might.
But something seems to draw me now to a warm and loving light.
I want to go, I really do; it's difficult to stay.
But I will try as best I can to live just one more day.
To give you time to care for me and share your love and fears.
I know you're sad and afraid, because I see your tears.
I'll not be far, I promise that, and hope you'll always know,
that my spirit will be close to you wherever you may go.
Thank you so for loving me. You know I love you too,
And that's why it's hard to say goodbye and end this life with you.
So hold me now just one more time and let me hear you say,
Because you care so much for me, you'll let me go today.

Is tired nights accurate? Maybe not, Molly would bound up the stairs to with either me or her mommas bed, and she would sleep soundly through the night, with the occaisional snore and a little yip now and then as she chased squibbles and bunnies in her sleep 

Thank you for taking the time to read through this.

Kindest regards

Steve

Welcome home Molly Popples

What a week it’s been! As many of you know, Molly Pops has been very poorly since we returned from the weekend camping. On Tuesday, the vet said that she wasn’t improving as well as they were hoping. Trudes was told that we should realistically prepare for the worst. This decision was pending a conversation with one of the directors of TLDR, fortunately the vet was told to do everything that was needed to give Molly every chance of a full recovery before considering the final option. On Wednesday Trudes and I went up to the hospital to see her, what a change! The listless little pup that we left there on Monday was nowhere to be seen. In its place was our little girl, she made all her noises and danced around her little kennel as though nothing had happened. Later that night Trudes phoned the vets, on a different matter which I’ll come to in a bit. The vet told her that our visit, albeit brief, had done Molly the power of good, and that she would most likely be coming home tomorrow. Such sweet news, so with help from a close friend, we set off to bring our princess home. We had a very good chat with the vet, he gave us some advice regarding her jabs, and he has also suggested that we take her for a glucose curve once a week. This will help to monitor her glucose levels so that we can ensure that she’s getting the right amount of insulin. Molly is home now, and as I write this she is curled up on the sofa next to her momma snoring away quite happily. This house is once again a home.

Yesterdays excellent news about Molly did come at a price; well we thought so at the time. After the hospital we returned home and on the way we had to drop off food for Obi Kat, as we were leaving the little tinker shot out into the main road. We set off in pursuit as the road at the front of the house can get quite busy and he only really goes out in the back yard. Well the inevitable happened and there was a very loud thud. Suddenly I felt something wash over me that I haven’t felt for a very long time, it was really only after the event that I realised that I had become angry, although absolutely fuming would be a better description. There was lots of swearing and ranting on my behalf, I think the poor lass who was driving must have been absolutely terrified. Firstly hitting a cat and then having me ranting at her in my best angry voice. Bless her though she did offer to help, but I just swore at her some more and suggested that she left the area. With the help of a couple of friends, search parties were sent out but to no avail. it was whilst we were search for Obi that Trudes phoned the vet, who told her that a cat will tend to hide away until it has calmed down, then once the nerves have settled and the adrenaline has worn off they usually come home if they are able to. With nothing more to do than wait for Obi Kat to return home of his own volition. We also had to get Trudes home so that she could rest, so plans were put into place for the event of his return.

This morning I received word that he had indeed returned home and appeared to be no worse for wear, he does have a splintered claw and grazed pad, but that may have happened when he bolted. Before we went to collect Molly, Trudes and I went to see Obi to discover that he is indeed absolutely fine; maybe his moggie pride has taken a bit of a bashing. So despite the worry of Molly and the moggie, it’s all sorted and both the fur balls that I love are fine, although I have to say that I don’t really view Obi as my cat any more. He came into my life at a time when I needed something to take my mind off the situation I was in with my life. Fortunately I know that Obi will be loved by his new friend as much, if not more than me. I will still visit him and take him food and treats, but it seems the right thing to do, as much as I would love to have him with me, there is too many complications. With Percy the (non) homing pigeon doing a good impression of kitty lunch, we’d be forever shooing him away from the feathered fella.

So with Molly home and almost back to full health, we have opened our eyes to the fact that her time with us is really limited. We don’t know if we will get just a few more short weeks or a few months, either way we will make every moment we have with her as precious as we possibly can. We will love her and ensure that her quality of life is the best we can provide. We also need to use the time we have with her to prepare ourselves for the day when Molly does cross the rainbow bridge. I know that no matter how much we prepare for that day, it will break my heart. However we will both know that when she crosses the bridge she will have Sam and Willow and Max, Trudes’ previous and much loved dogs, waiting for her to chase squibbles and snuffle rabbit raisins, I can just see the four of them sniggering at the stories each of them have about their lives with Trudes, and in Molly’s’ case the both of us. But for now, all that matters is that she is at home with us where she belongs.

So we come to the end of another solemn blog, well almost. I’m actually going to end with something a bit cheerful, well for me anyway. Sitting at the shop are seven boxes from Games Workshop, they are brand new copies of The Island of Blood. Three copies have been ear marked, I know that one is for me and one is more than likely for Smiffy. It will be so bloomin’ hard not to come home without it on Saturday. But, considering I’ve put this on my Chrimbo pressie list (113 days), if I were to bring it home I think I will be sleeping in, if not under, the shed.

Yay, a happy ending, well sort of, I Love my dog, I love my girly, I love my ex cat and I even love the (non) homing pigeon in the back garden. I’m off to catch up on all the Molly snuggles of missed out on over the last few days.

Nite all!

XX

Whilst people can turn away and let you down, a dog will always be there for you and can always be trusted.

I had a fantastic weekend away with some great friends; I wish it had been longer and that I’d had the chance to catch up with the guys that had left by the time we arrived. I’m looking forward to the next time we get the chance to get together and relax with a few beers. I’m not expecting this week to pass by very quickly; I also don’t anticipate a very bright one. The reason for this is that Molly is not with us at the moment, here’s a brief account of the situation; we have a 12 year old Yorkshire terrier who has Cushing’s disease, diabetes and she's blind. She's only been with us for 4 months, but she's the first dog that has ever got to me in the way she has. Yesterday, being Monday 30^th, she became very ill very quickly due to complications with the Cushing’s and the diabetes and she was rushed to the veterinary hospital in Ashford. Whilst they will do as much as they can for her there is a very real possibility that we may have to send her over the rainbow bridge. We thought we were going to lose her a few weeks ago but she pulled through. I'm hoping she will this time but I also know that the day will come when we will have to say goodbye as it won't be fair on her to keep her going. However, I know that when that day comes it will absolutely devastate me. I know she's just a dog at the end of the day, but no animal has ever made such an impact on me. We have to consider what’s right for Molly Pops, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

Those who have met Molly will know what a sweet little pup she is, I know she 12 but all dogs are pups to me, even a few of my friends who ”don’t do small dogs” can’t resist a sly little ruffle of her fur when they think no one’s looking. She just has that effect on people. Spend twenty minutes with her and I defy anyone to not think she’s a sweetie. She has such a strong character, despite her blindness she bimbles around quite happily, alright so she bumps into things now and then. She looks so cute when she runs up the stairs to wake Trudes up in the morning when I take her coffee to her. She hardly ever complains when she has to have her twice daily jab. I also think she’s been good for Trudes whilst she’s been having her treatment. Here I was thinking that I’d be the strong and keep it together, it’s been the exact opposite. Trudes is being the strong one, holding back on the emotions whilst I’m falling to pieces. Again, anyone that truly knows me is fully aware that whilst I like to think I’m a strong fella and can take what life throws at me, in reality I’m just, as Trudes would say, a big soppy bear of a man, so what! I don’t care really, I’m more than happy to walk around town with my Molly in my arms, even when she’s wearing one of the many outfits that she has, whether it’s a pink leopard print jumpsuit or her little red dress with white spots. My little Popples is worth every moment I spend with her, and I think she knows how much I love her. She and Trudes mean the world to me.

Right I’m off for yet another blub and to send some healing vibes to little Molly Popples, if you have any spare, perhaps you could send a few her way too. Thanks for reading.

Blessed be!

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My sweet Molly Popples.

Someone to comfort to dry up those tears,

Someone to be there, to quiet your fears,

A companion, a pal, a very best friend,

Someone to trust and to love till the end.

I love you sweet Molly Popples.

Rant, tents, tiddlers and poorly pups.

Rant #1 Friday night arrived, well evening, and after I had done my chores for obi I headed home via one of the local chip shops. At 19:05 I ordered cod & chips for two, at 19:10 one of the chaps behind the counter smiled at me and said sorry. Now if the chippy had been busy, I wouldn’t have minded so much. However, I was the only customer! When the chap apologised, probably for the lack of activity, I expressed my displeasure at the amount of time it had taken them to not batter the fish and drop it in the oil. I then left the shop, saying I would get the order at their nearest rivals.

Rant #2 this is aimed at the callous twonk who couldn’t wait five seconds for an animal to get out of the road, so he/she ran it over. The animal in question was a young gull, yes I know that there’s millions of the little blighters and that they can be a pest, but this little bird was the young of a gull that has become somewhat of a local mascot near the shop where I help out on Saturday. The adult gull has been named Oscar by the locals. They feed him and he is quite the cheeky little chap. He once tried to nick some cork from the shop. For the last few weeks he has paraded his chick up and down the area and seemed to be quite a doting parent. Unfortunately there’re no parental controls on this blog and there’s a chance that folk who take offence to harsh language. So I’ll do my best not to swear. So far as I’m concerned the owner of the car is a heartless moron, there were small children who witnessed your blatant act of animal cruelty. Just because you have a car, you don’t have the right to drive as you please. A little patience wouldn’t be too bad, but no, you felt the need to get to your destination as quickly as possible. Would it have made that much difference if you’d waited for the gull to get out of your way? Had there been a cat or a dog in the road, would have ploughed into that without a single thought for the animals owner. You inhuman troll; I hope that Oscar and his entire gull mates crap on your car, and your head, everyday for the next month.

On a brighter note we had a fantastic weekend. It started off well, I set off for the shop on Saturday morning, and I was twenty minutes behind schedule. Fortunately the advance team were en route to prepare for the oncoming tide of noisy sprogs, and the bus was late, this added ten minutes to the delay. Somehow the bus journey ran to time, and I made five minutes up. The shops incoming customers were a little sporadic, takings would have been a bit better had the National Express agents’ web site had been up and running. The afternoon gaming session was a bit quiet as most of the lads were out making the most of the last weekend of the summer holidays. Trudes arrived with the lovely Miss Molly and I shot off to Waitrose to stock up on provisions for the evening in tentville. The transport shuttle from star base Smarden arrived and we set off for our weekend break.

On arrival we loaded the tractor trailer with more stuff than we probably needed and I drove the machine to field we were camping in. Little Miss Molly decided that she was going to check out all the new smells and noises, so she and her momma walked all the way, although Tea prefers the term bimble. We unloaded and I took an opportunity to head up to the pond for a short stint of fishing, I like fishing! I can’t think of anyone I’d rather fish with, Manky and Jason from astronomy club were already tiddler bashing, so without delay I picked up a rod and started drowning bait. It was too long before I caught my first over sized minnow, the cheeky little piscine had more or less swallowed not only the bait, but the whole blooming hook. This needed forceps to remove; once the hook was out I released the little beggar and promptly dropped the forceps in the drink. This was the first disaster. After a bit more fishing we returned to camp for dinner. Dinner wasn’t quite ready so I went to finish off putting our tent up. This led to the second disaster; I’d forgotten the inflatable mattresses! Oh dear lord what was I to do? The first part of the plan that popped into my head was to ask around the others to see if anyone had at least one spare mattress, if they had then at least Trudes would be comfy. Sadly no one had a spare, so stage two was to either set off back to Folkestone and grab our mattresses or go to B & Q in Ashford and buy at least one for Trudes, then at the last moment, one of the chaps, namely Jose offered his mattress for the night. Trudes would have that and I’d make do with the floor. Once that issue had been fixed, I had to sort out one or two other issues, but I won’t go into detail here. By the time the tent was sorted, dinner was too. It was braised pork and new potatoes, yummo! A bottle of Doom Bar helped to wash it down, oh my it was good. Once I’d had my nosh it was time for Molly Pops to have hers, the usual mixture of finely chopped hot dog sausage sprinkled with bionic Biotic, its amazing stuff, Molly has a fine downy coat where she was a baldy girl when she first came into our lives. Once the divine miss M had scoffed, I headed off to get her jab. When I returned Batty mentioned that he had a couple of trout that he was going to cook, he asked if anyone would like some, Trudes has since discovered that she now likes trout, Good oh!

With dinner for everyone done some of the gang started building a camp fire, once it was ready to light, down came the rain. However, seeing as how we’re all completely bonkers, we lit it anyway. Fortunately it was too long before the play stopped rain and we were all sat around a roaring campfire swapping jokes and laughing ourselves sick. Early on I had fixed up some bananas with chocolate buttons in them, they were placed on the hot embers to melt the chocolate, to be honest the one I had needed more chocolate and a little longer in the fire, but never mind, I know for next time. There were also toasted marsh melons, one of my faves. The evening drew on and we had a chance to see the ISS as it went over plus a few other satellites. The beer flowed well and then the port was opened. This is the best part of any camp fire, a group of good friends, a warm fire and a bottle of port or four definitely warms the cockles. To top the evening off nicely we were regaled with the tale of a rather impertinent bunny by the name of Foo Foo, booze, bonfires and bunnies. Could the night get any better? Well considering I was with a group of some of my closest friend, and my two best girls, Trudes and Molly Popples were there, no, I don’t think it could. Eventually the fire died and we retired to our beds.

Sunday morning I was gently woken up by the missus taking photos of, what she described as, a giant caterpillar, the cheeky madam! Realising she meant me I let her take some more pics. Then I spotted my pup outside my section of the tent, I called to her and she came bounding in for big loves and cuddles. I grabbed another half and hours doze and then I slipped Molly in with Tea and headed off for a quick fish, this actually turned out to be a quick sit and watch Dave catching fish every ten seconds whilst my bait got ignored. After an hour I headed back to the camp to fix Molly breakfast and collect her morning jab. Once my pup was sorted, I went back to the pond for a bit more humiliation, sorry, fishing. This took up an hour or two, just as Dave left he mentioned that there were some large fish near the part of the pond he was walking past so I thought I’d have give it a go. My idea paid off and I caught the biggest fish I’d seen since we arrived, I was chuffed. Then off for some nosh and to see how my girls were. It turned out that Tea wasn’t aware that Molly Pops had been with her for the morning because the little angel didn’t to disturb her momma so she kept really quiet so that mom could sleep, ain’t she a sweetie?

Breakfast was followed by more fishing which was over all too soon as the weather turned nasty and the rain and the wind returned. Chris had arrived whilst I was up at the pond, and I spoke to him about the possibility of running us home, he was more than happy to do this. So at 17:30 we set back to Folkestone. The main reason we had to return was due to the fact that a friend from Northshire was visiting, although we did toy with telling him that he’d be on his own, but return we did.

It transpired that it was a god thing after all as Molly stated being sick just after midnight and carried on throughout the night. By Monday morning she was not at all in a good way, as I write this it is 19:30 on the 31^st of August and our precious little pup is in the pet hospital in Ashford being looked after by the wonderful vets and nurses of the Barrow Hill surgery hospital. All we can do now is wait and hope for the best, fortunately our Molly’s a fighter, but I’m sure a healing thought would help so please any you may have spare for our little girl. I’ve spent most of today worried sick and blubbing like a blubby thing.

My friend Karen took us up to the hospital, as a thank you we treated her to lunch and then met up with Teas young man to take him to see a film, this had been arranged before we went camping, and as we weren’t expecting Molly’s health to take a turn for the worse, we couldn’t let him down, and since I was a complete wreck, Trudes suggested that I stay with them and see the film. We saw the Last Airbender, whilst it’s a good film, one of the funniest lines has got to be “I’ve always known you were a bender!” closely followed by “you’re a bender?” Well I sniggered and I think Trudes did too. She missed the last few minutes as she missed a call from the vets and had to call them back.

Molly is suffering from something called Diabetic ketoacidosis, hopefully we’ve caught it early enough and she will be home with us soon.

So an eventful weekend that could have ended a little better but these things happen and I’m looking forward to have Molly cuddles very soon. I’ll keep those who want to know how Molly Pops is doing either here or through Facebook.