D Minus 37

For those keeping score, we are now only 37 days from June 30th which is a VERY SIGNIFICANT DAY in Project Erroll terms. A life-changing day, a huge crossroads and a bit of a scary prospect as well. Do you get the impression that maybe the humans are focussing here?

Mum and Dad are both working hard in their separate domains and evenings are long and dry, either warm and balmy or, at present, a bit cold and chilly. Mainly dry, though. We have not had any significant rain for what feels like almost 3 months in the SE, all of March. April and all of May so far. The ground is as dry as dust and nothing is growing. Lawns are straw-coloured and soil is cracked.

For we dogs, of course, life bimbles along as normal. We get plenty of walks in the dry evenings - tonight round the Cemetery and Rec where we meet and have a good scamper about with 2 year old westie Jimmy. Dad plays that old favourite game with me of 'chuck the abandoned pop bottle' - Lucozade tonight and then I amuse all comers by walking home from the Rec with it between my teeth as if using it to cool my fevered throat after the hot playing.

37 Days

Deefs

Painting the Barge

Just in case Dad ever tries to get out of the decorating by pleading that he doesn't like painting and is off to work on the barge instead, look at this little lot! With the hull of the famous sailing barge Cambria now almost complete, the volunteers have turned their attentions away from the PR duties of showing the public round the old girl, to slapping 7 coats of various paints onto the hull - all 91 feet long by 7 feet tall by 23 feet across-the-bottom of her.

A gang of 4-6 volunteers can do one coat in 2 sessions. The paint is applied using those narrow (4 inch?) rollers on the longer (2 foot?) handles, this being Master Shipwright Tim Goldsack's instructed method of choice to waste less paint and give a good finish. The undercoats alternate between 2 shades - both do the same job but it's easier to see where you've been if you don't use the same colour, so we the guys swap between a flat 'battleship grey' and what Dulux might have called a 'grey-with-a-hint-of-pink' which has now become fixed in the volunteers' heads as 'Rosy Glow'. Today there are a crowd of 6 of them down at the barge, which is enough to do one side and most of the bottom in a couple of hours.

Then Dad's back up here and tidying in the garden, picking up the rest of the hedge clippings remaining from 2CV Llew's trimming, chain-saw activities and raking up Paulownia leaves to reveal the fresh yellow-green points of snowdrops just emerging from the soil under the apple trees.

We get a nice walk through Cemetery and Rec, where a whole gang of us meet up by chance for the humans to chat while we mill about - 4 red and white Springers (DK, LB, Pip and Alfie), a German Shepherd (Bazz), 2 Jack Russells (Patch and a red and white we don't know the name of) and of course Haggis and I. Doggie chaos!

Deefs

Sinking into the Swamp

A couple more nice snowy pics, the first just a bike in the boat yard which we liked the look of, the second taken a few seconds before yesterday's 'miserable Haggis' one. You can see the H trotting off to stage-right (picture left) to check out the iron paling fence. More snow is forecast for tonight.

Meanwhile, those interested in Project Erroll may be wondering what's going on and why you have had no updates. This is bacause at least one aspect of the possible future is sinking into the swamp, and all the moves and official notices have been put on hold. Dad is therefore carrying on regardless and battling through the normal Christmas peak in business, uncertain when the top bananas will make a move and firm up on any arrangements. Watch this space - there's not a lot any of us can do.....

Having worked both days at the weekend he is, though, able to skank and early finish this afternoon and gets home in time to walk us in the daylight round the Rec where we can have a run around in the snow with old friends Patch and Bindy, and 2 black labs who we see a lot but Dad can't recall the names of.

Deefs

Must be Close

It must be getting close to Christmas now - we noticed that even the Regular dog walkers on the Rec are starting to say "Ah well, if I don't see you again before Christmas, have a good one, now" as they part company.

Dad is doing some long crazy hours too, and only twice because he was stuck in the snow. Snow's all gone now although it's very cold and there is more white stuff forecast. The gang had a load of Mum's friends and colleagues over Friday night for a major meal and party. We love all that - plenty of extra people to make a fuss of dogs!

From there Mum and Dad headed for Isleworth to visit another of Mum's friends, and forgot to come home that night. Must be their ages. There were rumours of lots of walking around Richmond by the Thames looking at the big-scale weirs and locks , Thames stylee, the occasional beer in riverside pubs and then on Sunday an extended walk round Kew Gardens. In the latter case Mum armed Dad with the birthday present video camera, so there may be some footage to check out soon, on You Tube.

We were left behind because the friend, Maisie Lou is a dyed in the wool cat person, having a very fluffy black boy-cat by the name of Beau. Normally quite chilled, he does not take to dogs apparently, and especially fast chasing type dogs, so we were abandonned to the tender mercies of the Angel B and Uncle Jim.

Then it was back to the grind stone with, for Dad at least, an extra quick night shift on Monday night where a server needed re-booting which couldn't be done while it was powering the day job at the 'New Shed'.

Enough for now
Deefs

You Can Run.....

A quick pic of the two of us racing about in the Rec. I'm in the lead here and teasing Haggis by staying just out of reach, but he doesn't do so bad for a 13 year old pup, does he?

No word yet from the mythical Cinnamon Trust who may or may not be remembering to come round and vet our house.

We go a good walk tonight all round the boatyard and back through town, and the running above is in the Rec when we're almost home. We pile indoors and get fed by Dad while Mum is just finishing off working on the laptop 'working from home'. We all then bimble upstairs to sit with Dad while he checks on the emails and blogs. Dad is vaguely aware that cookery noises have started down stairs and then hears us shouted down by Mum, thinking only that maybe she's got a treat for us. It then dawns that those are actually Dog feeding, can opening noises and he shouts down "They have been fed y'know!" Mum goes mad! Why you lying little skanks, she calls us but then relents and gives us the food anyway, as we're looking so hopeful.

Thanks Dad, for grassing us up. You can run, but you can't hide!

Deefski

Dublin Bus (Bus atha Cliath)

Dad arrives home tonight to be met with a red London Routemaster bus parked almost blocking the driveway. That's all he sees first. He nips in, grabs us and our collars and we are off for a walk, heading up past the bus.

The bus proves to be two buses, the London bus blocking a bright purple double decker behind it which is, amazingly Dublin registered. It even has the 'Out of Service' banner in Irish language at the front. It is therefore presumably one of 'Dublin Bus's green ones now taken out of service and repainted.

The Irish bus has broken down and the boys have come out to repair it in the Routemaster. This is not unusual in our town because we have the renowned South East Coachworks company here who are for ever restoring old double deckers and converting them into rock band tour buses, political campaign buses and even the Union Jack one used in the Spice Girls movie.

Mum thinks the Dublin bus is a sign pertaining to the current uncertain nature of Dad's work and the possibility of a move to the Emerald Isle. Her chums off the internet, who are from Dublin are joking that the Dublin Buses were so often 'out of service' that the Dublin kids grew up thinking that there must be a destination out back of Steven's Green called "As Seirbhís".

Meanwhile, as the shrinking evenings start to compress dog walking into the short gap between 'end of work' and darkness, we are starting to meet up again with all the usual suspects from '1630 Dog Clubs' of old - springers 'LB and 'DK', Jack Russell Bindy, 'blue' shar pei Monty, cavalier Louis, my sis Ellie and so on. We are, inevitably, also joined by some new kids on the block, like 3 month old gorgeous Tibetan Terrier 'Lily'.

And, finally, our contact from the Cinnamon Trust, who shall be known as Moira rings to say she's sorry she's not been in touch but has been on holiday. The JR who may be known as Daisy is still available and we will be contacted over the next few days to arrange our house vetting visit

It's all go

(Slan abhaile)

Deefski

Closing the Box

We've not heard anything from those Silverwoods lately; we wonder whether they got the Narrow Boating pictures.

Really good progress on the Sailing Barge Cambria lately - as you can see the shipwrights have almost finished with the side planking; they've now worked their way right up to the "wale" (top-of-the-sides; painted white here) at the Starb'd bow (as we Mariners like to say.... the more apostrophes the better). What with that and the bottom finished, decks getting there and hatch "coamings" (boards forming the lip of each hatch) we almost have a complete hull (bashing the last planks on is called "closing the box" in the trade) and there are rumours of dates being fixed for a re-float.

I am thinking this will be done with great ceremony and invited guests after all this work and Grant Money (£1.4m !) with the press gathered and no doubt a few "Great and Good", even though the real relaunch will not happen till she is fitted out and rigged.

We go a nice walk tonight round the Cemetery and Rec, part way round which Dad trips in a pot-hole and lays his ankle right over. He managed not to swear but it was a close thing.

Look after yourself,

Deefs

Rosie and Skiboo

A gas engineer spoils the afternoon - one of those where they might be "here" any time from 1pm, and we end up tied to ear shot of the doorbell, so the nice walk we were going to have became just a jaunt to the Rec. No matter, we met two good friends there and had a good time.

Skiboo (also known as Posh-Westie) is a very handsome old guy - proper show dog shape with a nice face, like Haggis, and currently a very smart show-dog trim. Bred, and now maintained by local dog groomer "Dapper Dogs", he always looks the part, unlike certain disreputable looking mutts we could name. His owner used to have a farmhouse down the road to Graveney but has now moved into the new houses behind here, beyond the Home for the Bewildered, so we see a lot more of them on the Rec.

But for me the highlight is 2 year old red and white Jack Russell. One of those dogs you meet occasionally who are exactly your equal when it comes to running, nipping, swerving, and rough and tumble play fighting. We quickly got to know each other, and then we were everywhere tearing in small circles, bundling each other over, sometimes chased too by Haggis, chasing chasing chasing until we were quite worn out.

Dad and Rosie's Mum didn't have to do much, except stand chatting with Skiboo's Mum, but the wind has turned bitter cold, so this was not actually such a good plan. They all froze, while we raced and chased till we were over heating!

Deefski

Stranger than Fiction

You couldn't make it up. Tonight on the Rec we meet two new dogs. Out being walked by a young lady, there's a biggish black and white Lhasa Apso who is apparently rather ancient and given to collapse at the back end, whereby the Mistress of the house has to be summoned in the car to come and collect everyone.

With these, on a lead is a tiny madly hairy black one, which Dad assumes is a Lhasa pup. He also assumes it's a bitch because "she" has a bright pink harness and pink lead. The lady laughs and says that, no, he's actually a boy, and the pink harness is from their ferret, because he slips his normal collar. He is not a Lhas, but a miniature Yorkie cross Lhasa. What's his name? "Bruiser". At this point Dad is laughing fit to bust because there never was a dog less like his name than this little mite.

Such niceties are lost on us, of course - we are happy to say a nice hello to anyone and we walk around with them for a while, pee-ing on the same tufts of grass etc, and eventually meeting, and introducing these new comers to our old chums Ben and Patch.

Funny old world
Deefski

Decent Snow at Last!

At last some decent snow for us. More important, Dad home at a decent time for us to go out and enjoy it in the Rec in daylight.

In no particular order, these are.

Me running towards camera in my snow-boots.

My snow booted forefeet

My foot prints across the frozen pond.

Myself (left) and Haggis investigating the heinous murder of a snow-man

Hope it's good where you are

Deefski

Of Bees and Bad things

Our game of footie in the Rec early this morning is frustrated by a complete Police Cordon around the whole Rec. It seems (although the 12-year-old policeman (Dad's words) was not saying anything) that there has been a fatal stabbing in the middle of the Rec. By this afternoon word is out that it's two herberts fighting over a woman.

We have names but this is probably not the place! The victim died in William Harvey Hospital, our "local" A+E. Bad things anyway. Mum comes back in the afternoon, and comments that the feds have been guarding the Rec all day, and fair play to them, nobody's stolen it.

Meanwhile, some pics of our allotment bees coming and going happily in the warm afternoon sunshine. Main pic shows the location of the main hive in a miniature hazel-spinney. The other shows the entrance. There is now, in addition, a smaller swarm housed in a "Nuke" (Nucleus box). We don't know much about bees yet but if I know Dad he will be buying books and reading the subject up. Scott the bee guy is also talking about us maybe having a hive here in the garden, so we need to check with the neighbours that they have no objections.

Enjoy the hot weather.

Deefski