Everything in tatters

Sally has been a little bit demanding today!

I just went downstairs to find Sally sitting on top of the couch looking a little manic. Then I looked around the lounge floor. What did I find? A cardboard box holding some of Tony's drama books in tatters, little pieces of cardboard scattered all around. I looked a little further, what did I see? I saw one of Joseph's old favourite videos - A Veggie Tale classic, bitten into and pulled apart. Maybe its time for walkies!

Dog Dayz

We've had no serious incidents recently, just the usual Sally moments.

We drove to Arnside for fish and chips last night with the idea of taking Sally for a walk along the coast afterwards. The fish and chips were great, as usual! Once we'd polished them off we got out of the car to discover that we'd forgotten Sally's lead. What were we to do? Drive home and deprive her of a walk or risk it and hope she stuck with us? We decided to risk it. Within minutes she was nowhere in sight. Then there she was again. It went like this the whole walk until we got back to the car. The only problem was that Sally had no intention of giving up freedom so lightly. She zoomed off - towards the railway line. I couldn't get to her because the area was sealed off (to people) by a high wall and a padlocked gate! We decided to play the car card again. Tony and Joseph got in the car and drove off leaving me to watch out for Sally. Sure enough she recognised the engine and bounded towards the gate as soon as Tony passed by. I managed to grab her collar from my side of the gate and the only way I could get her back was to lift her by the collar right over the gate. It nearly wrenched my shoulder from its socket but I did it and Sally made it safely back home once again.

Today I was sat outside Cafe Nero with Sally waiting for Tony to bring out our drinks when a butcher appeared, as if by magic (like the shop keeper in Mr Benn) in front of me. He said 'I know this is a bit random but I've got a bit of turkey in the shop and I wondered if your dog would like it?' Very random but very kind. Just for a second I hesitated remembering what my mother taught me about strangers. I soon snapped out of that train of thought and followed the butcher to his shop. Sally thought all her dreams had come true as she tucked into turkey breast while me and Tony enjoyed our drinks. We finished the afternoon by walking up to Kendal Castle. The view over the town and towards the fells was stunning today. We sat taking in all the glorious autumn colours while Sally leaped about chasing magpies. I'd kept a little of the turkey back to entice her back to us. It worked like a charm.

This is a little different from my usual rant about Sally.

Here's an excellent site that offers inspirational starting points for teachers to motivate young writers in exciting ways. I would have loved to have done something like this when I was at school so I'm putting it on my blog hoping that it might catch the eye of a few teachers who might go for it in their schools! Worth a try.

Everybody Writes - Exploring writing beyond the classroom

Everybody Writes - Exploring writing beyond the classroom

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Conquering the Darkness

We've had a eureka moment! We've conquered the darkness. Well kind of.

On Saturday afternoon we paid a call to an outdoor clothing store in town. The mission: to buy head torches. Out we came feeling rather happy with our purchases at a bargain (buy one get one free).

Yesterday evening we felt a little foolish as we set off in the light, without torches, but came unstook as darkness descended and Sally went AWOL. She dummied me at the edge of the woods, crossed the road, ran into more woodland then chased Tony down the road as he turned the car around. We ended up in a sticky situation and had to stop another car to get Sally into ours. Apologies all round. AHHH!!!

Tonight, however we were prepared. We headed off in the dark with head torches firmly in place and waterproofed up to our eye balls, looking like a couple of Mysterons from an episode of Captain Scarlet. A bit silly really. Within minutes we got into the woods and reaped the benefits of our bargain buys. Like intrepid explorers we boldly went where no other sane villager dared to go. Sally seemed to enjoy staying in the torch light too so stayed pretty close the whole walk. Its great to realise that the dark wet nights don't mean an end to our exercise. Maybe we won't turn to jelly over winter this year. That would make a refreshing change.

Arran - The Finale

We've had a great day today up on Scout Scar. The wind howled a gale, the rain blew in from the fell tops and a glorious double rainbow graced the Kendal skies. It reminded me of another windswept day earlier in the year, a day I remember well for other reasons than the weather; a day on Arran.

On our Easter holiday in Arran we decided to do a tootle around the island on the coastal road. In truth there are very few roads on Arran but the coastal road, as you may well have gathered takes you the whole way around this superb little gem of a Scottish island along the ... yes you've guessed it... coast!

We set off after lunch from Brodick, the main town and headed up coast anti-clock wise around the island; Sally peering out of the boot window all the way. We enjoyed the changing landscape as we travelled and spotted a couple of stag on the hill tops near Lochranza at the north of the island. We got to Catacol and the view fair took our breaths away. The wind was strong and we saw something we'd never seen before. We looked over to the sea and watched the waves crashing violently onto the shore then noticed water vapours lifting off the surface of the sea and wafting up into the air in beautiful dancing swirls. Truly awesome. Too good to pass by. We found the nearest lay-by on the narrow road and disembarked to take in the view and enjoy the forceful sensation of the wind beating at our bodies.

We all stood on the rocky coast line; took in the view and enjoyed watching in wonder as nature carried on around us. Sally seemed to be enjoying jumping around from rock to rock, finding little holes to dive into and explore. After about 10 minutes nature dictated to us once again. It had got us out of the car and now it was urging us back in. We were getting cold to the bone. That, as they say, is when it happened. Sally sensed the impending prospect of another half an hour in the car so decided to take the law into her own paws. She shot past the car and across the road and headed straight for a field... full of sheep and lambs!!!

We called, we cajoled, we shouted and we waved but she ignored. She decided she would herd instead. She ran towards a sheep and its lamb and before long they were all out of sight. Just as we thought we would never see her again she re-appeared and seemed to be running towards us. What made us laugh was that the sheep followed. She was chasing Sally. Good for her. We thought that was the end of that. Tony jumped into the field ready to grab Sally but as soon as Sally realised the cunning plan she dummied him. Off she ran and off Tony ran after her. What a sight for sore eyes. Me and the boys laughed our heads off as we watched Tony chase Sally all around the steeply sloped field for about 10 minutes. We could see he was getting more and more exasperated which made it more and more hilarious to watch. In the end he gave in, got back in the car and started the engine. 'What are you doing?' came my anxious cry. I needn't have worried. As he set off down the road Sally did a real double take, head swivelling around and eyes popping wide open, just like Grommit of 'Wallace and Grommit' fame. She could not believe what was happening. All of a sudden we had her complete attention. There was only one thing to do. We watched and laughed as she ran in parallel to the car along the length of 3 fields, like Red Rum in his hey day. Suddenly she really wanted to be in the car!!! It was quite easy to get her back once the car stopped. Tony might not have quite the same physical agility but when it comes to brains, he has the edge, all be it just!