Fenton!

For anyone who has ever watched the viral video where a dog called Fenton runs through Richmond Park chasing deer while his owner runs behind shouting, “Fenton!” like a lunatic, we can relate and empathise.

Walking Agnes through Hyde Park this morning, two large geese came into land over her head and that was it, my last visual was the brown Welsh Terrier backside accelerating into full speed ahead and heading to the large duck pond outside Kensington Palace. oh crikey!

For ten minutes (or was it ten hours?) Agnes ran in circles like a complete maniac as geese, ducks, pigeons, coots and whatever the rest of them are, were scattered far and wide. Thankfully the swans were far enough away.

My theory of never chase a Welsh Terrier was redundant as we tried in vain to head her off, herd her away from the ponds and catch her.

Agnes can run very fast, turn and dodge on a dime and is a wily terrier when she loses her head and so we ran, called, dove, shouted and swore at her as we chased her back and forth under the glare of disapproving tourists. Luckily no one said anything or I would have seriously lost my shit!

Eventually Big T managed to head her off and miraculously got a hand on her collar.

We pinned her down, got the lead on and gave her a big telling off. There was no remorse, it had been one of the best moments of her life and one of our worst!

Dog: 1, humans: 0, birds: -1 (luckily no one died)

Pulling an all nighter

Back in the day pulling an all nighter used to mean staying up all night, working, studying, going out, having a lock in at a pub and generally doing something fun. I was never much of night owl so all nighters weren’t a regular thing and I was usually in bed well before daylight.

Thirty years later and pulling an all nighter means something very different. Eight hours of continuous sleep without interruption is what I now consider the epitome of fun and almost as illusive as the mythical unicorn. Funny how life can change!

I’m pleased to say that with this year’s Dry January, the all nighter has been pulled on a couple of very exciting occasions and I’m hopeful there are more to come, fun times in 2022!

The end of the year

By the end of 2021 I had certainly had enough and needed to sign off for a few weeks.

The Christmas break never seems long enough and never seems reviving and so, now on Day 6 of 2022, I am (along with many others I suspect) reluctant to start work again as I feel like I never really stopped.

Still, we were able to enjoy a very festive family Christmas, a few very nice days in Wales which certainly whet the appetite for more Welsh adventures and a pit stop in Devon. We saw in the new year and have so far (at least as far as we know) dodged the Covid bullet but am sure it’s just a matter of time.

And so with all things January, we’re starting off with a month off the booze, I’m doing 30 days of yoga, am swimming and have restarted one of my many discarded hobbies.

This time I’m restarting sewing as I have everything I need and am not dependent on classes. As it’s only taken a year to fit a pair of trousers, I am progressing at great speed compared to upholstery where my half finished chair still waits almost two years later!

Dropping like Flies

With the enforced return to office, albeit in a hybrid model, people are dropping like flies.

From suspected Covid (aka a cold) to nurseries closing so people have to look after their kids instead of working, it’s one excuse after another and with expectations to quadruple the business in the next two years, it’s not looking likely.

What Covid seems to have done is remove the will to work.

My attitude, while following the company rules and being sympathetic professionally, is to wonder if anyone wants a job anymore?