Happy Birthday Ethan!!

It's that time of year when we have to sing - "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday young fella', Happy Birthday to you"

Have a great day Ethan - S x

Honda Civic

My old Citroen C5 was getting to the end of it's days, had done 135,000 miles, and ok, it was a diesel but the bodywork, suspension etc were knackered, so had been thinking of getting something new for a while. Mum and Dad have sworn by Honda for years, but had never really thought of getting one. However, there I was just driving by the Honda garage the other day and thought i'd pop in to have a look - came out two and a half hours later £11k lighter having signed up for a 2010 Milano red Honda Civic with just 12,400 miles on the clock. It's lovely as you can see, goes unreasonably fast and is a joy to drive. Best thing about it is the huge glass sunroof, and i'm in love all over again.

Citroen fever 2 & 3

Two lovely old Citroen DS s parked outside the office over the last couple of weeks. Both immaculate.

Puppy

 Well, Fergus is growing up to be a real gem. He is still bitey, spikey, claw-y (no such word) and generally a little painful to be around, but very, very good in other ways - he sits, he waits for his food, he lies down, he stands up, he now likes going out for walks (he was very reluctant to begin with, and used to have to be dragged or carried from the back doorstep until he got into his stride) - also walks to heel pretty well.

He does sleep really well, though the first week was a little difficult, with him barking and yelping all night for the first three days/nights, missing his brothers and sisters - but all is fine now.

He eats an extraordinary amount, and poops nearly as much - don't know where he puts it because he's still only a skinny thing, but leggy, long and with enormous feet. His colour is lovely and his beard is coming on well, although it does provide a place for water to pour from when he drinks, drenching the kitchen, sitting room floor and often my sock-clad feet.

He likes to lie by the fire, and still sits on my lap, although he overlaps (interesting - that's obviously where the word comes from) on both sides now.

We've started puppy training with him, both normal stuff with the aptly named Barbara Pointer (yes really) and gundog stuff in Ashburnham just outside Battle every Saturday morning. This last weekend he was a triumph, being voted best dog in our group (about 10 puppies/young dogs) for his superb retrieval - so proud!!

Puppy

Been out of the loop for a good few weeks - been away to Norfolk a few times to pick a puppy, then decided not to take him because he was just too much like our dear old Otis and we were comparing the two all the time - felt terrible, but there we go. Sure he's gone to a lovely new home now anyway

 - then to the Chew Valley just south of Bristol and the Cotswolds in our trusty campervan for a nice week's holiday, and finally collected our new little furry friend. He is from a litter in Magham Down, not far from Battle, the kids of a lovely dog called Tiggi who is a Spinone/Vizsla cross and an equally lovely dad, Moose who is a thoroughbred fox-red Labrador. His name is Fergus, he's a little crazy and very bitey (as they all are at that age) but also very sweet and charming.

 He is now sleeping, but he had a few difficult nights when he first came home with us, squealing and squawking and missing his Mum and brothers and sisters. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster, what with having a dog around again reminding us of Otis and all, but Fergus' character is now beginning to come out well and truly, so he is making his own place in the house.

Above, we have Fergus (right) and his brother Buster (now called Douglas) - we had the devil's own job trying to choose between these two, but ended up with Ferg because of his fantastic colour.

We're looking forward to watching him grow up.

Outdoor Theatre

Went to the theatre the other day - when I say "theatre", it was actually in the grounds of Michelham Priory, and it was the Rude Mechanical Company's performance of the (I think self-penned) Gentle Harry's Farm.

Went with various friends, including Tim and Janet, Mark & Sandra, Colin & Jill, Gillie and Polly, and of course Pete and Lucy - we had a really good time, picknicking and laughing at the on-stage antics, with just six cast members playing at least 4 characters each, cows, sheep, magpies etc etc. The story was a little thin but it was a damned good night nonetheless. The setting was beautiful as well.

Gluten free tarte tatin

Made this for when our friends Mark & Sandra came to dinner - it was very yummy!!

Autumn Produce

We've been having a wonderful time with the glut of autumn fruit around at the moment - my work pal Caroline, has a bountiful plum tree in her garden and brought in a huge carrier bag of ripe fruit, now sitting in our larder as chutney.

Then on Saturday, we went to Rickney Marsh and picked a ton of Damsons, wild plums, from thre hedgerows. This is now jam (about a gallon!!) and very delicious.

I do think, though, that chutney and jam are all we're going to be eating through the winter!!

Outside the Office

Recent additions to this ongoing series - a Morgan. a Ferrari and (not strictly, because it was outside my old office in Rye) an Austin Healey.

Tewkesbury

Had a very nice long weekend in Tewkesbury in the camper van, largely to see the area but also to catch up with J's bio-mum, Maureen. 

The site was right by the river, a lovely place but unfortunately with the M5 (motorway) cutting across our view, close enough to be able to read the writing on the side of the lorries. It was quite noisy, but picturesque anyway. The camper was great as usual. The only other down-side was that Otis wasn't in it with us.

Had a nice lunch at the local pub with her and then back to the site for tea and a good chat. Old photos were produced on both sides, and it made for a very interesting weekend.

On the way home, stopped off at this amazing National Trust house, where they filmed Pride and Prejudice, not the fab TV series but the still very good Keira Knightly movie. Such a great story!