2024 Catch Up

 I hope everyone reading this had a good Christmas and Happy New Year. Even though the former is all fake... 

I have decided to start doing this again, maybe I am foolish but what the heck?

We had a good time over the festive period, even at Phil & Jane's place on Boxing Day. He's my pillock of a brother, as you know, but he seemed to have decided not to wear his pillock hat for the day. Not really sure how Dad, Louisa and Chloé got on when they spent the day there on the day on New Year's Day, Dad was remarkably quiet about it all. Usually he's quite critical of his oldest son (his only son, in fact) but after this visit: nothing. I asked Louisa if everything had been OK but she also retained diplomatic silence. (I'll have to ask Chloé about their day if I get the chance when she's alone...)

Overall Dad & Co's visit was really fun apart from a day in heaving crowds of the great unwashed spent at "Meadow Hell" shopping mall. Louisa & Chloé were both desperate to go there shopping and Dad very sneakily got out of a visit by saying he'd drop us all at the tram terminus so we didn't have to drive there, through lots of traffic and then have to find a parking spot. The centre itself filled up really quickly even though we were there when the doors were unlocked! (10am)

It was the usual shopping experience for me - I don't really buy stuff from places like Meadow Hall, so I just tagged along and browsed. Lunch at the food court was good - it always is! A great Australian idea copied over here...

We called Dad as soon as we got on the tram back to Middlewood terminus and he was waiting patiently there for us looking relieved that he hadn't had to battle against the masses of manic shopping junkies. I suppose what Dad did made for seamless shopping - or in my case seamless not buying anything.

Chloé loved walking Gaia every morning (she's my new puppy, who replaced Callie who died back in April '23 aged 15). She strolled along the field behind our house with Laura while I took Ieva for her proper morning and later afternoon walks. Once again there was the question of, "Can we have one Dad?" The Dad in question keeps saying No.

The three of them drove back to Cumbria on Wednesday morning, Jan 3rd, getting home at about 1pm. Chloé was back at school on the Thursday morning. I spoke to them all the next Saturday and we've agreed to try bringing the new puppy up to Dad's at half term. I hope she will cope with the journey (160 miles) and wonder what she'll make of the Solway Firth, about five miles from Dad's house...

Are you looking forward to some snow during the coming days / weeks / year? (If not, don't scratch your head...- one of Chloé's jokes from a call with her last week.)  It is quite likely we'll get some before the winter's over (real snow, not dandruff) being quite high up the hillside here on the edge of the Peak District National Park. Dad and co can see the Lakeland fells from their village and the higher ones have had a covering of icing several times.

 Onesacre, the village further up the hill from our house, often gets a good covering too. Luckily (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective) our lane is a Bus Route so Bradfield Council clears it as soon as any angels' dandruff falls. I suppose it is a useful service, though, as the footpath also gets gritted too which means I am not trying to walk up a 1 in 4 ice rink when I walk the dog(s). The Onesacre Road (which goes left off Cockshutts Lane) is less steep and usually ice free, too, there will be some quirky meteorological reason for this, no doubt (or maybe it's topographical?) 

The little puppy (Gaia) hadn't come walking with me on any of these roads until Feb 1st. We just took her for walks beyond the back garden in the huge field behind the house.  Her recall to her name is very good - bribed with dog treats of course. 

In the last week in January we tried having her being in the back of the car when Loll picked up Ieva and me, at Glen Howe Park, and then driving on to Stocksbridge to leave the two pups in the boot of car, outside the pool while we went swimming. We only spent a half an hour in the water (instead of the usual 45 mins) but the girls seemed fine when we got back to the car. Giving them a gravy bone biscuit (or two) on our departure and return seemed to have kept them happy. There are also a handful of dog chews / toys in the boot as well.

We also did our regular Saturday morning shopping at Morrisons supermarket in turns until we thought Gaia could cope with being left that long after us going swimming, Once again she has been fine. We always have a Full English breakfast there and then do the grocery shopping. Loll and I went alternate Saturday mornings after dropping each other and the girls off at the end of our driveway. We did the last Saturday like this on Jan the 27th. Once again they seem to cope with the new routine on Saturday mornings. 

 

We seem to have avoided TV watching over the festive period. Conversations with both Mum, Dad and Phil have been very one sided with me saying, "Didn't watch it..." like a record with the needle stuck. The only things we watched 'religiously'  over the Christmas break have been Mastermind, Only Connect and University Challenge but apart from those it's been - turn the TV on for the BBC 6 o'clock news and then off after Look North (BBC regional news for Yorkshire) has finished...

We went back to dealing with the Great Unwashed on Monday 15 of Jan. That was "d-day" for Gaiapup. Muriel promised to keep an eye out and ear open for any noise from the kennel / run while we were at work. Mum offered to come over everyday but I declined telling her it would become a habit that would be hard to break, plus that'd be a gallon of petrol each time (34 mile round trip) and a couple of hours out of her day.

If Gaia had howled inside the kennel you'd probably not hear it - the double lined, insulated walls and roof of their sleeping box inside the shed (plus the fact Radio 4 is playing in there) would drown any noise Gaia might make. If she went out into the run to howl that could have been a different matter.

She didn't do that during the two week trial period, from 8am to 1pm daily, before we went back to work and Muriel said there wasn't a peep after a few moments of whimpering - probably from Gaia - after we'd left every morning.

When we do roll up home, at about 4.30 each day, the puppy goes crazy. She is beside herself with joy at our return home. There's hardly any noise, just her running round and round the lawn and jumping up at our legs. It's been about a month now and the jumping up is getting less and less but the running round and round us both still goes on. Even Ieva has started to run round in circles too...

They then get an immediate walk up to the local wood and along a farmers field where I can let them both off the lead to expend some of their pent up energy. They are much more restrained, refined and sensible when I take then for their last walk of the day - usually between 10.30 and 11.30pm.

I'll sign off here and talk about going up to Dad's for the weekend that started Chloé's February half term (9th 10th 11th of Feb) in my next post. (To give a perspective today is Sat 24th Feb and Easter is just around the corner...