A Surreal Experience
I have just come back from Walthamstow on a Victoria line train. I actually sat in the empty front carriage opposite to the big window. When the train stopped at I think, Seven Sisters, I became aware that eyes were watching me. Only then did I realise that the train had stopped, so that the four puppies in an advert on the station wall stared in through the window.
What are the chances of that happening?
I had to get the Victoria Line a day later, so I thought, I’d find the puppies! It wasn’t Seven Sisters, but Tottenham Hale.
Could this advert start a whole new trend, where some of the large wall adverts in stations are arranged so that the message is aligned with the window?
A Pocket Dog
I saw this little puppy on a 56 bus.
A Pocket Dog
Her name was Bella and I think she was a Cavalier cross poodle.
She didn’t seem to mind being on a bus.
But then one of my bassets didn’t mind flying in my aircraft. She just wedged herself between the seats and went to sleep.
Am I Bothered About The EU Ban On High Powered Vacuum Cleaners?
Of course not! Except that it has produced some entertaining articles, like this one in the Guardian.
I have a company clean my house. I get two girls for two hours for well under a hundred. And they bring all their own equipment and cleaning materials.
Idon’t have a dog any more, but one of our bassets, loved being vacuumed and would stand by you waiting patiently for her cleaning.
The Scotties Steal The Show
It is generally reported in the media, that the Scotties stole the Opening Ceremony of Glasgow 2014. Look at what the Aussies said for example.
But it would appear, that finding enough dogs might have been a problem, as according to this article, they had to bring in Archie from Ringwood in England.
Perhaps they should have shared the duties around and perhaps got in a corgi for the Welsh team to add a touch of humour near the end.
Queen Elizabeth would have been amused!
It will be interesting to see if sales of Black and White whisky increase.
A Dog Of A Film
The Times today gave the film Pudsey: The Movie, the score of zero stars. The review included this paragraph.
Given the half-chewed dog’s dinner of a movie that resulted, it seems likely that makers of Pudsey the Dog: The Movie decided to maximise their investment by getting Pudsey to write the screenplay as well
No wonder, it’s being advertised on a high proportion of buses. The busometer is never wrong.
An Unusual Cold War Story
I’ve just read this story on the BBC, about the personal relationship between Nikita Krushchev and John F. Kennedy and especially about a puppy given to the Kennedys by Krushchev.
You can draw a lot of interesting conclusions.
Going North And Going South
These two paintings were on display in the Nation Railway Museum at York.
The artist was George Earl and the paintings are mentioned in his Wikipedia entry.
I found the paintings notable, as there were certainly Red Irish, English and Gordon Setters in the paintings. There could also have been Red and White Irish Setters too!
Two Gordon Setters In Germany
C and I have had several setters and the only one, we never owned was a Gordon Setter.
They are now quite rare in the UK and I’ve not seen one for some time.
So I was surprised to see two very friendly ones in Germany.
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- A Gordon Setter On The Munich U-Bahn
The puppy was only ten weeks old.
How To Put Down A Dog
Most of our dogs have lived a long life, with one basset and a couple of setters getting to past thirteen, which is not a bad age for a dog.
But one incident of the end of a dog’s life stands out. Charlotte, our English Setter, who is pictured here, was probably about fifteen and for several days, she’d hardly touched her food or ventured outside her bed in the kitchen. Our amazing horse vet, Philip, who’d passed through in his usual hurry, a couple of days before, had told us that she didn’t have long and to call him, when we thought the time was near. So that evening I’d called him about six and he said he was busy and would turn up later.
I was writing software and eventually Philip turned up just after midnight. He ascertained that Charlotte hadn’t probably more than a few hours and then did what he had to do.
Normally, Philip didn’t have time to stop, but I asked him if he’d like a drink, suggesting tea or something stronger.
He had probably had a bad day, so asked for the latter.
Between us we finished off the greater part of a bottle of Irish whiskey!
I would like to think, that when my time is up, that I could go in the same dignified way that Charlotte did, with the pain for those present helped in an appropriate manner, by either alcohol, coffee or cake!
Who’s Be A Politician’s Dog?
I just had to link to this set of pictures from the BBC. Look at the one of MP, Gregory Barker with Otto.
The Anonymous Widower 