A life on the ocean wave . . .

 

A life on the ocean wave . . .

 . . . well, Solent, anyway.

                                    Kat, Callum, Hailey and Melia 

Callum ‘phoned. He was taking Kat and the children to the boat, just to familiarise them with it, though Hailey is too young to do more than just sit and look. Kat was intending to take the children home after a couple of hours, so Callum asked if Barry would be interested in going for a sail.

    Melia gets to grips with ship to shore technology in the navigatorium.

Barry hasn’t been down to the boat for an exceptionally long time, with things like sepsis and pneumonia and associated problems disturbing the natural order of things. He agreed he would like a day’s sailing. It’s always enjoyable for him as he doesn’t have to do anything, just keep an eye on things and issue occasional instructions while Callum does the rest very capably.

                            Callum takes his ease before setting sail

Susannah, at home with us for the weekend, said she would drive, as she would like to see her nephew and meet her great-nieces.

Hamble Point Marina is just over an hour away from us, and they set off shortly after 9.00. Callum lives much closer, so his journey is significantly shorter.

Marnie and Dean joined the party later with their two children, who are old enough to take on some of the tasks. It was a lovely day, with light airs, blue sky, and a pleasant amount of sun.

                                            Fergus and Isla
They had a wonderful day, avoiding the Isle of Wight ferries and the cruise liners. The Solent is a remarkably busy stretch of water, but big enough that close encounters of the sailing kind are easily avoided. 

Barry brings the boat alongside after a most enjoyable day

(I don't know whether the video will play! Just checked - it won't.)

Plans are afoot for the future. Gareth and Elliot fancy a day out, too.

 

Defaced blue ensign, ASA

It can only be flown when Barry is aboard 

 

The Dorset Family

No photographs of the Dorset Family! No opportunities, so here's a photograph of Arthur this morning, saying, 'It's about time we went out for a walk!'

On Tuesday evening I had a call from my eldest daughter, asking if it would be all right for her to visit the following day. She had been intending to descend on us without warning, but her elder daughter said, ‘Mum, haven’t you read Janice’s blog? She said that it's lovely to see people, but a little advance notice would be helpful.’

I was surprised at that. I didn’t know that Marnie read my blog. Anyway, Gillian took the advice to heart. On Wednesday, Gillian, her daughters, one son-in-law and all six of her grandchildren arrived. Their dogs remained in Dorset.

Five-month-old Hailey was passed to me and sat happily on my knee watching her cousins. The other three girls, Marnie’s daughter, Isla, who is twelve, Kiri’s daughter, Ariella, four, and Callum’s daughter Melia, two and a half, did what girls usually do. They settled down on the floor with paper and coloured pencils, then gravitated to construction toys with gears and cogs. It’s clear that they spend a lot of time together, giving, taking, and working cooperatively.

Fergus, who is nearly eleven, concentrated on playing with the dogs, particularly Gilbert. He is very much at ease with animals.

 Luca was busy pressing buttons and investigating the contents of cupboards and drawers. He will be three in October and is ‘into everything’ as the saying goes. He needs a dedicated full-time adult to monitor his actions, and prevent them if necessary possible. He found the cat litter tray especially interesting. The texture of the granules was pleasing as it poured through his fingers. Naturally, the more he was dissuaded from investigating it, the greater was the fascination. Fortunately, the tray only contained unused litter! The cats were prowling around, quite unaffected by the sudden influx of people, particularly small ones.

Gilbert and Arthur were intrigued by the baby and gently licked her toes, which she seemed to enjoy. Roxy, of course, is an old hand paw with little humans, and knew which ones to attend, principally Luca, who was waving his food around in a tantalising manner.

Barry took Marnie and Dean into the garden, to pick apples and plums, of which there are an abundance. All the children, apart from Hailey, had a turn around the garden – such a Regency phrase!

Our garden is no longer a children’s space, in the sense that they cannot play football, cricket, or tennis in it, or ride their bikes, but it is full of interest. We have tried to divide it into ‘rooms’ with a winding path and arches which support a variety of climbing plants. Actually, it’s more the case that the plants support the arches now.

Marnie was in seventh heaven. Her ambition is to have a self-sufficient garden. She already grows a few vegetables, but has plans for much more when she and Dean can acquire a house with a bigger garden.

She came back into the house laden with fruit, a branch (!) of bay leaves to dry, thyme, oregano, a number of different mint plants, which she can root on, and a great quantity of cobnuts. She and Paul, her father, have been engaged in creating chutneys and pies. The crab apples are not ripe, so she will have to make a return journey to pick those for crab apple jelly. I haven’t made that for some years now as somehow everything in sight gets covered in stickiness.

They had to leave early as Fergus had a football match near Blandford. He’s a tall boy and plays goalkeeper, like his sister, Isla, and just as his mother used to.

All too soon, the house was relatively empty again and peace descended. The dogs and cats slept well, Gilbert retiring to (our) bed shortly after his supper at 6:30.

Tonight, there will be more upheaval for Arthur when Susannah returns. He will be so excited. He’s a lovely little dog, very faithful and affectionate and we shall miss him when he returns to London with Susannah and her cats.

Steam fairs

 

Steam fairs

Today, the Glorious Twelfth, has felt like a Saturday all day long. It’s also hot.

We all have different interests and hobbies. Sometimes they overlap, perhaps the most obvious one being photography.

My eldest daughter and son-in-law spend many summer weekends at steam fairs across the country. It is a way for Gillian to ensure that Paul is released from the constant calls for him to sort out someone’s plumbing. He’s a reliable, hard-working plumber and has a reputation for charging fair rates. In fact, he doesn’t charge what he's worth, which is another reason his work is in demand. He has an abiding interest in military vehicles, not surprising, I suppose, since his father was in the army and Paul lived in army quarters for much of his young life.

He enjoys repairing vehicles and preparing them for exhibition. A few years ago, he acquired a 1956 Daf YA Dutch Army Weapons Carrier. He tinkered with it, found authentic spare parts, and eventually drove it to rallies. Then he painted a twin-axle caravan to match – olive drab! – and hauled that along, too.

Following that, he bought a Bombardier military motorcycle and a Hillman 12 RAF staff car. His daughters Marnie and Kiri take it in turns to drive the car. I’m not sure how the motorbike gets to the steam fairs – in the Daf, I suppose, along with the dogs.

Sometimes, Gillian and Paul go to rallies on their own. At other times, one or two of their children accompany them with their families, towing a more conventional-looking caravan – that is, not olive drab.

Luca, 2, and Ariella, 4, in camouflage outfits!

It’s a grand way to escape from the humdrum of daily life. The rallies are held in fairly remote locations in large fields, so there’s plenty of room for dogs and small children to play safely. Many connections are made, and much knowledge and experience are gained. Paul returns with ever more plans and Gillian smiles and leaves him to it. 

Would you?

 

Would you?

                            Marnie , aged 15, with a feline patient

Mary from‘ In the Corner of My Eye’ commented that dog food is said to be fit for human consumption. It reminded me of the time my eldest granddaughter stayed with us while she had some work experience locally. Work experience gives students in year 10 or 11, that is, children of 15 or 16, an opportunity to find out a little about the so-called ‘world of work’. 

At that time, Marnie thought she would like to become a vet and so applied to our veterinary surgery for the opportunity to gain insight into the profession. She had and still has excellent interpersonal skills and great empathy with animals. Every day she reported for duty and got on very well with Nadia-the-Vet and the rest of the staff.

                                    Cat under anaesthetic

Though they are not specialist animal nutritionists and only a very small fraction of their training is devoted to diet, vets in general practice will often suggest a change of diet for pets, particularly if an animal is not thriving or has particular problems, like renal failure or a propensity to hairballs, for example. 

There is a wide choice of pet food in the market, but most veterinary practices carry only the more recognisable ‘scientific’ brands.  Nadia-the-Vet and Marnie decided to taste test the dog and cat ‘wet’ food and found the different recipes quite palatable.

                                Marnie with a puppy patient

There are professional animal food testers and the video clip gives a taste (groan – sorry!) of their dedication to duty.

When I was a child, there was not a great variety of commercial animal food but I used to enjoy munching dog biscuits occasionally. I found them quite tasty. The food our cats have looks quite attractive and, judging by the smell, is highly flavoured, but I am not tempted to taste it.

Would you?

 

More birthdays

Marnie aged about two and a half - big blue eyes, always smiling

There are two birthdays in my family today. My eldest grandchild, Marnie, will be 30 and my youngest, Jack will be 5.

Marnie is my eldest daughter’s elder daughter and Jack is my youngest daughter’s younger son.

Jack aged about two and a half - big brown eyes. He's looking unusually serious in this photograph.

Out of curiosity, I wondered what they have in common, having been born under the same star, Scorpio. As with weather forecasts, I always choose the analysis with which I agree and wish to come to fruition, so I sifted to arrive at the best result.

The first thing I read was that they are well-known for their ruthlessness, not something to be encouraged. I disregarded it. That’s the joy of astrology – you can pick and choose what to apply! The second attribute was single-mindedness and I would agree with that in both personalities. I also liked the third characteristic, with caveats. 

It said that they don’t see limitations in their lives and won’t let anyone tell them they can’t have what they want.  I can see that could be translated as being pig-headed and maybe throwing tantrums when thwarted. Again, not something to be wished for.

I went to another site which told me that Scorpios are loyal and passionate and have an intuitive sixth sense verging on clairvoyance. They are deep and secretive, obsessive and emotional, temperamental, honest, ambitious and brave.

Discarding all that, I can say with certainty that they are both, though 25 years apart, chatty, inquisitive, single-minded and very loving. Jack talks all day, from the moment he wakes until he falls asleep. Marnie is also a talker and they both have a lovely sense of humour.

Marnie has broken her leg badly in two places so will not be gallivanting tonight, painting the town red. Jack isn’t old enough to jaunt yet!

Cats!

Cats!

We have had a number of cats throughout the years, even, for a brief period, breeding them. Our Burmese were recommended  by our vets, to people seeking kittens, for their friendly dispositions and apparent immunity to alarm. We had four children and they and their friends were instrumental in ensuring that our kittens grew up used to the hustle and bustle of a busy home and loving the attention they were given.

Recently I read Eleanor Farjeon’s poem ‘Cats Sleep Anywhere’ to Frankie. It’s a poem many of us will have learnt at school (and then forgotten apart from the first couple of lines!)

Cats Sleep Anywhere

Cats sleep anywhere, any table, any chair.

Top of piano, window-ledge, in the middle, on the edge.

Open drawer, empty shoe, anybody’s lap will do.

Fitted in a cardboard box, in the cupboard with your frocks.

Anywhere! They don’t care! Cats sleep anywhere.

Eleanor Farjeon 1881-1965

This was the cover of my copy of the poem.

Here is a small selection from the thousands of photos we have of our many cats. Many of them are pictured with our dogs. All our cats have loved our dogs. Some of them enjoyed blogging. Some were quite literary. Some enjoyed watching educational programmes on the television . . . or rugby.

Jellicoe,  our 4-year-old  Classic Ocicat . Classics are now known as Aztecs!

Susannah's  one-year-old Somali, Solomon

Marnie with the late Pansy, one of our blue Burmese, about fourteen years ago.

Jellicoe pretending to be a lap cushion!

The late Monty Ocicat with a young Jenna. Monty died when he was three of congestive heart failure

Susannah's Abyssinian, Pats, as a kitten. She is now ten years old.

Jenna with Winston Ocicat, who died unexpectedly when he was six years old.

Susannah providing a perch for Winston

Monty with the late, great Frodo, my velcro dog

Monty loved watching television . . .

. . . and he would not move to allow a dog into a dog bed.  Here it's Jenna trying to get comfortable.

Young Frodo with elderly blue Burmese, Pansy (top) and Singleton.  

If the cats have a squabble, as cats frequently will, they sometimes seek solace. Here it is  Cariadd, our first Dalmatian, doing the honours. There are six Burmese cats sitting on her. To her right are the hindquarters of Biddy, our first Jack Russell.

Christmas Winston!

Winston appreciating my Kindle

Clown, Magic and Angus, all Burmese. Clown and Angus were brothers.

Alicat, our first Burmese, with Bethan, thirty-three years ago

The cats liked sitting and sleeping on the aquarium cover. It was warm and there was always a slight chance that they might catch a snack! Here are, from left to right, Magic, Angus, Pansy, Alicat(behind Pansy), Sweet Pea, Clown and Singleton

Monty studying a spotted cousin . . .

 . . . and here listening to Jim Al-Khalili

Monty and Winston

Winston the blogger

Jellicoe and Isambard sharing Bertie's bed

Herschel and Bertie

  

The Twenty-Third Blog of Augustus Lazarus Cooke (Gus)

The Twenty-Third Blog of Augustus Lazarus Cooke (Gus)

Hello everyone!

It’s very busy in our house. There are so many rings at the door that us dogs have given up barking. Mrs H says that’s just as well or we would be ho(a)rse. I don’t understand that – we’re dogs and we couldn’t be horses if we tried.

Roxy saw her first horse the other day. She followed him, trying to sniff his bottom. Mrs H was worried about his hooves but they looked all right to me.

Roxy’s mum and dad had a new litter of puppies. Mr and Mrs H thought about having one of Roxy’s sisters but decided against it as they say they’ve got enough on their hands. I’ve just looked at their hands and I don’t know what they’re talking about. Mr H hasn’t got anything on his hands and there are only a couple of rings on Mrs H’s. Humans do say some funny things sometimes.

Bruno (left) and Bella 

Anyway, Gillian and Marnie have got a sister and brother of Roxy’s. They’re called Bella and Bruno. The first time we saw them they were really small and we couldn’t have a good look at them. 

Left to right: Foxy, Jenna, Bertie, Bella, Isla (human),Bruno, Gus

The next time they came we all went into Simons Wood together – it was fun. Since then Foxy died very suddenly. We were all very sad about that. She was Bertie and Buster’s aunt and lived with Gillian and Buster (Bertie’s brother) in Dorset. It’s a good thing Gillian has Bella otherwise Buster would be very lonely. I loved Foxy. I used to lie next to her and lick her for hours. Mrs H says she was the prettiest little puppy she’s ever seen. Course, I didn’t know her then. I’m only seven and she was eleven, the same age as Jenna.

Foxy 

Dominie with Foxy 

Roxy loves seeing the puppies. Last time, we all played in the garden ‘cos we didn’t have time to go to the woods. Mrs H took us out in the morning before Gillian and Marnie came and then all the humans went to Frankie’s birthday party. He was only little when he and Susannah came to live with us. He’s four now and quite grown up. 

He likes taking photos with Mrs H’s iPad and the other day he used her camera. 

He needs some more practice, I think.

The cats had their fourth birthday, too, but they didn’t have a party. They were terrified of us dogs when they first came here but now they love to snuggle up with us.

Left to right: Jellicoe, Isambard, Bertie

Top to bottom: Herschel, Bertie, Jellicoe, Isambard, Jenna

Christmas is coming. I’m still not sure what that is but the house is filling up with strange parcels and Frankie is getting very excited. He had to dress up as a sheep the other day for something called 'The Nurtivitee'. 

The cats liked his costume!

I don’t think there’s anything else to report. 

Be good.

Hwyl fawr am nawr! (That’s Welsh for ‘Goodbye for now!’)