The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

“Looking forward to meeting him”, they said.

“I’ll write a blog”, I said.

“It’s easy”, she said….

Well….

Anything and everything is easy when you have time, energy and the wherewithal to actually begin, never mind complete a task, but I have just spent 3.2 weeks in a cave of dominant darkness and a foreboding of end of life as we had come to know it!

Ok, a little unfair. Actually, a HUGE unfairness. In those 3.2 weeks, we managed a significantly magnificent Christmas, followed by a quieter but by no means less of a magnificent New Year. We popped Champagne, and opened presents. Quaffed Ferraro Rocher, Brandy sauce, Bread Sauce and Cranberry Sauce in copious amounts to slather over copious turkey sandwiches which no one really wanted but all felt compelled to eat, minus the crusts obviously. They count as calories no one needs and are better saved for more Ferrero’s.

We welcomed children in their finery and glorious grandchildren in velvet, ribbons and braces. We witnessed first steps from first boys and Disney Princesses from our quartet of girls, how lucky we are!
And in the midst of all the joy and frivolity, came Moxley; 5 kilos of golden kinetic energy in a four legged costume that wasn’t Disney but a strong dose of reality.. Yep, we got a dog. A puppy, a sleep depriver, a house invader and a kitchen roll and nappy sack depletist! Seriously, how can something that size produce that amount of anything.
Thankfully we discovered on ‘first walk’ day that Moxley, much like us, likes the pub and in particular our pub. Obviously, we only took him to socialise him, we really didn’t want to go. Sometimes you have to be a little unselfish and do things for the benefit of others so that’s what we did. We spent a couple of hours on a mizzly grey afternoon in our favourite hostelry with a roaring log fire supping local ale and less local rosè , swapping dog tales ( not tails, that’d be gruesome!) all for the sake of socialising our new family member. It was tough but that’s the kind of family we are, always looking out for others…

Joy! After 3 and a bit weeks, no night call, just an early morning howl, as sweet as birdsong. Oh how we’ve missed our cups of tea in bed contemplating the day ahead. I shall never take that opportunity for granted again.

First day back to normality of the working kind today so catching up around the house and maybe even begin writing a diary..

Lovely warm house and a quiet moment, .. bliss..

That’s what I envisaged when I sat at laptop. Two sentences later and I capture The Tesco delivery arriving…. clearly, I’m not supposed to be starting this just yet.
Bags at the ready, and quick exchange of Christmas pleasantries with the amiable Tesco man, when the Golden hurricane makes a leap for freedom. Fortunately Tesco man has it covered and brings him back in whilst I attach a lead and Tesco man begins to build a created barrier. So far, so good.

Then the Carry On movie began. What looked like 5 tons, (in comparison to 5 kilos), of sandy coloured muscle bounded across the garden, our garden. Our garden with the gate wide open not just to Tesvo man but seemingly any dog, Tim or Harry. I screeched, Tesco man screeched twice as loud and jumped in the house, my house, closing the door firmly behind him. Me , Tesco man and a docile dog on this side of door and The Incredible hunk of a mastiff on the other. What are the chances on the balance of probability that in an approximate 5 minute window of opportunity when the gate is left open, does a Mountain beast decide to escape the clutches of its owner?

I will just tell you no Delivery men, homeowners or Golden Retriever puppies were harmed in this incident and the Mountain beast went back to where it came from which is G knows where or to whom and all over within minutes. How quickly that quiet morning disappeared from my memory..

Steve and I are now on first name terms and I hadn’t needed to call DG home but it’s incredible what 3.1 weeks of virtually no sleep can do to your imagination! MailOnline would’ve had great fun putting together that headline, doubt Tesco need the advertising though!