Heel

Today we took The Scarpers for her fourth gun-dog training session. She was excellent! No really.

Pause. Awkward silence.

Well, she was very good anyway. Her heel-work is very good, she's much better on recall and her retrieve is, well, not very good at all really. She dashes off to collect the dummy and sprints about half-way back before deciding it'll be rather more fun to run about in circles with the dummy in her mouth, taunting me with it all the time.

She does eventually bring it back but our Grade One test is in a month and i'm moderately concerned that she won't quite get it in time. That, of course, is probably the reason she's not doing it yet.

On the other hand her quartering is great and she's been so much more responsive, alert, and engaged with us since we started the training. The trainer (Allan Hender) is really excellent, so although it's a big time-commitment, it's well worth it. We're personally hoping for a Distinction on the test.

Popcorn

Almost one year since i started working for youDevise. In that time i have had many adventures and written none of them down. i'm not sure anyone noticed.

So what did you miss? youDevise continues to be cool. My Brompton is excessively cool but cycling in London is deeply terrifying. Considering the Mayor cycles to work (using only his abundant hair as a helmet) i am amazed on an almost daily basis how poor the road network is for cyclists considering that there are about one million of us now.

Cycling really lets you see the cold dark interior of London's polluted heart. I've been yelled at, called countless names, moaned at by the police and nearly bashed off my bike by dozens of taxi drivers. I've even been told by one particularly prickly taxi driver that i'm lucky to be alive and that running me over is just about preferable to obeying the rules of the road.

In short i absolutely hate cycling to work. Mainly because i don't really want to get mashed by a truck or smacked by a black cab. So i actually tried rollerblading, which was disastrous. And finally, my new plan is to run to work. Starting on Monday. I might let you know how it goes.

Why is this entry entitled "Popcorn"? Because i was just eating some.

No adventures

Is anyone still reading this? In the unlikely event that you are, you may be interested to know what's been going on with us lately.

It turns out that London isn't quite as interesting as the French Alps for providing me with things to write about. Sure, i could rabbit on about how much i detest the daily commute and how, based on my extensive knowledge of three cities on the planet, London excels and surpasses all the competition in the "unfriendliness" category. i could probably fill several (dull) books on "things that happened on my way to work" but i really couldn't be bothered.

So the good news is that my new job is totally awesome. i should have moved years and years ago. It turns out that i really had no idea how to code. It's great to be learning again.

On the subject of my commute (which we weren't) i recently invested in a Brompton (the S2L in bright orange) which has revolutionised my trip to work. Not only has it cut my trip time by 10 minutes each way, i no longer have to park at the station and the tube is the thing of the past for me. Hurray for youDevise and the Cycle-Scheme.

So apparently the snow is awesome so far. We're going to Val d'Isere on the 10th of January and then the Portes du Soleil on the 17th. Two weeks of skiing with the Vallee Blanche planned for changeover day. i'm sure you know this, but We. Cannot. Wait.

Visitors

Paul and Lesley are visiting the United Kingdom this week.  Britain put on its best display of weather just for them.  This is the view of Dover taken from the top of the Keep at Dover Castle yesterday.

Not to be deterred, after seeing the Castle we headed off to the White Cliffs where the elements continued in their balmy crazy-English-summer way.  Here we are pictured fighting off the onset of hypothermia.

Finally, having not had enough of British culture (i use the word lightly) we were dragged (against our will) to a nightclub in London called Tiger-Tiger.  It was entertaining.

Determination

This photo was taken on the 31st of July 2008.

i think we may just about qualify for the stiff upper lip now.

The End was Nigh

Today (now yesterday) was my last day at Postilion. i thought i'd write a piece on my time at Postilion, my contribution, what i learned, and how i grew an matured as an individual.

Then i realised what a stupid idea that would be.

So instead i'll show you in a more visually practical way how i changed through my career at Postilion. This is what i looked like when i started there 7 years ago:

Are you wondering how i fit all the necessary pipes, tubes, and organs into that spindly little neck?

Disturbing isn't it? Perhaps i should have put a disclaimer at the top of this post and recommended the optional but advisable use of motion-discomfort-bags.

Actually, it's only disturbing if you see what i look like today. Here's a photo of me taken shortly before our ski-trip last year. Note pale, almost translucent complexion and official London boring hair-cut.

This is what i look like today(ish). This was taken in Cape Town shortly before our return to the UK and work.

i don't know what you think but i think that the above look like three totally different people. All gorgeous, obviously, but like distant cousins of one another. Which one is better? YOU decide! i'm thinking the relaxed five-months-in-the-Alps looks is the best.

i really am quite rubbish at this blogging thing. This started off as a nostalgic reflection on my time at Postilion and as ended up as a sickening and slightly disturbing study of me through the ages.

A lack of snow and pipe-smoking buddies has left me scrambling for topics. If i had any readers, i'm sure they'd be changing channels right about now.

Hot

It is hot.  Hottest day of the year today.  Possibly the hottest day i've ever had in the UK.  Yes, we're nearly into double-figures.  This weekend Natalie and i went up to Sheffington (actually Worksop) to visit Casey (a Dalmation, in fact, the best Dalmation in the world) and Jester (similarly, the best Jack Russell terrier in the world).  My parents and sisters were there too so that was convenient.

By the way, this is the infamous deck that we installed.  It's in front of the infamous conservatory we built.

We had supper at Wagamama where i gorged myself on the Edimame and Katsu curry and played a lot of Settlers of Catan (not at Wagamama) which Father annoyingly won twice.  Good thing he didn't gloat about it.  Continuously.

Wagamama.  That's us in the distance at the end of the table.

As usual the accommodation with the Parental Units was fabulous and relaxing. 

Two days of work left and just 5 days until the Mallons (that's Elvish for "friend") and Grapendaals (that's not Dutch for "friend").  Just need to install the blackout blinds in Paul and Lesley's room now since they require absolute blackness for sleeping and i don't think they'll appreciate that it starts to get light here at about 3:30am.  Don't ask how i know this.

Casey, reading food.