Well that was goodbye and in a lot of ways good riddance to 2007!
The year that gave us Gordon Brown as a prime minister when we hadnt even voted for him.
Madeleine McCann disappeared and divided the nation with their opinions on 'did they or didnt' regarding her parents. It was the year that Benazir Bhutto came back to her homeland of Pakistan only to be gunned down a few weeks later. It was the year that Northern Rock went t*ts up. It was the year of...rain....and more rain and more rain. Hull, Tewekesbury and Boscastle all flooded as the rain just didnt stop. In other countries however, heatwaves and no rain caused drought and bush fires especially in California.
It was the year that smoking was banned in public places. HORRAH! I can now have an evening out without coming home smelling like an ashtray and having a hoarse voice!
Lewis Hamilton missed out on his first F1 Championship title in the final race - and only in his rookie year!
We lost the Rugby World Cup to South Africa due to a dodgey judging decision.
Jose Mourinho was sacked by Chelsea's peasant king Abramovich.
We lost Evel Knievel, Colin McCrae (tragically young), Bob Woolmer and Anna Nicole Smith.
We very nearly lost Richard Hammond of Top Gear fame when he famously crashed a jet car.
We lost Grandstand.
We were yet again continually preached to about global warming and turning a light off here catching a bus there - like that's going to make a difference when China is increasingly churning out deadly smoke into the atmosphere and the South Americans are burning rain forests faster than you you can say Husqvarna Chain Saw!
St Pancras Train Station was re-opened after it's incredible refurbishment and I can personally confirm that it IS a complete masterpiece - a beautiful building, lovingly restored and modernised.
On more a more personal note it was the year that my very promising young dog Harvey's show career was ruined. A week before Crufts some ill-informed, ignorant rambler kicked Harvey in the head because he thought he was running at him instead of running past him - and this was yet another consequence of the never ending rain. I was trying to find higher and higher ground to get my dogs out of the mud so walked in places that I wouldnt usually run a setter ie narrow footpaths and not wide open spaces - an unfortunate series of events all round and as such have had a whole year with nothing to show while his sister and brothers all do well in the show ring and I have to miss a whole years dog showing.
My village also made the news with the MFD outbreak. A very sad time for farmers and the rural community alike all thanks to a research labs incompetence. The footpaths around the village are still closed and will be for a lot longer - FMD lives in the soil for a couple of years.
It was also the year that an EU and Government made decisions about things they know nothing about (as usual) and so decided to ban tail docking in traditionally docked dogs. I notice however that you can still cut a pigs tail off - hmmmm.......good, logical thinking!
Work was appalling with no-one caring for anyone else and everyone trying to stab people in the backs and point score against each other. The Indian influence is still biting and continues to take replace jobs many experienced and worthy colleagues with incompetence. The German influence is also still very apparent with most of the British Directors now being replaced by Germans. The last of which was the IT Chief whose idea the Indian offshoring was in the first place - but of course it's too late now - all the good staff and knowledgable, loyal colleagues have been made redundant. Ironically, something that's very difficult to do in Germany!
As the year drew to a close there was at last one piece of good news for me. Harvey my young, gorgeous, solemate is going to be the proud father of six puppies in the new year - and that is worth more to me than money (although obviously I will have a stud fee from this) and has almost blotted out all the bad things about 2007.
Welcome 2008 - lets hope it's a better year.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Happy Christmas
Well, we spent Christmas on our own this year - probably best after a very tiring stressful year. I had the most awesome presents. The best thing that Father Christmas brought me was this wonderful MacBook with widescreen which replaces my old and somewhat dilapidated iBook.
I also have a lovely digital photo frame which when you have so many pictures and no a lot of space is a brilliant piece of kit! I will load photo's onto the frame this evening!
The turkey was cooked to perfection, my home made Christmas pudding was yummy and the whole dinner went incredibly well - I even made my own gravy thanks to Jamie Oliver's advice on TV the other day.
I also have a lovely digital photo frame which when you have so many pictures and no a lot of space is a brilliant piece of kit! I will load photo's onto the frame this evening!
The turkey was cooked to perfection, my home made Christmas pudding was yummy and the whole dinner went incredibly well - I even made my own gravy thanks to Jamie Oliver's advice on TV the other day.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Harvey's the Daddy!
The waiting and worrying is over. Raven is expecting a litter of six pups - due in the first week in January. So whatever happens now I can confidently offer Harvey at stud!
This is so exciting - cant wait to see the pups!
This is so exciting - cant wait to see the pups!
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Brussels, Belgium and not a bun or a sprout in sight!

So yet another early morning to get to somewhere I'm not sure that I want to go t

We bumped into the procession that celebrates the mannequin pis and they were changing his outfit to the Santa Cluas outfit. It was loud, colourful and great fun!

Bought chocolates and loads of beer then went back to our hotel - a lovely five star hotel. Totally loved it there.
It's a bit of a grubby place with loads of graffiti and no HSE at all but I liked it and had a wonderful weekend away.

The other point worth mentioning is the refurb of St Pancras. It looks wonderful and although its now a pain to have to go from Waterloo to St Pancras the speed of the train almost makes up for it. We reached Belgium in just under two hours!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Remerberance Sunday - We MUST remember them
It is with great pride on this day of reflection and rememberance that I reflect on my own fathers contribution to the second world war.
My father, Donald Spencer Glaysher was just 17 when he signed up to join the RAF. He initially wanted to be a rear gunner in a Lancaster bomber but due to low blood pressure (which of course would mean he would pass out when pulling G) he joined the strategic safety dept. The other irony of my father having low blood pressure is that if he had been a rear gunner then I probably wouldnt be here - they had a life expectancy of five missions!!
He served in Africa (mainly Sudan and Egypt) and was awarded the Africa Star. He went out there a boy and came back seven years later a man.
My father, Donald Spencer Glaysher was just 17 when he signed up to join the RAF. He initially wanted to be a rear gunner in a Lancaster bomber but due to low blood pressure (which of course would mean he would pass out when pulling G) he joined the strategic safety dept. The other irony of my father having low blood pressure is that if he had been a rear gunner then I probably wouldnt be here - they had a life expectancy of five missions!!
He served in Africa (mainly Sudan and Egypt) and was awarded the Africa Star. He went out there a boy and came back seven years later a man.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Harvey the Stud!
Could there be some good news on the Horizon. I've been so despondant lately that I've not even felt like entering anything in my blog as life just seems so mundane recently. Today however I hope and pray that something has changed and some luck has come my way. A Gordon Setter bitch (wont say who just yet) was brought over for Harvey to mate. Neither of them had been mated before so we were both taking a bit of a risk - contrary to common belief it's not that easy to mate dogs to order - if they escape from the garden ironically its always a lot easier :)
Anyway, my nerves were raw, I was so full of anticipation - I so wanted this to work out and it did .......and how. Harvey was the perfect gentleman, a textbook mating. I've asisted in the mating of quite a few dogs in my time and I have to say that he was even more controlled and gentle than any experienced stud. I am so proud of him even though it is how I thought he'd be - he IS after all a complete gentleman so I shouldnt have worried about his behaviour with the ladies.
So now it's wait and see time. It's going to be a nerve racking few weeks firstly to discover if there are any live pups inside and then of course the birth - which will be on the 10th - 12th of January. I have everything crossed!!
Anyway, my nerves were raw, I was so full of anticipation - I so wanted this to work out and it did .......and how. Harvey was the perfect gentleman, a textbook mating. I've asisted in the mating of quite a few dogs in my time and I have to say that he was even more controlled and gentle than any experienced stud. I am so proud of him even though it is how I thought he'd be - he IS after all a complete gentleman so I shouldnt have worried about his behaviour with the ladies.
So now it's wait and see time. It's going to be a nerve racking few weeks firstly to discover if there are any live pups inside and then of course the birth - which will be on the 10th - 12th of January. I have everything crossed!!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
American Wildlife

As anyone who has ever read this blog will realise, I love nature, wildlife both flora and fauna. In fact one of my earliest memories was thumbing through the nature section at the back of the AA drivers manual. I couldnt tell you what seven times nine was but my god I could tell you the difference between your tufted vetch and your common knapweed!
So it seems apt that on this last blog for the 2007 holiday I write a list of all the wildlife I can recall seeing while I was in California.

muir woods
moose
blue jay
chipmunk
ladybugs
black tailed deer
elephant seal
sea lions of pier 39
woodpecker (maybe the Ladder-backed?)
turkey
Californian condor
butterfly
American white ibis
Californian Ground Squirrel
mule deer

Tuesday, October 16, 2007
20 years after the Great Storm!
It's hard to believe that it's 20 years ago I bought my first house - how do I remember? Because nine weeks later the great storm hit and we had no water, no power and the fences had fallen down so how to keep two dogs in the graden!
It was a nightmare. We tried to get to work but being 22 miles away from work and in the epi-centre of the storm we shouldnt have bothered. It took seven hours to get to work and then of course we were told to go home (dont forget this was in the days before internet access and mobile phones - hard to believe eh?) It was a true nightmare and now whenever there is a lot of wind and rain in the night I cant sleep because I think that another storm is on it's way!
It was a nightmare. We tried to get to work but being 22 miles away from work and in the epi-centre of the storm we shouldnt have bothered. It took seven hours to get to work and then of course we were told to go home (dont forget this was in the days before internet access and mobile phones - hard to believe eh?) It was a true nightmare and now whenever there is a lot of wind and rain in the night I cant sleep because I think that another storm is on it's way!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
our last night in LA

This is our last day in the US and to be honest we are both ready to go home and in my case I cant wait to see and hug Harvey. For our last evening we went to the Napa Rose (Suzette's recommendation). This is a restaurant within the Disney complex next to the Calif adventure theme park. I wasnt ready for the shock of just how up-market this part of Anaheim has become. This wasnt or isnt the old Anaheim I was used to. The hotel is incredibly decadent and the restaurant was wonderful. Decorated on the Rennie Macintosh style it oozed quality but without being pretentious. The wine was the best I've probably ever had and the food was second to none. I had the most amazing pork chop with braised red ca


Friday, October 12, 2007
...and so back to the bar
Californian Adventure


So we got up at about 10am and get this - it was raining!! Yes, it does rain in LA and this is proof! But it had stopped about an hour later and the sky was blue and it was warm which was good because we were in Disneylands next door neighbour the Californian Adventure. We visited this park when it first opened in 2001 and this is our first return. It's nowhere near as fun for us as Disneyland but is still a very good day out. I would say it's more for the adrenalin junkie which we are certainly not but even so we still enjoyed a couple of really good rides as well as some typical sea front fun fair games - I even won a couple of prizes!

The other difference with this park from it's neighour is that it serves alcohol. In fact it apart from a micro-brewery stand it also has wine tasting whi

We then spent the evening in Downtown Disney where there were some superb halloween costumes (which is so popular in the US) .
A hat is for every occasion!




Ever since I lived in Kingston as a kid, I've always been drawn over to the hat department of any store - in that case it was BHS. i simply love trying on hats. So off course when you go to a shop that only sells hats and then find other shops in Disneyland that also only sell hats what can I do? It's a compulsion.....


Complete Slob Day
So tired after yesterday, couldnt do anything, just read, did a bit of shopping and slobbed out - gotta get our strength back for another round of walking and rides tomorrow in the Californian Adventure! Cant wait!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
and so onto our annual pilgrimage......

...... Disneyland! Advertised as the 'Happiest Place on Earth' but also a Mecca for people watching. I swear I saw a sumo wrestling mother there today amongst many other weird and truly wonderful. God knows we have our own set of weirdos in the UK but this place is people spotting at a premium (didn't I say that in last years blog?)

Anyway, onto the real reason to visit Disneyland - the rides. Sadly, our favourite ride ( Indiana Jones) has now shut for maintenance which threw us both as we always run over to that ride to start our day. The other disappointment was that the Splash Mountain ride closed while we were queuing up - I've only riden this twice because it always seems to break down!
The other rides we took in were The Haunted Mansion, The Matterhorn (3 times), Buzz Lightyear (see picture - twice), Star Tours, Snow White (what a waste of time!), Roger Rabbit, Pirates of the Caribbean and last but not least the Finding Nemo exhibit which is the old submarine ride (name escapes me) that's been re-furbed. When it re-opened last month there was a 3.5 hour waiting - we waited an hour as it's so popular (most other rides today were only about 20-40 mins) so was it worth it? Not sure. It's good, it's popular but it's only OK - perhaps I'm too old for this particular ride :0
I believe this is my seventh visit to Disneyland (eight if you count Orlando) and I think it's Alan's sixth (plus two vis


Off to the bar now for a couple of nightcaps - although I think I may fall asleep on with my drink in my hand - it's been a long day!
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Did the earth move for you?
Long Beach

So off to Long Beach. A beautiful harbour (or is that harbor ;)) that we have wanted to return to since our first visit 7 years ago (can it really be 7 years?) It's just so peaceful an


The famous Queen Mary lives here and it has a boardwalk with some wonderful little shops and bars.

We decided to go back to the Aquarium and it was far better than I remember. This place is spectacular and has some amazing exhibits of marine life. My favourites are the seals and the sea otters.
It's worth mentioning Millar who is now 27 years old. He

We had lunch at the Yard House (named after the english yard of ale apparently) overlooking the collection of very nice, expensive boats. It has (it boasts) the largest collection of draft beers in the world - the photo only shows half the bar! The meal (not burgers, steak or a sign of a chip thank god) was fantastic, the location wonderful
and the weather was very warm! What else could you ask for!
Monday, October 08, 2007
Mainplace - one of the best malls I know
We sat by the pool for a few hours (now reading the hugely successful An Interpretation of a Murder) to top the tan up and chill (and get rid of hangovers) an then decided it was time for a BIG shop! We trundled off down to Mainplace which we know well. This place has all our favourites - A&F, American Eagle, Old Navy etc etc etc. We stocked our wardrobes up and then I spotted in this geeks shop a previously owned PS3 - of course Alan couldn't resist! It cost him $400 - that's £200!!! A bargain - they are £425 in the UK.
We then went to the bar and met some Canadians who are spookily aimilar to the English in their sense of humour.
We then went to the bar and met some Canadians who are spookily aimilar to the English in their sense of humour.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
A well earned day by the pool!
With all the travelling we've done and all the new sights we have seen it was a welcome change to just chil out and sit by a familiar (if not luxurious) pool in a familiar town. At this time of year the sun goes behing the building at about midday but it was so pleasantly warm that we both sat by the pool and finished our books. Mine was Restless - a fantastic, page turner of forties English spy networks which spookily enough mentioned the El Camino Real which is basically the Pacific Coast Highway which we had been travelling along for the last week. Spooky huh?
The downer is that the Angels are out of the playoffs - swept away by the B***dy Red Sox!!! Argh!!!!
We then went down to the bar and as usual the bartender was far too generous with her re-fills. We both felt a little the worse for wear on Tuesday morning.
The downer is that the Angels are out of the playoffs - swept away by the B***dy Red Sox!!! Argh!!!!

We then went down to the bar and as usual the bartender was far too generous with her re-fills. We both felt a little the worse for wear on Tuesday morning.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
A long, long journey to LA

We set out from Morro Bay at 09:30 in the morning, picked up some coffee and pastries on the way out. This was going to be a long journey - in fact almost the length of the British Isles.
The road isnt half as windy as the first part of this journey and is mostly freeway and open road but still with a lot of coastline to follow.
We finally arrived in Los Angeles and Hollywood at about 2pm - it took another hour to get through the infamous LA traffic jams to arrive in Anaheim at a few minutes before 3pm - the time at which we could check in - so a long day all round.
We ended the day with a quick trip round The Block (a mall we've been frequenting since we first came here in 2000) and then back to the Pickford Bar in the hotel to meet up with Suzette the bartender that we met last year. I'm afraid to say that we both had a little too much to drink - it really has been a long day!
Morro Bay

This is Morro Bay. Not much to comment on this unremarkable all American town but I suppose after Carmel and Tiburon most places are going to look pretty ordinary!
The only point of interest really apart from the noisy seals that come into the bay every night and sound off with each other is the very noticable monolith just off the shore. It raises over 500 feet above the sea and is the remnants of a long since extinct volcano.
The other well known land mark or some might say eyesore are thre

We found a really nice local sea front restaurant that was full of local produce (Alan had an enormous piece of Halibut!) and was friendly, compfortable and the food was very good - and you could also see the seals messing around just outside the window!
One thing that should be mentioned is Harmony. A town just the other side of Morro. In America they have a tradition of when you enter each town stating the population and the elvation and the reason that Harmony is worth mentioning? It has a population of 18! Yes 18! I wonder who goes out there and changes it when there is a birth or death in the town? It's also worth mentioning that they produce some very good wine.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Leaving Carmel

On the twisting and winding journey along the coast road we passed many beach

We passed the very famous Big Sur. This is just a little off the coastal area and is a river with a lot of forest surrounding the river and many camp sites. This is where we saw some wild turkeys crossing the road - we never did find out why the turkey crossed the road :)
We saw a colony of elephant seals - so near you could if foolish enough touch them! These seals were almost hunted to death but have now made such an amazing reco


.....and so off to Morro Bay some 140 miles away.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
A Perfect Day?


We both decided that today we may actually try to chill out. The last few days have taken their toll. The first plan was to cycle round the headland but we firstly couldnt find the bike hire shop and s

So onto plan B. With limited time in the amazingly beautiful town we decided to

Wednesday, October 03, 2007
...and so onto Carmel by the Sea, Monterey

So that was Tiburon and I loved it. It had nothing to live up to as we'd never heard of the place until this year but Carmel was different.
We left Tiburon along the the Pacific Coast Highway crossing the Golden Gate Bridge - can you believe it only costs $5 to cross this magnificent piece of iconic engineering? It costs over double this to cross into Wales!!!
Everyone knew and said they loved Carmel. What could be so special? Could this place really be that NICE? Oh yes! This tiny seaside town (which incidentally is next to a town called Seaside) totally lives up to it's repuatation. Is it any wonder Clint Eastwood once lived here and indeed was once the mayor of this little idyll.
The streets are clean and there are flowers and welll kept plant borders wherever you go - even the shopping mall looks like an entry in the the Chelsea Garden S


The shops are without exception niche and there are many galleries which can only mean decadence! The cars range from between Bentleys, Porsche, Maseratti and Jaguar to an amazing collection of well preserved classic cars. This places ouzes money - even more so than Tiburon.
The journey along the coast road to get here took us past some wonderful beaches and coves then then onto true Steinbeck country. There are acres and acres of fruit (mostly strawberries at this time of year) and vegetables with the familiar sight of fruit pickers beding over in the fields - so familiar to anyone who like me loves Steinbeck. This is also the home of Cannery Row.
So onto our very nice hotel/motel and then onto the well renowned Hog Breath Inn which was once owned by (you guessed it) Clint Eastwood. The food was fantastic (horrah! Vegetables

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