England retain the Ashe for the first time in 28 years!!!

Oh how the Aussie's must hurt!!! Losing the Ashes - AGAIN in their own country!!!

I have joined the elite class of the Solid State!

Many thanks to Steve Jobs for making my day! I have my first solid state laptop -a MacBook Air. No moving parts, no whirring fan, no red legs!! It's fast, light, clear and totally awesome!!

I'm coming back to blog!

I've neglected my blog mostly because life has not been that exciting - in fact has been downwright depressing and when it gets like that I'd rather forget it than log it!!

today is the shortest day, longest night - the winter equinox, the day I feel like I've reached the pinnacle of winter and that the longer, warmer days are near.

The weather recently has been beyond belief, I may even see my first ever white Christmas - although getting to the Hell Hole (work), delivery of presents and driving in general have been a nightmare I am looking forward to being snowed in, nowhere to go, plenty of booze and turkey sandwiches!!

Last night also say a lunar eclipse - although as usual the UK was too cloudy to spot anything!!

Brodie's Hip Score - 6-4 =10

What an absolute relief. Brodie's hip score is less than half the breed mean of 22.3! I am so pleased. Opening that envelope is for me more nerve wracking than any exam result!

books read - Ordinary Thunderstorms

Another cracking ripping yarn by William Boyd. This guy really knows how to make you want to turn a page. I thoroughly recommend this writer having read two of his books (Restless) and completely enjoyed them both!

Tea Terrace in Guildford - a forgotten treasure1

Books.....

Picture Perfect - Jodi Picoult. Good and a very interesting subject but I dont think it was her best!

Bun Hill Row, Moorgate

Today we had a meeting with all the rest of IT Support at one of the actual colleges, Moorgate.

What a beautiful view from the window. I went up to London with Ana and had a wonderful time with her. The meeting however was a different cup of tea.....very strage way to run a dept!

Windsor CHampionship Show

I was trying to recall when I first exhibited at this show. I think it was with Folly in about 1994!! How scary is that?

Today it was just Brodie and myself. Thank God the heat calmed down for a day and it was a totally pleasant day with a light breeze to keep the dogs and handlers cool.
Brodie was a little out of practice as I've been away but still really pleased with his 3rd in Junior and even though he stood alone in novice the judge (Elaine Roberts) wrote a lot about him - cant wait to read it.

A return to Old Blighty

a mix of sadness and excitement is always how I feel when leaving California. I am sad to leave this wonderful state with all its wonderful people, sceneries, landscapes, food and attractions but soooo happy to be going home to my boys - a pain in the but they maybe but they are also the loves of my life!

Alan managed to get a seat upstairs on a 747. I've never done that before - OK so it wasnt Upper Class but it was just behind so as much leg room as you could need and what a view down to the runway!!

........then came the complete and utter shock. I've been recalled to the breast clinic for further investigation after a routine X-Ray. To say I'm terrified is the understatement.

I'm never going to drink again!!

Went to one of the nicest places I've ever been to - Sonoma, North California. Forget it's more well known sister Napa, Sonoma is a beautiful little American town surounded by some of the best wineries and vineyards I've had the pleasure to taste at.


We re-visited Cline. One of the first wineries we went to ten years ago, then only the Gloria Ferrer Cellars, then the amazing Nicholson Vineyard which I can totally recommend - good wine, lovely villa and really nice people - then onto Sonoma for lunch and a glass of Cline Merlot - hic!

The problem is that after sampling over 20 wines, a glass of Rose Brut Sparkling wine from Gloria Ferrer Cellars and a very rich meal at The Girl and the Fig I feel awful......I dont think I'll ever eat or drink again :)

A city that is wihtout a doubt the craziest I've ever been to - San Francisco!

What a city! Total and complete and utter madness. Tramps galore, business people, gay people, tourists and many cultures cram into this wonderful, loud city of weirdos!!

Sadly it was awful weather, in fact I could have stayed at home for this kind of weather. We left the ferry terminal at Tiburon in gorgeous morning sunshine and entered a city of low cloud, fog, strong winds and dullness - why did I leave the UK!!! The city however makes up for all that. Its just so loud, so weird and so over the top that you forget about the weather.

We shopped forever then got the cab back to the ferry terminal on pier 41 - back to sanity - Tiburon and sat by the pool for a couple of hours.

Maddest point of the day was without a doubt the queue for the iPhone4 - two plus blocks! I will be patient and wait...until I'm home :)

Hearst Castle - the ultimate folly!

William Randolph Hearst built this folly, five miles up a hill in 1922 - just before the famous crash of '29. The collection of furniture, art works, building and even imported ceilings and fireplaces from as far ago as the 12th century are truly a sight to behold. This isn't so much history but an art collection of history and one man's over extravagant attempt to create heaven in California! He lost everything when the crash came and money ran out - thankfully the state now own this amazing place so that everyone can see it.

Menege et Trois

Today we are a little tired so we filed down to Main Place Shopping Mall for a bit of retail therapy. Then onto the Block for lunch and then back to the hotel to sit by the pool, catch up on my book and then meet up with Suzette - the bar manager at the Red Lion hotel.

Suzette recommended a wine called Menage et Trois - which funnily enough is one recommended by Nik who lives in Arizona so it must be doing the rounds of popular wine!!

A Day Trip to San Diego!

Luckily in Anaheim you are in near enough the beaches to go for a day trip out. So we went to one of our favourite places - San Diego!

Firstly, the San Diego Zoo most famous for it's conservation work with Panda's and Rhino's. We didnt see any rhino's today but we saw three pandas - one only a baby! Soooooo cute!

The onto Seaport Village in the town for lunch and some shopping.....what a lovely place!

Move over kids, Here I come!!

So it's off to Disneyland again. It was a lovely hot day, not too many people in the early part of the day and we'd done most of the good rides by lunchtime!! Although I had to do the water ride on my own - you're a girl Alan!! It was awesome, I love vertical water drops!!
It was the final of the NBA Championships so we naively thought the evening would be quiet as it was between the Boston Celtics and the LA Lakers but no such luck, it was nice to see Disneyland in the night time but it was heaving......so we went to Downtown Disney and had dinner in The Rainforest Cafe.

Take me out to the ball game....

A wonderful game against the Brewers ending in a 5-1 victory to the Angels!!! Although the great Matsui didnt have a very good game, a new boy Kevin Frandsen hit a wonderful home run in the opening few minutes!

We had to move half way through though - despite the day starting off very cloudy it ended up VERY hot!

California here I come!

We had a very comfortable flight into LAX. Staying at the Red Lion in Anaheim as its now called - a hotel I've been frequenting since 1996!!!

The decor's changed, the beds are far more comfortable and the outside looks completely different - the downside is Pickfords Bar is no more.......there is a bar by the pool but absolutely no atmosphere and very small....we may have to find another 'local'!

A very hot day at Southern Counties!

I had a wonderful day at Newbury. Not only did Brodie behave himself (ish), he sat patiently on the bench without howling but most importantly he showed like a pro - he was a complete and utter pleasure to show! We came 2nd in junior and 3rd in yearling - not bad when you consider the others were days off 18 months and he is only 12 months old.

Bath Champ Show - Aptly named for a show that is always WET!!

Brodie's third Championship show and the weather was awful! So I decided to just go along, do my bit and come home. Brodie came a very respectable 2nd after the very famous Lourdace Navigator (who is not only 6 months older than Brodie but won his JW today) but far more for me than that was that he was actually a pleasure to show and stood very well but even better he moved with all four legs on the ground for most of the time!! This was the true victory for me - I am now beginning to think I have a winner here....but definitely a late developer!!!

The end of the Hell Raiser/Easy Rider!

Today saw the death of the original Hell Raiser and all round nasty bastard Dennis Hopper - even in his last few months he was trying to sue for divorce and make people's lives miserable. He was definitely NOT a nice person but boy did he make some superb films, Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now, Rumble Fish, Blue Velvet, Red Rock West and True Romance to name but a few....RIP Dennis, lets hope there is a place for hell raisers like you!

Believe the Hype - this book is GOOD!

I am very stubborn when it comes to reading hyped up books. I like to believe I dont follow the masses. You'd think I would have learnt by now! I didnt read the Lovely Bones until about two years after the hype - second best book I've read. Didnt read the Time Travellers Wife for years....ditto and most of all didn't believe the hype of my all time fave book the Secret History by Donna Tartt. So should it have been any surprise to me when the much hyped first Millenium book - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was an absolutely fantastic book??? It was just so good, I've read many books in this genre and for the most part enjoyed them but this is in a league of it's own. I honestly thought that the hype was due to the authors early demise but no, believe the hype this book is going on my fave list - bring on the next two. What a shame there will be no more - unless someone else wants to take up where Stiegs left off?

Brodie's First Championship Critique

Really pleased with Brodie's first championship show - the GSA show at Stoneleigh. The judge was a straight talking, no nonsense Cynthia Griffiths so this means even more as it's so complimentary - I even got a 'well presented' when he wasn't exactly the best behaved puppy there :)

1 Glaysher's Kilnrae Kemerton Crusader Of Billingham; very pleasing youngster, well grown, balanced head, good expression, good depth of brisket, well presented, moved soundly. 2 Smith's Bryerdale Mighty Murphy Of Boswedden, I really liked this one, good outline, well bodied & well balanced. Nice brisket and couplings. He would not settle on the move which was his downfall. 3 Atwell's Kilnrae Kemerton First Lord.

It was a wonderful day, a day that I started out wondering why I was bothering and came home with a dog I honestly believed in......I can now carry on with confidence!

Hotter than July!

It literally was....It must have been 19degrees - it was gorgeous and that was all weekend. Saturday we had a wonderful lunch down the Olde Ship Inn opposite my office and had a superb pizza and pint - outside in the sun. Then came Sunday......oh god what a superb day, my face is glowing with the heat from the sun. I've planted a hedge, mowed the lawns for the first time this year, pricked out and planted just about every plant imaginable and all that with looking after three Gordon Setters!

Talking of which, Brodie is now eleven months - I cant believe that in a matter of days he will no longer be a puppy - its not like he acts like an adult but there again I cant think of a gordon who does.

....and the day didnt end there...

I hoofed down the M40 and M25 (please God let there be no speeding tickets) as I had to be in Southampton by 8pm to see our friends Pete and Jules play a gig in their band. I got up at 6am, was in Coventry at 08:30, back to Guildford at 5pm and onto S'ton by 8pm - what a life I lead - I was in a coma by the time I got home at 1am the next morning!!!

The best weekend I've had in ages!!

Brodie's first championship show and I go in at the deep end - the Association Champ show. I was worried about his litter brother who was pick of litter and Jean's AI litter who I knew would look more mature than my boy - I need not have worried, we won yes won, puppy dog, thats even a better start than Harvey had to his show career - I'm absolutely made up, proud and wondering if my luck has changed?

I have now qualified Brodie for Crufts on his first outing and his name will now adorn this wonderful trophy!

Work......three weeks on

I have now been working at the college for two weeks, tomorrow will be the start of the third week and to say I'm dreading it is an understatement. Am I ever going to enjoy working there? Will I ever not have this feeling of dread every evening, why do I want to pack it all in every day - who knows!

I try to analyse what is it but I cant put a finger on it. The people are perfectly nice, the office is a little old fashioned and paper orientated but nothing too drastic. superb location etc so what's the problem? I dont know maybe I am still so resentful about the way I was treated at my previous place and secretly wish I still worked there however dire it is now.....who knows, all I do know is that I wish this black cloud would disappear and the sun shine again :)

The First Day of Spring

Spring is late this year after such a cold winter. It's here no doubt, plants have popped up, shoots have appeared! The trouble is that today was the first day of spring and it rained all day!!

Six Nations Rugby Union Tournament

Well, as predicted the French won their 5th 6 nations tournament as well as the Grand Slam which I dont think they've won before. England put up a superb fight and played some seriously good rugby but sadly the French reigned supreme and the referee was not only blind but obviously has a holiday home in the South of France!! He missed at least one penalty, three off sides and three fouls - he needs a guide dog!

The end is nigh!

After eight months, four interviews and countless applications I have been offered a job! It's only a contract but as its setting up a Procurement Dept its going to look good on my CV!

...and as a reward to myself and an early birthday present I've bought myself a pair of Du Barry galway boots - they are lovely! Some people get all excited over Jimmy Choo and Prada but I love countryside labels like Barbour, Du Barry, Le Chameau. Aigle!

Dont they just make your heart beat faster :)

2nd win for England in the six nations - but only just!

England V Italy. Italy 12 - 17 England. It was nail biting stuff, we seemed to lose our way even before the half time and Jonny (oh Jonny!) missed three kicks! But after a decent drop kick 10 mins from time and a try (that Jonny didnt convert) we won.

The Louise Glaysher curse strikes again!

I was supposed to have an interview tomorrow - its been cancelled at 19.30 the day before due to adverse weather conditions in Germany preventing the hiring manager not being in the UK!

ARGH!!!

.and so ends the Big Freeze!

After almost a month of freezing weather where almost a foot of snow fell, it's finally over. Just one night of heavy rain and the snow has almost gone and floods have taken their place.

This is the longest cold snap since the famous 1963 six week big freeze.

I cant think many times in history our whole island from Lands' End to John o'Groats has been covered in snow.

Brodie at Seven Months Old - update!

Photo by Steve Jefford

This is Brodie at seven months - the ugly duckling I was so concerned about has turned into a beautiful black and tan swan!

The Big Freeze!

It has now been below freezing for nearly three weeks, this is unpresidented in the South of England but even more amazing is that in these last few days the whole of the UK has been experiencing the same weather - unbelievable! The whole of England Scotland and Wales is white with snow!