Disneyland Day

Disneyland.....no queues, it was wonderful, straight onto the rides and in the case of the Star Wars and Matterhorn more than just the one ride!! Sadly two of our favourites were closed (the Haunted Mansion and Indiana Jones) but the park was so quiet it was easy to have other rides - the only downside was the heat - it was very, very hot for this time of year! In the evening we went to Tony Romas for a civilised meal. Three mignon steaks with blue cheese and onion topping - Alan had the ribs! Totally yummy!

First day in Anaheim

It seems SoCal is having some kind of heatwave, it's far hotter than I recall at this time of year - in fact it feels hotter than when we came in June a couple of years ago! First day so need to acclimatise and find our time zone so went shopping as usual and had lunch in the Alcatraz Brewing company - an old favourite of ours! Then only some real retail therapy with the purchase of my iPad - yippee!!!! Then a couple of glasses of red wine in the Marriot before turning in......tomorrow is going to be a long day.....in Disneyland!

California here we come....again!

I dont know whether it was the fact we were travelling on 9/11 or just not a particularly popular time to travel but there were no queues whatsoever in Heathrow, we upgraded to more leg room, had a very peaceful and uneventful flight, picked the car up and checked into the Red Lion, Anaheim just in time to go to bed!

The Land of the Vikings

...and this trip was totally unexpected. Alan won a weekend to Oslo, Norway. This is my firs trip to Scandinavia and I was very much looking forward to it a swell as not knowing what was in store (I dont like the cold). I need not have worried, although it was a bit wet one day it was certainly not cold. The people are friendly, the food is delicious, the scenery is amazing......the only drawback is the price of saying there but as we won the flight and accomodation we didnt let the price of a few drinks or meals ruin our stay. I have the best prawn open sandwich I've ever tasted, I found out about brown cheese (more like caramel ice cream) had one of the best burgers I've every had along with dining in the Hard Rock Cafe one lunchtime!!! What a trip, I've totally fallen in love with this place.....

Three years ago today I picked Brodie up from his breeder in Kemerton. He was a very gangly puppy and not the most attractive boy i've ever seen but in three years he has certainly done me proud, winning many prizes and being placed at pretty much every show he's attended.....and now he's a very handsome prince! It's not been the easiest three years what with losing my job, working for a year at a complete and utter hell hole then being unemployed again - not to mention losing Bailey and Harvey and Brodie not always seeing eye to eye (probably because they are such different in character). Brodie, however is a sweet, well behaved dog with a very sound temperament - just as mad as a box of frogs!!!

GSA Championship Show

This is my favourite show. I love the location, the committee and its so good to see all my friends in a more relaxed atmosphere than Crufts!

We did pretty well and after Harvey having a good day out and coming home with a couple of rossettes I have decided to take him to a few more shows - funds willing!

A half century and still going!!

Not the best birthday in the world, firstly I'm age-o-phobe then I spend each day on my own - that includes my birthday but the plusses were the sun shone at nearly 19 degrees and the dogs behaved themselves!!

Reserve Best of Breed!

Went to a small Open show at Ardingly and was very proud to be awarded Reserve Best of Breed. The first for my boy and I hope this is the way forward. After a truly disastrous Crufts, I think I have now realised that showing Brodie is going to be a total rethink and I need to completely change the way I show him compared with all my other dogs. This realisation and todays award have made me feel a little more positive about Brodie's future.

He's not a bad dog, has a wonderful character, good temperament and good looking BUT he's very strong willed and physically strong - so back to the drawing board and today is day one of the new regime!

One year on - and no hint of change!

I have been unemployed now for a year. Not since I left school have I been unemployed for this long. It's very depressing, soul destroying and confidence shaking....

Crufts 2012

Personally for me, the worst Crufts I have ever been to as I felt ill, nearly passed out in the ring and subsequently Brodie took the right royal piss out of me in my weakened state!!

It was also a Crufts that will always be remembered as the KC bowing to the AR groups and putting un-informed vets in place to check for fitness which they totally misconstrued and as such eight breeds were not allowed to go through to the group ring!!

...and just to add insult to an otherwise crap day, the Steward had her handbag stolen from under the judges table.....

I'm not even sure I want to qualify for next years show....

BIS was a very sweet Lhasa bred, handled and owned by Margaret Anderson - well done!