New Duthie Park Café and Canine Rights

There is an important debate going on in Duthie Park this morning. Let's listen in for a minute.

Well it seems that the newly renovated café in Duthie Park is about to open, at last*. 

The regular dog walking gang are asking the manager if the café is going to be 'dog-friendly'. It looks like the dogs are joining in. Really the case in unanswerable, don't you think?

• First off, it is noted that year round, we dogs and our owners are the main park users, we come here come rain or shine, every day, unlike your fair weather, school holiday visitors, Saturday afternoon cricketers or bus tourists doing the rounds of the Winter Gardens. So we feel we have rights.
• Secondly, it is not good enough for dogs merely to be given access to the outside terrace area, which apparently is the current plan. I mean, how many days per year in Aberdeen is it actually warm enough for even the hardiest and most loving dog owner to want to be eating outdoors? 
• Finally, there is the economic argument, which is of course paramount in the minds of so many humans. Not only will allowing dogs in increase takings, but just think how much could be saved in floor sweeping costs with all those canine Dysons to hoover up the cake crumbs...

We shall be reviewing the café in due course.

*Behind that 'at last' is a long and sorry saga of Aberdeen City Council mismanagement, incompetence in letting the café contract to an untrustworthy party, lies told by said party, delays, near bankruptcy, supposed investors dematerialising when payments are due and - oh gosh we had better stop here before Gail explodes in a fit of apoplexy...

Gold star for best behaviour?

Between you and me, it can be a bit annoying, living in a household where boasting is not approved of and praise is meted out in puppy kibble sized portions.

"Blowing your own trumpet", "showing off", "being big-headed"; these things are all frowned upon by Gail.

But just occasionally, I feel I deserve at least a pat on the back.

Take Sunday morning for example. We had been over in Torridon for a couple of days, checking the cottage was OK before the winter weather sets in. On the way back to Aberdeen we stopped at the Basil Harbour Café in Nairn.

Gail says it is only recently that she has taken me into cafés "with confidence". She says readers will correctly guess there is history behind that statement.

Well I would like to point out that on this occasion I was as good as gold and as quiet as a mouse, despite the following potential threats to my equanimity:

• The cafe was noisy and crowded when we arrived 
• Bacon rolls and Full Scottish Breakfasts (including black pudding) were being served
• Gail ordered a yummy looking cheese scone with her coffee
• There was another dog present
• I was made to sit in the middle of the café and pose for a photo when the place quietened down a bit

Am I not entitled to brag just a wee bit about my excellent manners?

Oh, Gail thinks you would also like to see a photo of a wintery looking Loch Torridon. I suppose, since I am also featured, you might find it worth a glance.

Can you feel the bone penetrating chill of the damp air?

Has Gail turned into her Granny?

So on Friday afternoon it was all "come on Bertie, let's smarten you up, we're going into town for a Very Special Outing".

Leaving aside the rather obvious objection that we already live in town my next thought was to wonder if Gail was skipping a generation and turning into her Granny.

£175 on eBay, anyone?

Many's the time I've heard about how Gail's teenage years were ruined (OK slight exaggeration) by her mother's mother constantly criticising her for going into Nottingham City Centre on a Saturday afternoon clad in the then regulation patched flares and Afghan coat, when she really should have smartened herself up and worn a nice skirt and ladylike shoes and gloves.

But back to the present day.

Well the deal is that Aberdeen Council are conducting a so-called 'café culture trial', an experiment in al fresco eating, and has permitted certain restaurants and coffee shops to expand onto the street in a small, pedestrianised area of the city centre.

If any of you are thinking, well Bertie that is hardly remarkable, let me emphasise that here in NE Scotland we are not blessed with a local government bursting with imagination, creativity and joie de vivre.

Anyway, Gail decided, as the mid-afternoon temperatures are for the moment still above frigid, she would test out the street scene and I was invited along on the assumption that dogs would be allowed in the pavement cafés. (Otherwise, to be honest, what would be the point of them?)

On arriving at Belmont Street Gail carefully checked out the afternoon tea options, rejecting the first because of lack of facilities and the second (disappointingly) for fear that I might be distracted by the other customers.

Finally, we settled on the third café, where clearly the management had taken note of local conditions and thought things through.

So this place offered protection from the sun (or more likely rain), and not only an outdoor heater but blankets for patrons to wrap around themselves should they foolishly have left their winter coats at home.

Oh yes, and I can vouch for the fact that the cherry scones are nice too, having eventually been offered a morsel after proving my "good boy" credentials.

All in all, I am pleased to report I had a thoroughly satisfactory experience, and I am thinking of writing a letter to Aberdeen Council in praise of their latest initiative.

No answer needed...

Torridon dilemmas

Gail and I went over to the Torridon cottage for the weekend.

Although, as usual, I had a super time, I want to share with you a couple of serious dilemmas which are now troubling me.

The first concerns the Torridon General Store and Cafe.

As you can see in the pictures above, this is a quite magnificent establishment. Situated at the head of Loch Torridon, you can drink in the stunning mountain landscape along with your perfectly assembled cappuccino. That the cheese scones are quite delicious, I can verify, having been offered a morsel more than once. Liquid refreshments for dogs are even provided, and if you are in luck, biscuits too.

Now, by the most amazing coincidence, Gail and the friendly cafe owner Jo used to work for the same company based in Grand Buildings, Trafalgar Square, London, many eons ago. For once, on Saturday, Jo was not rushed off her feet and came outside for a chat. She mentioned that her business has been nominated for 'Best Café/Restaurant/Pub' award in the 'Great Outdoors' magazine, and, in exchange for taking our photos, she 'suggested' that Gail might like to log on to the magazine's website and vote.

So what's the dilemma, I hear you ask.

Well, consider this. When observing me through the camera lens Jo also said the following:

"Bertie's looking a bit more rotund around the rear end these days isn't he? Too many treats perhaps?"

The outrage!

Is a woman who clearly cannot distinguish between fluff on the haunches and genuine heft really deserving of a prestigious award?

Should I allow Gail to vote for her café?

What do you think?

The second dilemma concerns two balls of wool.

Readers may remember my post earlier this year about our lovely Torridon neighbour Julia, and her Shetland sheep. That's Julia in the black waterproof, enjoying a chat with me outside her croft at the weekend.

Anyway, these balls of wool, which Julia has kindly given to Gail, are from the very same sheep featured in my post back in June.


I now have to help Gail decide what she will knit with the wool.

Apparently she is thinking of a hat for herself. Do you not think this is a teeny weeny bit selfish? Surely, these natural sheep colours would look most splendid on yours truly. Perhaps Gail could knit me a wee sweater, with a simple Fair Isle pattern or something?

I will confess that I am not a fashion expert. I wonder if my friends can help me here and suggest a suitably masculine pattern for a two-toned garment to be worn by a rugged terrier type?

Or should I let Gail have her hat after all?

Again, your thoughts on this issue would be most welcome.

PS from Gail: You can learn more about the Shetland wool on Julia's blog 'Hand Knitted Things'.