Yoicks and Tally Ho!

Well my friends, I might not have got quite so many Christmas presents as most of you did (yes, Sweet William, you are so right about Gail being a bit of a Scrooge), but let me tell you, my Boxing Day outing more than made up for any meagre haul from "Santa".

Of course you know that I am a fox terrier and my kind were originally bred to take part in the traditional English sport of fox-hunting. Our role was to unearth foxes that had gone to ground when being pursued by the hunt.

Now some of you may be aware that since 2004, more's the pity*, the hounds are no longer allowed to tear their quarry to shreds, and us terriers play no part at all in what these days is basically a gallop across the fields, either following an artificially laid scent or ending up with a fox being shot.

But it remains a strong tradition in South Nottinghamshire for the local fox hunting fraternity to gather in the village of Car Colston for the annual  'Boxing Day Meet'. Many's the time Gail has told me how it was an important part of her family Christmas festivities to drive out from their suburban home and enjoy this spectacle, in the days when 'real' fox hunting was still permitted'.

You can imagine how excited I was when she suggested we go along this year to Car Colston to see what this event looks like in 2014.

And when I caught sight of the splendidly turned out huntsmen (and women and children) astride their handsome mounts, I gazed enviously at the pack of hounds baying at the horses' hooves, and every single one of my wiry terrier hairs stood on end as, in my mind, I re-enacted my ancestral role...

*Gail says: please remember, those of a sensitive disposition, that this is the terrier perspective...

Scenes from Christmas Day

Dawn walk near the River Trent

Quiet time remembering Human Grandad

Visiting the poodle cousins in Derbyshire

Present opening excitement!

The natural reaction to a poodle wearing antlers...

Ending the day beside new octopus friend

FFHT: And then the chubby elf says...

It's Murphy and Stanley's FFHT time again…..

As related by Gail, to Bertie, upon her recent return from Lapland.

A Christmas Cautionary Tale

Oh Bertie, I am so relieved
To be safe home with you.
My trip to Lapland’s made me see
So many things anew.

I’d always had this fantasy
To visit Santa Claus's home
And ride upon a jingling sleigh,
Pulled by reindeer, noses glowing.

Who knew that reindeer were so wild
And sometimes lose their way?
When lastly we found Santa’s lair,
A sign said ‘Grotto closed today’.

Just two of Santa’s helper elves
Were still on site, one fat one thin.
Oh please, please, please, I cried, oh please
You have to let me in!

“You’re late, the thin one sternly squeaked
And then the chubby elf said
“I’m sorry pal, you’ll have to leave
‘Cos Santa Claus has gone to bed.”

And won't be up now 'til next year.
He's done with all this Christmas stuff,
He can't compete with Amazon,
Those reindeer are not fast enough.

Such bitter disillusion Bert!
This was not what I had in mind.
I did not travel North to meet
A frosty welcome of this kind.

I'm so relieved to be back home
From Lapland. I feel so much merrier
Sat on the sofa, snug and warm
Besides my dear wire-haired fox terrier.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS ONE AND ALL! 

A misunderstanding about pancakes

A picture appeared on the BBC Scotland news website a couple of days ago, showing what they said were 'ice pancakes' on the River Dee, about 30 miles or so inland from Aberdeen.

Pancakes. Mmmm. Interesting. We all trust the BBC don't we?

You know, I am not a big fan of venturing into any sort of water, especially not the icy sort, but the weather here in the city has been relatively mild of late, and, there being foodables involved, I took the trouble to make some calculations.

According to my analysis, involving average flow rate, air and water temperature and latent heat of pancakes, any pancake that was in a frozen state in the river in our chilly hinterland would have melted to a nicely palatable texture by the time it had floated downstream to besides Duthie Park.

Why did Gail laugh when I insisted on a small extension to our usual walk this morning, to check out the options for a free second breakfast? And then suggest that my equations were probably wrong because I had not allowed for the effects of currants in  currents on the pancakes? (I think that last comment was supposed to be a joke…)

So where are all the pancakes then?

PS from Gail: Bertie and I are heading down south today to stay with Human Granny over Christmas, and the blog will be relatively quiet for a week or so (although we will definitely be FFHT'ing on Christmas Eve).