Portrait session

On Sunday we all trooped into the car and headed down to Knightsbridge to have our portrait session. Now, there were a few issues here...Indi does not like traffic, cyclists or joggers. That did not bode well for a morning in London. Anyway, we arrived about an hour early so decided to head over to Hyde Park. A bit of a problem as there was a cycle race on! Indi was almost having a fit! We eventually managed to calm her down and tied them both to a (concreted-in) bench where she was still a little crazy due to the numerous joggers, cyclist, dogs, noise etc. To cut a long story short we managed it in to Venture Portraits (where we were having the pictures taken) and they were as good as gold. Mind you, the near vertical stairs were a new experience for them...Indi was a little scared of the flash "bang" at first but soon got into it. Chief on the other hand had no problems and posed quite happily for as long as necessary...! The whole thing was about half a day and well worth it. I'm not sure if we'd take the doggies again but the pictures should be worth it.

Grooming

The dogs were both groomed today...I was a little apprehensive about taking them in...this was to a groomers in Radlett, whom neither had been to before. I had taken them round before and showed them the place so, they knew what they were letting themselves in for (the owner's I mean). Anyway, it transpires my fears were unfounded, they were no problem and we now have two fluffballs lounging around in the kitchen!

Chief had somehow managed to get a tick on his back though apparently...I must admit that I'd not noticed it but he's got such a thick coat, it's very difficult to tell if there are any skin problems. They got it off him though anyway so that's good. I should mention that this is in preparation for their photoshoot on Sunday...more about that later methinks...!

Gardening

On Tuesday I headed up to Rugeley with the lawn mower...it was the only way I could get the mower back up to Staffs without the doggies. The intention was to mow the lawn, tidy up the garden generally and then head back to Radlett on Wednesday. So that's what I did, although I didn't expect the garden to have taken quite so long to mow! 3 hours it took! It wasn't really that long, more a bit unkempt. Anyway, its done now so that's one less thing to worry about for a while. I watched the Liverpool v Chelsea game on the night. That was a good game...shame about the own goal though...Liverpool didn't deserve that...

Le Pain Quotidien

I met up with a guy from work today to go through some target customers and what-not and we decided to meet at St. Pancras and do it over lunch. We chose Le Pain Quotidien as it looked OK. We immediately had a problem as neither of us could really understand the menu - a tartini anyone? It turns out this means sandwich so we both ordered those. The food was pretty good but all we ordered was those two sandwiches and two drinks and the bill came to £29.80! That's a right rip-off! Beware...food's good, but not that good!

Livin on a Prayer...twice!

I stayed up in Rugeley from Wednesday night and met SJ off the train in Stafford on Friday evening, albeit with a long delay due to a points failure in Milton Keynes!

Friday night we headed over to J & L's. J's made a few more additions to the bar, namely a touchscreen and a laser light! We had a few drinks down the pub as well and then headed back for a singing session and more drinks. They've also finished the conservatory and rearranged the lounge. All looks very nice!

On Saturday, we headed out to do a spot of shopping before getting ready for our night out at The Elms. It was SJ's friends, mother's 65th birthday so they'd arranged a karaoke night at the pub. Was a good night...far too much to drink though. I did actually have a bit of a sing-song as well. My renditions of UB40 & bon Jovi were truly horrendous - even to my ears!

On Sunday, SJ drove us back down to Radlett where we had a bit of a slob day as the weekend had been so hectic.

Benefits

Today, I attended a Benefits Day for the company that is planning on buying us. All seems very well...its a pretty good pension scheme along with medical insurance etc. Only problem is, I just don't want to work for this company! Anyway, we'll see what happens. I then carried on up to Rugeley as I had a lecture to attend in Manchester. It was actually just around the corner from the set where they film Shameless!

Electricians

So the electricians are here again...they've been doing a bit of work around the house - inside lights, outside lights, TV aerials etc. They're really good, the company is called Baldwin & Bleakley and they're very reliable. Today should be their last day and I can thoroughly recommend their work.

The Yorkshireman

For Sunday dinner we'd booked into The Yorkshireman for lunch. We invited both sets of parents over and it was a really nice meal. Its the second meal we'd had there and they've both been great - thoroughly recommended. We had beef, pork and haddock beween us.

We travelled back down to Radlett on Sunday noght but got stuck in a lot of traffic on the M1. Still, we made it back and got stuck into the Pieroth wine that we bought from The Ideal Home Show.

Not sure if I'd mentioned the wine before but whilst we were at The Ideal Home Show, we were invited on to the Pieroth stand for some wine tasting. SJ bought 6 x Salice, 3 x Lobster Bay, 3 x Mundana and 3 x Eis Wine. They were a little expensive but I think on the whole were worth it.

Birthdays

On Thursday it was my Dad's birthday. He was 69...we bought him a signed Dickie Bird picture. He used to play cricket a lot and he's always been very interested in all things cricket and particularly Dickie Bird. I bought it from Heroes Memorabilia and it was a good buy I thought...

We travelled up on Friday to Rugeley and had a night in with pizza and a few wines...

On Saturday we took the doggies over the Chase, then took SJ's mom over to Merry Hill as its her birthday on Tuesday.

Saturday night we headed into Cannock as it was C's birthday. We went to China Garden, a Chinese restaurant at High Green Court. It was really nice food, very fresh and very tasty. They also have a takeaway restaurant which I've tried before - that's also very recommended. Next it was cocktails in Pique's, then on to The Bank. We actually ended up leaving quite early...maybe we're getting old!

It's a dog's life...

I knew I'd get round to it in the end...for all you Indi fan's out there...here she is looking resplendent in her new bed...

Building work

This week we've had the electrician's in. They've been fitting new lights in Radlett, both inside and out. They've got on quite well really, most is now done...just need to actually get the outside lights and we'll be sorted I should think...

Snow...in April?

So, we finally got some snow! Yay! I love the snow, so does SJ and so do the doggies! Indi of course has seen it all before but for Chief it was a bit of a new experience! I don't think he's ever seen that much snow but he took to it all the same...

We went over to a field local to us...here's the pics...



and videos...


not sure why this video doesn't preview correctly, but it's there...just click on the play button...

Nobivac

On Tuesday, I took Indi & Chief to have their annual Kennel Cough vaccination. Now Chief is a bit of a wuss when it comes to pain/discomfort and the last time he had this, we had to chase him round the surgery to give it him. This time was no different, except it was worse! He really does not like this vaccination. Its given up the nose and it really unsettles him. in the end I had to give it him as the vet could not hold him still long enough! eventually we got it in but by then he was very wary and was really nervous. I made a mental note to nring him back the following day so he could have a positive experience! Indi could not have been more different, I don't think she noticed it going in. She's as tough as old boots..

Ideal Home Show

On Sunday we were up bright and (reasonably) early and after taking the dogs for a walk, headed into town to Earls Court for The Ideal Home Show. SJ nor I had been before, my parents had but it was quite a while ago. It was fairly quiet, which was good as it was easy enough to get around and see the exhibition then. This is probabaly because it runs for so long...its about 3 weeks in total which is a hell of a long time if you're on Stand Duty!

The show itself was quite good, they had some interesting things there. SJ managed to spend a bomd, she bought lights, wine, cleaning stuff, etc, etc. I didn't buy anything but I did come close to seriously looking at a set of Roland Electronic Drums. They were fantastic! If they'd been a bit cheaper I'd have had them...as it was £2.5K was just a bit too much for something you basically hit!

We headed back into St. Pancras as my parents hadn't seen the station before. It's still impressive and I think we'll be doing the Eurostar before long...

Sunday night, we ate at The Red Lion, the parents favourite before we all (minus SJ) headed back up to Rugeley on Monday.

The Barns

On Thursday night, SJ and I headed North to Rugeley. We'd got the friday off as holiday so wanted to not spend it on the M6 and M1. Actually, it was a good time to travel, we left around 9:00 and got to Rugeley about 11:00...no traffic...

On Friday I took SJ to the Chiropractor and then we headed over to Telford for a spot of shopping. I actually bought some clothes! Its been years since I bought any clothing so for me, this was pretty good.

On Friday night we went to The Barns in Cannock for a surprise birthday meal for J, SJ's friend. It was organised by R, J's partner, The meal was not that good really. The best part was the soup! Overpriced and underwhelming. We didn't carry on into Cannock, we just caught a taxi back home as we'd got to be up early on Saturday...

...or so we thought...SJ was really quite ill on Saturday morning, being sick all over the place...delightful...we eventually managed to get on out way about 12:00. We were heading back down to Radlett as my parents were also heading down to stay with us as we were going to the Ideal Home Show on Sunday at Earls Court. About halfway down the trip, SJ perked up and then seemed to be OK. Whatever it was had gone.

Back in Radlett, my parents arrived about 4:00 and I took them down the town to McNeill Gallery and then round to M & S and Sainsbury's. We came back, had some tea, watched a DVD and then went to bed.