Max and Paul's Excellent Adventure

We arrived at our Farnham sit in the early evening. We were welcomed warmly by the family and the two chocolate labradors. The family were leaving early morning on a flight to Kenya to be with their daughter for Christmas.  The dogs are easy to be with and easy to walk if one carries treats. Being in a rural area, there are loads of squirrels and a few deer to watch for. In one instance, I had the dogs on leads holding them in one hand when they spotted a squirrel. If the dogs chase a squirrel, we ALL chase a squirrel.  I now know how a Tesla car feels going from 0-100kph in 3 seconds! Lesson learned. Do not walk them both in one hand. Sister and brother, Maggie and Marney Two chocolate labs - what's not to love? Treat time   Who doesn't like a belly scratch??? The season is upon us!

 Just out of Salisbury is Stonehenge, the Neolithic structure built around 5000 years ago, or so we're told. It was believed to have been a celestial clock built to track the movement of the sun, moon and stars. The burials of 58 individuals were uncovered at the site in 1919 when structural work to repair one of the horizontal stones was done. Even though it's inundated with tourists, especially in summer, it still has a magical mystical feel to us. I was last here in 1990 whilst driving my kombi van around the UK. I just drove up within 50 metres and walked right up to it. This time, I used Google Maps and it took us to the 'Stonehenge Centre' which was a huge museum with a car park for hundreds of cars and a fee of  £27 each to enter and get the shuttle to the Stones. We found there was a walking track to the Stones and chose that (free) option.  There are many theories as to how the stones got there and still today, there is no definitive answer. The sarsen ...

Once settled with Ned, we ventured out and about. I concede that most seaside areas are not as attractive as they are in Australia. In a lot of cases it is mud, rather than sand, that meets the water and thus high tide makes for a prettier picture. Having said that, the boats and the harbours have their own special magic and the history of the area allowed me to imagine what it would have been like to see the Saxon boats sailing past. This area has some beautiful properties with some having been built or rebuilt in recent times. The place we are staying. The view from the back garden The view from our room. The harbour is in the distance. The following pics are of surrounding properties.  This one is across the road. Other homes in our lane This was taken in West Wittering - A village close by. I am fascinated at how many thatched roofs are still being maintained rather than replaced. A lot has to do with heritage listings and having no choice but to keep the type of material, but ...

 We drove from Watford to Itchenor (pron. Itch-nuh) in the south-east of England, got lost along the way - thanks Google maps - and arrived a couple of hours late. It was a cold day and was sleeting as we neared our destination. We realised as we turned into the street that we were in a well-to-do area. As we pulled into the driveway we were greeted with a large, beautiful house on a small acreage. The home owners welcomed us with a delicious homemade quiche. We met 'Ned' a 1-year-old border collie, who was excited and very pleased to see us. Ned was a bit of a handful, especially on the first night, but over time he settled down as we got him into a routine that suited us all. Having 18 sits under our belt, we're finding owners are picking our brains for information on diet, feeding habits and other aspects of dog ownership.   Ned was toy obsessed and wouldn't settle at all. We'd hide his toy after he'd driven us nuts with it and he'd find another. We could...

 This next sit had us travel just to, Watford, just north of London, where we were looking after 2 dogs that had distinctive and very different personalities. We drove through some ordinary weather, which included a traffic jam on the M25 freeway. (This became a regular annoyance.  The M25 is frequently a carpark.). We arrived pretty much on time and were met by Barbara and Peter, who welcomed us warmly.  The house was a semi-detached 'two up/two down'. It was a cosy fit, but toasty warm. Bella was odd but cute. When she wanted something, she'd just stand on her hind legs and watch you intently. She was jealous of Alfie too. If Alfie even glanced at another female dog on our walk, Bella would certainly let him know it was VERY unacceptable behaviour. Bella. Alfie was a very large labradoodle who was such a chilled dog. At bedtime, he had a habit of sleeping under our bed all night. He reminded us of Falkor from The Neverending Story' movie. Alfie. The town itself was a ...