Happy New Year

Happy New Year to you all.

Rufus looking for next year.

Rufus hoping to live on his own narrowboat

RUFUS my Springer Spaniel

This month Rufus is 9 years old pictured today.He is an assistance dog who has been training me.
His latest ruse is to take the newspaper I’m reading off me,walk around the room then give it back expecting a treat. He always gets it,who could refuse. I’m well trained as you can tell .

Historic Working Narrowboat Dove At Marsworth

Made a quick one hour visit to Marsworth last week after walking the dogs at http://www.appledown.co.uk/ and was lucky enough to capture the historic working narrowboat Dove passing through the lock at Marsworth.



Brief history:-
It was originally a butty named Aldersley built April 1913 by S&CCCo Ltd, registered Gloucester 477 on 11/04/1913, BCN 21871 on 11/09/1913.
Converted to motor No 8 in 1929 by S&CCCo Ltd, Bolinder engine, registered Gloucester 518 on 20/11/1929, BCN 1531 on 12/11/1929
Became Thomas Clayton's Dove in September 1948, registered Oldbury 21 on 03/11/1948, same BCN registration as before.
National engine installed in 1950s.

To see more on the restoration of this boat see here…..

http://nbdove.blogspot.co.uk/2007/12/fmc-dove.html

I took a couple more pictures around the cut before I had to dash off for my caring duties.

This is NB Elvira

Love the dog.

Lovely display.

A couple of dogs I walked.

Around Marsworth on the Grand Union Canal

This week I went to Marsworth instead of walking the dogs at http://www.appledown.co.uk/  dog rescue centre.

I always find people and things to see, this week I visited Pam and Andy on their Glass Barge,they sell fused glass jewellery hand made on the boat.Having had a hobby in stained glass windows etc in the past I found it interesting to pass the time discussing various aspects of their wares.

They certainly look happy with their life on the cut.

Pam and Andy

I spied this dog sitting comfortably on his bed as the narrowboat went through the lock at Marsworth.

A mascot on a narrowboat.

This is narrowboat Damselfly

I walked to top lock at the junction of the Wendover Arm before having to return home.

And finally a resident of the reservoirs

A lovely walk with plenty to see this week.

 

Cactus Flowers and Springer Spaniel

I thought I would share these pictures of my cactus flowers in the greenhouse.They flowered today but only last two.

The smell they give off fills the greenhouse in the mornings and is better than any manufactured perfume.

 

This is Rufus my Springer Spaniel enjoying the shade of the trees in the garden.He is a trained assistance dog and picks things up off the floor if you drop them,he also has a habit of taking the paper off me when I’m reading it then giving it back when he wants a biscuit.

Read About Lancel the rescue dog at Appledown Rescue Centre

 

 

 

Lancel the Dog

I don’t know why they left me. I’m sure they didn’t mean to leave me tied to that lamppost, but I barked and cried, and they walked away. Maybe they couldn’t hear me.

I was frightened, cold, and my belly hurt. Loud cars flew past and scary people walked by. I cowered as low as possible, trying to be invisible so nobody would hurt me. I knew they wanted to – that is what humans do.

I was so hungry, and my mouth was so dry. I curled up in a ball on the hard ground, and shivered myself to sleep.

Somebody came up to me. They didn’t hurt me, though I flinched away just in case. They untied me and put me in a strange car. I didn’t know them and didn’t trust them, but I did gulp down the water they gave me.

I was so confused and scared. I went to a place where I could smell and hear other dogs, and see them walking past with humans. I tried to hide myself away in my blankets. They brought me food, but even that didn’t always draw me out. It hurt when I moved my legs, and my mouth kept aching.

They took me to a place that smelled weird, and had very bright lights. They looked in my mouth and felt all over my body. Even though they were gentle, it hurt when they touched my welts and bruises. I couldn’t help but cry when they inspected the painful, heavy growth on my belly.

I went back to the place with all the dogs. I felt very groggy, and my belly still hurt a little, but not the same way. I hid in my blankets again and slept. I did come out once or twice, because I felt much warmer, and the food smelled so good. I didn’t let everyone touch me, but the people who brought my food sometimes scratched my head and pet me in a way that felt good.

This place is called Appledown. They call me Lancel now. I don’t hurt anymore, and I am gaining weight. Nobody has hit me in a long time, but I still can’t quite believe it. I can’t always keep myself from shying away, even though they bring me nice food and are always very gentle with me. Some of them even take me out for walks in a big field with interesting smells. I’m finally starting to understand that they don’t want to hurt me, but I think I might always be a little frightened.

I keep hearing about adoption and “forever homes.” I’m not sure what that means, but if it’s anything like this, where I can have food and blankets, and people are kind and gentle, I think I might want to find out.

--------------

We have decided to highlight his story, because it's an encapsulation of everything Appledown does EVERY DAY. They may not have thought much about taking in a dog with medical needs and anxiety, but we think it is indicative - they are willing to spend time, money and emotional energy without hesitation, and that should be celebrated. If you've ever wondered why we work so hard at the shows and fundraising opportunities, this is why!

This particular lad had a large, painful tumor on his groin, which you can see in one of the photos on his page. It required surgery that itself cost several hundred pounds. He also had marks on his body, and an infection in his mouth. As he healed, he was provided with extra heating though it was Spring, and was tempted back to life with expensive, tasty food. As you can imagine, the charges add up, and Appledown pays out.

If you're wondering how you can help Appledown support dogs like Lancel during the road to recovery and rehoming, please just ask. Contact Kate Tuck at [email protected] to sponsor a kennel, or to donate directly on

 https://www.givey.com/appledownrescue.

Pitstone on the Grand Union Canal Today

After walking the dogs at Appledown Rescue Centre http://www.appledown.co.uk/  I had a slice of cake and a pot of tea at 

The Waterside Cafe,  Pitstone

http://www.pitstonewharf.co.uk/cafe.html

Live Writer Work Around To Post To Blogger

Now Live Writer fails to connect to my blog account I will try out this work around to see if it works.
I’ll describe what I’m doing as I go along.

1. First I have to write a post in Live Writer but don’t include any photo’s  yet, leave a line space for them to add later on…..

RUFUS

Take this line as my post as all this is just a try-out.

2. Click on the ‘Source’ tab in the bottom left hand corner of Live Writer    screen, this will display your text and the hidden format codes.

3. Highlight and copy all this text.

4. Load blogger and create a new post.

5. Click on the HTML tab which is top left beside the Compose tab.

6. Paste the text from Live Writer into Blogger.

7.  Click the Compose tab to check the formatting.

8. Add any photo’s using the blogger.

9. Preview and publish.

So has it worked ???????

I think it has.

Marsworth Today "C'mon put your backs into it "

Cowroast Lock and Paragliders

This week my four hours respite from caring was delayed by an hour as the relief sitter was late so couldn’t walk the dogs at Appledown Rescue which enabled me to go over to Cowroast on the Grand Union Canal and take some pictures as the weather turned lovely after a dreary start.
Here we have narrowboat The Hornet being single handed through Cowroast Lock.

On the way back I went over Dunstable Downs and saw the paragliders being flown so could not resist stopping and taking a few snaps.

Here we have one flying low with the London Gliding Club in the distance.

Now that I do shopping on the internet and get it delivered at home I find I am more relaxed when I go out on my ‘free’ hours as I don’t have to rush around so much.

Next week I’ll be walking the dogs ‘hopefully’ at

http://www.appledown.co.uk/

Marsworth Reservoir and tea on-board Narrowboat Valerie

 

This week on my four hours off per week from caring I decided to take Rufus my Springer Spaniel to Marsworth for a walk.The day didn’t start well as the stand in sitter was late so I decided to go on my own and have a walk around the reservoir and look at the lock gate which is being held in place with straps.

On the way up to the lock I saw NB Valerie moored up with Daz talking to Jaq through a window on board.

Returning from the lock I met up with Daz and had a chinwag as you do. Lovely to meet you Daz and keep those cameras clicking.

Narrowboat Lillyanne came out of a lock as I was walking back so not to waste an opportunity I took a picture.

Here is NB Valerie and Widebeam Still Rocking moored up.

 

I thought I would give NB Valerie a knock just to say hello as I have followed their blog for a long time and wanted to introduce myself, Les answered and I wished him well before making off around the reservoir.

On the way back to the car park Les called me over and offered a cup of tea on-board, well who could refuse.

After having a good chat ( don’t mention the Airhead Society ) it was time to go as I had to get back to my caring roll.

A lovely couple and a credit to the boating community who have helped them along the way. This is their excellent blog …….

http://boatlife.blogspot.co.uk/

And here they are

I hope to see you both again sometime

Take care.

I think someone likes dogs by the name of this narrowboat..