The Beastly Beasts

BeastBreak 2008 Episode 1 - Day 8

posted by Lucy at 19:29

Well mates, today is the day we headed for home. Monty came for a cuddle with me first thing, which was nice.

Monty and Lucy

Then before brekkie it was off to the valley. The sun was up and after yesterday's rest day we were all up for it. We went down the fields then into the woods were there's plenty of stuff to sniff …

Investigating

Lucy and Mack

Me an' Mack

Rosie

Rosie

… then into the valley were we all had a good ol' run …

Troy

Troy

Mack

Me

… followed by some the last missions of our hols.

How many hounds in this pic?

Jack

Jack

Then it was back for breakfast and into the BeastBus to go home. On the way we stopped for, well, y'know what, and as usual had a chin wag with some people. And what d'ya know, this couple came and had a chat and a stroke and it turns out they are from Oz - live in Adelaide. But that's not all; they have a Grey called Whiskey, and they do fostering for ex-racers there too. So good on ya mates, and a big Beastly "Hi" to ya. If you read this do let us know your names, 'coz as always we asked about the hounds and forget the humans.

We're back home now. It's kaanda nice to be back, but sad the hols have ended. Still, the sharp cookies among you (I know - that's all of you), and maybe your humans too, will have noticed this has been Episode 1 of BeastBreak. We're goin' back again later in the year, and something tells me it will be all of us going back too, for Episode 2.

BeastBreak 2008 Episode 1 - Day 7

posted by Rosie at 18:09

The weather was mingin' first thing this morning, so we all had a really long lie in; that we were all still tired from yesterday was kind of beside the point. In fact, we had a really lazy day today until we went down the woods in the afternoon.

Rosie, Lucy and Mack

Me with Lucy and Mack

Then we all 'ad a laff, and dad didn't get that many pictures 'coz we were all off on missions.

Troy

Troy

One of the keenest Beasts for missions is Monty. Monty's a right case, something I've only come to realise this week as since I've been joining in he's had his broken leg, and it's only this week he's got back into running and stuff. I think we're going to have fun me an' 'im.

Rosie and Monty

Double Trouble

Today's was our last full day here - home tomorrow. We've a great time. For me Lucy and Mack it's our second time here and for me it's better than the first. Everyhound should have a holiday at place like this at some time. Aunty Carol and Uncle Trevor are great (Uncle Trevor always makes a big fuss of me). I didn't get to see Waj this time though - maybe next.

BeastBreak 2008 Episode 1 - Day 6

posted by Troy at 18:58

There's only one word wot describes today, Perfik!!

Star'ed out wiv a ball darn the Frankie. It 'ad rained cats an' 'umans in the night but this mornin' the current was out, and that meant there was loads o' smells. Darn in the bottom field we had a good ol' charge around lookin' for rabbits an' fings; didn't find none - but they was there all right.

Troy in the valley

Me in the Frankie

Monty

Monty

Rosie

On the way back we went up wot Waj calls the back field; it's a fair ol' size an' probably don't come under the "fully enclosed" category.

Troy in the back field

Me in the back field

Then it was breakfast an' a kip before we went out agin. We went to a beach called Marloes Sands; well good. Big old beach wiv, an' 'ere's the fing, a bit wot you can only get to by a bit of rock 'oppin' when the sea's in. So we did a bit of rock 'oppin' and 'ad the gaff to ourselves so we could do a bit of runnin' - magik!!

Troy on the beach

Me the beach

Kai

Kai

Kai and Mack

Then we went back on the main beach an' 'ad a wanda along that. On the way back up the parf to the BeastBus we met a really nice couple o' 'umans an' got chattin'. Well, knock me down wiv a fevva, the bloke only used to live in Northampton - small world in'it? 'Is missus fought we was all lovely, but she said Rosie was especially beautiful.

Rosie

Rosie

Then back 'ome for tea - we couldn't be too late 'coz it's mum's birfday - 'Appy Birfday mum - an' 'er an' dad's off out to Aunty Carol's for their tea. Mind you, we're all creamed an' our beds beckon.

BeastBreak 2008 Episode 1 - Day 5

posted by Jack at 17:43

Today we arll went to de Freshwater West beach; it's huge!!

Even dough de sun was out de beach was covered in de mist. Der was lots of bangs and de noises dat dad said was de soldiers playin'.

Freshwater West

We taught we'd be de only ones on de beach, and whoile it wasn't exactly crowded loike, der was some other dogs so dad wouldn't let us go runnin'. Moind you, to be honest we weren't dat fussed, and we had a noice walk along de beach and Oi did some dancing when de sea came in round me feet.

Den we went home and chilled - koind of a mid-holiday rest day loike - but sometoimes dat's just what de vet ordered.

Beasts on the beach

BeastBreak 2008 Episode 1 - Day 4

posted by Lucy at 16:56

G'day mates, hope yours has bin as bonza as mine. Today we woke up to find the sun shinin', so after a bit o'brekky we all took to the garden to soak up some rays.

Lucy

Catchin' some rays

Catching some rays

Most of us catchin' some rays

Jack fell asleep in the sunshine.

Jack

Jack resting his eyes

Now, I know what your thinkin' possums; sun? Doesn't sun go with sand, sea, and stuff, rite? And yer rite - today it was Beasts on the Beach!!!!! Now, I don't know about you girls, but I reckon there is somethin' about boys on the beach.

Mack

Mack

Troy

Kai

The tide was rite out so that meant lots of space for runnin' games; I godda give it to Mack, that boy is farst; an' when I say farst I mean farsta than kanga with a bush fire up it's bum - I was flyin' and couldn't keep up.

A race

A race

Kai, Troy and Mack did go a bit macho and kept on havin' races; boys will be boys, no matta how old they are.

Mack

Mack

Kai and Troy

Racing through the water

Racin' through the water

My big little sis enjoyed herself as well; tell yer what, she's not exactly petite like Kylie and me, but she can run like a dingo with dia.

Rosie

Rosie

She did get a bit gobby 'coz she was so excited, but then so does Kai - maybe it's a lurcher-on-the-beach thing.

Kai and Rosie

After an hour of runnin' around we strolled back up the beach with mum, then back to the van and home, where we had pigs ears on the patio.

The Beastly Beasts on the beach

Pigs ears on the patio

Then to round the day off we went down the valley. We down the back field into the valley and then into the field where Troy and Mack proved that men are animals. When it comes to perfume my favourites are Vixen's FPone and Seagull No5; these two had found fresh CowPooium, which is not one of my favourites. All the girls know that good quality perfume should be rubbed on behind the ears, under your chin or round yer neck; Mack was a brute and splashed it on all over, Troy wasn't much betta.

Mack

Mack

Mack having splashed it on all over

So, a great day with two great walks. Oh, and in case you're wonderin', Monty has been on Pussy Patrol.

Monty

Monty on Pussy Patrol

BeastBreak 2008 Episode 1 - Day 3

posted by Mack at 20:29

It's bloomin' great 'ere, I loov it I do.

Having a cuddle

It was noice first thing this morning so we went down the fields before breakfast for a wanda round loike. Great stooff; we started with the fields - which 'ave all been plowed so there's acres to run arownd in, then into the valley where there's a stream running thruu the trees. I'm not so keen on gettin' me feet wet, but some of the others went in for a paddle loike, and Rosie just looved it - she's up for anything that girl.

Having a paddle

Kai

Kai in the bracken

Me and Monty had a "Whose got the biggest tongue?" competition. Who do you reckon?

Mack's tongue

Mine

Monty's

Then was up the back field and home for breakfast followed by a snooze, except for Monty who was on Pussy Patrol - as normal; I gave him a paw loike.

Me and Monty on Pussy Patrol

Later on mum and dad had to shopping - I think that's human for hunting. Anyway, mum went off hunting while we stayed outsoide and chatted to people. One lady had just had a greyhound go to the Bridge and was a bit teary while she made a fuss of us; another family had a little lass called Lucy - so no proizes for guessin' who she made a fuss off.

Lucy

Lucy

Everyone said we were lovely and well behaved - which is noice of them; we were just waitin' for mum to come back.

Mack

Me

Then it was down the woods at Port Lion for another walk. Down there it's kinda like Salcey with similar smells and stuff, so great for explorin'.

Team Talk

Exploring

No proizes for guessin' who ran around the most - you'rroight, it was Rosie.

Rosie

Rosie

After the woods it was back home for tea and sleep and prepare for tomorrow. Dad says tomorrow is supposed to be really noice weather and Lucy says that means we probably go to the beach - which we all want to do.

BeastBreak 2008 Episode 1 - Day 2

posted by Kai at 20:04

Like Monty has said, we are on holiday at Swallows Dance. We all like it here, and for most up it's our third visit - for Mack and Rosie it's their second. Monty is beside himself as he thinks that watching the cats is such great fun. This morning he got mum at 6:30 so he could go on Pussy Patrol and for the rest of the morning has been spent running up and down the stairs between the the bedroom and the gate. Rosie joined in this morning as well.

Monty

Monty on Pussy Patrol

Rosie

Rosie on Pussy Patrol

I can not see the point myself, but then each to their own - being on holiday means you do what you want. The rest of us prefer conserve our energy for more productive pastimes such as walks down the fields, which is where we have been this afternoon.

With the exception of Monty, We all had a nice slow start today and lounged around the cottage - it was raining so there did not seem much point in doing much else. However, it brightened up this afternoon and we went down the fields where We spent ages having a wander, a run, and the odd sniff or two.

Having a sniff

Most humans think that greyhounds will just run off and keep running; well, I can't speak for all of them, but the grey contingent of The Beastly Beasts don't. If you want running you are better off with Rosie and me; we had a great time playing lurcher games and exploring while for the most part the greys followed in mum's wake.

Kai

Me having a run

Rosie

Rosie having a run

Mum being the Pied Piper - without a pipe

That's not to say they didn't have their moments, and Monty in particular is pleased to be able to run around properly again now his leg is mended.

Monty

Monty having a run

We also had a pose for a team holiday picture.

The Beastly Beasts

After the woods it was back to the cottage for tea -

Tea Time

and a sleep -

Rosie makes a good pillow

so we are ready for tomorrows adventures.

BeastBreak 2008 Episode 1 - Day 1

posted by Monty at 20:49

Something was definitely going on, dad had put our food in the BeastBus, and that can only mean one thing - we're going somewhere. The question was, "Where?".
We set off and two hours later we were still going - this was a big trip.
We stopped at Cardiff for a wee, but as it was raining we didn't spend long there and we were soon back on our way - but to where? A couple of hours later we found out …
Wooooo-hoooo, it's my favourite place ever - Swallows Dance - and that means we're on holiday and that means walks in the fields, walks in the woods, walks on the beaches, and - my favourite bit - Pussy Patrol; watching the farm cats from the back gate and the bedroom window.

Monty

Me - glad to be on my hols

Aunty Carol and Uncle Trevor were there to meet us and Trevor grabbed Rosie as soon as she got out the BeastBus - I think he fancies her.

Checking out the bed

Rosie Checks out the bed

Once we got into Swallows Dance Rosie checked out the sleeping arrangements and I checked out the back gate and the bedroom to make sure my vantage points were still there - they are. If you visit Swallows Dance and want to watch the moggies you'll probably find, as I do, that the bedroom gives the best view, but the gate gets you closer; so you need to move between the two - quickly.

Me on Pussy Patrol

We got settled in and explored the garden then went for a walk down the fields to be followed by tea and a sleep. I wonder what we'll do tomorrow?

Kai

Kai in the garden

The Lodgers at The Abbey

posted by Kai at 18:52

Yesterday The Lodgers went to Coombe Abbey for April's White Lodge walk. Despite the threat, a threat that unfortunately was to be realised, of rain (we'd driven through exceedingly heavy showers on the journey) there were lots of Lodgers there and some new faces too; new faces of course means new friends to meet.

We set off and almost immediately we received comments about the number of greyhounds in one place; on behalf of Rosie, Sol, Guinness, Skye, myself and others I shall point out that the assemblage was not made up solely of greyhounds, though one admits they were the most numerous among us.

As you might imagine we formed quite a procession, and at times I'm afraid others had to wait for us to pass; in some cases causing bewilderment with our numbers (as with the dog bottom left).

Over the bridge

As I am sure many of you are aware, Aunty Claire has moved to Northampton; one rather pleasant consequence of this is that Guinness and Skye are now able to join us. Aunty Claire came along with her scooter; though - without wishing to decry Skye's efforts in any way - it was not overly fast with a 1sp engine (Saluki Power).

1sp Scooter

Jack and I spent much of the walk with a human belonging to one of the new chaps; a fella by the name of Patch who was having great fun.

We followed the same route through the woods as our last visit here, which was almost exactly one year ago.

Coombe Abbey itself dates back to the 12th Century, a period of time when damsels in distress were a relatively common commodity. Though rarer now we did come across one on the walk. The fair maiden had hurt her foot and was unable to walk. One does feel that there is a fundamental design flaw with humans only using two legs; if one is disabled they too are disabled, whereas the superior design of hounds means that even if one leg is inoperative we remain mobile, albeit with reduced speed. However, a damsel in distress is a damsel in distress and aid was rendered in the form of Aunty Claire's scooter (we were rather short on knights on white chargers), enabling said damsel to be swiftly and painlessly transported to the safety and comfort of her carriage. We wish her a speedy recovery.

Damsel in Distress

Soon after this we came across an ice cream van, manned by a human we called - for reasons that will soon become apparent - the nice cream man. Dad purchased two cones which all of us Beasts shared; well, when I say shared, without doubt Jack availed himself of a significant proportion of one of the cones.

Jack eating Ice Cream

Rosie having a Nibble

The nice cream man realising that hounds like ice cream then presented an additional four cones to be shared among those that had not had any ice cream. As these pictures of Wing Commander Mortimer (replete in his flying jacket), Ruby ,and Sol (adopting Jack's method of consumption) demonstrate - everyone enjoyed them.

Wing Commander Mortimer

Ruby

Ruby

Sol

And just in case you were wondering dear reader, yes, I also had some.

Mmmmmmm, Iiiiiiice Creeeeeeeam

You may recall that I mentioned the threat of rain was to be realised. It was soon after our dalliance with the nice cream man that the heavens opened. We took shelter in the porch way of the visitor centre until the rain, though not ceased, had reduced in intensity to make walking to the Beast Bus relatively tolerable. The rain did unfortunately mean that the usual treats in the car park were not on offer, though to be honest I think we were all glad to be out of the rain.

Despite the weather at the end we really enjoyed ourselves; it was nice as always to see our friends, and we always like to make new ones and hope they will come again.

Until next time.

Skoool

posted by Rosie at 17:10

I went to skoool today. Dad - and I can call him that now 'coz I'm staying as a Beastly Beast - reckoned that I would like skoool; he was right - it's wicked!!

Skoool is were you go to learn how to do stuff with lots of other dogs. We did walking round in circles - first one way then the other. Then we did sitting - I could that anyway, then we did lying down - didn't give me too much stress. And the good thing is every time you do it you get a treat, so guess what? I did it. One of the teachers said I was really clever.

We went to the same class as a dog called Fish - his humans are friends with dad. He was going to be a guide dog, but didn't like it much.

And there was another new dog in the class. He'd been kept in one room for the last six months and never went out on walks and stuff. Now he's been rescued and his new human wants to make him better - which is ace, but today he was really scared of all the other dogs; I'm sure he'll sort it though.

I can't go to skoool for the next couple of weeks - can't say why yet, it's a secret, but I'm looking forward to going again.

Mended Beast

posted by Monty at 19:49

I'm free!!!

Mr. Onyet, who I'm really grateful too, has said my leg has mended really well and I don't need to go and see him any more. To be honest, it still feels a bit weird, so I do sort of keep my weight off it a bit; he said I'll get used to it and walk normally after a few more months.

According to Mr. Onyet, my bones in my leg (ulna and radius) have sort of got stuck together near my shoulder 'coz of all the bits of bone from the break; he said I don't have to worry about that though.

He also said that the break in my leg was really severe and one of the most interesting he'd worked on, but was glad he didn't have to do one like it every day.

But the best thing he said is that I don't have to stay with dad all the time when we're out, and I can run around with the rest of The Beasts; Salcey here I come!!!!!

Edited to add this pic of me having a run at Salcey with Mack. We'd run to the end of the track and were on the way back. OK, Mack's faster than me at the moment, but after six months of plodding around with dad what do expect?

Photobucket