Day 9

Day 9 29 th September Galashiels to Lauder 14 miles

Today they had a lie in and left at 10.30am and weren't really in the right mind set today having convinced themselves it would be a gentle stroll.

Weather was dry but bitterly cold wind and ground remains soaked and boggy. They had a nice walk by the River Tweed and saw lots of people fly fishing, followed by some gentle hill climbing. Soles of feet were burning and sore all day and they all had to take painkillers.

Finished walk at 4pm and had fish and chips for tea then on to B & B to get feet off the ground.

Tomorrow they walk 16 miles to Longformacas 12 of which are across the top of moors and the weather forecast is grim.

Only 42 miles remain and spirits remain high!

The end is in sight.

So many of my blogging friends have been kind enough to put the walk on their blogs and make generous to donations, thank you all xx. I have a lovely friend in America Lori, we share a love of crafting and greyhounds and Lori put a lovely piece on her blog, take a look here.

I posted the banner on Thursday up to Scotland so when the boys finish the walk they can take a photo with the greyhound gap banner, only the postman delivered it to me today, he said "Hi Sue got you a parcel" I promptly burst into tears and screamed nooooooooooooooooo, poor chap was horrified when he realised what had happened, how the heck they can confuse TO and FROM is beyond me, Eric flew over the road to the Post Office they to had no idea how such a mistake could happen but did refund the postage. No way of getting it to them now so will have to do some clever editing of the final photo (well Eric will LOL).

Sue x

PS Little Belle had her first run in the garden, no lead, no Mummy yelling at her to stop pulling, she couldn't quite believe it and just had a little run than walked beside me.

Day 8

Day 8 Tibbie Shiels to Galashiels 26.5 miles

Marc's update...........

26.3 miles completed  and the last long day behind us :-)
We set off at 0745 and had been left a free pack up each as we left prior to breakfast which we thought was very kind.

A gorgeous 4 miles walk along at Mary's loch with the sun rising above the hills was nice until we startled a heard of cattle that had nowhere to go apart from move on in front of us! They eventually got stranded at the stile we needed to climb to continue, attempting to be as passive as possible we almost succeeded until the the last one got scared and spun on the spot spraying Steve with mud and cow poo in the process !!

We climbed again through plantations and bogs !! Before arriving at our half way point -- the village of tranquir at 1239 (9 minutes behind our schedule). The weather was unkind as torrential rain hit us just as we settled down against a wall to eat !! We had a 15in lunch before we climbed again 4 large hills to meet the 3 brethren land mark,Ne'er descending below 1600 feet during the afternoon.

Everyone had niggles and credit to all that no one complained but got there heads down in the knowledge each mile got us closer to tranquil.With 3 miles left as we descended into a small wood where we met the first people who were doing the same walk !! Two American girls who had started the day from where we had , had our lunch !!

They were rather impressed we had caught them having had 12.5 miles head start on us ! It was good to chat to some different people as we descended into Galashiels and headed straight for a pub that was willing to accept 3 guys covered in mud !!  to eat as once at our overnight stop in this very large town in comparison to other previous stops. 

 I don't mind admitting I was relieved to speak to Marc  last night and hear they were all still in good spirits and knowing the worst was behind them! The walking season is usually finished by beginning of September because of the risk of bad weather and the much shorter daylight hours in Scotland. It would have been easier for them had they walked in May as per the original plan but of course Marc's injury and operation meant they had to reshedule!. On the news it's said North England and Scotland have had the worst storms this last week in decades, typical LOL. Still what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Stuart in particular has done so well, he's much younger and has no experience unlike Marc and Steve who have done several long distance walks and run marathons. Marc says Stuart hasn't once complained and has kept his good humour despite being continually soaked from falling so much.

Doesn't look like we will reach our target this year but every penny donated will go towards the greyhound gaps kennel fund and every penny raised counts. We still have another £300 plus to put in ourselves from fund raising events so think it will end up fairly respectful.

Many thanks to everyone who has donated. Anyone who would like to donate can do so here

Day 7

Day 7 Moffat to St Mary's loch -22,2 miles

spoke with Marc and here’s his update.

A less eventful day!

First 6 miles walked through a high-level forest plantation, then climbed to Ettrick head approx 1700ft, shortly after crossed out of Dumfries into Scottish Borders County.

Next an exhausting 6-mile stretch on tarmac, which was a killer for the feet, the road, followed the Ettrick water between two picturesque valleys.

Saw a badger, started climbing again up to 1400ft, and then 4 miles on a thin ridge ¾ way up a valley had to take it slow for fear of falling on loose rocks. Next a 21/2 mile decent into St Mary Loch, temperatures rapidly dropping and all suffering from cold and exhaustion.

 Tonight they are staying at Tibbie Shiels Inn, which is the only place in a 15 square mile radius and has been taking in travellers for hundreds of year.

Today they walk 25.6, the official guidebook splits it into two days but they’re attempting in 1 day setting off at 7am and hoping to finish by 7pm! 

After tomorrow the days should be shorter and hopefully a bit easier as the 3 are exhausted.

Day 6

Wanlockhead to Moffat 20.5 miles

Update from Marc as good mobile signal!

At 0845 we ventured out to begin our attack of the Southern Lowther hills 2378ft
Cold moss 2060ft laight hill 1663 ft which were not in forgiving mood
Very steep ascents and steep descents shrouded in cloud mist and heavy rain
Steve and Stuart ( the chuckle brothers !! ) continued their personal competition on whom can slip / fall the most and as such Marc took his normal position behind these two for self preservation reasons when going down hill !
Steve was knocked onto all fours by a wayward gust of wind and shortly after Stuart was blown off a dry wall !!

We reached Daer Reservoir which represented the 106 miles halfway stage and stopped for a brief lunch ( and of course customary by now to change out of wet socks !! )
We continued along to a smaller range of hills sweetshaw brae 1469ft Hods hill 1860ft & Beld knowe 1663ft in driving rain before venturing into a forest plantation for 8 miles - which proved tricky as many trees had obviously come down in the gales and thus were blocking the way ahead !! More bogs and a spectacular FORWARD slide and fall by Stuart into the bog raised morale !! eventually we made it out of the trail to descend into Beattock and after the last climb the final mile into Moffat arriving at 1801 hrs which gave an approx 2.38 miles per hour which all things considered was acceptable
Lots of clothes washing going on at the moment before tea and discussions for tomorrow / researching of the route.

Photo of Steve and Stuart at the half way point of the walk.

Anyone who would like to make a small donation can do so here all money goes to greyhound gap's kennel fund!would

Day 5

Tuesday 25th September Sanqhar to Wanlockhead - 8 miles half day!

Check this out, a friend did it for me and it shows much better the route and terrain of the walk.

Spoke to Marc last night, terrible mobile reception so a brief update.

They started walking at 9.45 this morning and it took over 4 hours to walk the 8 miles due to the North easterly winds of 60-70mph which were blowing them sideways with driving rain buffeting them around like rag dolls.

They had to climb to 1600ft, then back down, then up again to 1500ft, ground was again saturated and the conditions were horrendous! Stuart fell three times going down and by the last time was soaking wet and non to impressed with being laughed at by Marc and Steve!

At one point they needed to cross a bog to reach a bridge, Stuart went first and leapt the bog skidded onto the bridge which was cover in moss and apparently looked like a duckling on ice, Steve followed and reached the bridge but slid off into the bog and sustained a huge bruise, this time he was the butt of much laughter! Marc decided being shorter that he wouldn’t reach the bridge and put one foot in the bog before reaching the bridge and also skidded giving his recovering knee a worrying jolt.

Tonight they are staying in the highest village in Scotland; all the locals have been very kind and friendly to the mad Englishmen trying to complete the walk in such conditions so late in the season.

Marc says he tipped his socks up to pour out the water and it ran for 4 seconds, hence the badly blistered feet.

So a shocker of a day but spirits remains high and not just down to being in the highest village in Scotland!

Tomorrow they walk to Moffat 20.5 miles but the weather forecast is much better!

Anyone wishing to make a small donation can do so by visiting their just giving site http://www.justgiving.com/Marc-Norman0 all money raised goes to Greyhound Gap!

Day 4

Monday 24 Sept Day 4 - St Johns town of Dalry to Sanqhar 27.5 miles

Marc's account of day 4

Today started with an 0630 breakfast during which long discussions were held....a severe weather warning stated 69mph winds and  3 inches of rain would fall...we wanted to stick to the route which would be over the highest mountains yet 3 peaks over 2000ft but our experience suggested this could be foolish , no civilisation or roads would be passed and with the ground so boggy prior to today we were also concerned with poor visibility and potentially struggling with map reading if the wind was high especially as it was and east-north-east wind which would mean a head wind.
We eventually spoke to some locals in the post office including a local postman who was an avid hill walker who stated it would be silly to attempt it with what had been forecast
As such plan B was too walk a route (off the official route) but just as far at low level which entailed a lot of Tarmac (not great on the feet ) but would give us the opportunity to walk on an even surface and faster.
The rain was more persistent than torrential and the wind very gusty but nowhere near 60mph
Although looking up at the hills shrouded in cloud told a different story on the tops.
We scuttled along to a small village called Moniavie and found a pleasant coffee shop to take lunch and dry off. It was only then we were able to borrow an ordinance map ( ours only cover the route and a thin strip either side in case of small detours ) and realised we were motoring along at 3.75mph having coveted 15 miles in 4 hours.

We slowed down during the afternoon probably through fatigue higher wind and heavier rain to complete the day at 3.5mph. It was only after we stopped that we realised the speed of the walk had kept us warm as shivering took hold soon after! waterproofs on all 3 did a superb job having taken a constant battering and even the backpacks with the water proof covers coped ....just !!
Lovely B & B on a working farm with a room each ! (luxury!!) and our first TV ! 

Weather forecast states the worst will occur from 2000-0400 so it looks like the low pressure hadn't quite made it over us at the time stated but we think it was still a good call.

We could get very lucky with just moderate 30mph winds tomorrow and mainly dry! Here's to hoping !!! 

  Our guide book states we have been walking through 'Robert the Bruce land' in which many battles were fought against King Edwards army ....maybe this is some kind of tribute ?!...

* (sue)* I will just add with such terrible weather conditions I spent the whole days worrying myself silly, Marc was really good and sent me regular texts throughout the day to keep me happy! I was mighty relieved when they finished walking yesterday!

Day 5 Sanqhar to Wanlockhead 8 miles  

Today is their half day, Marc has built this into the schedule to allow time for feet to recover and get some extra rest.

 

Day 3

Day 3 Sunday 23rd September Bargrennan to St Johns town of Dalry 23.5 miles

Update done by Marc last and this is what he had to say!


Beautiful days walking
First past loch trool and up into the Galloway hills where we encountered a pair of red kites
Descent towards loch dee and ascent onto the 'awful hand ridge !'-- it's official name which is part of the hills of Merrick
Followed very picturesque waterfalls and rivers
Saw 4 people all day
Very quiet and completely wild
Navigation has on the whole been pretty good ( pat on the back for Marc !! ) compass come in handy a couple of times

Bogs encountered two miles from the end were annoying !!
Another 3 kites and a buzzard seen before arriving in Dalry
Gorgeous roast dinner to round off the day and update the face book page in bed !!
Various injuries between the 3 include sore calves , shins , shoulders blisters and bum chaffing ( Steve !!)
Tomorrow is prob the hardest days walk any of the 3 have undertaken
27 miles which is by far not the highest total in a day but severe weather looming v difficult moors and mountains to navigate and day light hours to contend with
Keep the faith and remember our reasons for setting out on this journey.....to assist such a worthwhile charity

and some photo's first is Marc and Stuart outside a bothie which are built for walkers to take shelter in!

 Lunch spot over looking Lock dee

 Stuart and Marc at Castle Kennedy loch

 Toady's is Day 4 St Johns town of Dalry to Sanqhar 27.5 miles

This is the day we have all been worrying about and with severe weather warning in place they have been advised by a local who is an experienced hill walker not to attempt to go into the hills but to take a different route, same mileage and safer. With very heavy hearts the boys have decided to take the man''s advice as it would be foolhardy to ignore the locals, especially as they are the last party to do the walk this year, usually no one attempts it this late into the season because of the weather and shorter daylight hours. 

I have to admit to still being worried but much  happier that they have changed the route, they started walking at 7am and it should be 12-13 hours before they finish! Will feel much happier once today is completed.

Anyone who would like to make a donation no matter how small can do so here

Sue x

Day 2

Day 2 – New Luce to Bargrenann – 18.5 miles

Had a long chat with Marc last night and here is their update from yesterdays walk!

The good news is the weather stayed dry and the scenery and wildlife is amazing! Everywhere they walk has loads of wind turbines and they only saw 2 people all day, a pair of chaps attempting the same walk but on bikes! As they are walking quite high up they managed to get burnt faces even though the temperate only reach about 10 degrees. All three are now carrying injuries, mostly blisters from walking in wet socks, the ground is treacherous and they try to find tufts of grass sticking up above the water if they can to walk on. Steve was walking from log to log on one stretch and slipped into a bog and immediately sunk to his knees and had to be pulled out. Navigation is quite easy as the route is well sign posted which is just as well as most of the time they spend looking down at the ground hoping to find a spot to place the next step that doesn’t involve sinking! Standing still is not an option as you immediately begin to sink! They’re hoping the ground will become less boggy the further east they travel. Marc says streams are like rivers and springs are waterfalls the lady at the B & B said the last two days, which have been dry, are the first for 6 weeks. The lady at the B & B not only dried out all their wet socks but drove them to the pub for a meal and went back and collected them which was very kind.

They did have one funny incident well funny in hindsight when walking through a field a herd of Galloway bulls took exception to them being there and surrounded them, luckily they got bored and wandered off but Marc says it was a tad worrying all the other bulls had apparently not been bothered by them up to that point, Marc did video it though so that’s good LOL.

Apparently 500 people have started the walk this year but only 300 have finished it, which Marc says it’s  understandable as it is so much harder than last years walk.

Today Day 3 is Bargrenann to St Johns Town of Dalry – 23.5 miles.

There is some concern over Mondays walk which will be 27.5 miles, usually this is split into 2 days but Marc wants to complete it in 1 day so the following day they only walk 8 miles and can have a half day to rest their feet, anyway the forecast for Monday is worrying with gale force winds and rain forecast.

I wouldn’t say they’re down and out but they are very tired which is worrying with just two days walking done. Marc’s knee is holding up well so that’s good news. Any encouraging messages would be most appreciated. 

Day 1

Friday 21st September Portpatrick to New Luce 23.5 miles.

The boys wetting their feet at the start of the walk and as tradition dictates will have picked up a pebble to place on the beach when they wet their feet at the end of the walk.

 Steve and Marc

 Steve and Stuart and Portpatrick harbour

Report from Day 1 Portpatrick to New Luce 23.5 miles

Lovely weather but ground so sodden that Marc had to change socks 3 times and Steve slipped and fell down a hill! Only managed to walk 2.5 miles per hour as the ground was so heavy going! By the time they finished all 3 had very sore feet and were exhausted, sounds like a bit of a rough start! They did see quite a few RED squirels though.

Day 2 is New Luce to Bargennan 18.5 miles 

They have just set off with a frost under foot and temp abou 2 degrees.

Brilliant news from the dress down day at Marc's son school, Marc did a talk in July about striving to do your best which tied in with the Olympics that the children had been studying and how it was import to always try to do your best and to help other people which led into why they were doing the walk! the school decided to mark the start of the walk with a dress down day for which the children would pay75p each, final amount to be counted but looks to be around £250!

Setting off

Scottish Coast to Coast Walk

The Southern Upland Way

 
The Southern Upland Way is Britain's first official coast to coast long distance foot-path. It runs 212 miles  from Portpatrick on the south-west coast of Scotland to Cockburnspath on the eastern seaboard. . The Way provides a real challenge for the experienced walker.  Travelling the entire 212 mile length of the Southern Upland Way will take you through an enormous variety of scenery and may provide a challenge that will give you a tremendous sense of achievement on completion. Many of the longer sections can be very arduous and would perhaps be difficult for some to manage in a single day.   People normally take about 12 to 16 days to complete the route in one journey.
So that's the official information I found about the walk, the boys will be doing it in 10.5 days

Thurs 20^th       Travel up to Scotland

Friday 21^st      Portpatrick to New Luce - 23.5 miles

 Saturday 22^nd New Luce to Bargrennan 18.5 miles

Sunday 23^rd    Bragrennan to Dalry 23.5 miles

Monday 24^th   Dalry to Sanquar 27.5 miles

Tuesday 25^th Sanquar to Wanlockhead just 8/9 miles today to allow for some recovery time

Wednesday 26^th Wanlockhead to Moffat 20.5miles

Thursday 27^th Moffat to  St Mary’s Loch  – 21.5miles

Friday 28^th        St Mary’s Loch to Galashiels 26.5miles

Saturday 29^{th   Galashiels} to Lauder  – 14.5miles

Sunday 30^th    Lauder   to Longformacas  – 16miles          

Monday 1^st LongFormacus – Cockburnspath 17 miles  **** Finish **** Approx 218 miles.

Please follow their adventure here on my blog or on facebook "walkingthebeat"

anyone who would like to donate a few pennies can do so my visiting their website walking the beat and following the link to the just giving page, any amount no matter how small will be very gratefully received and every penny will go to greyhound gap!

Sue x 

The boys arrived in Scotland at 7.50pm last night  and had time to visit the local pub for a quick drink!

todays walks is   Portpatrick to New Luce - 23.5 miles

 

 each day I will hopefully receive photo's and updates from Marc so we can follow them on the walk!

Please spread the word to all your friends and family

Sue x

 

How it all began

The history on how walking the beat came to be!

Three years ago both Marc (my son) and Steve took part in the Ghurkha challenge , a 100km run in a day over the South Downs , with all proceeds raised going towards Oxfam & the Ghurkha welfare trust.
Despite taking part in separate teams there was much banter in the lead up to the race and during training sessions.
Marc and his team completed the course in 16 hours 31 minutes with a final position of 25^th out of 527 teams.
Steve and his team finished in 21 hours 16 minutes.
After the banter had diminished the two of them discussed completing another long distance challenge but together and for a charity of their own choice, this was how the Coast to Coast walk from St Bee’s head to Robin Hoods Bay came to be
 The challenge was to complete the route with a self imposed target.
Supporting a charity was decided upon with ease, with both Marc and Steve having owned themselves or through family greyhounds and as such they decided they wanted to support ‘Greyhound Gap’
The walk was very enjoyable and through meeting many people along the route and the amount raised £2550 coupled with the encouragement received made up the minds of the 2 that they would look to complete a challenge each year with the theme being:

-        long distance walk

-        coast to coast

It was agreed that if this was to become a reality that they would like to professionalize themselves with a website and to attract new team members that shared their goals in raising awareness and publicity as well as sponsorship for Greyhound Gap.

Plans are already in place for 2 further walks in 2013 and 2014
-        South to North Wales
-        West to East Ireland ( Republic)

“The coast to coast routes each year are more than just a walk.  It’s an adventure it’s about the people you meet and the relationships formed.  It’s about geography & history that you pass through.  It’s about getting your feet wet at the beginning and the end!  It’s what you learn about yourself.  But most importantly it’s about raising funds and awareness for the Greyhound Gap.” – Marc Norman (03.07.11)
“In life you do the right thing…not for a medal…not to be hailed a hero…but simply because IT IS the right thing to do.”


‘Walking the beat’ seemed an ‘apt’ choice of a title with all the team members having a link to the police.
This years walk has been tweaked to 220 miles over 10.5 days (21 miles average per day).

As always the walk is dedicated to the memory of Sandy with whom Marc had a very special bond. Last night Marc came round and spent some time at Sandy's spot and had a talk with her, Sandy may be gone but she is never forgotten she will always hold a special place in Marc's heart.

Greyhound Gap are trying to raise £100,000 as a deposit to buy their own kennels as currently they have to use a normal boarding kennel which means Lisa has limited access to the dogs, all of greyhound gaps dogs are thoroughly assessed before being put up for adoption, having their own Kennels would mean Lisa could always be there and spend more time with the dogs. The cost of having dogs in kennels runs to over £5,000 a month plus on top of that there is all the veternairy bills to pay. Gap is lucky that they have an army of volunteers who work tirelessy to raise the money to keep gap going, it is a never ending task 

The boys are now en route to Scotland to begin the walk tomorrow, please come back each day to hear all about their adventure.

I underlined the not being a hero bit because last year the boys came across a group of young girls doing their Duke of Edinburgh award, one girl had become very ill and with weather closing in and no mobile reception Marc and Steve carried her down the side of a mountain and for many more miles before they could call an ambulance, she was whisked away to hospital and they were later told their prompt medical help saved her life. The parents were so grateful they wrote to Suffolk police and much to their embarrassement they received an award. After safely handing her over they then walked back to the mountain to finish that days walk properly, finally they reached the pub they were booked into very very late amid much appaulause, unfortunately they were so exhausted by then they turned down all the offers of drinks and collapsed into bed. The landlord did however supply them with a fab packed lunch for the next day LOL.

Sue x

Getting closer

Tomorrow morning my son Marc and his two colleagues Steve and Stuart will leave here and travel up to Scotland ready to start the walk on Friday. I've been given lots of last minute instructions and jobs to do LOL. I shall update the blog daily and either Marc or myself will update the facebook page (walkingthebeat) (thats all one word). Lets hope the weather stays dry for them. So far we raised through various events about £700 and with donations kind people have made through the just giving site were up to £982.00 hoping to raise at least £2,500 but fear it may not be possible as everyone is feeling the pinch in these difficult economic times. So please feel free to share out by blog and their facebook page to anyone you think may be interested. They've been very lucky that virgin travel have again this year given them free travel and they self fund all accommodation and food costs themselves so every penny donated to greyhound gap does go to gap and not a penny towards their personal costs.

Amongst a major baking session today I had time to finish off pages 17 and 18 of the wedding album, almost two thirds of the way there now LOL.

Super weekend

Well what can I say, the weekend was was wonderful, we stopped on the way to do the food shop then had lunch on the Norfolk Broads eating our sandwich and watching the boats go by. Caravan had central heating which was lovely first thing in the morning, spent the mornings scrapping followed by a siesta and then a walk down to the beach and then back to scrapping, weather was warm enough to have caravan door open and Dawn and I agreed it was our best weekend away ever. Came home feeling rested and so much better.

Dogs were very pleased to see me and the house was spotless AND Eric had put the french doors into the side wall of the garage which means work on my craft room has started! of course he still needs to build a massive shed to house all the motorbikes but I was still thrilled to see those doors in as they have been leaning against the wall for about a year LOL.

Belle is now have two short walks a day and we will gradually build them up, her operation to remove plate and screws is booked for the 9th October and she will need to be on crate up to then and then for a week after but she is getting more time out of the crate when we can shut her in the lounge with us.

Twizzle is a bit better on the pills but still not great, having discussed the problem with the vet we will leave her on the pills for a month and then review. basically if the problem has been caused by a trauma the damage may not get any worse if it's a congenital defect then it will deteriorate much like arthritis only the end result would be paralysis of the rear legs. There are options with various operations so we shall just have to wait and see where this goes, Twizzle remains her beautiful happy self and even when she screams her tail still wags.

So paper layouts done on holiday, they were all class kits from the crops  I go too, some I tweaked a bit and some I stuck to the kit.

This is from Papermaze and designed by Janet Warren Photo is  Orin.

 Another from Papermaze designed by Lou Collins The girls dressed up for the hen night, Dawn's daughter Hollie, my Vikki and my niece Trudy

 Bramford
designed by Janina, think I have enough bits left to do a 2nd matching page. My sister in law Kelly, daughter Katie, brother Bob and his son Andrew.

 Bramford again by Janina, photo of my Gran.

 Papermaze designed by Lesley (I think), Photo is my brother Bob (home from America) me, my sister and my youngest brother

 Bramford by Janina, photo is my gran, my mum and my Uncle John

Twizzle and Belle

We’ve just spoken to Tom our vet and he says Twizzle has a condition called Lumbosacral Disease, it could be caused from a trauma or more likely it’s a congenital deformity. In layman terms she has abnormal discs between the lower lumber and pelvis with new bone growth becoming calcified which is squashing nerves and inflaming tissues, he also feels she has had this condition from birth given the amount of damage the x ray has revealed (Twiz is 2). There is an operation but it is major major surgery and quite dangerous with no promise of a good outcome. For now we will carry on with the pills which will help reduce the inflammation and reduce her pain and review in 4 weeks. Eric has an appt later today to go and and view x rays and discuss in more detail, totally and utterly floored by this news, we had a feeling it wasn’t going to be good but this is really serious with no easy quick fix.

Any good thoughts for Twizzle would be appreciated.

Eric will also book Belle's operation to remove the plate and pins as greyhound gap have said yes. Timing it right will be tricky as it needs to be in next 5 weeks and as Belle will require crate rest for a week following the operation and lead only for toilet breaks we need to get it done before my operation 25/10 as I daren't risk spoiling my new hand and the other will be in plaster. Life is begining to feel rather stressful again!

Eric took this photo of Alfie last week and I couldn't resist taking a break from wedding layouts to scrap it!

And another two layouts done!

How deceptive a photo can be, looks like I'm actually walking the dogs, actually I was just hanging on whilst Eric took a photo LOL.

I'm off Friday for my long weekend break so will update you on my return.

Sue x

Weekly round up!

Another busy week for the Taylor house!

Report from Belle's visit to vets today

Vet really pleased with her, she shows no sign of pain or discomfort in leg, however he would prefer to remove plate and pins in 4-6 weeks as the screws do interfere with the ulna bone and he feels in the long term they  could cause problems. I have left greyhound gap a message to see whether they can fund the removal of them. In the mean time we carry on with crate rest, lead only exercise but in two weeks her jabs will give her full cover and walks outside of the garden can begin.

I was desperately hoping for more freedom for her but as vet said we’ve come so far lets err on the side of caution. Easy for him to say!

Twizzle’s visit to vets today

Also took Twizzle as she has been screaming with pain when she runs (it doesn't stop her running) rested her all last weekend and didn't improve and then if we even tried to touch her rear end she cried and Twizzle is very stoic  

Not so good news! Vet thinks the screaming when she runs may be as a result of a neurological condition or a congenital defect (both of which I had been thinking) has prescribed some painkillers but if it’s leaning towards what he thinks the pills won’t have any effect, booked in for x rays Wednesday but again probably won’t show what he suspects but it’s a starting point, he thinks she will need a cat scan. Feel really sad as we all suspect it could potentially be serious but keeping paws crossed that it isn’t.


Bone day Wednesday! favourite day of the week for the hounds

 Belle getting supervised time out of the crate!

 Alfie Bear

 Belle and Mummy with Twizzle almost in shot

 Wish I knew what caught there attention Belle has a constant shadow in Orin he seems to feel the need to be her protector, not that she needs one I can assure you, madam is more than capable of taking care of herself.

Yes every now and then Gangley does move off the sofa LOL

 Twizzle and Alfie

 Gangley and Mojo

 Mojo plotting his route to roar around the field

 5 out of 7 in one photo plus a very weary me.

 Twizzle watching the children playing football and probably wondering how she could pinch their ball

 Twizzle up the meadow

Orin was featured in the Sunday telegraph a few months ago re hound needing a home sort of thing it's an article the journalist has been doing for about a year featuring different rescue centres, well he wants to do a follow up on Orin and will be contacting us for an interview!

Have my pre admission appt for the operation I will have on 25th Oct, darn it I was doing such a good job not thinking about it but now I have the pre admission appt I can't get it out of my head grrrrr

Layouts prepared for my weekend away, I don't think I have ever need a break this badly before, Belle was playing and managed to catch my hand with a tooth and the skin ripped quite badly so consequently I now have anti biotics because my immune system is squashed with drugs we can't take the risk and they are making me feel yuck on top of exhausted, poor Belle not sure who is struggling more her or me.

Wedding layouts13 and 14 done, have been on quite a roll with them but had to stop to prepare the paper ones for the weekend and I was itching to keep going, almost half way now yay!

Sue x

Friday's scrapping day turned out to be a very sad day! My friend Sue very suddenly had to let her beautiful blue greyhound go to the bridge, Song had only been off colour for a few days and the shock for Sue must have been terrible. Please visit Sue's blog if you want to know more and leave her a message.

After hearing about Song my heart really wasn't into scrapping but I managed to finish this layout off, it tells the story on how Orin came to us.

Have done another 2 wedding layouts pages 11 and 12, aiming for 30!

But now I must now get myself ready and prepare some paper layouts ready for my weekend away. Dawn and I usually go once a year but as we went so early this year because her daughter was due in June having had her first baby almost 4 weeks early we thought it best to play safe and went in May, so we're treating ourselves to another weekend of scrapping and chilling out, only 10 more sleeps before we go LOL.

Belle will be going to the vets Saturday for 2nd lot of jabs and a review, desperately hoping she can have more time out of the crate.

Sue x