It’s nearly Christmas …

It’s nearly Christmas and, although this won’t be my Christmas Glog, it is worth mentioning that I’m getting very, very excited about Christmas now. Christmas usually involves lots of food, which I know isn’t really meant for me but I generally do pretty well out of it, lots of presents (I’m a world expert at ripping them apart!) and lots of attention. What’s not to like? The thing is, as we lead up to Christmas they get all busy doing stuff. I’m not sure what stuff they do, but there’s always a lot of stuff happening. I know that every year he says he will never make another Christmas cracker as long as he lives and every year he makes a load of Christmas crackers. He says he will never take a leg off a turkey, bone it, and stuff it ever again, but he does it every year – I quite like that bit because I generally do pretty well out of the offcuts! Every year they start planning for Christmas in September and every year they are rushing to get things done by Christmas that they planned to do in October! Actually, thinking about it, they’re pretty bad at planning for Christmas! I can always tell when Christmas is coming because it starts getting dark earlier and it gets quite a bit colder too.

I am trying to remember what has happened since my last Glog but so much has happened, it is difficult to remember everything. One thing that I do remember is that we went to a place called the Weald and Downlands Museum which is near a place called Chichester. Not that I needed to worry about that because we went in the car thingy and he was driving, so I just had a nap until we got there. It turns out it is an open air museum with lots of very old buildings. It is positively mahoosive! We walked all around the museum and watched people doing tree management using very old tools and ancient methods. We say the mill where they mill wheat to make flour and the bakery where they use the flour to make bread. I had my photo taken with Daddy Richard in the doorway of a very old house where they used to have a fire in the middle of the house to keep warm. There aren’t any bedrooms either but there was a sort of walled off area where apparently they went if they wanted to make babies! It was quite strange but they found it interesting and I had a wonderful time and a jolly good walk.

Apparently, the production of a particularly aromatic two bagger was not the most welcome of presents I gave them during the walk around. Fortunately, there are plenty of dog bins, so it wasn’t like they had to carry it for long! Honestly, he particularly, is always moaning about something! Another thing that happens at the Weald and Downlands Museum is they film a TV programme called ‘The Repair Shop’. It is filmed in a 15th Century barn on the outskirts of the museum. Lots of people watch The Repair Shop and get their weekly fix of Will, Dom or Jay or maybe Kirsten or Lucia. The barn, the forge and Dom’s workbench are all part of the museum but they are not usually open to the public and are all covered up when filming is not taking place. The museum does have open days when the public are able to peek inside and see where it all happens, but they are not very frequent because the BBC is quite strict about access to the barn. and/or set.

Having said all that about the barn not being open to the public and the BBC being strict about access, they (him, Daddy Richard, Nana, Uncle Bren and Auntie Cathy) all went back to the museum to a special Christmas Market that was being held at the museum. I stayed at home with Grandad because, well, if I’m totally honest I hadn’t been invited, but they had been told that it was probably not wise to take a dog to the market. When they got there though, there were hundreds of dogs there!! Anyway, I got to spend some quality time with Grandad whilst they went to the Christmas Market. It turned out when they were there that the barn was actually open, so they got to see inside anyway! He had his photograph taken for no good reason – I mean, I wasn’t even there, so what is the point of taking a photograph! I am the handsomest dog in dogdom, you can hardly say the same about him can you?!

Thinking about things, it has been a bit of an odd year really. I haven’t seen my friend Myfanwy for about a gazillion years and it seems like a lifetime ago when I last saw my best friend Charlie! I am going to have to have a bark at him and see if we can do better next year. Mind you, I’ve found myself having to have a bark at him quite a lot recently. I think he must be getting a bit deaf because I’m barking louder and louder and he is still ignoring me when I do! I’m not getting much better reactions from Daddy Richard either, so I’m going to have to rethink my barking strategy! We do see my new (well, he’s new because he’s still a puppy) friend Albie quite a bit and we do see my friend Barney when we’re out walking. And then there’s Cody (I rather like her and I think she likes me too!) and Ralph and Alfred and, of course, Eric. Eric doesn’t live here anymore but he still comes to see Liz and Maria the dog walkers several days a week, so I see him then. Of course, they are all my friends too but they aren’t like Charlie and Myfanwy. I can confidently say though, that there is no-one as handsome as me!

Last weekend we all got in the car thingy and went to see Auntie Jo. Auntie Jo lives in Leicestershire which is flamin’ long way. It’s a lot further than Reigate Hill! I know that because we passed Reigate Hill on the way. Actually, I haven’t been to Reigate Hill for a long time … another thing I shall have to have a bark at him about. Anyway it was a long way. They kept moaning that the traffic was bad. I’m not sure what that means but I think that was partly the reason why it took us over 3½ hours to get there. I didn’t really mind it though, it was a good opportunity to inspect the inside of my eyelids. We stopped at a place called Newport Pagnell for a wee and a charge. None of the charging stations had been commissioned yet, so no charge but it wasn’t urgent so we carried on. When we got to Auntie Jo’s house I had a quick run around her lounge, nearly destroying everything by slipping on the floor, then we went to a garden centre where dogs are allowed in the cafe. They had lunch and then we had a good look around the garden centre. It was all very interesting. Lots to sniff and look at. Then we left the Garden Centre and went to a nearby charging station that just happened to be in a pub car park (hmm, I’m not sure that was a coincidence!) so we put the car thingy on charge and went into the pub for a drink. Daddy Richard had Guiness, Auntie Jo had lemonade and he had a tonic water as he was driving, I just stuck to water!

Our visit to Auntie Jo all went very well. Well mostly. There was the minor matter when Daddy Richard took me for a quick walk before we left to come home. It was all fine … until I decided to have a dip in the canal! Honestly, one little dip and you should have heard the language when we got back to Auntie Jo’s! He called me a ‘stinking dog’, then I got told off for being wet … well you’re going to get wet if you go for a dip aren’t you! Then he was muttering something about having a long drive home with that ducking fog (well, that’s what I think he said – I couldn’t see any fog!). I wasn’t even allowed to go back into Auntie Jo’s house. We got straight into the car thingy and started to drive home. He was still muttering but, frankly, I just tuned out of it and had a doze. Of course, I know that means that I’ll be having a visit to my personal groomer, Denise, soon. It isn’t that I mind going to see Denise but what boy wants to be all clean and tidy?! Still, it is inevitable I suppose.

When I go and see Denise I do get to play with balls which is fun. They don’t let me because they say I get too possessive and obsessed about them. What do they know? Denise has lots of toys and I’m allowed to play with all of them. My favourite spot in Denise’s salon is her wicker chair. I don’t really fit in it, but I always have a jolly good go! She sometimes has to hide toys from me because I remember where she keeps them and I have a jolly good bark until I get them. Actually, the bath is quite nice because it’s nice warm water. The soap is nice too, it lathers up and smells really good. I don’t mind the blow dry that I get after the bath, that feels all good around my hair. Hmm, thinking about it, I don’t actually mind going to Denise for a bath at all. When am I next going? I’m looking forward to it now!! So that’s about it for this Glog. I don’t have much more to report since I last put paw to keyboard. With just twelve more sleeps (well, actually, in my case it’ll be considerably more than that!) until Christmas I am really looking forward to it. I know that I have got some presents coming and I know that there will be treats too. We’ve just been out to see who’s lights are better outside the houses in Salisbury Road, Oxted Road and Dumville Drive (I reckon ours are best!) and now it’s time for dinner so, for now, must paws … 🐾