Author: Sue

Happy Birthday brother Phil !He’s the one on the right as you look, with the white shirt.  This photo of my three brothers and moi was taken at the family get together I told you about last month.  Think you will agree I am the best looking !!

Ernst and I had our usual September week at Cap d’Ail with our friends and had our usual great time playing cards, reading, swimming and visits to our favourite eateries. Timing had been arranged so that we would arrive on the coast at the same time as their flight so that we could pick them up at the airport but a last minute puppy transport problem meant that we had a dog cage in the car so they got a taxi from Nice.  Would you believe it we arrived at the house, Ernst and I after an eight hour drive and the others after their flight, within ten minutes of each other !

Last week we had our annual Summer’s End apero evening with 40 people for drinks and snacks.  I always get stressed out when I have to prepare food for others and find the best policy is to get everyone tiddly before the food is brought out !  A friend brought over a large plate of meaty bits and they were gone in two minutes.  Hmm, I fear we veggies have a way to go on the road to conversion !!  I love having people round, if only one didn’t have to feed them as well, luckily Betsy (my cooker) was in a good mood and there were no disasters.  When everyone had left Ernst and I sat and Ernst – a man of very few words – said  “I think that was good” which in Ernst speak means “Wow !  What a blast” ! The great thing about inviting a crowd is that you suddenly get many invitations yourself shortly after and this time was no exception !!

Dogs, well not so many adoptions last month, probably everyone adjusting to school starting again and the end of the holidays.  News from Gavaroche is that he is doing just great.  Take a look at the adoptions page, there are many lovely dogs in need and if it is a puppy you are after then hold on just a couple of weeks, we have taken in a litter found in the forest and they are just adorable.  We just need them to have their vaccinations with no after effects before they go up for adoption.  At the other end of the scale there is Aska, the gorgeous German Shepherd who is eleven going on six !

Indie the beautiful Beagle came down from Paris and is keeping everyone amused.  She is so happy to be out in the countryside away from the city and spends her time charging around, ears flapping playing with puppies, cats, geese anything that comes her way.  She’s so precious and I am sure that by the next news page she will be adopted.

A lovely Australian couple have been in constant touch over the last couple of months.  They have been ‘doing’ Europe and picked up a stray dog in Italy who they have taken travelling with them.  However, taking a dog back to ‘Oz’ is rather complicated so they asked us if we could find her a good home.  It was arranged that they would bring Banshee to Danielle’s today to hand her over and they turned up in their van ready to say goodbye.  Yeah, right, the poor girl was in floods of tears, the guy didn’t look good either and soft as butter me soon had tears running down my cheeks too.  Result ? Well the necessary will be done to get Banshee back to Australia unless someone really, really fabulous comes along to adopt her . Banshee is a beautiful large German Shepherd with perhaps a hint of Husky.

Just time to remind you about our Halloween Book Sale on Saturday 29th October (watch out for the witches !) at the Salle des Fetes, St. Pantaleon (five minutes from Montcuq in the Lot).  10 am start for fabulous book bargains, plus dvd’s, plus home made cakes, plus, tea, plus coffee, plus snack lunches (with veggie option) plus …. well what more do you want ??!  Please get in touch with me by email if you have books to donate /deliver/collect.  We aim to make this one our biggest and best !

Sue x

Sunday 28th August and Danielle, Lesley and I did the Montcuq Vide Grenier selling, as usual, second hand clothes.  Once again it was a huge success and worth all the very hard work entailed.  I had spent many days beforehand sorting through all the donated clothes and am happy to say that I only had to chuck very, very few items.  The clothes were put into labelled boxes and dresses, skirts and tunics hung ready on the rails.  Ernst did his usual sterling job of turning his trailer into a mobile wardrobe and boxes were stacked high into the little van.  We had to be on site at 6am (!!) so set off at 5.45 on Sunday morning.  Luckily we were one of the first so able to get to our usual pitch quickly.  We then had to unload at the speed of light so as not to block others behind us.  Ernst went off to park up then came back and set about putting the table together even drilling into the table special supports for the parasols.  Dresses, skirts and tunics already being on rails were quickly in place and I started to hang up coats on another rail.  It was just 6.15 when I heard someone behind me ask “how much is this coat ?” !!  There were some Australian ladies already going through everything (perhaps they were still on Aussie time and hadn’t been to bed).  One lady just picked up everything ‘furry’ ! It was still dark at this time !!  It gradually got lighter and disaster, it started to rain !  I couldn’t believe it, weeks of not a drop and it had to rain then.  But, thank you St. Cadbury, it only lasted five minutes and from there on in it was perfect ‘Vide weather’,  not too hot and very pleasant for strolling around.  It was a long, happy, tiring day and when we had packed up at 6 pm we staggered down to the Cafe du Centre for an early supper.  Set off for home but Lesley, Ernst and I decided a final drink at La Gariotte was well deserved !  Total raised ?  595 euros !  A bit less than last year but we started off selling even cheaper than last year to make sure we didn’t have loads to take back.   We didn’t and what was left Ernst took to Emmaus on Monday.  One thing we have decided that next year we are going to do what shops do and that is make a tiny charge for bags;  they are quite difficult to come by now and we only just about had enough.  So, a HUGE thank you to all of you who donated and an even HUGER thank you to Lesley and Danielle.

Had a good long weekend in the UK despite a stonking cold.  Believe it or not, it started on the way to Bergerac so to all those on the afternoon flight to Stansted Friday 19th August, I’m sorry if I infected you.  Friend Jan said we should get the bus to the long term car park, get off at the last stop and she would meet us there.  Well, at least that’s what I thought she said, but having waited in the blustery, rainy cold for 20 minutes I began to doubt myself.  No ‘phone, the dogs having eaten mine a few days earlier, we decided to get the bus back to the airport ( we spent more time on airport buses than we had in the aeroplane) where I rang the only friend whose telephone number I know by heart, so that she could give me Jan’s mobile number.  Jan was waiting in the mid term car park !  Went out for a nice supper where I felt so much for the poor waitress (having done that b-awful job for ten years) who slipped and sent a tray full of prepared dishes through the open staircase to the restaurant room below !  On the Sunday we went to one of my brother’s 40th wedding anniversary lunch which was great fun.  I’m not good at keeping in touch with my brothers and their families but it is always lovely to see them all and to find that my brothers have produced such great offspring – all around the 40 year mark now – with wonderful wicked senses of humour and I have told the ‘youngsters’ that it is up to them to do the same.  Photos of the actual wedding were circulated and it was amusing to see my two nieces, now mothers themselves, at the age of around two, in their bridesmaids dresses, one looking stern and the other bawling her eyes out.  My brother said it was probably because of the colour dresses they had to wear ! 

Keeping the best to last, GAVAROCHE  IS  ADOPTED !!!  I can hardly believe it after all this time.  I always thought he was a large dog until I saw one of his new pals, a much bigger Portuguese Water hound who looks similar to Gav but much bigger.  First reports are very positive with Gav getting on well with the large Tinkerbell and smaller Ezra.  Fingers crossed and your prayers please to St. Cadbury.  Judy the lovely Lab has also been adopted and a puppy or two have gone to happy homes.  Still a couple of those left and they will be on the website this afternoon, as will a very pretty kitten. 

Oh, and just in case he or she is reading this, or you know him or her, an ENORMOUS thank you to the person who found my passport at Bergerac airport and handed it in.  I did ask if any note had been taken of the person so I could thank them very profusely but sadly not, so whoever you are, I owe you a serious drink.  (Hmm, am I now going to receive a deluge of people claiming to be the person ??!!)

Love,

Sue x 

 

 

Phew, wasn’t it a great Wimbledon this year ?!  Ok, Murray winning was a plus but there were some fabulous matches, then we had the bonus of the Davis Cup the weekend after – oh happy day !  The television was due to be unplugged for another year but we haven’t done it yet because I think the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Rio should be quite amazing.

I ‘did’ the St. Pantaleon Vide Grenier on Sunday to raise funds and am happy to say that I made 150 euros – lucky vets !!  We were all rather anxious as after days of hot sunshine Mr. Meteo promised rain until midday but luckily Mr. M was, again, way off track.  It was ideal ‘vide’ weather, overcast with splashes of sun here and there, so many punters moved their sun scorched bodies from the poolside sunbeds and came out to look for bargains.  You always find those at our stalls, we believe in selling cheap and getting stuff up and away.  It takes so long to set up, emptying box after box and the last thing you want to do is load it all up again at the end of a (very) long day. Thank you so much to all the people who donated fabulous items for me to sell.

This year the St. Pantaleon Committee de Fetes decided to have our village ‘repas’ on a Sunday instead of the usual Saturday.  A good decision this year as we had torrential rain and thunder storms on the Saturday night.  Again, fearful glances headed skywards as the clouds arrived and a breeze got up but we were spared – lucky I’ve got my pal Pat who always goes to church !!  So, after the ten hour ‘vide’ with just enough time to scoot home, feed the dogs and cats before going back to make merry until 12.30, I was, understandably feeling a little jaded in the morning !

The other week I went over to Danielle’s to take photos of the brown Labs.  Now when I go over there I take my life in my hands because Danielle has three geese who hate me with a vengeance and I have to say the feeling is mutual.  the three of them come running at me with their wings out hissing like crazy, so I always sit in the car until Danielle comes to rescue me.  It was the same procedure last time with a little addition, I walked towards the house and suddenly heard an “oink, oink” and there on my heels was a boar !!!  Ok a small young one but it was a boar !  Danielle (who has been known to take on a tiger) poo pooed my anxiety and we walked up to the dog parks.  Then Danielle’s house ‘phone range so she turned back.  Of course with Danielle out of the way it was open season on Sue, I had the boar behind me and the geese in front.  I quickly jumped in to a dog park feeling foolish but my humiliation wasn’t over, Danielle has a pigeon she has raised from a baby and the pigeon thinks it is quite normal to land on any head around.  To add insult to injury the pigeon joined in too, so there I was boar to one side, geese to the other and me with a pigeon scratching around on my head, you couldn’t make it up !!!

It has been a wonderful month adoption wise in that both Lancelot and Lou, who have been waiting for so long, have found wonderful homes which goes to prove you should never give up.  Your turn next perhaps Gavaroche ?

Last week I found a photo taken by Ernst’s cousin in our garden about eight years ago where we were sitting at a rather lovely old wooden table.  I asked Ernst where it is now and he pointed to the poor shabby table I use to do all my potting up of plants.  There and then I decided to bring it back to its’ previous glory and asked Ernst to set up his electric sander so I could get started.  I’m not stupid, I just knew he wouldn’t be able to let me do it as he (a master carpenter)  knew I wouldn’t make a very good job of it.  24 hours later we had our lovely table back sanded and waxed…… result, hee hee !

Oh, by the way, we’ll be doing our usual second hand clothes stall at the Montcuq Vide Grenier at the end of August, so if anyone living near here (close to Montcuq in the Lot) has any good, clean, saleable clothes they want to get rid of, send me an email.

Love,

Sue x

We walked out on to the tarmac and my jaw dropped !  The ‘plane that was there waiting to fly us from Bergerac to Exeter had propellers.  PROPELLERS !!!!!  The last time I flew in such a ‘plane was in 1990 on a flight through a snow storm from Nice to Austria to an ill fated skiing holiday.  Ill fated because I took to skiing like a cow to roller skates !  Anyway, back to Bergerac.  Because I am not a good flyer I decided to create a ‘story’ situation.  We were escaping from war torn Germany and this was the only flight out.  Slight problem with that story, my partner sitting next to me is German so why would he be on the flight ?  So the location was changed to Afghanistan.  Needless to say we ‘got out’ safely and I have to admit it was a beautiful flight.  Because we didn’t fly as high as a ‘normal’ ‘plane I could see land and sea for most of the journey and convinced myself that we were so low that if anything untoward happened I would be able to jump from there.  (Please don’t disillusion me !) Suffice to say I was very happy to see the same ‘plane waiting when we left Exeter to come home, albeit in a rather scary purple colour !

Cornwall was fabulous.  We stayed with friends who rent a house there every year and  spent the week going on lovely walks punctuated by lunches and/or cream teas.  The weather wasn’t wonderful but fine for long walks.  When the sun did come out we whipped off jumpers, put on sunglasses, took photos then put the jumpers back on again !  Such a great time we are hoping we behaved well enough to be invited back (please Gabi and John ?).

Ten days after Cornwall we had a ten hour drive to Karlsruhe in Germany for Ernst’s nephew’s wedding.  We had booked an Airbnb which was a small flat in a beautiful old building situated in a very picturesque old square.  Lovely, we thought on arrival however, when we tried the key it didn’t work !  Long story which took a long time to sort out, just what we needed after that drive.  In fact Airbnb had given us the wrong building number on their confirmation email !  Finally found the right place and headed for a much needed beer in one of the many pavement cafés around the square.  The wedding was lovely and weather fabulous.  One of the nice touches was when guests were all given a white card on which we were to write our wishes for the happy couple.  The cards were then attached to red heart shaped ballons and we all sent them soaring at the same time, what a fabulous picture that made.  Most people wrote health, happiness, babies etc., but I wished that their champagne always had bubbles !

So now we are back down to earth and once Wimbledon has finished I can concentrate on life as we know it again !

Lots of dogs were adopted last month and there are a shedload more to be added to the website which I will get round to asap.  Please, please, someone fall in love with Gavaroche as we are heading towards my chocolate cut off time !!

I could not end this without mentioning the dreaded Brexit.  Suffice to say I am totally choked, I hope Boris is banished from everywhere and everything for what he has done (lied and led people up the garden path then walked away from the responsibility of what he has done) but, unlike many people I know, I won’t be seeking French citizenship, England is my country whatever.

Now, back to the tennis !

Love,

Sue x 

 

How does it happen ?  You have a favourite recipe which you make time and time again, then you decide to make it for friends who are coming to supper and ……….. disaster !  Now, I may have mentioned before, I am not a good cook, I don’t like cooking and my cooker (Betsy) doesn’t like me.  She clearly thinks she should be in a kitchen with a much more accomplished chef and I agree with her, but sorry, that’s the way the cookie crumbles – or doesn’t in my case, we have four of my home made cookies holding up the four corners of our house !  I have friends who have shelves and shelves of cookery books and enjoy nothing more than delving in to them. Don’t get me wrong, I admire people who can cook, I am jealous of people who enjoy cooking and am disappointed that I am not one of them.  I have six, books that is not shelves. Delia Smith’s Complete Cookery Course, she rarely lets me down, A Girl Called Jack, sent to me partly as a joke  when funds were very stretched, she never lets me down, a Farmhouse Vegetarian Cook book which is well thumbed and I have just got from a book sale James Martin’s Book of Desserts.  Can’t remember what the other books are.  First of all when trying something new I look first at the list of ingredients.  More than eight ? No thank you.  Any mention of a bain marie or gelatine ?  Very much no thank you !  Cooking takes so much time and then the food is gone (often in to the bin in this house ) in a few minutes.  Think of all the thing I could have been doing instead of preparing food !  Luckily for me Ernst is a good cook.  He’s not one of those men who adore cooking different recipes he is just a good basic cook and his tomato soup should win gold medals !  Can’t think why I got started on this track now, probably because I have just burned a tray of cheese biscuits I was making for apéros this evening.  This is my trouble, I put things on to cook and then forget all about them.  Honestly, it’s in the oven and now it’s down to Betsy, let’s go and do something more interesting.  I once put some prunes on to cook and then went to take the dogs for a long walk.  the smell hit me about half a kilometre from home.  Mmm I thought, someone is cooking something nice. Then, “oh sxxt, the prunes”.  Needless to say the saucepan joined my own personal burnt saucepan mountain.

Now I’ve got to leg it to the airport to pick up a couple of girlfriends who, hopefully are on their way over from Gatwick.  However it is general strike day so nothing is certain.

What is certain (like the link ?!) is that it has been a good month for dog adoptions but still no luck for Lancelot or Lou. I’m thinking of going on chocolate strike until they are homed.  Your prayers please to your own special person for Bear a beeyootiful puppy adopted from us by the wonderful, the incredible, the unbelievably good Leeanne and Mike of Twilight.  Leeanne got a bit broody and wanted a bit of youth in amongst her oldies at Twilight so she adopted one of our ‘Bruiser Pups’.  Very sadly it seems that during a bit of rough and tumble with another pup, Bear’s eye has been damaged and he will very likely be blind in that eye now.  We are devastated and can only think that if he is to be blind, then he couldn’t have better owners than Leeanne and Mike – but a bummer for them.

Right, really have to dash now, forgot to mention that we’re off to Cornwall on the 11th for  a week, I know I know, this year is manic.  Usually we have one week in Spring and one in September but this year there is a lot going on.  Ernst’s nephew is getting married in Germany in July and one of my brothers will be celebrating 40 years of married bliss (I never thought they would get to 40 weeks but don’t tell them that – JOKE !) in August.  So I think  I’ll be boring you with my travelling tales nearly every month !!

Got a possible sniff for Gavaroche  – yey !

Love,

Sue x    

 

Realise I haven’t given you any ‘Helpful Hints’ recently, so here is one for you.  When making a date and walnut cake make sure lights are well bright in the kitchen to avoid cutting up sun dried tomatoes and adding them to your cake mixture.  I can assure you, it is not easy to pick them out once the deed is done !

April has been, I think, the saddest and most catastrophic  month of my Poorpaws life.  All down to Yuno the troubled Border Colley. People who read about her on the adoptions page will know that I was sure she was not happy with us because of all the other dogs, so I was therefore delighted when Dee called from Charente to say that she had a space in her home and heart since Jackson had died.  So, I drove up to Charente on the Sunday and all went well.  Yuno was all waggy tail and I came away mightily relieved.  7.30 am the next day the ‘phone rang, Yuno had bitten Dee quite badly. I threw on some clothes splashed some water on my face and set off back up to the Charente.  We will never know why it happened, Yuno was just lying on the lounge floor, as Dee passed she stroked Yuno’s head and quick as a flash Yuno had her.  Dee was in tears, I was in tears and totally mortified.  How could I have got it so wrong?

Yuno was delighted to see me and we set off home again.  All went well and I decided Yuno would have no more changes in her life, she would stay with us.  A couple of days later I took her for a long walk up on the hills behind us and when we got back to the car she wouldn’t let me put her lead on her to attach her back in the car.  I wasn’t that bothered and let her just jump in where she found an empty jar that had had fish rillettes in and set to licking it out.  I got in, started the car but as I let off the hand brake I happened to touch Yuno’s back.  Well, she whizzed round and turned on me, barking,  growling and snarling, obviously protecting ‘her’ jar.  I was very frightened and very slowly opened the car door and jumped out.  Then Yuno wouldn’t let me back in !!  So I had to walk home (luckily across the fields not too far) and get Ernst along with some calmivet tablets in some cheese.

We got back up there and Yuno still wouldn’t let us in so I threw her the disguised tranquilisers which she wolfed down.  Her demeanour then changed drastically, much too soon for the tablets to take effect, she jumped out and came to me wagging her tail, let me put the lead on and attach her back in the car (having got rid of the pesky jar !).  I was very shaken by the events and very sadly decided I could not keep her.  She was too unpredictable and with all the dogs we have here I cannot possibly watch every single movement and gesture I make 24/7.  So I called the lady who had brought her to me and gave her the option of collecting Yuno or I would have to do the dreaded PTS as I could not put Yuno up for adoption.  After discussions when I was told what I had done wrong and how I could have killed Yuno with the calmivets, it was agreed that Ernst would meet the lady at Bergerac the following day.  Yuno slept the sleep of the just on and off all night with me checking on her every two hours.  I know calmivets can make a situation worse not better and can be dangerous but I needed to be able to get back into the car and I wasn’t to know she would flip back into lovable mode just like that.

The latest news is that Yuno has been accepted by a refuge which specialises in troubled dogs and the lady who brought her to me has said that if, when she retires in October, Yuno still needs a home she will take her.  This is fantastic news.  I was so, so very upset feeling I had let the dog down and, as usual, the problems were not Yuno’s fault.  After I had heard her true history, beaten, locked in a flat for four years, I am sure that if she was human she would be in prison for murder.

So, not as clever and experienced as I thought I was.  brought me down a peg or two !!!

Moving on to good news, lovely Leeanne and Mike from Twilight Retirement Home for Dogs suddenly felt a need for young blood amongst their oldies and have taken a ‘Bruiser Pup’ who they have named Bear.  Don’t worry, Bear won’t be lonely, the news on the block is that there is another pup due to be joining him soon.  They’ll have much to chat about, both starting their lives by being dumped in  a dustbin.  It was super to meet up with Leeanne and Mike again after too many years and Danielle and I will be going up for a visit to Twilight very soon.

Well Ernst and I are off for our annual Il de Ré week on the 30th April.  I can’t wait, a whole week of peace, quiet, books and cycling.  I always feel very anxious about the dogs at home for the first couple of days then a week later I have to be dragged back kicking and screaming !!

See you next month and don’t forget our clothes sale at La Sirene, Montaigu de Quercy on the 12th May.

Love,

Sue xx

So, dear reader, no I did not marry him – didn’t even ask !!  Ernst is determined to go to his grave as a single man and I am only too happy to help him achieve that !!

Above you will see a great photo of your Book Sale team all decked out in our Easter Bunny ears in front of some of the yumies we had on offer last Saturday for our BEST  BOOK SALE  EVER !  We made a stonking 3,000 euros !!!! (And – I know, I know, never start a sentence with ‘and’ – that is not an April Fool joke !)  Actually we made 2,889 and my mate Sue who was over here and who helped out tremendously topped us up to 3,000.  Half of the money will go to cancer research and Cancer Support France and the other half to Poorpaws, to be shared with other dog rescue charities.  Thank you so much to all who came and supported us and to helpers who are not in the photo – ie the cake makers not in the photo and men who helped us set up and take down.  We didn’t have the heartbreaking job of chucking away good books as Donkey Jan took leftovers to sell in aid of her wonderful donkey charity – thank you Jan.

We’ve had some heartworming adoptions this month. Junior who has been waiting so long has gone to a great home where he has his own armchair in front of the television and gets to go on regular little jaunts in a camping car.  So happy for you Junior, you deserve it.  Your Mum Motus sends love and says that she is happy too as she has now moved to live indoors with the rest of the Poorpaws little old folk – and I include myself in that group too !!  It’s fingers crossed for Tammy who should be moving up to Savoie this weekend and lucky Toby went to a great new home just yesterday.  A lovely couple who are used to the Boxer Bounce took him off, a success all round, Toby lived in an apartment before so is housetrained and now he gets the run of a good garden.  Little Loye left us too and JackJack (so good they named him twice) has a wonderful home where he is just Jack now.

Gavaroche has had several people interested but sadly none of the people have followed through.  He needs a large fenced in garden where he can enjoy freedom  and please, please look at Yuno, a very unhappy lady who deserves so much better.

This lovely boy is Jackson and I’m so sorry to say that he is RIP now.  Jackson was one of the very first ever Poorpaws adoptions and what a success it was.  Being an Anglo Français hunting dog not many people would have taken him on but lovely Dee looked into his eyes and said that’s the boy for me.  He turned into her best friend, her confidant and repaid in spades all the love and patience she gave to him.  Dee is so sad now but/and, having read the Dog’s Will on our adoption page is preparing to give another dog the fabulous life she gave to Jackson.  Sleep well Jackson Dee knows you will always be around.

That about wraps it up for this month, oh, by the way, I made it to Easter Day before having a drink and was so looking forward to it.  Strange to say it wasn’t that great !!

Sue x

Hee hee, fooled you, I’m early this month !!  29th February tomorrow, hmm, should I propose to Ernst or not ??!!

I decided I really was going to give up something for Lent this year, not because I am a believer but just to prove that I can.  So, what should it be ?  Biscuits ? Nope, not possible because the elderly lady I visit a couple of times a week always has a stash of my favourite chocolate biscuits ready for me and she would be upset if I refused them.  Cake ?  Yeah right, with our Book Sale on Easter Saturday I would definitely fall at the last hurdle there !!  Alcohol ? Well…………. a possibility I suppose.  So I chose alcohol and am delighted to report that not a drop has passed my lips since Shrove Tuesday.  Do I miss it ? Yes I do, especially that lovely glass of white wine that I take about 6pm when preparing supper.  A close friend of mine has given up alcohol and bread and the weight is just falling off her.  No danger of that happening to me – although luckily I don’t have weight problems – I’m just replacing the calories with more cakes and biscuits.  I totally understand my friend Sue who tries but fails to give up smoking, if I was told  I should give up sweets, well,  I couldn’t do it.

Adoptions this month have been great, not numerous but great in that some of the dogs who have been waiting for a long while have found happy homes thanks to wonderful you.  Charley the sweet little black dog rescued from a miserable life that was set to end with a needle, has gone to a super home where she is proving to be the delight we knew she would be.  Junot (Gino) the Labrador who has been waiting soooooooo long has found a great home with a lake at the bottom which he insists on cleaning, going in and dragging out branches !  The resident dog at that home is not too enamoured with Junot as Junot has obviously read too much Winnie the Pooh and has modelled himself on bouncy Tigger but we are hoping he will calm down soon !!  Fleurs pups have all found homes and now we are hoping for the same success with Rosies pups who have just been born but no photos yet.  Now I’m hoping that Junior is successful very soon.  Hand on heart this is ‘un amour de chien’, gentle, faithful and all round gorgeous.  He can be homed without Mum Motus if anyone is tempted.  He is too young to be here amongst the oldies.

Our Easter Book sale looms ever nearer, Easter Saturday at the St. Pantaleon Salle de Fetes.  We changed the location which enabled us to add snack lunches last year and it was a huge success so we are hoping for the same this Easter. If you have books /dvd’s/puzzles to donate please get in touch.  On Monday 7th I will be driving up to the Bergerac area to collect, so could meet up if anyone wants to offload.

Quite a few dogs have been going missing recently and would have found their owners much more quickly if they had had collars with their telephone numbers written on in indelible ink.  Please, please do this even if you don’t like ‘the look’, it could save your dog’s life as most people will make a telephone call but not everyone will take a dog to a vet to see if there is a chip.

I think most of us British living in France are slightly nervous about the referendum.  I was one who said it will never happen that the UK leaves Europe, look what happened when everyone thought Farage might gain power, an absolute wash out (thankfully !), but now that soppy bollocks (sorry) Boris has joined the ‘out’ lot, I’m a bit more concerned that people will follow him.  Just think Trump in power in the USA and ‘B’ Boris in the UK, St. Cadbury help us !!!

Have to dash now, must catch the last bit of the Archers omnibus as I missed Friday’s episode.  About time the Rob/Helen thing came to an end, I’m so fed up with her being such a wuss that I’m (almost) on his side !!!!!!

See you at the Book Sale hopefully, Doreen will you be able to make it ?  I’ll treat you to lunch.

Talking of books, after looking for the book I was reading for ages yesterday, I found it in the evening when I opened the fridge.  Oops, this could be the begining……..!

Love,

Sue x

 

 

 

 

Ok, ok, OK !!!   I know I’m really late with this month’s newsletter but I’ve had my mate Susie over for a week and there just hasn’t been the time, plus my computer is in the spare bedroom so I haven’t been able just to go and use it willy nilly.  We’ve had a great week.  Susie is one of those pals who, when she is here, just slots in to what is going on, be it visiting ill friends, taking a dog up to Limoges, taking another to the vet, helping me decide on furnishings for the new bedroom ( hey, look at us, TWO bedrooms now !!), and when I am working she amuses herself or, because she has been coming for so long now, she is regarded as one of the gang so is taken off by friends.  We did have some fun times as well though, one of them being our girly Bobble Hat party.  All guests had to wear a customised bobble hat and there were some goodies – a Welsh Bobble decorated with daffodils, a Charlton (football club) Bobble, a Bling Bobble, just to name a few and mine was, of course, a Barking Bobble with pictures of dogs.

Susie and I are both great tennis fans and when Andy Murray got through to the final of the Australian Open I connected up the television so we could watch it on Sunday morning.  It was bound to be on the BBC wasn’t it ?  Was it hell, it was on Eurosport which of course I can’t get.  Frantic ‘phone calls round until someone said Mo and Walter are bound to have it.  Now friend Mo has not been too well recently so with some trepidation I rang up.  When she answered I, of course, enquired after her health (trying not to be too hasty, the match had started by then !) then asked if by any chance they were watching the tennis.  No they weren’t.  Oh shame.  But they could put it on and give us regular updates.  Hmm, thank you Mo.  Then, the magic words, ” Oh, perhaps you would like to pop up and watch it”  “Er, YEEEESS” – jeez, how long does it take ? !!!  So we were up there in ten minutes and had a fabulous morning – Mo is a great story teller.  Only downside, of course you all know, Murray didn’t just lose, he totally crashed !

Talking of dogs (were we ?!!) it has been a great month, Jackson has gone up North, Ayvera (now thankfully called Chico) has gone to a great home, there is only one of Fleur’s pups left and several dogs have gone from my colleague Danielle.  All the dogs now on the website are in desperate need. Bobby’s story really gets to me and it would be so great to find a home for Motus and Junior.  They have been here for a few weeks now and are proving to be delightful just begging to be loved and no problem with other dogs or cats.

Sad about Terry Wogan, I remember many, many years ago, back in the early 80’s I was listening to Children in Need and rang up to make a donation.  As I was doing so, the girl I was speaking to mentioned that Terry Wogan had just walked into the call centre.  I said I would give an extra donation if I could talk to him (sad or what ?!) anyway I had a little chat with him and he was very nice.  When I put the ‘phone down the doorbell rang and it was my next door neighbour, “I’ve just been speaking to Terry Wogan” I told her excitedly.  “My mother-in-law has just died” she replied. Whoops !

Ending on a sad note this time.  I got back from taking Susie to the airport and Ernst told me that little old Kiki had died.  We had some building materials delivered this afternoon and Kiki wandered in front of the van.  Obviously I am choked, Kiki was a lovely little Bichon mix who used to sit by my chair at mealtimes just patting my leg with his paw waiting for me to drop a crumb or two – mind you, you had to be quick giving him titbits as he was partially blind and often mistook the ends of your fingers for food.  I’m so sorry Kiki that I wasn’t here to look out for you.  I aked Ernst if the delivery guy was upset but apparently he didn’t even realise and Ernst didn’t tell him, what good would it have done, it was an accident.

So, I’m rather tearful but wishing you a good month and don’t forget to put our Easter Saturday Book Sale in your diaries.  Books to donate ?  Get in touch.

Love,

Sue x