Pile central

We got back from Devon on Saturday at about 11:15 after a super early start to avoid the Bank Holiday traffic – it worked 👍

We enjoyed a lovel day at Beaulieu even though it took just under 3 hours to make the 72mile journey πŸ™ a lovely sunny day and Hugo was allowed in all the grounds – just not inside the buildings – no skin off his nose as there was so much to sniff outside….

We finally managed to find a sandy beach that both the boys were happy with and that Hugo was allowed on – it was called the Dawlish Warren beach and it was perfect – we spent all afternoon there on Thursday – the only downside was that we were not permitted to BBQ in any of the area so we had to take all the BBQ stuff back to the cottage and grill there instead. Either way, Thursday was also a tip top day ev n without sunshine. Mummy also showed us of her expertise when it comes to kits flying πŸ™‚ she was v pleased with herself and flew the little kite for almost an hour !!

Friday was a day at the cottage with a dog walk thrown in – although Elliot and Oliver complained pretty much the whole walk so at 1.5km we abandoned the walk and head back to the cottage.

We enjoyed another lovely meal at the Tuckers Arms before wandering home to pack before the long trip back to Flockton in the morning.

Now, since Sunday, Simon had been experiencing a little pain around his back door so under the assumption that maybe a cheeky little pile was up for showing itself, we went to the local Boots for advice – came out with some cream and a handy tube to insert…. nice

A day passed and things were not getting better to we returned to boots and picked up a pack of suppositories – an even worse “nice” situation – those little suckers were determined to test Simon…. let’s say no more.

By Friday things were not improving enough so the rest day was the plan.

Walking was beginning to get testing and sitting down was almost impossible except strangely enough in the car.

When we got home Simon emptied the car and then promptly cleaned and vacuumed the inside before cutting the front lawn. Not long after the anger of the bottom kicked in and Simon took a long hot bath and then hid out in bed.

On Sunday morning the anger had not subsided and the what was a small lump the size of a small marble had increased in size ever so slightly but more important was now red with anger and for some reason has decided to piss off his right butt cheek as well πŸ™

A trip to the drop in centre gave penicillin and advice on the continuation of Ibruprofen. Thankfully it was confirmed as being a pile and not something more serious (although at the time Simon was struggling get to walk / sit / stand or anything really. The pile was considered as having been infected and hence why it was red and annoyed.

Anyway, 24 hours later and things are a little better – the penicillin and / or continued use of suppositories has been doing a pretty good job – although at 9pm last night this was definitely not the case.

Here’s hoping for a relatively speedy and painfree recovery – Happy Bank Holiday Monday folks 🔥

Beach success – or lack thereof…

Yesterday we visited the Babbacombe Model Village and then a little trip into Torquay for a walk on the promenade etc. We felt that we spent the majority of the day in the car so decided that today we needed to find a nice sandy beach…

A web search pointed out that the majority of beaches are NOT dog friendly but we found that there are three beaches at Lyme Regis and that two of the, are dog friendly – result.

So, once we managed to raise the Rusty boys from their associated pits, we head out there. It took about 20 minutes to get the and THEN we spent just under one hour trying to find somewhere to park Penny – in a funny way this suggested that we had struck gold with the location. We parked about a mile out of the town and walked down a lovely little lane alongside a brook and found the town centre and then ultimately the beaches. The two beaches at the town were both not dog friendly, one was shingle and the other a lovely sandy beach – it was 11:30 am and the sandy beach was chokka – no room for us even without the hound,, we head around past the harbour to find the dog friendly beach…. it wasn’t sandy or shingles – it was a rocky beach πŸ™ To rally top it off, it stank of rotting seaweed – winner, winner chicken dinner – we were all delighted.

Lunch was consumed on the beach and we all agreed that it was time to leave. A shame because the sun had come out and the temperature had risen to a lovely 26C.

So, back to the car with all the gear and ultimately to the cottage to play cricket in the garden (after bathing Hugo in the garden).

Tomorrow is about Beaulieu as the weather does not look quite as nice and possibly a trip to Smyths toys on the way 👍

We are about to research beaches again to see if we can find anything in Devon or Cornwall that isa) sandy and b) accepts hounds… wish us luck…

Devon…

So, we have enjoyed a weekday break this last week at the Sherwood Forrest Center Parcs (lots of swimming and scootering around) and then first thing on Saturday morning, we packed the car and headed down to Dalwood in Devon. A 4.5 hour journey ended up taking nearly 7 hours due to two pit stops and around 1.5hr delay around Bristol on the M5. The sun was shining all the same and when we arrived, we were greeted by the most beautiful country cottage – we are staying here for a whole week.

Sadly, poor Olly has been coming down with something since Thursday with a raging fever etc, so given it was not easing we ended up seeing a local doctor last night for her to confirm that he has Laryngitis and that it will subside in the next couple of days and that the fevers should reduce over the next 48 hours or so. In fairness, they have just 24 hours later, although he has all but lost his voice and his hunger has slowed a little – we have relaxed in the cottage games room all afternoon following an fantastic Sunday lunch at the local pub – the Tuckers Arms. We were actually saying that it is perhaps the best Sunday lunch we have had anywhere, ever. Period. Wow – a big statement that one…

The rain fell this afternoon while we were in the games room watching Airwolf (the TV series) and Deadpool the movie – highly inappropriate for the boys so no solid daddy points scored today.

Swift walk for Hugo in the drizzle this evening before PJ’s and family board games to finish the day up.

Tomorrow looks set for a trip to Babbacombe to see the model village and get our first Devon beach walk for puggle – oh and apparently we are in need of searching out a toy shop…. Not sure about that one…

Spot of tarmacing

We have several potholes that have appeared on the Lane outside the front garden so Simon bought a bag of instant repair to see how easy it is to use and how effective.

Sadly the tamper he also bought has not arrived due to not actually being in stock (grrr) so he made one out of wood – it was reasonably effective and so the main hole is now filled and is “drying” – so far so good.

After the holidays Simon will buy another 25kg bag (approx 15ukp) and complete the task of filling the remaining holes – will wait for the tamper though as it will invariably make it easier overall.