Laura_E

I put my foot in it BIG time today. I took Emily, a young girl with down syndrome that I look after at the weekends, to a Pets as Therapy event. There were lots of other children and young people present who also had special needs and they were having a great time interacting with the dogs. Whilst we were supervising them a lady came over asked me how old Emily was and what specialist school she attended. I answered her and then asked, 'what specialist school does your son go to?' At this stage she looked at me with a blank expression and said 'that's not my son, that's my partner' I was mortified!!

Sorry to hear that you are going through such an awful time. Lots of positive thoughts being sent

I received this in the post today.... A lovely bespoke lead made by Holly and Lil especially for the Oldies Club to award a lucky winner in the dog show. I know Amy has had lots of great donations too, so the winners are in for a real treat this year.

Congratulations on the new addition. Do you have much information on how he ended up in rescue?

Just got back from my fourth driving lesson and am feeling very dejected I ended up crying twice whilst out and then burst into tears when I got home. I really was trying my best, but my instructor thinks I'm not at all motivated and a bit of a wimp- crying certainly isn't going to have helped disprove that theory! Apparently I drive around 'like I've got a comfort blanket with me' I'm not used to failing so am finding this really hard

Awww, he is lovely.

Fingers crossed!

Aww, she is lovely- much more subdued than normal in this weather though. Yes, that's him

Otis was lovely, he seemed very chilled out and happy. I let Tess wander around off lead a little too, so don't worry. After the owners dog had a poo on our patio and then had a go at Tess, I thought sod it- what's good for the goose is good for the gander! It was great to meet everyone. Sorry that we didn't get to say goodbye properly, I came over on Sunday morning but got there too late. Huge thanks to Amy and all the others involved in arranging everything. All the dogs were lovely and very well behaved- apart from Tess when the food was out! I have to say, I do have a soft spot for JoT's dog, chocolate EBT cross lab- I didn't find out his name, but he is lovely.

Oooohhh, what about Temptation Alley? You put some treats and toys either side of a stretch (approx 100 metres) and then call your dog to you from the other end. The aim is for them to get to you without being distracted, then the fastest time wins. It is a lot of fun, not to mention hilarious when the dogs decide that the treats are more interesting their owners!

I like Corin too. I was cracking up yesterday when she said to the masseuse 'don't rub my eyebrows off'!! I cannot stand Shabby, she is a self-important bully that needs to wind her neck in. Caoimhe (or however you spell it) and Ife are a couple of non-entities that just follow her around like lap dogs hanging on her every word. Totally tedious. I like Ben, but I wish he didn't care so much about what people think of him. Mario is a nice bloke and I like Josie too. Steve seems ok, haven't seen much from him- but I would not be able to tolerate that snoring! I was nearly pulling my hair out just listening to it for 2 minutes!

So sorry

Just completed my fathers day present and am feeling quite pleased with myself!

My Molly can be quite naughty too. She stands underneath the dinner table and waits for Tess to walk past before jumping out and scratching her and then retreats again. Tess does the same as Phoenix and just yelps- that's the only way I know it's happening most of the time as she usually only does it when I have my back turned, but I have caught her a few times. The times that I have caught her I pick her up from under the table, tell her off and then put her outside for a period of time. It's difficult as she then stands at the back door looking in and meowing! But I only leave her there for 5 minutes or so, whether she understands it or not is another question. However, she hasn't done it for a while now so it has helped a bit. She also does the same to my other cat Bobby, who is twice the size of her and a total wuss. Ever since they were kittens she has bullied him and he has never stood up to her, so I'm not surprised she is trying it with Tess too. On a couple of occasions she has tried to swipe me- but I'm not sure if that's something to do with the fact that she lived feral for the first three months of her life before ending up in rescue. However, her and Bobby are from the same litter and he is the most loving and affectionate cat that you could wish for.

What an amazing picture! They are both lovely.

We had a lovely day yesterday at the Kew Midsummer Fete. There were lots of lovely stalls, lovely food and a really fun dog show. After the rather disastrous Shield Show (where I had an Oldies Club stall) it was great to go to an event where 'fun' was the main aim, and nobody was at all competitive. Of course, the rather hunky judge also helped! Not sure if anyones heard of Zac Goldsmith, but he's the new MP for Richmond and is a bit of a dish- very rare for politics! Tess got first place for the veteran category and then reserve best in show- which meant that we got to have our picture taken with Zac. It should appear in next weeks edition of The Richmond and Twickenham Times, but I was grinning inanely so I'm not so sure I want to see it now!

So sorry to hear that you are going through such an awful time. Lots of positive thoughts being sent your way. I really hope your lovely girl pulls through.

I'm a vegetarian so should I buy a disposable bbq? I can do a mixed salad and some rice and peas an bring ketchup and mayo if that's any good?

I agree, but that's Capellos fault, not Heskeys. I think he has taken a lot of stick throughout this and dealt with it admirably- can you imagine how Rooney or Terry would react? I couldn't fault him on effort either, he's not a lazy player- unlike the aforementioned idiots!

I don't think Heskey was the worst player by any stretch, Rooney was abysmal- as were Lampard and Carragher. Rooney's attitude after the match was despicable, but I can't say I'm surprised. Many of the fans that flew out to South Africa would have had to save for years to be there and he has the audacity to criticise them for not being supportive enough. He should be ashamed of himself. I feel ripped off for investing in a shirt, and that only set me back £40, they paid thousands. I agree that Wright Philips should have been played from the start, along with Defoe. I hope Capello pulls his finger out in time for Wednesdays match and replaces him with Rooney- but I doubt it.

That's what I said to my lodger, I think he was still in panic mode at the time. We do know a priest that does exorcisms (I'm catholic) and he said that he has only ever done a few, but plenty of blessings. He once told us a story about when he did an exorcism at the local pub and it made my blood run cold! I think Glen probably was experiencing sleep paralysis, he was just very freaked out by it all. I have to say, I do believe in ghosts as I experienced a number of unexplained happenings in my last house, but I have never had a bad feeling in this house. I feel like a bit of an idiot for starting this post now!

Thanks to Amy, Sky has now been offered a rescue space with Dunroamin in Derbyshire. Thanks to all of you for your suggestions and help.

Yes she is, but at least she isn't a non-entity like the rest of them. I have to say, I am REALLY liking John-James. I don't normally like typically pretty boys, but he definitely has something about him! I also like the fact that he seems to be striking up a relationship with Josie instead of one of the stick thin look-a-looks. It shows that he has hidden depths, as well as being incredibly easy on the eye! I can't stand Govan or Rachel- couple of idiots.

What breed is Daisy, just out of curiosity? There is a woman that walks her dog in our local park and he is always attacking bigger dogs. He is a jack russell and once he gets going she has absolutely no control over him whatsoever. He regularly attack my friends lab/rottie cross, to the point that they no longer use that park any more. Maz (my friends dog) is 11 years old and quite arthritic so he can't even run away. My friend has spoken to the woman on numerous occasions and told her that she would be reporting her to the council, which the woman found highly amusing as is it turns out she is the local councillor! The last time Maz was attacked my friend really lost her temper and ended up grabbing the JRT and throwing him at the woman. She felt awful afterwards, but she was doing what she had to do to protect her dog and the owner made no attempt to control him so she had no other options. But the woman went to police over the matter! When Bouncer was alive the woman had the audacity to come right over to us so that she could test her dogs reaction because, in her words 'he doesn't like lab crosses' I wonder how she would have reacted if my friend had taken Maz over to her dog to test his reaction to jack russells, I suspect not too favourably. Anyway, sorry- I've gone off topic a bit!

Nothing similar to this. He isn't particularly stressed out at the moment, only drinks on special occasions and has no history of mental health- unless being a moody sod counts! I am a total wuss when it comes to anything 'supernatural' and he always plays things down, so it was quite unsettling to see him so scared. It took him a while to get back to sleep afterwards and he was telling me about other things that had happened when he was younger, but nothing in this house. Same with me really, lots of strange things happened in my last house (and continued to take place when the new people moved in), but nothing in this house.