14 January 2024 (Sunday) - A Day Off

Apart from a trip to the loo at five o’clock and letting the dogs out at half past six I had a good night’s sleep, finally emerging from my pit just after nine o’clock.
 
I made toast and had a look at the Internet. The squabble on the Dog Club’s Facebook page was continuing. I say “squabble”… I’d been asked to post saying that if the government declares any breed of dog to be banned, then they aren’t covered by the insurance we have, and consequently we can’t accept them. It’s patently obvious but in this day and age it has to be pointed out. A bit like bottles of bleach having to be labelled “don’t drink this”. Two people took exception to this. Neither have ever showed up at Dog Club.
As is always the way the squabble was instigated and fuelled by people who have no intention of ever meeting the people with whom they are trying to quarrel.
 
We loaded ourselves and the dogs into the “er indoors TM”-mobile and set off to Hastings. Having missed the last post we needed to deliver my nephew’s birthday card.
As we drove we went past Orlestone Woods and Treacle recognized the place and stared squeaking. The squeaking of excitement about going somewhere stops when we arrive, but because we weren’t going to the woods, she kept squeaking and worked herself into quite a frenzy which didn’t stop until we got to Hastings.
Sadly nephew (and entire family) were out, but we met some passing relives and spent a few minutes catching up.
 
From Hastings we went on to Tenterden. We could tell when we’d left Kent and entered Sussex on the way down, and we could tell when we left Sussex and came back to Kent on the way back. People moan about pot holes, but go drive round East Sussex. In most of the UK we drive on the left; in Sussex they drive on what’s left. We saw a few pot holes with road cones in them; two thirds of the road cones being below surface level (the pot holes really were that deep). It wasn’t so much driving as playing a game of real-life Mario Kart.
We got to Tenterden and had a little wander about. As we walked we went past an “Artisan Baker’s Stall”. Have you ever seen an “Artisan Baker’s Stall”? There’s one at Bybrook Barn garden centre, but that one is like a boot fair compared to the one at Tenterden. The place sold ridiculously overpriced pastry stuff… I say “sold”; we walked past at two o’clock and it really didn’t look as though they’d sold a single thing. The stall was still as full as any bakery when it first opens. If they were to halve (or quarter) their prices they would make so much more money as they might actually sell something.
As we walked we saw quite a few dogs on leads also going for walks, and one cat on a lead as well. I wondered if the cat identified as a dog, but I thought better of saying anything.
Our wander had been guided by a Geocaching Adventure Lab series. We walked past the museum and the train station, up to the church and on to the village sign. It was a rather good wander about.
 
Once home “er indoors TM immediately set off shopping. I put a load of undercrackers in to wash, then set about the “focking plogol” in the bath. It has been running slower and slower. I blame all the dog hairs and mud that gets washed off of the dogs as they get bathed. They’d have quite a few baths over the last few months. Hopefully it’s now unbunged; getting at that that one’s U-bend wouldn’t be a practical proposition.
I then dozed on the sofa with the dogs.
 
“er indoors TM boiled us all up a decent dinner. The dogs got kidney (as it is cheaper than dog treats) and we had a decent roast with a very decent bottle of plonk. And then I had the last of the stilton. The dogs were happy to sit with me and have the biscuits. I would have thought that after fresh kidney they would have turned their noses up at dry biscuits, but they didn’t.
Having worked six days on the trot, today was a good day off.

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