The Greatest Dog Show on Earth

You might have seen on the news over the last couple of days, about the Gromit madness that's hit Bristol city.

 

As well as the 10 week Gromit hunting trail, the Gromit Unleashed organisers decided to stage an exhibition of all 80 Gromits housed in the Royal West of England Academy.
But I don't really think they anticpated just how many thousands of people wanted to see our nation's favourite pooch!

 

 

First the exhibition was moved to a bigger location, then they had to extend the opening hours and add on an extra day, and even then the queue sometimes reached 6 hours waiting time. At one point BBC news reckoned there was 3000 people waiting to see all the woofies.

 

 

I didn't think we'd be free to visit the exhibition but we realised we could probably fit it in on Sunday morning. I knew we'd have to get there early if we stood any chance of visiting the exhibition so we set off from home at 7.45am armed with wild boar and apple sausage sandwiches, a bottle of water and two cups of tea.

 

By 8.30am we were in the queue which thankfully hadn't built up too much. I probably should add that the show didn't even open til 11am but it was only open for 6 hours on Sunday so if the queue ended up being 6 hours long - well, you do the maths!

 

There was a really cheery atmosphere in the crowd with most people sat on the floor reading or chatting. An ice cream van turned up about 9am which prompted lots of children wanting a Mr Whippy for breakfast and at 10.20am, the doors opened and a very nice man with a megaphone informed the crowd that they would be opening 30 minutes early (with donations instead of an entry fee to circumvent the Sunday trading laws).
Needless to say the very nice man received a huge cheer and a round of applause!

 

And by 11.40am, we were in!

It was all laid out like a proper dog show with categories such as 'Bristol Dogs', 'Working Dogs', 'Toy Dogs' and of course, a 'Best in Show'.

I took over 100 pictures and I've tried to narrow it down to the best ones, but even so, because a lot of the Gromits were stood in a line, the pictures do look a little same-y - sorry!

 

 

 

 

 

And Andrew got me to stand here as apparently this is what I am - a 'Rare Breed' - although I'm not sure whether that's a compliment or an insult!

 

We did manage to finally see the one Gromit we were missing - Classic Gromit - plus the Gromit Unleashed organisers had sneakily added an extra yet-to-be-named 81st Gromit to the collection. We got that one as well - but those two Gromits will have to wait til another blog post!

 

A Little Addiction to Asda...

Ahh, yes, well...over the last few months I appear to have developed a little bit of an obsession with the George at Asda clothing range.

The other night I was just browsing the sale items and thought I'd check out the dresses...which led to checking out the tops...which led to the coats...which led to adding a maroon duffle coat to my online basket.

And what do you know, by the time I went to check out online, somehow, strangely, a dress and a couple of pairs of thermal tights had managed to jump into my basket...

 

Duffle Coat - Asda £19 (sadly sold out in maroon but still available in other colours)
Grey Dress - £18

 

It was then I realised I've probably been one of Asda's best customers over the last year. At the last count, (in addition to what I've just bought), in the last 12 months I've brought home eight dresses, a pair of wedged sandals, two skirts, a pair of black ballerina pumps, one bag, three pairs of pretty pants, a pair of black boots and a cardigan.

That's not too much is it?

To be fair (i.e. trying to justify it to myself) I've worn everything at least once, with the exception of one dress, and quite a few of the dresses have had lots of wear out of them already.

I've always liked Asda's range of clothing, even when I was a teenager, and I've always found them to be quite good quality - some items of clothing and shoes I bought from Asda 10 years ago I still use now.

 

What do you think of Asda's clothing?
And has anything accidentially "jumped" into your shopping basket recently?
 

 

Aberystwyth Thrifting

Last week in Aberystwyth we were supposed to spend most of the week studying but luckily one lecture on Thursday afternoon was cancelled so I used the time wisely and had a scout around the charity shops.

 

Aberystwyth has a nice collection of chariy shops; some big high street names, a couple of little local charities and one huge craft/charity/upcycling shop based in the train station.

 

I picked up a couple of gorgeous vintage-looking trays which simply needed a quick wash. Andrew reliably tells me they're fibreglass so I don't really know how old they are but they look the part anyway.

 

 

 

I also collected an old dress pattern. I often see sewing patterns in charity shops but they're usually designs of clothes I'm not too keen on. I thought I'd get this one though as it's just a simple (ha!) summer dress which hopefully can be adapted whichever way I want. All I need to do now is actually make something - I have some fabric, I have a pattern, I just need some time!

 

 

 

And I found this sweatshirt-style top hanging on the rails of a high street charity shop - it's got polka dots! and a dog! It's supposed to be designed for teenagers (it says 16 years on the label) and I'm almost twice that age but I love it anyway. For some reason it reminds me of a sort of French style, I'm not really sure why!?

 

 

 

If you ever find yourself in Aberystwyth, the one shop to visit is Craft, the massive charity shop in the station. It's partly built into the old station buildings and is a treasure trove of clothes, trinkets, homewares and furniture.

 

There were way too many things I could have bought - if only I hadn't had a 5 hour train journey in front of me!

 

International Talk Like A Pirate Day

Ahoy thar!

Today be International Talk Like A Pirate Day so I hope you’ve all been ahoyin' and shiverin' your timbers all day.

A day talkin' Pirate t' your buckos be just t' thin' t' cheer us all up durin' this dafty weather.

 

Even Gromit be gettin' in on t' pirate action!

 

 

I’m definitely makin' time t' pop on one o' me favourite Muppet films, Muppet Treaaye Island this weekend!

 

 

If you fancy some Pirate themed ideas...

If you’re near Bristol you can join in with Pirate Walks around Bristol’s harbourside learnin' all about Bristol’s swashbucklin' history.

Over in Kent at Bluewater thar’s a whole adventure park – Pirate Cove Adventure Park – with all sorts o' activities for both adults and sprogs.

In Milton Keynes and Wokin' pop along t' Pirate Island Adventure Golf for some crazy ball action.

And if you’re in Cornwall tune your radio t' Pirate FM for t' latest hits.

 

 

Don’t forget your black hat, gold earrin's, skull and crossbones and Polly t' Parrot on your shoulder.

 

Have fun!

 

 

The Midweek Hop - Harvest Home

The other half's guest post - three songs on a theme...
(inspired by Desmond Carrington's 'The Music Goes Round')

 

 

'Balami I200' 1957 Jukebox

 

This weeks theme is...Harvest Home

 

 

Inspired by the current "gather in the crops" season here in Somerset and across the UK
 

 

 

1. Pick A Bale of Cotton by Lonnie Donegan


Originally sung by Lead Belly, Lonnie put his own spin on an old southern classic.
'Pick A Bale of Cotton' entered the chart on 16th August 1962 reaching Number 11.

2. Harvest For The World by The Isley Brothers


Is it ironic that a song about ending world hunger became synonymous with a ubiquitous restaurant chain?
'Harvest For The World' entered the chart on 10th July 1976 reaching Number 10..

3. Combine Harvester by The Wurzels


Well, we had to have this, didn't we?
'Combine Harvester' entered the chart on 15th May 1976 reaching Number 1.


Happy listening!

It's Not All Work, Work, Work

Last week I spent my weekdays in sunny Aberystwyth on the Welsh coastline - and it was sunny most of the week as well!

 

 

I started studying an MSc degree in Information and Library Studies last September with Aberystwyth University. It's a distance learning course but during the degree you have to attend three residential 'study schools' and last week was the second of the schools. The next one (hopefully) will be next year and is all about the dissertation - scary stuff!

 

As well as some studying and some lectures, there was the obligatory student drinking pub sessions and it was great to catch up with all the friends I made at the first study school. I'll admit, studying at a distance is hard but on the train home from Aberystwyth, I felt filled with motivation at getting 6 assignments completed before next September.

 (remind me of that misplaced optimism next August when I'm pulling my hair out trying to get everything finished in time)

 

I think I've learnt a lot over the last year (and not just about the content of the course); I'm sure these are all fairly obvious but I thought I'd share some of the useful gems I've come to realise over the last 12 months.

 

 

1. It's hard - this sounds really silly but it's not easy. There's always something more exciting/interesting/useful to do; even ironing can seem attractive when you've an essay to write. My course doesn't have any deadlines either which initially seems great but in reality means there's no pressure to get things done, hence hours, days and weeks pass without reading or writing a single word.

Unfortunately I haven't got any sort of magic motivation formula (please, do let me know if there is one), there just isn't any really easy way to study, you just need to knuckle down and do it, wherever and whenever works for you!

This year I'm hoping to get 6 assignments done, which gives me an average of 2 months for each one - 1 month of research and 1 month of writing. That's the plan anyway, i'll see how it goes...

 

2. Make the most of University resources - being so far away from Aberystwyth means I can't just pop into the Uni library like other students when I want a book or bit of information. But I can still borrow books from other libraries using a useful UK scheme called 'SCONUL Access' which gives you access to most University libraries across the country.  Lots of books and journals are online now as well so there's lots and lots of ways to access information.

My course also has an online learning environment (called Blackboard) where students can ask questions about the modules and assignments. I find I use this lots and lots when trying to plan my assignments as often other students have had the same problems or questions and the lecturer has gone online and explained more fully.

Make the most of any residential visits to the University as well; sometimes it's your only chance to talk to academics face to face and use the facilities at the Uni. This year we were based in Aberystwyth Old College; as well as our lectures it was a fascinating building to explore.

 

 

3. There's tons of research - my problem with studying is that I get bogged down in doing way too much reading. Each module does contain a lot of information and more often than not, you find one interesing journal article which leads onto another which points you to another and so on and so on. Before you know it you've wasted a few months researching things which are only loosely related to what you have to write about.

There is tons of research but sometimes you just need to stop and say to yourself - 'I've done enough research now'. I'll admit though, this is much easier said than done.

 

 

4. Keep in touch - it's lonely studying at a distance. My friends from the course are spread over most of the UK and there's even some from Trinidad and Tobago. You might only see these people once a year but they're your closest allies when it comes to battling through the same trials and tribulations of the degree. With a bit of luck, they'll also be the people throwing their mortarboards into the air with you at the graduation ceremony.

Facebook and Twitter are great for staying in contact; we even have a dedicated Facebook group for all of us who started the course at the same time (and it's a place where you can have a moan about the lecturers or assignments!) and sometimes all that's needed is a quick "hello, how you getting on?' to make you realise that you're not on your own.

 

5. And lastly, don't forget to rest - it is hard work and there's many a time where I wonder why the hell I signed up for another few years of studying, but trying to keep a healthy (ish) work/life/study balance is one of the most important things.

Study hard but don't forget to play as well - if only to try and keep your sanity! :-)
 

 

P.S. Going to my second study school is another one ticked off my '32 Before 32' list. :-)

This Weekend at the Duckpond

We have mostly been...

 

Foraging - blackberries from our local nature reserve. They've all been washed and are now safely stowed away in the freezer ready to be used over the winter in crumbles and puddings.

Travelling - back from my week at study school in Aberystwyth. Five and half hours travelling, 3 trains and 2 changes and I was back in Bath station Friday evening.

Capturing - a day in the life of me.
I took part in Janey from Is That You Darling's Photo an Hour Challenge - the full round up can be found here.



Participating - in our local heritage railway station's 'Railways at War' 1940's weekend. Andrew took his lorry along for its last outing this year and there were plenty of characters dressed in vintage outfits.
I'll need to find myself a 1940's style dress or land girl dungarees for next years festival!

Eating - a lovely nostalgic meal of Spam, Egg and Chips from the station cafe.
They had a heritage menu for the heritage weekend with fairly historic prices!

 

What did you get up to at the weekend?