June 10, 2008: To Scotland and back - again
It's been a hectic week - sort of. Angie headed off to Scotland for a few days of training with Bobby Dalziel and to mate Jet to Bobby's 2006 International Supreme Champion, Joe. Kelvin stayed behind to work on his university classes.

The trip to Scotland was long! 7 hours driving through busy traffic is nail biting stuff. However, once you get to Eskdalemuir, the perils of city driving are well behind you. Eskdalemuir, which means moor of the valley of the River Esk, is a rural district and small village in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The area consists of high wet moorlands chiefly used for sheep grazing and forestry plantations. The settlement is generally located near to, or by one of the many tributaries of the Black Esk and White Esk rivers. This is a very scenic part of Scotland and one of our favourite places. We'd love to live there if we could. It is about another 30 minute drive to Bobby Dalziel's place from Eskdalemuir but the drive is pleasant and cars are few and far between.

It was another great trip to Ettrick. Shiela Dalziel is a fantastic cook and her hospitality is second to none. Her service has that special WOW factor that is so often missing from many 'service' companies. BT (British Telecom) needs to take lessons from Shiela. But let's not talk about BT! We know we rave about Shiela ad nauseum but we make no apologies for this...she is an extraordinary person, albeit one of the most humble people on the planet.

Shiela's Creamy Chocolate Cheesecake recipe.

100g crushed biscuits (digestives but also very good with ginger biscuits)
50g melted butter
200g cream cheese
2 tablespoons caster sugar
125g plain chocolate
A few drops of vanilla essence
15g cocoa powder
30ml boiling water
200ml whipping or double cream
Grated chocolate, strawberries, raspberries or another other garnish, if desired.

Method
Make biscuit base by melting butter and adding crushed biscuits. Press into tin and refridgerate.

Beat sugar and cream cheese together. Add cocoa, water and vanilla. Beat again. Pour in cream and beat until thick. Melt chocolate and add to mixture.  Beat again. Spread mixture onto biscuit base and chill until needed.

For white chocolate cheesecake, omit plain chocolate, cocoa and water and substitute in 125 g white chocolate.

Oh, when you stay at Bobby and Shiela's, you get TWO desserts a day. TWO! And they are always super delicious. Be warned: you leave heavier than you arrive. But after a recent bout of food poisoning, Angie needed all the desserts she could get to get some weight back on. Now if only that weight would stay on the cheeks of her face and not go straight to those 'gravity-fed' cheeks.

The training was fantastic - yet again and the weather kind. A member of the German team for the World Trial was staying also so Angie got to see him train his dog with Bobby. It is fantastic to be able to see other people train as we not only get to learn how to work on our own dog's 'issues' but those of other handlers/dogs. We were working on bend outs, pull-ins, shedding and just about everything in between. To say we learn a lot from Bobby everytime we visit is a heck of an understatement! There is always something new to be learned and certainly we get reminded of things we have forgotten - or let slip a little (or a lot!). Bobby is inspiring. He strenghtens ones resolve to improve, to be more consistent in training, to raise the bar and strive for a higher standard, and/or simply to smarten up! And he generously gives you the tools and techniques to help you achieve this. There can be no greater thank you than to heed the advice given and demonstrate that by improving. So on that note, we've gone training!

But first, Kelvin managed to take time out from his university work to get out with the camera, although he had a side-trip to the vet as Bailey injured her leg and was barely able to move. She is now recovering. On his photographic travels, Kelvin found that Tina and Sioux have some new housemates above their kennel. Six very hungry swallows waiting for mum to arrive with dinner. He also snapped a few photos of the local wildlife and flowers on the farm. Click here to see his handiwork.

We have a quiet week ahead as we do some much needed catch-up on work.

Tina and Sioux's new housemates.