August 23, 2010: Neighbours to the Rescue
For those of you who avidly follow this blog, you all know that Kelvin and I have a wee 'thing' going whereby if Kelvin beats me in a trial, I have to cook dinner. Now I am no cook. I can burn toast, baked beans and even boiled eggs like the best of them... so when Kelvin dreamed up this 'penalty' system for me, I don't think he remembered just how good a cook I am. Last time he whipped my butt, I managed to charcoal some sausages on the BBQ...and I am usually pretty handy with a BBQ! Well, Saturday saw my butt well and truly kicked into the middle of next week when Kelvin and Tina put on a stunning display in the South Wales trial at LLanwrda. Down only 6 points! Magic run and a true demo of how to run a South Wales course. The best run of the day for me came from the youngster, Steffi. Steffi is my nursery dog so when she was having a good run, I retired her at the pen so as not to rule her ineligible for the nurseries. This took a few by surprise...the time keeper hollered out "You're not out of time" - which I knew, so I just grinned back. To say I was thrilled with Steffi is a huge understatement. Anyway, Kelvin took home the winners cup and I have to cook dinner...for a week.

Luckily for me, when we got home a great big, fresh quiche was sitting on the doorstep. Payment of sorts from a neighbour for services rendered! The quiche was big enough to last several meals. Oh, am I off the hook. YES! An invite to another neighbours for dinner, a couple of evenings at trials this week...and I am free and clear of my dinner debt. Better pull my socks up or I'll be having to open a cookbook and try my hand at actually following a recipe.

I did manage to get my nose in front of Kelvin at the Goyallt Trial where Sioux was 3rd. By the way, the Goyallt trial raised over £3,000 for the Diabetes UK. That's a mind popping amount for a local trial. Big pat on the back for the trial organizers, Gwyn and Gareth Davies.

Oh, I went up to Anglesey late last week for a trial also. I have repressed the memories of these runs as they were bad! My girls took the scenic route to their sheep, and seemed confused by the cage system being used to set out the sheep. I retired on both runs and decided I need to go back home and do some training! I should add that I loved the cage system and offered to buy one of the cages if they had no need for two. I felt the cage system set the sheep perfectly for each and every run, giving every runner a fair chance - and the same chance. If it had not been raining so hard, I would have taken a photo of it. Darn! However, now that I have said that, I will confess to actually liking the randomness of a 'Welsh' set out...toss them out the gate and pick them up where you pick them up. It's seems to be a more authentic experience...when you're gathering on the hill, the sheep don't just stand around waiting for a dog! And, for me, there is an art of getting the balance point correct - an art I have definitely not perfected! Practice makes perfect, right?...oh, I saw an interesting quote the other day...."Amateurs practice until they get it right, experts practice until they can't get it wrong." Hmmm...food for thought.

Anglesey itself is very pretty. It was lovely to see the sea again. That's one thing I miss about New Zealand. Having grown up by the beach, one misses the fresh, salty air. Tom Tom (satellite navigation) took me a very circuitous route to the trial field through the Snowdonia National Park. What a treat that was. I ended up in a small town called Beddgelert. Beddgelert's most famous historical feature is 'Gelert's Grave'. According to legend, a stone monument in a field marks the resting place of 'Gelert', the faithful hound of the medieval Welsh Prince Llewelyn the Great. The story, as written on the tombstone reads:

"In the 13th century Llewelyn, prince of North Wales, had a palace at Beddgelert. One day he went hunting without Gelert, "The Faithful Hound", who was unaccountably absent. On Llewelyn's return the truant, stained and smeared with blood, joyfully sprang to meet his master. The prince alarmed hastened to find his son, and saw the infant's cot empty, the bedclothes and floor covered with blood. The frantic father plunged his sword into the hound's side, thinking it had killed his heir. The dog's dying yell was answered by a child's cry. Llewelyn searched and discovered his boy unharmed, but near by lay the body of a mighty wolf which Gelert had slain. The prince filled with remorse is said never to have smiled again. He buried Gelert here."

Legend maybe but the area is well worth visiting. Spectacular scenery, interesting architecture and something magical about the mountains. I would love to go back there.

Finally managed to have a couple of days at home to catch up on some work. My young dogs have almost forgotten me... almost time to get them out on sheep. Can't wait!