Bourne Again!

Last week was such a tonic for me. I've already posted about my trip to Aberlady and success at Crufts, but before that I had a fantastic few days in Lincolnshire with my very great and very true friends Margaret and Paul.

A rowdy play with Roxy helped too! What a great dog she is, I love her so much!!



After a month of crying and illness and general downright miserableness, I'd arrived in Bourne a bit of a wreck. Five minutes later I was smiling, ten minutes later I was laughing, and after a couple of hours I felt so unbelievably refreshed and revived and perked up that I really did feel born again!

Honestly, I did. It all sounds a bit drama queen I know, but it's true!

Margaret had made plans though, and what a fab weekend it was! Having arrived on the Saturday, Sunday saw us up at Fineshade Woods in Rutland for a day out with a wildlife photographer and Margaret's great friend Kat.

Kat and Malc were instantly warm and welcoming and it felt like we'd all known each other for ages... it was gonna be a really good day!

It was!! The birds came out to play, the cameras came out to play, and so did we!



It was a brilliant day out and revived me in a way nothing much else could have done! Spot on Margaret, and a huge thanks to Kat and Malc too!!

We travelled back to Bourne pretty much carefree and full of anticipation at maybe seeing barn owls in the fields where Margaret and Kat walk their dogs.



We didn't really expect too much though, as they both said they'd not seen the owls at that time of day before, but wow, within only a couple of minutes of arriving there it was, swooping away from it's nesting box in the barn rafters and across the field. Only Margaret had the savvy to have her camera ready, so unfortunately I didn't get any shots, but what a privilege it is to see such a beautiful creature so close up!

Such a privilege in fact, that no sooner had that one disappeared than another one swooped out and across the fields too! Again, no photos, but again, how special just to be there! I'll hopefully be more prepared next time!!!

Monday was also a good day out. We went in to Peterborough and had not only the best muffins in the world ever, but also a lovely walk round Peterborough Cathedral. It really is beautiful inside and, again, next time I go I shall be armed with my camera! It's stunning!!

The burial place of Katherine of Aragon and first burial place of Mary Queen of Scots, the Cathedral has a long and fascinating history. It's architecture is quite unlike that of any other Cathedral I've visited and the ceilings are magnificent. Really magnificent.

We returned to Bourne that evening and waited for Margaret's son Paul, a primary school teacher with a bit of a problem. He's a superb teacher, having been commended in previous Ofsted visits, but Tuesday and Wednesday were going to see Ofsted back again. Andrew's teaching assistant had gone sick and Andrew had a dozen fishing rods and various other things to make and do. I like a challenge and thought "how hard can it be?" ...all that was needed was to stick a length of string to one end of a small piece of cane and stick a round magnet to the other end. Easy eh?

Er, no actually! My mum has always said I'm a bit cack-handed and it seems she's right!! There was sellotape on all surfaces, including my hair at one point, magnets were sticking fast to each other... and the radiator! The strings were getting knotted and I couldn't untie them because the magnets were stuck together again!!! Honestly, how hard could it be?!!!! Still, got there in the end and Andrew had 12 fishing rods and quite a few magnetic fishes to take to work the next day, so it all turned out ok, thank goodness!



A walk across the fields on Tuesday morning and then it was time to be off to catch the train to Edinburgh. It was such a good wee break and I can't say thank you enough to Margaret and Paul. I can't wait to come back, let's hope it's soon!!!

Rebecca XX still smiling now! :-D

To Aberlady and Beyond!

I first visited Aberlady Nature Reserve last year when I was feeling raw and emotional and hurt and grieving. A wee while there and I felt my spirits lift a bit and my strength to return a little bit.



So here I am again, a year on, raw and emotional and hurt and grieving. Seems I'm not quite as strong as I thought I was, but nor am I a victim. I will be back and, to that end, a trip to Aberlady was the perfect boost... as well as a trip back to Bourne to see my really fab friends Margaret & Paul, but more of that in another post!

I took the train up to Edinburgh last Tuesday to be met in the rain by my old pal John. A flatmate from our university days over 10 years ago, we've kept in touch on and off over the years and how glad am I of that? Very glad indeed. I don't know if he can be bottled, but he really is such a great tonic!!!

Having spent a few days away with Margaret and Paul, I was already feeling lifted and rested and on my way back to peace, but a couple more days with John put the cherry on the top. We laughed, I cried, we laughed again, we ate, drank & laughed a bit more and set the world to rights and talked & laughed some more. Perfick!

Arriving in the dark and in the rain, I could only get a rough idea of the view John has to look at every day. It looked good, even in the dismal light... but wow, what a view in the daylight!



John is warden at the Nature Reserve and is fortunate enough to have an apartment that looks out across the estuary, across the old shipwreck and across the salt marsh beyond, where North Berwick Law stands in majesty above this beautiful, ever-changing landscape.

The rain had stopped, the sun was out and it would have been extremely rude not to go out and embrace the wind as it whipped along the coast. We filled a flask with coffee and a box with rolls and John's home baking (Yum! He never did that when we shared a flat in Aberdeen!!), and weatherproofed & hunger-proofed, we set off for a walk round the reserve.

The salt marshes across the far side of the bay lead on to an extensive dune system, with back dunes and ponds and a fantastically shaped landscape that reminds me of a volcanic crater clothed in grass!



Home to reptiles, amphibians, mammals, invertebrates, insects and birds, this wonderful ecosystem is so incredibly beautiful but also incredibly fragile. John and his team are working tirelessly to control the dunes from the threat of invasion by non-native species... the attractive but rampant sea buckthorn to name but one!

Another threat of invasion was thwarted by these huge blocks that, although invaders themselves, are now so much a part of the landscape that they are also protectors and holders of their own small ecosystems, as lichens, mosses and small plants colonise the concrete!



Placed here in the war to protect the land from enemy tanks that could be landed from the shore, these blocks are so weathered and bedded in that they have completely embraced the natural world. Rejecting manmade ideas of war and destruction, these memorials of war now offer peace and new life. It's part of the magic of Aberlady Nature Rerserve. It really is!

Twice now I've visited the reserve when my world has crumpled, and twice now I've been restored and revived by the magic that's here. Peace and new life, here I come!!

Walking further along the coast, the landscape changes with every turn and, rather dramatically, with just about every high tide!



The rocks are astonishing, not just in beauty, but in their vast differences. All colours, shapes and sizes, the rocks represent so many different forms and types that a geologist would be in perpetual bliss! Carved by wind and rain, sea and sand, smoothed by years of exposure to all the elements, the rocks here take on really fantastic and surreal features. Is it any wonder myths and legends are born when you come across such grotesque and pained faces as these?



Blimey, my problems are nothing compared to theirs! See, I really do feel better already!!!

John pointed out this huge rock and said that until the winter it had been buried by sand dunes for who knows how many years! Winter storms swept a huge section off the end of a the dunes to reveal this and other rocks for the first time in centuries.



How exciting is that? I think it's great! Apparently this particular rock was a beautiful green colour when it was first exposed, but has now muted to a still very attractive silvery green. I wonder what it looked like before it was buried in the sand, and how many people have sat on it and looked out to sea?

As we walked, the landscape changed in every bay. Looking out to the island of Fidra, we sat and ate our lunch and just revelled in the rawness of the day.



The wind was biting, but it was perfect. Blowing a gale through our troubled thoughts and frazzled minds, all negative emotions dispersed on the wind as easily as dandelion seeds blow away from the clock. Time heals, it's true, but there's nothing quite like a good sea breeze to get the colour back in your cheeks and a hearty stride back in your step!



12 miles & 7 hours after setting off from John's front door, we arrived in North Berwick. A beautiful day, a stunning walk and great company. I could do with a LOT more of that!!!! Thanks John, it was ace and I am so grateful to you for helping me through and making me laugh and getting me back on to the road again. You should be available on the NHS!!!

Rebecca, X

Team Tima!

Well, Friday was a day of firsts all round... my first trip to Crufts, Tima's German Shepherd Dog Masai had his first win at his first ever time at Crufts, and he was also the first black GSD to win his class!



We also hoped that he would become a father for the first time on Friday, but nature knew better and he is, as yet, still pacing the hall waiting for his pups to arrive! It was a long day for us all, starting at 4.30 in the morning, but it was such a good day.

Crufts and the Kennel Club have come in for criticism over the years for allowing breeding to result in dogs that look a certain way but can suffer from skeletal problems or breathing difficulties or other severe health problems. I was, therefore, very happy to be going along to my first show with Tima Lund, who is loud and proud in her determination to show German Shepherd Dogs with strong, healthy skeletal systems rather than the extreme sloping backs that so often cause poor hips, plus shoulder, knee and elbow problems and spinal deformities.

The judge at Crufts this year, Gary Gray, is also a strong supporter of the straighter backed GSD's and the Kennel Club are certainly heading in the right direction to encourage breeding to produce healthy, happy dogs!



Let's hope it continues and the poor dogs who suffer so much for nothing more than a desired image will not suffer further and common sense will prevail. So, well done to Masai, and to Team Tima!



Tima breeds GSD's and Cocker Spaniels, trains agility and obedience and somehow also manages to find time to work as a Science & Animal Care teacher in a local school too! Find out more about Tima and her furry family here at http://www.folkvanggsd.webs.com/

We were also accompanied by Pickle, who unfortunately missed her class group due to a bit of a mix up. Still, she looked beautiful and she enjoyed our walks round the show and it was all still a bit of a day out for her.



Thanks to Tima for letting me come along to Crufts, and a huge big cuddle of love for Masai... he is just awesome!



I wish you could have met my Hogy Bear! He was no champion or show stopper, and he had the worst case of hip & elbow dysplasia the vet had seen, all caused by poor breeding and, because of his suffering, I will support anyone and everyone who can help bring attention to the problems and attention to the work that's going on to eradicate such needless suffering!!!

But I do wish you could have met Hogy. He was the most gentle, placid, beautiful natured dog that I have ever met and I still miss his nose poking round my bedroom door every single day, a whole year on! He wasn't healthy, but he was happy when he was strong and he was the most fun I've ever known! Bless you Tima for bringing some Shepherdy love back into my life! And well done again to Masai (aka Tracelyn Hobson at Folkvang).

Rebecca. X