Dogged.


Today was crunch ‘Project: Pick up a Dog’ day in the Ephgrave household.

The most stressful part inevitably was driving home with Elwood (for we've Christened him such) in the car, as the double-whammy of presumably never having travelled by road for long - or at all - combined with the fact he’d only met us a few times previously meant he was very anxious and barky, although his fear seemed to conveniently subside whenever I offered him a treat.

Since we’ve been home - and I’m conscious of not wanting to tempt fate - he’s been a ridiculously well-behaved boy. He paced around the flat a few times initially, before tentatively chewing on the antler we bought him for that purpose, but after a walk around the estate when he needed a comfort break he became more relaxed, with the key moment being when he leapt up to join us on the sofa - which shouldn’t really be possible on account of the fact he’s fucking huge - and promptly fall asleep.

One's hard at work while the other relaxes

 What’s lovely is how relaxed he’s been with us, which certainly bodes well for the immediate future; you can basically do anything with him without him flinching. He’s essentially been the model pet, so now I need to become the model owner for there to be a sense of balance. I’m starting by sleeping on the sofa in the front room with him tonight to make sure he settles; oh, the things you do...

Popular posts from this blog

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Image
Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera
Read more

Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

If ever a river was mis-sold, it’s the Roaring Meg in Stevenage. I just walked past it on my way to the retail park that has taken its name. They’re similarly uninspiring. The river is less of a roar and more of a dribble; cystitis sufferers produce greater flow. The retail park is soulless. What was once a thriving enterprise is nearly devoid of atmosphere, save an underlying essence of emptiness and despair. With a Toys R Us. When it was first built I was excited. Back then, the thought of a bowling alley, an ice rink, a Harvester and a Blockbuster Video within a small surface area was enticing. I celebrated many birthdays on site. There was an indoor cricket pitch there for a while where I once had a joint party with a friend. Why someone with an almost pathological fear of sport would agree to such a venture is beyond me, but I did it. Now, there’s very little at the Roaring Meg of note. The river would be a metaphor for the shopping ce
Read more

Hoo-ray and up She Rises.

So much has happened since my last post in March that this blog risks sounding like an itinerary. The main news is that Hitchin Mostly Comedy will return in the summer at a new venue, the Queen Mother Theatre . The road to this decision was convoluted, though enough fell into place en route to leave me optimistic about this new start. The catalyst was a survey I ran via our mailing list a few months back, in which I asked, "If the club returned in the current climate, with tickets still around £15 (and with similar line-ups), would you still attend?"; the response to which, in simple terms, was a resounding yes. Nearly 250 mailing list subscribers responded in a single week, with around a hundred also taking the option to leave some feedback. And only two people were abusive, which counts as a win when you consider they posted their comments online anonymously. Imagine how many more insults we would have received if the comedy club was a woman. Particularly if she was Diane
Read more