A Trip Down Memory Lane....

When we last visited Ganny for her birthday, the weather wasn't that great, but on our final day, the sun came out and so Mum decided we should take a drive out into the countryside.

Mum took us to a little village called Berkswell that is located between Birmingham and Coventry. When Mum was little it was in the County of Warwickshire, but now resides in the somewhat less glamourously named West Midlands! Not that anyone from Berkswell would ever admit to that.....

Mum took Ganny, Other Mum and me there, because her and Ganny have very fond memories of the village from when Mum was young. She says that her Grandad, Nanny and all the family used to drive out there on a Sunday afternoon, have a picnic and then call in at the village pub on the way home!

This house dates from the 17th century.

You don't see many red telephone boxes anymore....at least not in working order!

The church of St John the Baptist dates from the 1100's

Another reason Mum likes the village so much is because her Great Grandmother was born there sometime in the 1870's 

Great Grandmother was born in one of these whitewashed cottages, but Mum isn't sure which one.

The stocks on the village green are just opposite these cottages...I wonder if any of my relatives had the pleasure?!  It's a bit difficult to see from this picture, but the stocks only have 5 leg holes, and it is said that this is because they were built specifically for a drunken 1 legged soldier and his two drinking companions!

The village pub, The Bear Inn dates back to the 16th century. It belongs to a chain now, but Mum says it still feels like the little village pub she remembers from her childhood.... (that'll be getting on for 40 years ago then, Mum!)

You will often see this image of  The Bear & Ragged Staff, as it is the emblem of the county of Warwickshire.

Here is Mr Bear climbing up his Staff in the pub beer garden!

After all that exploring I thought we deserved a nice cool drink....and anyway, a post wouldn't be complete without a picture of me, would it?!

I'm getting bored now Mum; time to hit the road!

Wordless Wednesday 12/12

Ganny loves me!!

Ganny's and test driving an RAC blanket!

Well, as predicted I had a completely splendid time at Ganny's!  Rather fortunately for me, Ganny has a very small appetite, so there are always LOTS of leftovers. During the week I managed to sample duck, steak, fish and chips, chicken stir fry and chicken and pancetta pie (hooray for Marks & Spencer!)

Me sleeping off the effects........

A few weeks ago we were contacted by the RAC, the car breakdown cover experts and asked if we'd like to review one of their pet travel accessories. I was quite keen to get the Pet Carrier......to lock KC in, but Mum said that I was being a git would be unkind, so in the end I settled on the Waterproof Dog Blanket.  As luck would have it, it arrived just before we left to visit Ganny so we took it with us.

"Even though this is keeping my tummy lovely and dry, I will not look at the camera Mum...."

The blanket is dark grey fleece with an orange trim and has a waterproof underside. It measures 148cm x 128cm and can be washed at 30 degrees. 

"Oh alright then, but I wouldn't still be lying here if it wasn't for my nice new blankie"

"Oooooh nom noms! Why didn't you say so before?!"

The blanket rolls up and has a carrying handle. This is the blanket after Mum re-rolled it, proving that it is fairly idiot proof simple to do...

We liked the blanket and plan to keep it in the car to take on picnics (assuming this country ever has another summer.....) We did think it would be good if it was also made in another colour as dark grey with a mainly white dog means it will look pretty furry very quickly, but other than that we thought it was a good and useful product. 

The blanket costs £18.99 and is available from the RAC online shop

So now I am back at home and it is back to reality with a bump. In fact I am having to keep a low profile due to a little incident  that occurred on Wednesday. Mum went out and left me and while I was "inspecting" the front door I managed to flip the bolt and lock Mum out. By the amount of swearing I could hear, I was quite glad there was a locked door between us.... Mum thought she could get in via the back door, but had forgotten the security chain. So she rang Other Mum up and told her she needed to come home from work and bring a pair of bolt cutters with her...Other Mum said it is one of the stranger phone calls she has received. Oh well... maybe she'll think twice before leaving me again.....tee hee!!

Declan's Dogs Blog has not received any financial compensation for carrying out the review of an RAC product, and the views stated represent our honest opinion of the product. 

Nearly Wordless Wednesday 10/10

Ooooh! Roast duck and Croquet potatoes.

This is looking promising......

Is all this sitting and staring at my food really necessary Mum?

I always get a better class of breakfast at Ganny's.....nom nom nom!

I'm back........and then I was gone again!

This is me trying to look like a salty old sea dog!

Hello everyone, I'm back, but only briefly!  When we got home yesterday we heard that Ganny's sister, who is 85 (Mum's most favourite Aunt) has had a fall and is in hospital with ten stitches in her head. She's stable and hopefully will be allowed home mid week, but Ganny is worrying and also doesn't like driving to the hospital, so I thought I we had better visit, like the knight in furry armour  that I am......

We all had a lovely holiday and I look forward to telling you about that next week (we hope to be home 29/9) 

This is me when we got home last night with the Honktypus Other Mum bought me for being a very good boy on holiday! As you can see I was shattered with all that navigating I had to do for Mum.... At least she knows the way to Ganny's so I'll be able to have a kip on the way down there.....

See you next week everyone

Deccy Over and Out!

Monday again.........

Ahhhhhhhh.......morning everyone. Is it really Monday already? Where are you Mum? I need my chest slapped and a quick game of Mr Crocodile* before I can consider getting up.......

I must tell you that I had a lovely time at Ganny's. The weather was pretty good, so I did quite a lot of relaxing....and not much else!

Pigs ears should always be carefully inspected.

And tested for crunchability

I can see you getting closer Mum.... you are not having any of my ear!

That's better, you stand the other side of the flowers.... nom nom nom.....

Ganny always buys the best pigs ears! Sometimes she manages to get me Sows ears which are HUGE! Are you listening Mums? Ganny does much better than you on the treat front. I love you Ganny.........

Anyway it's back home now. I suppose I have missed my sofa....

I do all my best thinking here you know......

And that reminds me... I'd like to bring your attention to Deccy's Deals! This really only applies to my UK readers, so everyone else might want to quit now and move on to the next blog!! 

Lately I've been sent lots of codes and vouchers for various shops like Debenhams and Sainsburys. Some of the deals are pretty good, so I thought I'd share them with you. If you look at the top of my page, you'll see the Deccy's Deals tab. Just click  to see the latest offers. The page will be updated regularly, so it's worth checking out. Every little helps as someone keeps telling us!

* Mr Crocodile involves me lying on my back and Mum slapping my chest while I make my neck extra long and reach up to try and bite arms (in a gentle and loving way, obviously........)

Wey Hey Loads of Birds!

Ha! That got your attention didn't it?!  Well actually I'm talking about the feathered variety. As everyone (because us Brits haven't stopped banging on about it) knows, summer here as been nearly a total washout. So the Mums think themselves very lucky that when they went on a recent visit to the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire, it was a beautiful day. I didn't get to go (can't imagine why...) so I spent a very pleasant time with Ganny.

Yeah well...like I even miss you when I've got Ganny's garden to run in...

Slimbridge is a magnificent place (apparently - I wouldn't know, would I? - sniff) covering over 120 acres. It was founded in 1946 and is one of nine wetland centres across the UK.

     source

Obviously David Bailey Mum took her camera with her and got really snap happy. Whilst some of the photos aren't too bad, David Attenborough she ain't so I am unable to tell you what most of the birds are....

Pelican

She has a habit of taking this sort of shot.....

Not the foggiest.....

Errrr....black swan?!

Baby black swan (I'm getting good at this....!)

You got me there....

And again.. though one of them seems to be headless......

Ooooh I know that one - Flamingos!

When Mums eventually came rushing back bothered to come home, I gave them my best deeply hurt look. Good isn't it? Hehe!

Big Boy's Bath Bonanza!

I've just got back from my trip to Ganny's. As ever, I had a pretty good time, even though the weather was rubbish.

Mostly it was like this.....

With a bit of this....

And then more of this....

We did, however, have one nice day. Great, I thought, I expect we'll do something REALLY exciting. I began to feel less optimistic when this appeared on the lawn....

The following pictures are courtesy of Aunty Lou, who I thought loved me, but is clearly as big a traitor as Mum.

Steady on Mum, that's gone right down my lug 'ole!

That's a scouring pad she's using on my chops; someone should report her...

Now you've just gone too far.....

Perhaps if I sneak off over here she won't notice....

Bu*g*r!

Ooooh that tickles!

Now this I like!

And one final shake should do it.....

Ganny said that I was such a good boy for getting Mum even wetter than I was for standing still that she had got me a present.

Every cloud has a silver lining.... hehe!

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