We're Still Here...

Wootton Wawen, Stratford upon Avon Canal.

Things have moved on since last I wrote....but we haven't. The thing at the back of the boat which makes the electric for the fridge where Dad keeps his beer and bacon has stopped working.

There's been a lot of teeth sucking, head scratching and trips to a shop which sell bits and pieces for broken cars; which is a bit odd 'cos the thing that's broken is on a boat.

If I've got it straight, there's bits for cars which can be used as bits for boats, but bits on boats can't be used as bits for cars unless they are Land Rovers or Tractors.....I hope that you're following this....
Anyway, the bit that should be used on a Land Rover (if it was made just after the war, but not on a Friday afternoon), can be used on a boat as long as it's green, and is exactly the thing that we had to have to get the power back onto Dad's beer and bacon fridge, otherwise all the beer will have to be drunk, and the bacon turned into butties to stop it all from going off.

It's taken so long to get the boat bit from the car place that there isn't much beer or bacon left anyway, so I'm wondering why we're bothering, but doubtless there will be a trip to the beer and bacon emporium before too long in order to re-stock the fridge now that the electric is, apparently, working properly.

When we finally get moving again, I'll let you know where we are. 

xx Beau

P.S.      Not many berries left in the hedgerows...................................

On The Road Again....Sort Of..

Wootton Wawen, Stratford Canal

After 5 months of doing not a lot except for keeping the Wharf a 'Duck Free' zone, apparently, the time has come for us to go out and about on the boat to meet the public at large, (and since Christmas, some are larger than others!!) No offence Dad......
This week has seen a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, with Dad and Mum sorting out the final, essential bits and pieces, without which, apparently, its not safe to set out on our travels. A lot of these 'essentials' seem to be in liquid form, which Dad says is easier to transport than solids.
I'm pleased to see that a sack of my 'working dog' food has also made it onto the back of the boat although Dad did say he wasn't going to buy it any more because, after 4 years of putting it in my bowl, I've never done a days work yet....I could be wrong, but I think that he's trying to be just a little bit cheeky.

So far, we have made it to a place called Wootton Wawen which is only about 10 miles from where we started out from, but it has taken us 2 days to get here. Dad says that we are heading 'up North' towards a place called Macclesfield.
I've seen the map and its right near the top, and though I might not be the the sharpest pencil in the box, I've worked out that (a) We haven't packed enough dog biscuits for me, (b) we haven't packed enough beer for Dad and (c) I'm going to be a lot older by the time I get back.

Got to go now now because there is some large public coming past that might not know how cute I am....

Keep watching this site in case something interesting happens.....

xx Beau



Watch Out Ducks!!!!!




Beau.........Stile Guru



It's That Time of Year Again

Stratford Upon Avon Canal

Since we got back from our travels in September, I don't seem to have had 5 minutes to myself to update my Blogsite. My computer seems to have been in constant use by Dad, who is either playing games, fixing 'bugs'..( in summer, he just swatted them), or trying to find even cheaper sausages to supplement my meagre dog food rations, on something called a 'Google'.

Apparently, this time of year is called 'festive', and involves Mum and Dad going out nearly every day to buy more food and stuff than we used in the whole of the summer, and then complaining that there isn't anywhere to put it on the boat. There's so much stuff in the pantry that Mum and Dad now have to sit on the other side of the boat to stop it from tipping over, and the freezer door is being held shut with a piece of wood jammed against the wardrobe.
The back of the boat is full of carrier bags which Mum says that Dad is not to look in, (though I've caught him sneaking a peek when she's not around). The back of the car is full of carrier bags which Dad says that Mum mustn't look in either, but I guess that she's also sneaking a look while he's not around............(and they say that Border Collies are devious...............

There's a lot of stuff being cooked and baked in the oven, some of which has come my way by using either the 'cute' look or, if that fails, the 'half-starved pathetic' look. (Which is how I got re-homed from the Dogs Trust all those years ago.........it never fails!!)

There is a wonderful smell of cooked ham wafting around the boat at the moment, so I'll have to go and put my miserable face on.....you never know, something tasty could come of it.

Dad is doing some planning for our next trip in the Spring, so I'll be continuing my tales of boating adventures sometime in March. In the meantime, I hope that you all have a good 'festive' season and will join me again in the New Year.

XX Beau

'STILL LOOKIN' GOOD....................

Back to Base, and Back to School

Stratford upon Avon

Well, 6 months after we left, we're back where we started from.
Dad says that we've covered over 700 miles, and Mum says she KNOWS that she has done over 600 locks!....

I've been to some great places while we have been away........Thanks to Rosie the Rottie, I learnt to play football in Berkhamsted, saved an ungrateful man from getting carried away by a kite in Hackney, and won a prize in a Dog Show at the Rickmansworth Festival.
Between times, ducks, geese and pigeons have learnt to be a bit more alert on the towpath in the mornings, but in Tewkesbury, the sheep didn't seem to be that bothered.........

I've met some great people.......(who could forget 'The Boys from Norway' that we met in a pub at Lowsonford)...in fact, most of the people I met seemed to be at pubs............there's a story in there somewhere.....

Anyway, 'back to base' means that it's also 'back to school', because, for over 6 months, Dad's not done any agility work, (except for carrying a tray of beer glasses down the pub steps), which means that he needs to get back in training.

For those that don't know, Dog Agility takes place in a big field which has got up to 20 numbered obstacles set out on it.
The dog owners walk around the field, taking note of the numbers of each obstacle..........then they each take it in turns to RUN around the field, as fast as they can, making sure that they go round the obstacles in the right order.
Just so us dogs don't get bored, we are allowed to run around with them, and sort of 'drop hints' as to which obstacle is next...............
The winner of the game is the owner who gets all of the obstacles in the right order, in the fastest time.

When I first started taking Dad to Agility, he was hopeless! He kept missing out numbers, taking shortcuts and generally not keeping his mind on the job. Even when I barked at him to show him the next obstacle, he would go the wrong way, or trip over me.....I began to think he would never get the hang of it.......
Well now he hasn't been to school for a while, I've a suspicion that he's forgotten everything I've ever taught him, so it might be back to the 'bottom class' for a while...................the shame of it!!

I'll let you know how he gets on....

xx Beau

'You MUST remember this!!!

'Where's he gone NOW!!'

Beau on 'Brum'

Lapworth, Stratford upon Avon Canal

At last, things are back to normal. To coin a phrase, I am now 'back in good odour', my collar has been restored to its original colour, and apart from a few muddy droplets on the ceiling above Mum's chair, you'd never know that our last 'misunderstanding' happened at all.

We are now heading back to our base at Stratford, but we have taken an alternative route back, 'Just to see what it's like'.
So, for the last few days, we have been going round a place called 'Brum', and it certainly is 'different'.......

Brum is a really warm place, all of the year round. I know that, because most of the buidings I saw from the boat have had holes put in the windows to let more air in. The really warm buildings have had their roofs taken off as well.........

Brum has a lot of artists, who have been very busy brightening up the canals by putting writing and pictures all over the sides of buildings and most of the bridges.
Because it is such a long way round 'Brum' on the tow paths, every few yards or so, the usual number of bench seats has been added to with matresses, and I even saw some old quilts and sleeping bags for people to use if they got really tired.

Another popular facility seemed to be places along the towpath where you could buy drinks. Nearly every alley way and bridge had a group of people who had been served, and there were piles of cans and bottles around, so there was obviously quite a demand for the service.
Dad had been complaining that there hadn't been many places to get beer round 'Brum', but I reckon that if we'd stopped and asked the guys under the bridges, they could have sold us some, or at least told us where to go............................

Even though the colour of the canal water had been different to what we'd been used to, I thought that 'Brum' was a very interesting place, and a real change to some of the towns we've been through.

I know that Dad thought it had been worth coming this way round because he said that he was 'glad to see the back of it'. I guess that means that one day we'll go another way round and see the front of it.

xx Beau

OK, I promise, no more rolling!!

Local artists really made an impression

Beau and The Soap Opera

Autherley Junction, Shropshire Union Canal

Well, a few days have passed, and things seem to be getting back to normal.
I've been thinking though, how, even when doing things for the best of reasons, misunderstandings are apt to arise.
Take, for example, the recent Incident of the Unknown Substance ( see previous Blog posting 'Beau Smells Trouble'.

Misunderstanding No.1
I thought that Dad would share my curiosity regarding the stuff that I rolled in and brought back to the boat; I WAS WRONG...Having got it all over his hands when he grabbed my collar, he was, selfishly, only interested in wiping it off on the grass.

Misunderstanding No.2
I thought that, if Dad wasn't interested, then Mum certainly would be, so I ran down the boat and put my head in her lap so that she could get a good look at what I'd brought back.
THIS WAS A MISTAKE....Mum just shouted 'MIKE!!..He's rolled in something!..Get him out of here!!

Having just finished cleaning off his hands in the grass, Dad heard Mum shout, and came running down the boat..

Misunderstanding No.3
In case he tripped over me on his way in, I thought I'd better get out of his way, so I jumped up onto the bed.
THIS WAS ANOTHER MISTAKE....Seeing me lying on the bed, Dad grabbed me by the collar to get me back onto the floor, but, as my collar was still carrying a reasonable quantity of the unknown substance, Dad, once again, had it all over his hands.........

The sticky stuff that I had brought back to the boat was, by now, starting to flake and drop onto the floor in lumps, so Dad decided that he had to get me cleaned up as soon as possible. His decision was to utilise the shower. THIS TIME IT WAS HIS MISTAKE........

Dad got the shower running, opened the door and tried to shove me in. Out of politeness, and as it was me that had got him covered in the stuff, I thought that he would probably want to come in too....
So, whilst Dad shoved, I suddenly walked forwards....and viola!!...not a huge amount of room, but we were both in!
APPARENTLY, THIS WAS ALSO WRONG!!...For several reasons.....
1. Dad still had all of his clothes on, though to be honest, they would have needed washing anyway
2. The shower door was still open, and the bathroom floor was already awash
3. The nice-smelling squirty soap that he needed, was still outside of the shower.......

Dad turned off the water, got out of the shower in his wet clothes and said 'WAIT! while I get a towel. (I suppose he wanted to dry himself off).

Well, I couldn't wait for Dad to come back, and I knew that Mum would want to see me now that I smelt nice again, so I ran down the boat and shook off all of the dirty water in front of her so that she could see how lovely and clean I was.......

But apparently, that was a mistake as well...............................

xx Beau

Beau Smells Trouble

Norbury Wharf, Shropshire Union Canal

There's a certain pattern to the start of my day....it's been honed to perfection during my time on the boat, and Dad hasn't been the easiest of people to train; but I'm getting there.

It's my duty to get everybody up and about,..... whether they want to or not.
If Dad pretends to be asleep, even though its gone 5:00 in the morning, then a lick on the elbow, or the foot will normally be enough to stir things up..- failing that, a cold wet nose applied to his anatomy will generally do the trick.

After I have breakfasted heartily on dried biscuits, mixed with low-priced, low-pork, low-taste sausages, it's time to leave the ship....or as Mum puts it, "Get him out from under my feet", ...I think that she's talking about Dad, but I'm not really sure.

Out on the Towpath, (so called because it's where dogs tow their owners along), and it's time to pick up my P-mail, leave replies and do a bit of waste-disposal.
Being well-trained, Dad always picks up behind me, predictably saying " Good grief Beau, what HAVE you been eating?"

I take the view, "Well, you're the one that fed it to me.....it's low-priced, low-pork, low-taste lookalike sausages...You know what they say, Rubbish in, Rubbish out, so what do you expect?"

At this point, we would normally return to the boat, but today, I was getting a sniff of something rather interesting a bit further up the track....something that had to be investigated.
Dad didn't really want to go any further, his mind was already on toast, peanut butter and a hot cup of tea on the boat, but such considerations are as nothing to the curious collie................

Dad called me, (I think), and started back to the boat. I adopted the cunning disguise of the half-deaf  sheepdog which has served me so well in the past, and carried on towards the distant, inviting smell.

When I got there, I have to admit, I couldn't really work out quite what it was. It certainly smelled nice, it was a greenish, yellowy, brown-black lump of stuff that reminded me of Dad's experiment with Curried Faggots..........

Dad was still heading back to the boat, so it was no use waiting for him to come and identify it....I didn't have anything to carry it back in, so what else could I do but smear a bit under my chin, round my ears, on my back and under my collar..........
Having made sure that I had a good sample, I ran back and caught up with Dad just as he got to the boat.

He looked at me, turned up his nose, and his eyes began to water......He grabbed me by the collar to stop me getting on the boat.......
"OH BEAU!!...What in heavens name have you rolled in!!!!"

I thought, " Well, now you've got it all over your hands, You tell me"..........

I don't think we've heard the last of this episode...

xx Beau