Hi there....remember me? It's been so long (over a month) since I last wrote a blog entry that I would not be surprised if you had forgotten who I am! It's just that it has been so hectic of late what with my international travelling (more later) and things that I just have had not had the time. However, here we go on the big catchup.

This year mum and dad decided to go to England for Christmas so obviously I had to go too! Now, never having been anywhere further than our local seaside, this was to be a big adventure for me. Not only did it involve hours and hours in the car (and I wasn't sick once) but also an overnight stay in a hotel. I've never been in a hotel but it was great and I got to sit on the beds (see photo below) which is something I'm never allowed to do at home.


When we got there the very next day it snowed. I have seen snow before as a youngster but this was big snow - 12 cms or 5 inches as they say in those parts. I had great fun running around in that and even found some new mates to chase around with.


Grandad John (my mum's dad) has a dog of his own - a border collie called Badger. Now Badger is 11 and can be a bit of a grumpy old man at times so he was initially none to pleased at the arrival of a lively young whippersnapper like me in his house. However, I worked hard at establishing good relations and by the end of the stay he tolerated me! In fact I would like to think that he even missed me a bit when we left.


Christmas day was a new experience for me and I really loved the opening pressies bit. It is a great opportunity to rip up loads of paper without being told off. Also, I got a new toy and some bikkies.


After Christmas I was told it was time to go to school for a bit of training! We went to see this nice man called Peter who used to be a police dog handler and now trains dogs. He had a walk up and down with me and quickly realised (very astutely) that it was not me that needed training but my mum and dad! An hour later and he had them doing all the right things and successfully walking up and down with me without a pull in sight. Mind you, I have found that since we got back, life is a bit stricter than before and I cannot get away with some of the things that I used to.



Just before we left there was a ring at the doorbell and who should it be but Auntie Mary and Uncle Tim. Well, I was beside myself as I never expected to see them there. They were there to (very kindly) take some sacks of my food back home in their car together with some other bits and pieces. Apparently because me and my bed were in our car there was not much room for things like that!

Then it was back in the car for many more hours, another hotel stopover, and finally we arrived back home.

So that was the big international adventure! It is nice to be back amongst my vineyards and to see some of my old mates again, but overall I did enjoy the experience.