Horse and trap on Parade

 

I thought I would add this to by blog out of interest. It is a copy of a photo I took about 40 years ago with my old Canon Ftbn camera.In black and white,developed and printed by me in my camera club days.

Lurcher / Saluki Sighthound Cross at Rescue Centre

 

This week I took two dogs for a walk at http://www.appledown.co.uk/ . Two lovely dogs who are looking for a forever home. The first was….

                                                               Gulliver

Full of life and ready to play anytime. He needs to put on a bit of weight but with a lot of love and care should do well in a new home.

The second dog was…

Fillius

He was timid at first but soon relaxed after a couple of circuits of the field. After my photo was seen on the rescue centres facebook page…..

 https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/68892502164/ 

someone is interested in re-homing him which is great news.

It was very cold this week with a northerly wind blowing so I didn’t want to keep them out of the kennels too long and I didn’t want frostbite in my fingers.

Last week I went over to Marsworth to look at the narrowboats but nothing presented itself for a photo opportunity but I took this of a widebeam out of interest as the top was rusty which I should think is being made ready for a re-paint.

Police Officers Thoughts on Leaving the Force

So last night I packed all my kit into two large bin bags, marked them FAO stores, gave my Skipper my warrant card and pass-key and walked out of policing.
I cannot begin to express how weird it feels. I’m a civvie for the first time in a decade. I have no powers, no obligation to “get involved”, I’m no longer a part of the family that had made me laugh harder and longer than any other. I already feel distanced from it, and my (former) colleagues. Not by them, but by my own emotions. I cannot begin to express how weird it feels.
But what I do have is my life back, my weekends back, some stability back, the feeling that my physical health will improve from that stability and structure, and the certain knowledge that my mental health, which suffered badly enough last year that I had a significant time off work with medication, is already better, and I will soon be my old gregarious, easy-going self again.
I hate what that job did to me, I hate how it made me feel at the end, I hated feeling under the microscope all the time for insignificant stuff that the keyboard warriors demanded regardless of actual importance in the real world. I hate what successive governments have done to the job, none more so than this pack of charlatans and their almost pathological hatred of the police.
So I packed my kit and walked out, and in the words of Pink Floyd “The years and all the sadness fell away from me”.
It’s significant to me that in the time between resigning and leaving not one single person I spoke to in the job said anything other than “good on you, you lucky bastard, I wish I had the guts” etc. And that includes people up to and including Inspectors. Above that, I care not for their opinions, because they are honed and refined in the rarefied atmosphere of comfortable offices disconnected from the reality, and moulded by statistics on screens they use to beat the people doing the real work.
Morale isn’t just low, it’s gone. Those in those warm offices may have pause to consider what I write, and note that the reason they can live in denial is that they are constantly lied to (when they’re not busy promulgating lies of their own) because people are scared to be heard, terrified of Stasi-esque PSD spying on every aspect of your life they can get or force access to, scared that there’s no life outside their little corner of policing.
There is actually a deep well of sadness and melancholy inside me about no longer being a part of this family. But it is a sadness for what should be, not what is. It’s mourning for something that has died (or been killed). But I’m glad I’m gone, just sad that I should be glad, if that makes sense?
To my brothers and sisters I leave behind; Stay safe, look after each other, because you are the only people who will. I will always feel connected to the job, even if from afar, and I can only hope you who continue carrying the burden will not resent me for having decided I can’t shoulder my share any longer.
Headhunter, January 2013.

Mystery of disturbance in the Hedgehog House.

 

I have had suspicions over the past few weeks that something was taking up residence in the hedgehog house that wasn’t a hedgehog.Now that we have had 5 inches of snow I can see that it might just be a fox by the tracks left in the snow.Today this is the result of a nights work with straw pushed out of the house.The only question is,could a fox get through a 6 inch aperture? I don’t think it’s a rat or cat as there are no tracks of one.

Happy New Year to All

 

Make a homeless dog smile for Christmas and beyond.

 

As our thoughts turn to family and friends at this time of year there are other good causes to try and help.With my help in walking the homeless dogs at Appledown Rescue Centre,

 

http://www.appledown.co.uk/

 

I see the good work and the cost involved in looking after and re homing the lost and unloved dogs in the area. Appledown are constantly looking for funds for the upkeep of the kennels and health of the dogs which in turn leads to the successful re-homing of 400 to 500 animals a year. Dogs are brought in by the local dog warden at all times of the day and night which entails somebody to be available to look after them.

 

We now have a new means of giving help to this worthwhile cause and if you are a dog lover I'm sure that you would feel this is a good way to help even though you may live many miles away and would like to help in some way.

In these times of austerity any small amount would be gratefully received and using this method makes giving so easy.

 

If you have been following my blog over the year you will have seen the pictures of some dogs I have walked and this one always raises a smile. If you can, bring a smile to the other dogs and help find them a home.

 

 

http://www.charitygiving.co.uk/donate/donate_b.asp?charityid=7264

Thank you.
May all your wishes bring you love and happiness throughout next year and beyond.

 



Reducing condensation on the outside of double glazing

Due to the ever increasing cost of gas and electric the house is only heated in the room that is being used with the bedrooms not being heated at all during the night.The house has no central heating but a gas fire in each room with an electric oil filled radiator switching on in the bedroom 2hrs before getting up in the morning.
This situation causes the problem of cold windows, and even though they are double glazed condensation forms on them during the night,which require wiping down every day when the weather is cold outside. The picture below shows the problem of condensation on the windows in the morning.

 

Searching the internet on ideas to combat this problem I came across this product which is for application to single glazed windows as a cheap method of double glazing and draught proofing. I figured that this could be applied to my windows to prevent the warm air contacting the cold window so causing condensation.

 

So following the instructions below I fitted the film to my windows.

The picture below highlights the difference between two windows showing just one window with the film applied.

The picture below shows a view from inside looking out on a cold and frosty morning with both windows covered.

As you can see at the bottom of both windows there is slight condensation forming but this is on the outside of the film and not on the window itself.

So I was quite pleased with the result which allows me to look out on a cold winters day without having to wipe down the windows every time.