Hello everyone - it's been a while so am going to go back and catch up on everyone's news. In the meantime, this in The Times yesterday made me chuckle :
Dog racing is always the highlight of the Orford fête. Not because the gormless cockapoos, waddling bulldogs and trembling whippets assembled at the start are adorable (although they are), but because this is as near as Suffolk gets to Pamplona’s running of the bulls.
Each race begins with the ceremonial Smelling of the Bone, whereby a solemn teenager carries a lamb shank down the line, giving each salivating dog a sniff. The bone is then attached to a rope which, upon the whistle, is pulled sharply.
The fun is trying to predict which breed in each category will catch the bone. In the small dog race, your money is on the Jack Russell. The expensive hypoallergenic second-homer cross-breeds are too silly. A terrier shares the ruthlessness of a fox. In the medium-size race you’d bet on a collie. Whippets are faster but a bit thick. In the big dog category you look for that rare labrador not allowed to grow obese.
Though if I’m honest the best part is the chaos: a false start when a dog overwhelms his child-owner and lunges for the bone; or when a mismatched pair start humping in the arena. Or, as this year, when there’s a fight. The dog race is basically a blood sport and it’s absolutely thrilling. As a friend remarked: “They’ll ban it soon.”
Ddog has the speed of the Collie and the greed of the Labrador, but would be such a nervous ninny there's no way we could enter her!