The House Husband

The poodles woke me at 6am, damn them! This meant that by 4pm I was ready for bed. I was also not feeling too well so that may have had something to do with it.

We had a day at home today; a bit of gardening, some study, some sleep. The weather wasn’t too hot and the clouds kept hiding the sun. I planted the remaining snapdragons then started digging the hole for the green cone while Mirinda pottered about between reading articles for her degree.

At about 3 we popped up to the garden centre for some sweet peas. WE FOUND SOME! Yay, finally we can see them growing up the obelisks. We also bought a few other plants and a couple of strange tools that Mirinda insists we need.

I gradually felt worse as we approached home so I went to bed while Mirinda took the poodles up to Frensham. I was asleep about four minutes before I closed my eyes and put my head on the pillow.

I woke at 6:30 feeling a lot better, though the cough is still driving me mad. Tonight we watched Midsomer Murders, which is always a cack. A bonus in this episode as Cally was in it!

I picked the poodles up from Frensham Kennels today. I caught the bus out to the ponds, walked to the kennels and then we started the long trek home. It took us over 3 hours! After a short wander around, to make sure everything was as it should be, they both crashed and refuse to move while I ate my lunch.

It was a lovely walk. We went along the edge of Frensham Little Pond and then through to Tilford where we stopped for a beer at the Barley Mow. How idealic. Sitting in the beer garden, overlooking fields, poodles treading all over me as I sipped a pint of Old Hookey. The sun was out but every now and then would have clouds scuttering across it, cooling everything down.

We walked along the Moor Park Nature Reserve which was lovely. The path is part of the Greensand Way, which starts in Haslemere and is woodland on one side and open fields full of wildlife on the other.

We stopped and checked out Mother Ludlam’s Cave. Well, as far as you can. There’s a massive great locked iron gate in the front of it. She was, apparently, a witch who lived in the cave and doled out herbs and potions. She was a white witch but, clearly, mad. There are many legends associated with her. Interestingly, the name, Ludlam, could have a number of sources but the most common is that it is of Celtic origin. Either after Ludd, the founder of London, Lud a healing god or Ludwell which means ‘bubbling spring’. Whatever the history, the spring is still there, bubbling out of the cave. The poodles had a big drink from it. Anyway, here’s the cave as it looks now.

Mother Ludlam's Cave, Moor Park

Apparently in earlier, Victorian days, it was a big tourist spot. It had a little picket fence around it and was furnished. Going back to Mother Ludlam, one legend claims she would loan out cooking utensils (don’t ask me why) and one day she lent someone her biggest and bestest brass cauldron. It was never returned and eventually ended up in Frensham church. You can see it there today, though the church people claim it was a bowl used for brewing church ale.

The oddest part of our walk (ignoring the pig that looked dead) was when we reached the Shepherd and Flock roundabout. There are claims that it is the biggest settled roundabout in Europe. It has a big pub and a number of houses on it as well as a heavily wooded area. It’s like a little village. Well, the path I was following went under the road and straight into a little lane of, what looked like worker’s cottages (Victorian and possibly used by the original railway workers) and a Tudor farm house. The lane is quite low so any casual walker would have no idea they had suddenly set foot on a busy roundabout – if they were deaf. As you walk up the lane and the pub hoves into view, the traffic becomes visible and you realise, with horror, there are cars constantly whizzing by.

We finally reached the house and I made myself a late lunch and much needed coffee. I figured the poodles would just stay, flaked out on the floor. Silly me! They had a brief rest with me then ran around like idiots, playing with Day-z’s toys. They have a hell of a lot more energy than me! I stayed collapsed.

An odd day today. First of all I had to take the puppies to Frensham Kennels. It had occurred to me to walk there. It’s only 5.5 miles but the first 2 miles is along busy roads which I wasn’t that keen on. So, instead, I ordered a taxi to take us all to Frensham Little Pond. The taxi driver told me how he’s been given leave to live and work in Australia but is waiting for the dollar to pound exchange rate to improve. His dog died in January but it had lived to 16 and had a lovely life running all over Frensham.

It was lovely today. The sky so blue, the temperature warm. The puppies loved it. It’s the first time I’ve been there alone as Mirinda usually drives. I walked around the pond and up to the bronze age burial mounds. Took some photos then kept walking along the ridge.

Frensham Kennels is by the big pond so I was heading, roughly, in that direction. Halfway down the hill I found a memorial I’d never seen before. It’s sat alone on the hill side, over looking the big pond. It reads:

“Frensham Common was bequeathed to the National Trust by WA Robertson in memory of his brothers Norman Cairns Robertson, Cptn, 2nd Batt, Hampshire Regiment who died 20th June 1917 at Hanover, Germany and of Laurance Grant Robertson, 2nd Lieut, 2nd Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers, who was killed in action in France during the battle of the Somme, in or near Delville Wood on 30th July 1916.”

I didn’t know that. I thought Frensham Ponds was always owned by the Bishop of Winchester. Maybe it was sold off by the crown after the dissolution. Anyway, it’s a striking monument, all lychen covered and stark.

From the memorial, it’s just a short stroll down to the main road, across it and along the rim of the big pond. I arrived at the kennel and the puppies were not happy about being fooled. They enjoyed the walk so much, I don’t think they knew where we were going until it was too late. Day-z was happy enough to go but Carmen kept looking at me as if to say “Don’t leave me here. Please?”

Too bad, Carmy, I said, and left. I had decided to get a bus back so I walked back to the middle of the road between the ponds and waited. And waited. And waited. Eventually a bus appeared and I made my way back into Farnham.

I forgot to mention that the other day I was in Starbucks and one of the Baristas knew my name. I don’t know how. She said, as she started to prepare my usual “Are you drinking in today, Gary?” I just said yes, automatically. A little later it struck me that she knew my name. Freaky.

And finally back to a very quiet house. It’s odd when the puppies aren’t here. I keep expecting them to bark or jump on me or lick me and it never happens. I miss them. Though I did get to have all the roast beef on my rolls for lunch rather than sharing with them.

After lunch, I mowed the lawn…again. Damned thing. Just keeps growing. It’s always that first mow. Once you start…

I had an email from mum this morning asking if I could strip the sound off a video she’d sent me of dad (and others) singing and burn it onto a CD. It took me most of the afternoon and evening but I managed it. I amaze myself sometimes.

I haven’t heard from my dear wife today so I have to assume she’s having too good a time without me. I’ll see her tomorrow and give her a piece of my mind!

John Terry, allegedly, had an affair with the ex-girlfriend of Wayne Bridge, his Chelsea & England team mate. It made the front page of all the national UK papers today. And, apparently, having an extra-marital affair will hamper your ability to play football for your country. Also, there are things called super injunctions. So, if you want to keep things out of the media, you get an injunction. If you want to keep that injunction out of the media you get a super injunction. This means, you not only can’t talk about something but you can’t talk about the thing that has stopped you talking about it either.

I heard an interview on Football Focus. Three ex-footballers were asked about John Terry’s future as English captain since his affair has come to light. All three, very grave and concerned, were convinced that Capello (the England manager), known for being strict and moral, would strip him of his captain’s armband and demote him to…well, not being captain, I guess. Of course, all three spoke of it all in just emotive terms.

And then, following them, came the sports writer from the Financial Times. I much prefer his level-headed approach. Basically, he said, these are professionals. They are paid to play football and to win. When they are on the pitch, that’s what they do. They have to in order to justify their wages. Capello, too, is paid a lot of money to get England to, and maybe win, the World Cup this year. It is up to him to gauge how the team will be affected by the news story but really, Capello would have to think hard about removing one of the best players in the team.

And then Chelsea went to Burnley this afternoon and Terry showed his worth on the pitch. He scored the goal that won Chelsea the game.

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Anyway, today the sun was glorious hot, though the wind was frigidly cold. The two evened out somewhat to make a lovely day, full of blue skies. It seemed the perfect day to go to Frensham for a walk across the sandy hills and through the spiky gorse.

All was lovely and peaceful (I didn’t let the noisy trail bike riders upset me to much). The gorse that lines the path that follows the bronze age barrows on the top of the ridge has been bent over by the snow and is now growing across the path. This can be quite painful in shorts as gorse is covered in prickles, but when the temperature is just above freezing, this is not really an issue. We just brushed on through.

We passed a chap who said that ‘they’ had made a big path through the heather because of the snow. I couldn’t work out what he meant so I just nodded and smiled and said something inane so he’d think I had. He walked off smiling so I can only guess it worked. I’m pretty sure he didn’t tell me who ‘they’ were.

We have two options when we reach the top of the ridge. We can go straight back down and then around the pond or we can continue on, through the conifer woods then sweep down behind the pond. We hadn’t been round the back for ages so I voted for this. I was soon regretting it as we wound up sloshing through semi-frozen puddles of mud, half of which adhered to the puppies. Still, it was a lovely and long walk.

Mirinda & Puppies at Frensham

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Tonight we went to the Yvonne Arnaud theatre and saw the new Alan Ayckbourn play, My Wonderful Day. It’s been a while since we went to the theatre together (I went to the opera in November and Mirinda went to the ballet a couple of weeks ago) and we always try to get to Ayckbourn’s latest as it always tours to Guildford.

Well, as usual, it was excellent. Maybe I’ll give it a proper write up tomorrow. It’s late and I’m half watching Match of the Day.