by Maggie Fogarty | Jun 21, 2014 | Uncategorized |
There’s a first time for everything and over the past few days my ‘first’ has been a fabulous rail journey from Penzance station all the way up to the Midlands. For those who already know the journey, much of the scenery is amazing and hats off to the fantastic ‘orange army’ who rebuilt the track damaged by this year’s awful winter storms.
If anyone deserves an award for a job well done, it’s the teams who worked around the clock to get this West Country rail route back up and running in record time. In my job as a TV producer and journalist, I’ve travelled all over the UK and the rail journey from Penzance to Somerset has to be one of the best – helped by the glorious June sunshine.
Moving on from trains to training. Our new cockapoo pup, Bonnie, is settling in well and as the song goes, ‘getting better all the time’. She’s even been sleeping through the night in her own crate, aka diva’s nest. Her recent ‘first’ has been proper walkies by the beach and she loved every minute. Bonnie is still attracting a sizeable passing fan base and if she could sign her autograph, I’m sure she’d oblige! She wasn’t so fond of another first experience though – a shampoo and rinse in the late afternoon sunshine. Madam sulked for an hour afterwards and decided to punish us by chewing her new grooming brush. Still she’s an adorable little thing and all is forgiven – on both sides I think. Now over to Bonnie for her latest take on things…
‘Hi there,
Well it’s been a week of highs and lows for yours truly. One of my owners decided to hot foot it ‘up country’ for a few days without taking me – the cheek of it. The other owner hung around to answer my every whim, but it wasn’t the same without two rents to play and mess around with. Still, I got to meet Maggie off the train and met some great rail travellers along the way. More pats and strokes for me!
I loved my first walk by the beach and stopping to say ‘hi’ to passing dogs and their folks. I’m not being big headed but this gal is getting some serious attention! Perhaps I need an agent? We’ll skip over the shampoo and rinse fiasco – goodness knows why my owners think I need a wash. Aren’t I a bonny enough Bonnie without it? You decide. Woof and out….
by Maggie Fogarty | Jun 13, 2014 | Uncategorized |
One of the great things about having a seaside home is showing off the lifestyle to folk from ‘up country’. And what better way to celebrate my partner Paul’s birthday, than lunch with some visiting friends at the newly renovated Godolphin Arms in Marazion. It was great to see them taking in the views across the bay and St Michael’s Mount with the awe-struck eyes of holiday makers. There is nothing like the visitor wow factor to make you look at things afresh as well. Sometimes you can become blasé about beauty and it’s good to be reminded from time to time.
‘Do you feel like you are always on holiday?’ one of our friends asked. Truth is, no. But boy do I feel lucky living down here. After spending a year in the beautiful sub tropical island of Bermuda, we weren’t looking forward to coming back to the Blighty weather. Yet Cornwall on a sunny June day with good company, food and weather – well Bermuda it ain’t, but it’s not too far behind. The grim winter we’ve just had seems a long way off now.
As for our new cockapoo pup Bonnie, she’s coming on leaps and bounds. After taking her for a first ‘walk’ – she has just had her second injection so the real walkies will have to wait for a couple of weeks – I now realise what a social magnet a new pup is. We must have spoken to at least 8 strangers who couldn’t resist stopping and cooing over Bonnie. So what should have been a brief stroll to the beach and a sniff of sea air, stretched to almost an hour. Still, madam has taken it well and seems to be basking in all the attention. Meantime, we’ve met some fascinating people while bonding over the pooch. One couple, (who hadn’t clapped eyes on each other since 1979), have just been reunited after making contact through Facebook. I’d love to have been a fly on the wall during that first conversation!
Over to Bonnie now for her latest take on things:
‘Hi folks – well I’m settling into the new pad now and sorting those pesky owners out. I think I’ve got them wrapped around my little paws and I’m enjoying the play times and regular tasty scran. I’m liking the walks as well but I’m getting fed up of being carried everywhere. This girl needs to get down and dirty, so I’ll be working on that pretty damned soon. Of course I need to be a sweet Bonnie occasionally just to give them a bit of ‘positive reinforcement’ – I’ve worked out that’s the best way to train up those rents. Loving the trips down to the beach and can’t wait to roll in that sand. Bring it on! Loving the new red harness too and it suits my colouring don’t you think? I could mention my very first shampoo and rinse but I’ll leave that one for next time. Woof and out…
by Maggie Fogarty | Jun 5, 2014 | Uncategorized |
So finally – Bonnie the Cornish cockapoo pup has landed at our home. She’s adorable, impish and totally demanding. Exactly what to expect from a new pup and we’re now tackling the hard stuff. A double whammy of toilet and cage training.
The ‘cage’ bit – where we leave Bonnie to sleep overnight in her cage and encourage her to spend some time in there during the day as well – is going OK so far. She had a good old protest whine and bark on the first night but we resisted the urge to go and pet her. Hard I know but necessary if you don’t want to share your bed forever with a pooch. Just in case you think her cage, (aka nest), resembles a prison cell, then rest assured. There’s a fluffy bed, fleecy blanket, hot water bottle and various toys. A place fit for a doggy diva!
Early toilet training is much more hit and miss, literally. Madam still has to get the idea that puppy pads are there to be used and that a ‘poop’ is supposed to arrive not too long after food. But hey – as I write it’s only day 3 and as the saying goes in Cornwall, she’ll pick things up ‘dreckly’. See Bonnie’s own take on things below….
Meantime, in the world outside Bonnieville, I’ve just been reading through the fantastic programme for the Penzance Literary Festival, (Litfest), which runs from July 16-20. With the BBC drama Poldark being filmed in Cornwall, writer Debbie Horsfield and executive producer Karen Trussell, are just two of the exciting line up of speakers. More about Lifest in future posts.
Since moving to Cornwall in 2012, I’ve been bowled over by the sheer number of talented artists living here. One of these is the fabulous Marazion based potter, Penn Boylan, and we’ve just acquired one of her latest Agapanthus range. Simply gorgeous eh?
So over to Bonnie for the final say….
‘Hey folks – I’ve arrived in my new home with a bang. And don’t those new owners know it? If they think that I’m going to kip straight through the night in my den or poop to order, they can go hang. This Bonnie is her own girl and I’m only prepared to be good some of the time, strictly on my terms – if you get my meaning? What are owners for anyway, other than to play with and get some decent scran? I’ll have the pair of them trained up in no time, so watch this space. Woof and out… 
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