Singapore

At long last, here is the next instalment.


After Hector fell out with Mr Chips, and it became apparent that I would have to take Hector to Singapore with us, there was a fairly hectic period while I found out what was required. As far as I can remember, he did not need any injections that we had not already given him. What was required was a cage for him to travel in. Mr Petty gave me a tranquiliser to keep him happy.

The last day or so was spent with C's Godmother near Heathrow and while there we found the cage. She took us (me and A aged 6, C aged 5 and Hector) to the airport. No 1 was already out there getting a home organised. We boarded and had seats near the back on the left hand side. Funny the things we remember! Hector was in the cabin with us and at the back, where our coats were hung up. (Please remember that we are talking about 1969). Off we went to our first stop at Zurich.
By the time we got there, Hector had bitten his way through the wire on the front of the cage!. Everyone got off while we refuelled, Not the P.....'s. Because Hector was now free, we had to stay on board. The only wire they could find was fuse wire. Quite useless. We darned it across the hole but we knew it was not going to keep Hector in. He had had a tranquiliser before take-off. It had had the opposite effect. (Later A proved that it could happen to a boy too!!) Anyway, the plane took off and went to, I think, Bahrain. There were soldiers in all directions with guns. No one was used to that in those days. We could not go to the transit lounge because of Hector.
On to Delhi, so far as I can remember. Same thing - couldn't land. It was pretty horrific. I had C aged 5 in the window seat, then me then Hector in his cage. I had to keep calming him whenever he tried to bite his way out, so I couldn't sleep. By the grace of God, there were 2 off duty air hostesses, on their way to Singapore to bring a school party home, sitting behind us. They took A. Dealt with his almost hyperactivity and air sickness!! So I only had to cope with C and the dog!
After Delhi we went on to Jakarta, I think. There was a change of crew and a lovely pilate came aft asking who was the lady with the dog. Having identified me, he said he would look around when we got there and make sure there were no dogs about and if all clear, we could go for a walk! He was the man who was going to have to sign a piece of paper that said that Hector had not met a dog on his way from London to Singapore (rabies) Once there, he gave us the all clear and we went down into the great heat and walked on the spiky grass. Hector said it was not his idea of a place for peeing and so didn't! I bet if he had got lose in the cabin he would have! Still, it was the first time we had been able to stretch our legs. Hadn't since leaving the UK! That was the last stop.
The next stop was Singapore. 23 hours and only the one exit. No 1 was there to meet us. Our entry was simple but it took at least an hour to get Hector passed through. No 1 had decided that we should stay in a hotel as we arrived fairly late. The Singaporeans do not much love dogs. We managed to secrete him somehow until we were in the lift! He then had to spend the night in our room, still not peeing. I really cannot remember if he peed while walking round about the airport! The next day, we smuggled him out and went to our house in the Naval Base.
There another story awaits.

"Short-term" dogs - and Hector

While we had Charlie, we also had a black labrador who was a relation (despite the colour) but not in any way the same. Black Rocket was a rangy bitch. A nice enough companion but before she was very old, she developed a problem with all her mucous membranes. This involved drooling, eyes running etc. As we had a small baby, and Petty could not find a cure, we ultimately had to make the decision that she would be happier in Valhalla. For some time, I painted all over inside her mouth at least twice a day with something given to us by Petty. Not a nice job but would have been worth it if it had worked.

Rocket was followed by another yellow lab, Jasper. He was a beautiful animal but he never got control of his gut, so there were piles every morning - fortunately on a stone floor. As time went by it developed into a diarrhoea form of movement. In the end, he went to stay with Petty in the hope that he could do something about it. Finally his back end turned massively inside out, so he went to join Rocket. This all caused us much distress and made us feel that although we loved labradors, we should perhaps not try with one again. However, we were not going to give up the idea of a dog altogether.

One day, my sil rang to say that a friend had a Border Terrier with a litter of mongrels. The mum was a lovely well behaved dog and they were looking for homes for the puppies. Right, said I, I will be over. Of course I fell for the babies - they are always so adorable, aren't they?
Before long they were old enough to go to their homes so one morning I collected a small person who could almost stand on my hand. We spent the day getting to know each other and then we heard the car and No1 was home. We went out of the front door to greet him and the small object started as he meant to go on - he growled! and growled! and growled!!!!! I seem to remember that No 1 was able to laugh - he really was a ridiculous sight being so small. We called him Hector.

I think that was about 1967. Little did we know what a mixed 17 years we were letting ourselves in for!

Towards the end of 1968 No 1 was offered a job in Singapore. The available work in the North East, in ship owning/repairing was not exciting and he really needed to do something drastic. To me it really was drastic - we had 2 children and a dog. I had only lived for a short time outside the NE of England. All my friends and interests were here. My Father was getting old and my Mother had multiple sclerosis. On the other hand, I had 3 younger brothers, our son was 6 1/2 and daughter was 5 - ages that would move easily. What about Hector? My parents had 2 Sausage Dogs, (sorry, Dachshunds), Fish and Chips. Fish was a black and tan bitch but Chips was a large red dog. Hector knew them well. The parents said they would take Hector which was a golden offer and I am sure was made with some misgiving. No 1 went off to prepare the ground and find accommodation and so on. I was left to sort out our belongings and complete the sale of the Old House. Having completed all that, I moved, with the children, to my parents and Hector of course. It was not long after we got there that Chips and Hector had a whale of a fight. Thank goodness it happened before I left because it was clear that they could not keep Hector if they were going to fight - they were too old for that. So the decision was forced on us to take Hector with us.

The flight and the 4 years in Singapore were not without incident but they are for the next post.

Charlie

While we were still at Withy Brook, A was born. As Charlie was a child substitute up to that moment, it could have been difficult. However, he was a dog in a million. He certainly was not adversely affected by the advent of a baby into his life. The fact that said baby was a 'screamer' affected his missus a great deal more than him!.

Life continued in a rather different way. A baby who had to be 'walked'. Charlie did not know the meaning of the word - so this was a benefit though the walks were constricted to the only road, because of the pram! An extra person entered his life - the Mother's help. I dare say she slipped him food which, being a labrador, was of immense importance. When the baby was about 10 months old, missus became pregnant again and after a while, it was found that her blood pressure was up. As far as I can remember, it was at about 6 months. After that life became very boring for a labrador. Missus was in bed. The mother's help looked after the baby during the day. Master came home about 6.0 but the baby had to be put to bed. The dog took a very minor part. Looking back, as I write this, all I remember was the terrible frustration of being bed-bound and the difficulties of a hyper-active todler. No memories of how we looked after a yellow labrador. It is part of his glory that he did not cause us any problems.

It was probably during this time that 2 things happened. The first was when I was up. An Indian carpet seller came to try to sell us carpets (!) He got no nearer than the front gate. A yellow lion stood between him and me. A huge ruff and a deep voice were enough to persuade him that I did not need one of his carpets.

The other thing was when, about 1.00 am, a knocking came at the door. We were the last house on the way up to the moor. No 1 went down to see what it was all about. He was quite frightened and took Charlie with him. Again the huge ruff and the deep bark were enough to reduce the man whose car had failed up the hill to a heap of shaking jelly!!

In the end the baby who had caused Missus to be in bed for 2 1/2 months arrived. 6 months later the family moved to Hurworth and The Old House. This was a large house in the village. It had a large garden, but there were no longer fields around. Despite this, Charlie seemed to keep well. He was, by now getting on in age. He developed a kidney problem. The vet that we used was in Darlington. Those of you who know the Herriot stories may remember that Herriot used a vet in Darlington for small dog problems. This was Petty who was a brilliant vet and looked after Charlie very well. By the time he died, I reckoned I had bought at least one wheel of Petty's Bentley!! Charlie was not allowed any meat for the last part of his life and lived on a special kidney diet, which came in a can. The butcher and his delivery boy knew about the ban on meat. Charlie had always had an absolute passion for kidneys. No 1 went to Harrow School and had fond memories of Sunday breakfast - bacon, egg, mushroom, and kidney. As a result, we often bought kidneys from the butcher. One awful day, the 'boy' gave Charlie kidney, or maybe put the kidneys where he could get at them. The result was fatal. During that night he started to leak almost continuously and could not stand up by morning. It was clear what was to happen. I took him to see Petty, knowing what he would say. I could not stay with him - isn't that awful? But I just couldn't. I went back to the car and just wept and wept. After a short time Petty came out and said that Charlie had gone peacefully to Dogs Valhalla and what could he do for me? He offered a cigarette which I took, but all he could really do was leave me till I felt I could drive home. I got there in the end! (I have tears in my eyes as I write this)

More will come in the next addition. It would not be right to go on, after Charlie's going.

Niggy and on -

As I told you, I was at boarding school when I got Niggy. After Vl form, I had a year at home (now known as a gap year). Most of it I actually spent at home. I did a correspondence course in Physics, which I hadn't done at school' and typing and shorthand. The latter was very difficult by post because they simply did not understand the long a that I used!! Anyway, that has nothing to do with Niggy. I disappeared for a fortnight to France to practice French but otherwise spent my time with Niggy and Jenny, my pony if I was not in my room doing one of the courses, writing to friends, going to the pictures with a friend, learning to drive and passing my test at the second try or trying my hand at the garden because that was what I had decided to do. Oh, and no doubt falling out with the parents - that's what one does at that age isn't it?

The next 3 years, for Niggy, were the same as when I was at school. Mine in the holidays, the parents in the term when I was at College learning Horticulture. After I left College, she remained at home because I got a job in South Harrow, working in a Nursery. About the end of this time, I met No 1 so came home and saw more of my dog, though I was working for the parents of a friend. No 1 and I were married in August 1955 and went to live in Cullercoats as he was completing his Chief Engineers qualifacations in Gateshead. As we looked out to sea and all I had to do was walk on the beach, it was very sad that we were not allowed a dog in the flat. Consequently, we were only with Niggy at the weekends. We had already bought a house on the North side of the Cleveland Hills, and spent our weekends working on it, usually staying at my home, so Niggy came with us. It was at this time that we became very friendly with someone who was to be very important to us for the next 15 years. He had a breed of yellow labradors, and usually had several of them about. It must have been about then that his main bitch gave birth to a litter which included Charloch (Charly), Cassiopea (Cassy) and Cobnut (Cobby).
We moved into Withy Brook in the spring of 1956. Niggy moved in with us and we were soon joined by Charly. Cassy went to a family who soon returned her as they couldn't cope. They had used a rolled up newspaper to control her, so that she went beserk if she saw a paper. Our friend soon got her sorted out and she was a happy member of the family group. Cobby was a really lovely dog - darkish yellow coat and huge. His gorgeous labrador head was vast in proportion and he was loving and giving. Very sadly he met an untimely end by jumping out of friends van and straight under a car. He was always headstrong. I have a lovely bit of old movie of him jumping a fence - beautiful.
Charly was one of those dogs that you never forget. He was a child substitute for the first 6 years of his life but still loved A when he finally arrived. He gave Niggy abit of hassle as a puppy, but she didn't really mind. She liked Withy Brook and pottered about happily until she became old and ill. She ended her life at my old home which I think she had always thought of as her home. Back to Charly. He was very naughty and very happy to go hunting on his own. I had to watch him the whole time. Despite that, he would escape quite often. I remember once, he had been missing for a few hours. The gamekeeper, who lived just down the lane and was a fairly nasty character, appeared at the door, with Charly's collar in his hand. He drew it out as long as he could before he told me that he had managed to get hold of the collar, but Charly had slipped it! I was quite certain that he had shot him! [Said gamekeeper, shortly after we left, was shot by his wife who then shot herself!]
So, Niggy has gone. Charly is growing mature and we are still at Withy Brook. There is still quite a lot more to tell about him and it is bed time, so that's it for now.

Dogs I have known.

When I was born, my mother's terrier ran all round the village to tell everyone that there had been an Event at the Hall! I know Ma loved that terrier but I do not know much about him and certainly do not remember him.

The first dogs that I remember are Joey and Peggy. Joey was a smooth-haired mongrel, about the same height as a small springer, belonging to my Mother. She was black and tan and I loved her dearly. She was soooo long-suffering. I was fixated on driving her and used to try to make her go in 'harness' but it really was not part of her ethos! Peggy was a white and tan springer spaniel. She belonged to my Father and was a 'shooting' dog. She always accompanied my Father when he went shooting, but how good she was, I have no idea. She lived inside and was more of a pet really, I am sure! I did not have much to do with her - she was very much Pa's.
I remember a terrible event - to me, a small child. Peggy had gone missing as happened often with Joey too. On this occasion, Joey had come home but not Peggy. In the middle of the night, the person sleeping in the room at the West end of the house, heard a sort of whining and went down to investigate. Who-ever it was found Peggy outside the gate, in a very weak state. When, next day, she was taken to the vet, she had a very large number of pellets removed from all over. After careful nursing, she recovered, and went on to enjoy many more shooting days!

In the course of time, both dogs departed this life. I do not remember either going or when. Maybe, by then I was at boarding school - I really don't remember.

Then there was Poppy-poo-pa. Where did she come from? I've no idea. She was a brown and white, smooth-haired terrier of some indefinable sort. She was memorable because she just disappeared. She had a habit (as all dogs at home did) of going hunting. That day she was reported as having been seen, about tea-time, in a tired and grubby state, but was never seen again. We thought that she had probably gone down to the river and in her exhausted state had managed to be drowned but it was all speculation.

There may have been others that I have forgotten but we come now into the time when dogs belonged to me!

A black bitch of undefineable parentage appeared in the village and was taken in by the school teacher. She was very pregnant and ultimately my parents took her in. She gave birth to 3 puppies, Gog, Magog and Niggy. Gog and Magog were large yellow, dog puppies. Niggy was a black bitch. After a great deal of wearing down of an imovable mountain, I won and was given the black bitch. The other two were found homes in the village. I expect that I named her Niggy because she was black! As I was at boarding school, it was accepted by all, including Niggy! that she was mine in the holidays and theirs in the term-time. As a very lonely child, Niggy took a very important place in my life, along with my pony, which was of much more use as someone to talk to than to ride! (A future blog perhaps) Niggy's mother was called Gippy and there was only one thought in their minds. That was to escape and to have a jolly good hunt. It should be remembered that in those pre myxy days, there were oodles of rabbits and dogs knew that they only existed to be hunted!! The trouble was that we were in an area with a lot of sheep, so dogs out on their own were in danger of being shot (which was what had happened to Peggy) As a result, one of the dogs was on a lead at all times. They were swopped over regularly. Every now and then the 'on lead' dog would manage to get off and away they went. Even if you were there, you could shout your heart out and they wouldn't take a blind bit of notice!! However, despite a great deal of heartache caused to all, they both survived. I do not remember how Gippy met her end, but I know that Niggy lived to a good age and her story follows next. [I hope to add scanned photos later]

Terracotta Army and China

Last October, G and I set out for Beijing. As the times of the tour companies flights did not suit anyone from Northumberland, we arranged our own flight by BA. G's son-in-law got us an upgrade (he is a BA pilot) but when we arrived our luggage was still in Heathrow!!. It arrived in our hotel next day.

We did all the usual things in Beijing, including visiting Tieneman Square and the Forbidden City and the Great Wall

Then we went on to Chian, where the army is. It was as amazing as they tell you, to go into the huge aircraft hanger-like place and to see all those soldiers.

This chariot was frequently seen on the television the last few days, in bits and programs about the army. I was amazed at how well it came out. Yes, I did take it myself! Here is a picture of the soldiers. And here is a picture of Belsay Bear from Belsay First School having a look!

We went on to see lots more of China including the 3 Gorges Dam, and having a cruise down the Yangste.

We ended in Hong Kong, which I had last visited in 1970, when I spent Christmas there, while living in Singapore.

While we were in HongKong, the Daughter and son-in-law arrived and the s-i-l flew us home. As a result, Belsay Bear was invited onto the flight deck and had his photo took!

G's family week in France

On Saturday, we set off in good time (for us!) for Camp de Levat, between Tournon d'Agenais and Cahors. We went the most direct route, so very little motor way and not much double track, but despite one bad hold-up we made it by 5.0, at the same time as step-son W and his family. Step daughter S and husband arrived about 7.0 by which time we settled in and had sorted bedrooms. W and wife Sa had both children sleeping with them - A (3) was on a mattress on the floor and E (15months) in a cot. She wakes and screams in the night, so the original idea of the 'dormitary' in the roof was not viable - too many steps and carrying etc.

We had a lovely room under a sloping roof, with a bathroom (and the only proper shower) next door, leading to the outside world. It is a lean-to with a very thick wall between it and the screaming E.!!!

That night was mine for feeding the herd, so we had stopped at a supermarket, known from the past, in Condom to buy essentials and food. We had an excellent meal outside of cold things and salad and cheese and felt very French! Later the pattern was set for the week - they all went for a walk in the gloaming (and full moon) while I baby-sat. A valuable time in which I showered and recharged before a last drink and chat, when they came back.

Sunday - W et al went off to a distant market (he's addicted!) in the morning and S & D went to look at Tournon in the afternoon and the rest of the time everyone did their own thing. W et al used the pool. S & D claimed to get a rash from pool water - what a waste! It was a lovely sunny day and I used the pool to cool off (which it did too effectively, being rather on the cool side!) Variously we read, walked, dozed and generally enjoyed ourselves. W was in charge of dinner, so he bar-b-qed and we ate and drank very well. That is the bbq table at the far end of the lawn. Our room was under the sloping roof.

Monday - S&D went to Toulouse Airport to get Sd A and her daughter C. They got back in time for lunch. A & C shared the 'dormitary' with the mice! Meantime, W et al and I went to sus out a restaurant for the all-important birthday dinner. Fell in love with the place and could only hope the food would be OK! As it was showery and cool all day, we lit the fire in the sitting room. The girls did beading and I read and used my camera. E took her first 2 steps with me and C was a witness, otherwise I guess they wouldn't have believed me!! Later it improved and we got outside and some swam. S&D fed us on salmon and raspberry tart outside, so all was more as it should be!

Tuesday and the Birthday - It was wet in the morning but undaunted we set off for Cahors, arriving in a downpour. Luckily it was a last throw from the weather, the sun came out and it was lovely but not too hot. Some shopped, some explored and we met up at a mini roundabout, where we found the girls with the babies happily occupied!

We had an excellent light lunch on the way to the famous bridge and then went on to look at it. It is very interesting and we spent some time walking over it and taking pictures. After we found a nice lady who took pics with all our cameras of all of us which was very kind. They were taken with the above bridge as the background and mine is excellent - everyone smiling and paying attention!! After that we set off for home, showers and changing. The baby sitter turned up on time while we were drinking to G. Off we went in 2 cars to the restaurant whose name I have failed to retain. It is a chateau and hotel with a few rooms. The owner and chef has been there for 30 years and his Dutch wife for about 20. The food was very good, but we had to eat inside because of the weather. No hardship really and the other guests all seemed nice. The hotel knew it was a celebration but as Msr said 'Incognito' when I had said that there were to be no speeches etc. The 2 taxis turned up on time and off we went home after a lovely day.

Wednesday - The first thing to do was to combine the croissants run with retrieving the cars, so people got up remarkably early. We also had to pay the bill because the card telephone connection would not work the night before!! They seemed quite happy, we gave them what cash we had and they had the 2 cars, even without the keys!!

The rest of the day was spent in the pool, reading and walking. W et al went to a market again. He was the feeder that night, and we had prawns, mayo and ratatouile followed by a delicious peach dish with mint and some form of alcohol. There was wall to wall sunshine.

Thursday - W took A & C to the airport, getting back in time of lunch. The day was spent by or in the pool. After tea G and I went of to have a look at Tournon and liked the look of a restaurant, so decided to take them there for my cooking night next day. At home, S&D were busy cooking and we had roast chicken with so many herbs that it was mind-blowing. Why is it that herbs taste so much better and stronger in France. All that sun I suppose. There was certainly plenty that day and it was very hot.

Friday - G & I went with S&D to Penne d'Agenais, a pretty medieval village. It was very hot so we did not explore too much, but I went again the next week. Before going up there we went over the bridge to the supermarket. The rest of the day was the usual, lunch by the pool, swimming, reading etc. W et al went of to P d'A to have a look too. That night the baby sitters came again and we went back to Tournon. We found a market in progress, which meant there was a great atmosphere. Once ordered, we went and had a look, but there wasn't much. The only blot was the little rather aged group who kept singing the same 4 or 5 songs until about 9.30! The food was very good.

Saturday - They all got themselves packed up and were away by 11.30 leaving us time to sort things out abit and prepare for the invasion later!

It was a lovely week. The only thing was that A, who had been talking about nothing but seeing Granny Rho for weeks, wouldn't speak to me at all! I just let her be, but was always there for her, helping her get her confidence in the pool and such-like. Children are funny, aren't they? E on the other hand, who doesn't go to other people willingly, came straight to me and on occasion I was the only one to be able to stop her screaming!! I don't think A was jealous - tried very hard to give both attention, but it could be the reason. We'll see what happens if I see her next weekend when I am with my A in the same village.

So that's it for now. The next week was enormous fun too but quite different.