News Archives: July 2009

Friday, July 24, 2009

Pound for a Hound

Before Alfie came to us, he was cared for by Greyhound Gap. They sorted his medical problems, and provided him with a foster home which spent three months nursing him back to strength. Now, Greyhound Gap are trying to raise enough money to purchase their own kennels, and are asking for a pound for a hound. Claire's put together this little webpage to help advertise their campaign, starring our Zak.

Please, help them out if you can.

Posted by graham @ 09:06 pm

Friday, July 3, 2009

Bloody Good Match, Though

I wonder if I'm the only person in the country who's happy that Andy Roddick beat Andy Murray earlier today. Nothing against Murray - he's a fine player, seems a nice chap, and his grandparents are old friends of my parents. But I've always liked Roddick. He plays exciting tennis, seems a nice guy, and (unlike Murray) hasn't got many chances at Wimbledon left. I'll be slightly surprised if Murray doesn't win Wimbledon at some point; Roddick wins it this year or he probably won't.

I don't see either of them beating Federer, but that's another matter entirely. If Murray had made the final, I suspect I'd have supported him. Again, nothing against Rog, but he has won it a time or two already...

The counter-argument - that I should support Murray because he's British - makes no sense to me. Almost seems a little creepy. The lines between patriotism, nationalism, and xenophobia have always seemed a bit too blurred for my liking, and being an Englishman living in Scotland probably doesn't help. Some sports are naturally group events, and accidents of geography seem a reasonably legitimate way of defining teams. But tennis is an individual sport. Surely personality, playing style, or being the plucky underdog should have some bearing on who to support? Turning it into a national flag-waving event just seems wrong somehow.

Posted by graham @ 09:20 pm

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Short and Sweet

It's been ages since I posted anything. Not for lack of things to write about, but due to lack of time given dog shows, Tara's birthday(*), gardening, bbqs, mother-in-law's birthday, Zak getting injured (and recovering), Tara being ill (and recovering), collar making, friends visiting, visiting friends, and the unending war to delay the inevitable victory of entropy(**).

I was therefore surprised to find I have nothing booked for this weekend. Did I forget to note down an engagement? Or is there really nothing happening? In which case, would anyone like to meet up for an impromptu pub night/party/whatever on Saturday?

(*) - Tara's now four, and in a fortnight Cisco will be fourteen. Where does the time go?

(**) - If anyone knows of a decent roofer who can repair/add flashing where needed to stop leaks, I'd be very grateful for an introduction...

Posted by graham @ 08:28 pm

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