Mad Dogs & Englishman

The country fair, village fetes and charity dog shows, are they quintessentially british?  

When I arrived at the Rye Dog Show early on Saturday morning, I thought to myself, "how very British". The rings were all laid out for the dogs to parade around, the stall holders were setting up, as were we, in the Pimms tent they were cutting up cucumber and mint leaves, the band were tuning up on the band stand and the vintage cars were arriving and parking in neat lines waiting to be judged.

Oh How I Love It!! 

So just a few images of my day so you too can share in this lovely British tradition.

The Cars made me think what a lovely time it was when the police only had Morris Minors.

Remember when you could buy this stuff for 35p/gallon?

And Best in Show went to this beautiful lurcher!

Very well deserved I say.

but Nancy won three rosettes!

I left feeling so proud of the country I live in, loving it's quirky traditions, and just a little bit sunburnt.

Essential Kit for Dog Walking

It occurs to me everyday at around 7.30 in the morning when I take the somewhat sleepy whippets out, how did I ever manage before I set up Redhound? No Hold it All bag, no stylish rain coat, and no decent coats for the whippets! So I thought I would share with you the items I believe are essential kit for dog walking. Especially in this country where it seems to rain - a lot.

Firstly you need a waterproof coat. Preferably one that is cut to flatter your body, not a straight up and down thing that you got at Millets! I know that there is a shortage of stylish raincoats out there, and this is why I designed a small range of four coats to flatter all shapes and heights. 20 years of making wedding dresses taught me loads about great style and how to make the best of what you have. So, no excuse to walk the dog looking drab!

So that's the coat. Now you need a bag. 

We make this lovely bag in two sizes, Treat Bag, which is great if you only have one dog. And Hold it All, which is bigger and great for multiple dogs, and they now come with a pocket for your mobile. Keep the treats, your keys, the ball, the leads......All in the Hold it All

If it's raining and you have hounds like me who hate the rain, then you will also need one of these.

We do these in various breed specific sizes, but I have blogged about that before, so I won't go on about it again.

There you have it, all that you need for walking out in style! 

Oh and one last thing, a really decent pair of Wellies! Don't scrimp on these, I have learnt that you really do get what you pay for, and my current ones are Aigles, and I love them. 

Wealden Whippet Walk

Some of you know this, but for those who may be reading my little blog for the first time, we live in the Garden of England, otherwise known as Kent! We moved from Surrey, via Devon, to be nearer to our families late last year. When you have dogs, you get out and about and discover the countryside in a way that is probably only shared with Ramblers. So today I thought I would take you on an evenings walk on the beautiful Weald of Kent which is on our doorstep.

Having parked the car, mmm I hear you say, on the door step, well, not literally, we do have to drive to this walk! we pass the beautiful manor house in the village which could not look more 'Kent', and every time we pass this green door, I so want to go through it, as I am sure that beauty lies on the other side.

Then we are onto the footpath, and the whippets are released from their leads, freedom is a wonderful thing to a whippet, they can then chase the many rabbits that are basking in the evening sun, just beside the stinging nettles, a very good place for them, whippets won't venture into those pesky plants even for the love of bunny!

The open fields have just been harvested and the smell of the drying grass is so wonderfully evocative of the english summer, I take deep breaths. The whippets are now running ahead, looking around and sniffing the ground at the same time.

I won't deny that some chasing of rabbits did take place on this wonderful walk, but you will be pleased to know, all rabbits out ran the whippets, they are getting on in dog years.

We pass orchards, and fields, and woodland. The whippets are so happy, and so are we. The evening sun is  still shining and making us feel glad to be alive.

Some time later we find ourselves back where we started, Frankie and Bruno somewhat tired, and us ready for our evening tipple of sloe gin, or did we fancy a sherry?

All happy in our household.