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SAM, our oldest dog died in February at nearly 13. He suddenly gave up as if things had got too much for him. He had been plodding along for some time, very stiff some days, and other days like a spring chicken. We think Fergus encouraged him (or rather gave him no choice) to be more active, when Fergus realised who was the better bet for a playmate, so spent all his energy chasing, nipping and generally harassing Sam, who retaliated by nipping him back, and when he had finally had enough, by grabbing Fergus by the throat and dragging him around the back garden, accompanied by squeals of frustration from a puppy who had just been enjoying doing far worse things. Sam was very with-it until the last few days, remembering the guests who would give him biscuits etc and ensuring he didn't miss out. He refused to be left behind when Barry took the others for a walk, so they had to do a short one, followed by a longer one after Sam had admitted he needed a rest.
We all miss Sam, and it can be hard to explain sometimes, when guests ask where he is. Sam knew all the guests because he was here before we started B&B, and he always made it his business to greet everyone, and carry their bags if he could get hold of them when they weren't looking.
PURDEY, Phillipa and Chris's flatcoat bitch who was Ross's mother, also died of old age, in March. Jaffa, their spaniel misses her terribly and insists on going to work with Chris, sitting on the front doorstep in great excitement each morning.
FERGUS, If you have stayed with us since May 1999, you will already have met Fergus - although he may not have been quite as large as he is now.
He is a Flat coated Retriever, the same breed as Sam and Barney and he joined us in the middle of May last year. He is from a litter of ten, bred from large-boned parents in Newark on Trent. We had decided we would have another dog before Sam became too elderly, and thought we were replacing him. We did not want one of the smaller boned flat coats which seem to be bred for showing and we were becoming quite resigned to not finding one when someone said he had a friend with larger flatcoats who was breeding them. Fergus was obviously very intelligent from the start - learning very quickly to keep away from Barney, who bit him on the nose the first day! We had been supervising all the dogs, honest, and we only turned away for a second.
Within 2 months he was collecting the post from the postvan and delivering it to the back door; except the one morning we forgot to meet him and he discovered paper tearing! He then realised he could have as much fun with Graham's newspaper, so our newsagent has had to place it progressively higher in the trellis by the front door to thwart a very determined puppy!
His next trick was to move things, so his "kennel" (currently the new boiler room) contains everything he can carry or drag, including logs intended for the fire, plant trays, lumps of mud, shoes which he finds just inside the doors, rags from the workshop, all the dogs' beds from the other kennel, the hosepipe from the back of the house and all the dog bowls. After each meal Sam would go off with his own bowl to prevent Fergus licking it thoroughly, and Fergus collects the others - at least we know where to find them.
Fergus's next achievement was to open the outside doors. He watched Sam do it, and then practiced on all doors and windows, covering them in muddy paw prints. By 6 months he was tall enough to reach the handle and open the door, so we had 2 dogs at it!
One of his other antics is to peer through windows. We have no idea what gave him the idea, as neither of the others has ever done it. One method is to stand on his back legs, put his front paws, mud and all on the window cill, and peer through the glass, frightening to death anyone inside! The other involves a garden chair he has adopted - he sits in it and stares through our sitting room window, watching to make sure Barry doesn't forget to feed him - if he's later than Fergus thinks he should be, he starts to whinge, and boy can he whinge! He goes on and on, whining and moaning about being starved, and what a terrible life he has, and how no one cares about him, and no one takes any notice of him.
He is now the same height as Barney, and still growing upwards. He doesn't seem to have such outsize feet and tongue as Barney had when he was a puppy, so he may not grow much more, but his character is certainly proportionately bigger than his size and he is very quick to pick up on anything he finds to his advantage.
He also likes to take anyone who will go, for a walk. He gently takes hold of your fingers in his mouth and carts you off where he thinks you should be going
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BARNEY
Barney was absolutely horrified that we had taken in some new upstart, and the shock lasted until Christmas. Once he realised he wasn't supposed to drive this new wriggling object away, he just tried to ignore it, so whenever Barney was carrying something which Fergus wanted, he would just drop it and walk away with "I don't know what you want that for, it's not worth having" look on this face.
He is the only one who can jump the gate (at the moment) so guests still get the "I'm the only one you need to bother with" greeting, and as long as he has everyone's undivided attention, he is happy.
His tongue and feet still seem too big for him, and guests who've had mud plastered on their clean shoes will know what we mean. He does seem to have stopped growing, but has put on weight, so he's been on a diet, except when he goes next door after dark and raids their dustbin - he always looks guilty and "oh so sorry" when he gets caught, but somehow manages to do it again despite being barricaded behind an even higher gate once it gets dark.
ALEX, Barry's older son, and his wife Jackie are becoming more involved with the day to day running of the business. Alex is also doing some driving at weekends, delivering veg and salads etc to supermarkets, so your veg may not only have been grown in this area, but delivered part way by us.
Livy (4) is still enjoying nursery, and will go to school next September. Max 22 months) is walking and starting to talk, but he finds it difficult to get a word in edgeways with his sister.
HENRI, our black and white cat, is still stalking our backgarden, telling everyone she is starved to skin and bone. She had managed to get 3 breakfasts and 2 dinners each day for a while - persuading everyone she saw that she hadn't been fed, and was starving. We realised what she was doing when we saw she was getting very fat! She still tries it on, but we're wise to it now
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GIFT VOUCHERS
Some guests have been kind enough to "recommend" us to their family and friends by purchasing vouchers for bed and breakfast as presents for Christmas, birthday, wedding or anniversary presents. We have now designed a "Brymbo Gift Voucher". We hope the recipients will be pleased with both the voucher, and the accommodation and service they receive. If you would like more information, please give us a ring.
OUR B&B PRICES to 31 March 2001 will remain the same as last year.
WEBSITE & E MAIL
We (or rather I) have been working on a website for far longer than I thought it would take, Thanks to a very patient gentleman called Rob Pidgley (www.planetserve.com), we now have one, hopefully completed before the end of June. That is one of the reasons that this newsletter is so much later even than last year! The address is www.brymbo.com with an e mail link, and our general e mail is Gene@brymbo.com. I will still post our newsletter, as I hope you like to open it with the photos you'd thought you'd never receive!!
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