SO MANY DOGS!!!

I love Newfies - I just wish they didn't drool quite so much! 🤣

A cold wind blew us to Hever Castle yesterday for the return of Castle Canines (formerly Paws At The Castle).

This was the first time the venue had hosted its dog show in over five years (apparently there's a new management team in charge of the site) and it was clearly much in demand as, it appeared, probably more than 50 percent of attendees had brought their own dogs along with them.

In fact, Rachel and I were quite taken aback (in a good way) by the sheer number of dogs wandering the grounds. Neither of us had ever seen so many pooches in one place... and yet Alice still managed to garner plenty of attention.

Our first stop was the 'meet and greet' with the giant Newfoundlands, who we would later see demonstrating their life-saving skills in the freezing cold lake.

Newfy water rescue demonstration

Then it was a general meander through the castle grounds, oohing and aahing at cuteness on display.

During our stay we spotted a former (human) participant in Channel Four's amazing series, The Dog House, as well as - no, honestly - an elderly duck that had appeared in the Disney live-action version of Beauty and The Beast. It was that kind of wonderful, very British, very random event.

The huskies were very chilled

The weather wasn't a friend to the poor people serving puppy ice creams and desserts

However, mid-afternoon, the heavens opened signalling a mass exodus from Castle Canines. We'd managed three hours though, with a lot of walking around and standing, and I'm pretty sure we'd seen everything we wanted to.

Hopefully next year the weather will be better for the dog show and it, once again, becomes a regular fixture of the castle's calendar of events.

It was also great to have simply gotten back to Hever Castle, having missed all of last year's events because of my stupid back problems.

A family portrait

What We Did On The Bank Holiday

Alice likes to 'ride in style' on my lap

The late August Bank Holiday weekend is traditionally the time when we visit "living history" shows, however our options were rather limited this year.

Given my current state of restricted mobility the Medieval Festival and Hever Castle were out because of the terrain.

However, fortuitously, a new company had stepped up to offer mobility scooter rental at Military Odyssey - so that's where we headed.

We hadn't been for a couple of years because of the lack of scooter hire (even when I could walk with my stick it was still too large an area for me to get round), so this was perfect timing.

Much calmer when she was indoors and away from the sounds of simulated warfare

There was plenty of wargame stuff at the show for me to coo over, as well as the usual displays of 'living history'.

Everyone we interacted with was really kind and considerate to us, given my disability, and also to Alice who did NOT like all the loud noises. She made herself very comfortable in several stalls where the traders showered her with attention, cuddles, and offers of water.

The further we got away from the cannons and muskets the more relaxed she became, but I blame myself - in my enthusiasm to visit the show - for forgetting how noisy it can be with just the kind of sounds that Alice doesn't respond well to.

Rachel and I agreed that if we go next year we'll probably leave Alice with Rachel's parents for the day.

It was terribly frustrating, though, for me that I was unable to get off the scooter this year and poke around the stalls - but that did mean we didn't return home with the usual selection of random books and minor militaria.

Leaning into my penchant for hats, I did weigh up the possibility of an American Civil War Union officer's kepi, a pith helmet, and a selection of baseball caps, but ultimately came to the conclusion that I could live without them.

In fact, the only thing we actually brought back was a bag of fudge, which didn't last long once it got through the front door. 

Rachel was nominated photographer this year and here's a small selection of the many great pictures she took:

Sheppey Models had some lovely games set up

The Spearfish Creek mining camp is always a favourite place to visit