Mister toshwell himself

It's about time you were introduced to the entity to whom the blog is named after - yes Mister Toshwell in person, or Tosh to his friends. As you can see he is a bit of an old chap now and since this pic was taken he has got a bit of a cloudy eye when we snap him so I think he has cataracts coming. Ah Bless - such a quiet chap and all he really wants is food, strokes, walkies and food and food. We think that he is about 11 years old now and we gave him a home as a bribe to my eldest daughter Yasmine to do well at school when she was 9 years old You see he was pushed out of a moving vehicle - a green Nissan Patrol to be exact - near the Rashid dry docks in Dubai in the month of June and left to his own devices in temperatures exceeding 40 degrees with no food or water. (what no food )! Someone saw this happen and went back to check on him. For 2 days he sat on sandy remote wasteland waiting for some ....food? She took her friend Anne down to see him and she took him home, howeve as she already had a dog - who incidentally kept dragging Tosh around by his tail reducing it to a straggling piece of string - we took him off her hands.
A lovely pedigree golden retriever, who was dragged up, never woofed, never wagged his tail and never got up to come and say hello when you came home. Final abuse being abandoned in the most cruel and inhumane way. Well if that was YOU that did that I just want you to know that not only did he make it, he made it BIG time with his very own blogspot. It took us some time to get him to play and woof and be pleased to see us, but he gradually improved but it was a long process. He will never be the dog that he should have been, but we love you golden boy despite your disgusting breath ....Cheers to Mr. Tosh

Miss Wendy's special day

Forgot to tell you all ( 1) about my birthday, and of course Miss Wendy's too.

Interestingly enough we were born on the same day - the 4th December, although the year is under dispute.
Do we love animals - oh yes - do we drink and smoke - oh yes - are we tall and blonde - oh err um

This was a special day for Miss Wendy and her dear freinds gave her a special Dancing Queen performance as can be seen from the special dress that they are wearing - no they normally do not look this glamorous, with their hair done so nicely and all. From left to right Heather McKinley, Debbie Al-Asfoor, the veritable Miss Wendy herself and last but never least the Island's top vet - Nonie Coutts

First New Years at Durrat

Painswick Gloucestershire in the 2nd world war

This rather ordinary field at the end of Butt Green in Painswick, Gloucestershire was during the 2nd world war, covered with tents pitched by the U.S. Army . My Mum as a small child remembers all the tents and hanging about by the fence chatting to the guys, with her friends and siblings and being given rare treats such as oranges and chocolate.
Apparently there was a separate section for black people - (imagine that!) and when out marching they used to leave stuff on the walls and window ledges for the folk in the village.
You couldn't imagine what a hive of activity it must have been, and what changes they caused in the village, and that 70 years on it still remains a field at the end of Butt Green

Uni Blues

September saw a major change in our lives as with many other peoples, when our eldest daughter enrolled in University. This of course along with many other things is something which happens to other people, and so of course has come as a great shock to find that from being a young family we now have a grown up sprog which has effectively left home.!I say effectively because I havel already booked her trip back home which we are counting down the days to, but don't bring any washing with you! Good Luck Ya xxxxx

Interesting relics

Now here are a few relics from the past, not including my Mum of course, available to view at the Gloucester folk museum; including my Mum as you can see.
The sight of that old Hoover Constellation set my mind spinning back 4o plus years to many a sad saturday, being made to hurl the thing around the downstairs hall and living room. "It floats on air" said my Mum, and indeed she said the self same thing 45 years on. Its true! People never change. Floats on air my foot, it may look like a flying saucer but it certainly did not behave like one; although the hose was somewhat akin to the lost in space robot - warning, warning, Will Robinson: flailing in all directions. And what about the little gas cooker?
Now you know where Wallace and Gromit got the idea for that cooker thing when he went to the moon to get some cheese. I remember well drying my school cardi over the oven door - that being the only form of heating in the house along with a gas fire in the living room. My Mum said the range was what her Mum used to cook on and black lead on a regular basis; the kettle always just under the boil ready to be dropped on the hotplate for a ready cuppa at any time of the day.
Permanently on, because once off it would take a day or more to get going again. Once more the only form of heating in the flagstone cottage. Happy days? Erm........

Never too late?

We were lucky enough to visit Gloucester Cathedral during an art exhibition.
This interesting exhibit caught our attention raising many questions and quite frankly - concerns! Had he or she overdone it? Can you overdo it? Is it too late or is it never too late? Does it really matter at all? I shall leave that one for you to ponder on...............