Dog sitting.

Saturday morning in Archie's front room and the day begins along North Street, as the cars head up or down, in the dawn fog. The clock on the wall ticks away the seconds and a crow cries outside the window. Time to make breakfast or to take Archie?

An hour later, with an espresso in Caffe Nero and a loaf of sour dough bread from Baltzersen's, I've had my breakfast and so has Archie. Now time to get cleaned etc.

Then at noon climbed aboard the number 7 to the Stray for a walk along it to Wear Park, a few halves then back on the supercharged X70 to meet Jason, pick up a Chicken Madras to help clear my bowels in a chilli assault; what was curry like prior to the Portuguese taking chillies to India?

Sunday morning, the clocks have gone back, but the weather remains damp. The rain woke me during the night, as did the Madras as it worked it's way towards my bowels.

It's Sunday and it will be a day of rest.

Monday morning. Seems that Milk of Magnesia did the job? And a quiet day yesterday. Managed to read a few chapters of 4321 in Bar3 as it filled up during the Manchester derby. Coming back to Archie we gathered ourselves and retreated to the top floor as something good was flushing out my system...

...

Monday evening I concluded with a fish, another episode of Planet Earth 3 and a cuddle with Archie. After two visits to the vets, where we got an appointment and then got something to treat his poorly ear, we gently walked into town and back. He tends to get 3 walks with me during the day. Nothing strenuous, but he now expects a lunch time outing along with the bookends.

Wetherby spat me out again yesterday. Just as I was enjoying the moment in the Mews, with the 1950s jazz and the fire in the corner, in walked those who treat the Mews like an extension of their trivial lives...

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Friday morning. Lots of rain the rest of the week. A little sunshine on Wednesday as Archie and I climbed on the number 7 to Boston Spa to see how crap it really is too. Coming back to Wetherby and a bad habit of mine: eating anything I can find with 'food' in it! Ice Cream this time; too many glasses of white wine.

This morning there are plenty of breaks in the clouds and I've both dogs to accommodate as mum goes to the hospital: Lola and Archie. It's been pretty easy looking after him as he comes downstairs...

Friday we all went out to the Race Course. Lola couldn't quite get in her truly excited phase as Archie was and she was a little frightened of his male exuberance. Archie came back with a slight limp on his right arm from the mad moment. I guess he'd not been so free for a while. All dogs love open spaces without boundaries. Ruby, Lola and Archie share the same happiness in those places whenever we go away from Wetherby, and the usual linear paths up to Old Railway.

It's Saturday morning: the Gross's got back safely. I left Archie at 7 and was too tired to catch a bus back to Leeds so slept at my mum's. On her bed,  until she retired, and on the sofa until 6am and now I am just about ready to head to Leeds and Manchester and Santander and the end of the world...