An early start leaving Paxton via Wymondham to collect Jim and his dog Ben before driving on to Brancaster for the Pointer Club training session with Martin Sullivan.
Diana seemed to be suffering with what amounted to something of a black-out from the stress today, but her hairdressing appointment snapped her out of it
Up early with Diana and then a quick breakfast and walk with Sam before setting off on the journey that started my dog-training break. I was suitably early to Wymondham to collect Jim and could therefore stay and chat to his family a while and have a cup of tea before the final leg of the journey. Sam and Ben soon settled down in the back and the journey to Brancaster went well so that we arrived early at 10.15am.
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Martin Sullivan was there to greet us and, after letting the dogs out for a small walk, we could unpack and settle in. The cottages were in a terraced row and quite comfortably-appointed and I was to share a room with Jim and us both our bungalow with Bob from Alconbury Weston. The others arrived and we numbered eight handlers and dogs in all. Apart from Sam and Ben, there was Janice's third-placed bitch from our puppy working test, Bob had his three-year-old rescue dog Jeeves and the other four dogs were quite mature with experienced handlers.
We all ate our sandwiches and then took the long walk up to the nearby common where the dogs all took turns in quartering heavy undergrowth and many pheasants and snipe were pointed and flushed. I was very impressed with the other dogs and Sam, though out of his depth, still tried his best. His main problem was a dispensation to threaten and growl at the other dogs so that we attracted criticism and I had to admonish him severely and prevent him becoming dominant. This all came to a head as we walked across the local beaches at dusk and Sam provoked Jeeves into retaliating and came off the worse.
Back to the cottages to bath and change and then, having laid up the dogs in the back of the vehicle, we joined the others in Martin's cottage for a buffet meal and long chat that extended until after midnight. To sleep tired after a long day. Evidently, today had been very tough for Diana and, once she had got me off and then the girls of to school, she could only sit and stare suffering what amounted to something of a black-out from the stress. It was her hairdressing appointment that snapped her out of it and got her going again. Della had to go for her dental X-Ray and then to Brownies.