The collection of my GSP Pointer/Retriever Sam, now formally ‘Norfolk Wigeon’ from Lyng and his first day with me in the car and alone from his siblings in Horning Ken Legerwood, the decorator, arrived in the evening and spent until 10.30pm filling the walls, which disturbed the dog slightly
I had set my automatic radio to call me at 6.30am having had an early night and so I was well able to get up by first light. I saw a pair of cormorants glide along the dyke and land and what proved to be a mild, drizzly but increasingly windy day. I was out and waiting outside the building society in Wroxham when it opened at 9.00am and away five minutes later on my way to Lyng Eastlough. I found Barbara filing up her 4XD with diesel on arrival and we went in to first review the results of the Kennel Cub registration applications. The name "Broadland Teal" had not been accepted but I chose another "Norfolk Wigeon" which had and so was able to take possession of the transfer certificate and pedigree and to study them later for the first time.
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There are quite a few champions amongst the ancestors although I noted that they were just straight Champions and Show Champions rather than Field Trial Champions. We put Sam in the back of the Range Rover (which I had cleared for this purpose) and started the journey back to Horning. I expected Sam to be sick and terrified, cowering in the basket but he was all over the place looking and howling at the new experience and loss of his familiar surroundings. He forewent the basket, tramped everywhere and ended up making his bed in a box of newspapers with an old rug covering it. The length of the journey helped to settle him down and I saw the beginning of a routine forming. Once back, I put him in the pen and basket and busied myself about the garage to keep him company whilst he settled in. He then actually went asleep and, at midday when I mixed his first feed and gave it to him, he ate this all up and slept again afterwards. In the afternoon, I took him out in the car again to Wroxham and posted the urgent letters and ordered the carpets for Harnser.
Those for the hall, stairs and upstairs accommodation will cost just over £1000 fitted with underlay etc. After another feed at 5.00pm and having given Sam time to relive himself, I left him asleep for the evening with the aim of not going back to him before morning. I had already managed to get him to wear a collar and to respond to his name and the command "heel". I just about controlled him at meal-times but need to make this more of a thing but he is still very young yet and hardly settled in. At 7.00pm, Ken Legerwood, the decorator, arrived and spent until 10.30pm filling the walls and then started lining the walls with my heavy-duty lining paper. The pity was that he had to hammer the nails in further before he could start and so soon woke the dog up. Sam had alternate spells of quiet and howling but I left him as I planned to do.