Catching up

Well, we have been back a week now and I've only just got around to blogging. Poor show really but I do have an excuse apart from the usual unpacking and holiday laundry etc. I've finally bitten the bullet and started re-decorating the lounge. More about that later.
As for the trip, we didn't exactly find an abundance of sun but when it did shine you certainly knew about it. Most days were a mixture of sunshine and showers but as we had a hire car it didn't stop us getting about.
Asturias is a region of Northern Spain that gets few foreign tourists. Hence, few people spoke English and those that did only had a basic grasp. We have become so used to being understood in most European countries that this came as a bit of a challenge. Still, it makes life interesting especially when ordering a meal in a restaurant. Food was good though and they seem to be big eaters.
As for the countryside, it is very mountainous with dense woodland. Bears still live here and it's easy to see how they could go undetected as much of it is virtually impenetrable. the coastline is fairly rugged with sandy beaches. There are many charming towns along the coast with harbours, and fishing boats, bars and restaurants. This is where the Spanish go for their holidays.
Now it's back to normality and the decorating. The lounge has been in need of a make-over for some time now but I kept finding excuses. Paul is away until next weekend so it really was the ideal time to do it so off came the wall paper. Once done, I then realised that there was now no turning back despite discovering that my appetite for re-decorating had suddenly waned. Hey ho, but the only way to get through it is to get on with it so that's what I've been doing. Brac, however, think I have gone stark raving mad. He is acting like the sky is going to fall on his head. His toy box keeps getting moved and he just can't cope with that. He doesn't really like it when I put up the Christmas decorations. change is not one of his strong points :-)

Off to Find the Sun

We are off on holiday for a week from tomorrow. Initially flying ourselves to Tarbes in France for a private pilots convention and then on to Northern Spain for our holiday proper. Not too sure yet of our itinerary as we will make it up as we go along depending on the weather. Unfortunately the weather there doesn't look any better than it does here...wet and stormy. Still, hopefully we will find some sun. It's certainly been in very short supply this year in our corner of the world.
Brac will have to stay in kennels this time but hopefully next time he will be able to come with us as his passport will be in full effect by then.

Incomprehension

The recent car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow didn't initially prick my attention. No one significant was hurt and life goes on as normal. Far worse things have happened. What did prick my attention though was the disclosure yesterday on our news network that all the people involved were health professionals. Five of them were doctors!
I admit, I have always wondered what actually goes through the mind of a suicide bomber. What makes him tick and what triggered his state of mind but have put it down to young impressionable minds looking for a cause and something to believe in that makes sense of their lives (to them anyway). Just like the people who get roped into religious cults. OK so maybe the latter don't get involved in killing people but mentally it's the same thing...a vulnerable mind getting brain washed.
What strikes me as being so different here is that right up to the day before the attacks these people were devoting their lives to saving life. How can such people reconcile saving the lives of people one day they are prepared to blow up the next? This no longer strikes of 'belief' but pure hypocrisy. I'm glad they didn't die in the event because now we might be able to discover more about how such brilliant minds became so corrupted and evil.

An English Pub

My bread machine failed this morning, or rather the mixture I out in it did. The yeast must have been off because when it bleeped to tell me it had done it's job all I found inside was a shrivelled, dark brown blob. Dam, no bread for lunch and I had not planned on doing any shopping as I had other calls on my time.
by midday my most pressing jobs were done and I look out the window to see the sun was trying it's best but there were clearly rain clouds gathering in the distance. Best take brac for his walk now and maybe I won't get wet. I give mum a ring to see if she wants to join me. she is having to do more exercise on doctor's orders so joining me on dog walks is ideal. "give me 10 minutes and I'll meet you in the normal place". I hang up and wander into the kitchen to pick up my car keys. I remember I don't have nay bread for lunch. Back on the phone to mum, "shall we get a pub lunch?" "Great, that would be nice."
There is a 14th century pub, called 'The chequers' about a mile and a half away with a reasonable area for walking next to it by the river. The pub is quite rustic, nothing fancy, plain but good food, beams, open fire in winter, tables that don't have little brass numbers set into them, friendly atmosphere and happy to accept dogs. Basically the quintessential English pub. I collect mum and we head for it. the rain clouds are building so we decide to walk first and eat after.
The walk does wonders for my appetite and we are quite looking forward to getting back to the pub. We walk in and purchase some drinks, puruse the menu and order some food. We sat down at a table opposite the bar and Brac lies down at my side. I was vaguely aware that the girl serving was new but thought little of it.
The people at the next table start making a fuss of Brac who is all too happy for the attention. He often gets a fuss made of him here, even the chef would come out and give him a hug as he liked Border collies. but things have changed. we are about half way through our meal when an older lady comes over to us to ask which of us owned the dog. "I do" I said. "We don't allow dogs in here when people are eating" she replies as if it has always been so and I should know.
"Since when? I've been coming here for years and there has never been a problem?"
"It's the law".
"Only if you class yourself as a restaurant. It's no illegal in a pub." I respond.
"Well it our rules."
"Brac was always made a fuss of by your staff before"
"That was the previous owners, we've only been here 3 month. You can take him outside in the garden next time." but I had already decided there wasn't going to be a 'Next time'.
We finished our meal and left. No coffee or desert and no intention of returning. Dogs make pubs, they are part of the fixtures and fittings in my book. As traditional as an open fire.
Before we left the people at the next table made a big show of fussing Brac some more. I knew they felt the same as me.
Now back to that bread machine.

We Girls Rock

Hey, I've just been tagged by s'mores and margaritas as a 'Rocking Girl Blogger'
All I need to do now is nominate & tag 5 other of my blogging girl friends who can then copy this logo to their blog. They in-turn get to do the same for 5 of their girl friends respectively (but only if they want to, no obligation). I wonder how long it will be before all female bloggers are tagged? Not long I'm sure. Still, here goes.
Frenchless in France - a very talented photographer living and absorbing France to the full.
Downsizing in Minnesota - her sister living in the US with some very cute pets.
An Aussie, a Frenchman and a Burmese - well mainly an Aussie living with the rest in France with an eye for nature.
Manic Mom's Mental Myriads - a publisher mum with a great family.
LittleSpoon - A soon-to-be-wed secretary with a cute new pup in her life.

Not Feeling Lucky

Brac and I had another obedience competition today. Each class is divided into two sections. There is the heelwork section that you do individually that involves heelwork, retrieves and recalls. The other section is the stays. these are done as a group so all the dogs in the class have to sit stay and down stay for a given length of time with you standing away from them. When you book in to your class you need to make a note of the time the stays for that class are being held. I booked in and noted my stay time 12.50 which I wrote on my competitor number tag so I wouldn't forget. I worked Brac in and when I was ready entered the class. Brac was really good and I knew as we were going round that we were in with a good chance of winning. When we finished the round the judge told me we had only lost 2 points which according to the score sheet put us in the lead with only two more dogs to work. I checked the stay times, 12.50. It was only 11am so I had plenty of time so went to get a drink. I sat there sipping thinking to myself 'did I check those times correctly? Could it have been 12.30 not 12.50?' I had to check again so I wandered back to the ring. I noticed now that all the dogs had competed and yes we were in the lead. Doing the stays for him was just a formality. I look at the time, yes it is definitely a 5 not a 3. I go back to my car and sit and read for a while setting an alarm on my phone for 12.30 to remind me. The time drags so I take Brac for a quick walk. I bump into a friend and we compare notes. I keep watching my watch mindful that I have missed my stay time once before because I was engrossed in conversation. 12.40, I need to be waiting by the stay ring. I go there but I don't recognise anyone. Another class is in the ring finishing their stays, when they come out I ask the steward to confirm that this was Beginner Dog Stays to which he replied, "No, it's Novice Dog part 2 Stays now." My heart sank so I asked him what time were the Beginner Dog Stays. "12.05" was the answer. I had read it back to front and each time I had re-checked I had just seen what I expected to see and not what was there. The result is we were disqualified and once again returned home empty handed. I can't believe I could have been so blind. Hey ho!

Feeling Lucky

We flew up to the gliding club again this weekend. Paul took Friday off and so we were able to go a day early. The weather was sultry and hazy. Visibility in the air was poor to say the least so we decided not to do any gliding. Gliders are tricky to see in the air at the best of times and when it is hazy they become almost invisible so the risk of a mid air collision increases especially as once you find a good thermal other gliders get attracted to you to share in your good fortune. Powered aircraft like to keep away from each other but gliding frequently happens in a gaggle so you need to keep your wits about you and your eyes skinned. As my medical expired and is not now due to be renewed until the 27th, I was grounded anyway.
Luckily, our gliding site is in the Midlands on the edge of the Cotswolds. If gliding is not an option there are so many other things to do. For any of you that are not unfamiliar with this area is an area of outstanding natural beauty. It's also Shakespeare's country as Stratford-upon-Avon is only a few miles down the road. It's a great part of the country to simply chill out and 'smell the roses'. Which is precisely what we did. The photo above was taken just above a neighbouring Cotswolds town of Broadway. We walked down this hill into the town where we called in for a cream tea before walking back again. As I walked through this field it occurred to me just how lucky I was to be able to enjoy all this almost as often as we want. I felt like simply laying down in the grass and listening to the buzzards calling overhead, but the need for refreshment was a stronger desire so we wandered on admiring the view instead while Brac chased pheasants out of the long grass.
Can't wait for next weekend.

Egg On My Face

A couple of days ago I used 2 egg whites in some cooking I was doing. Not wishing to waste the yolks I put them in a cup with enough water to cover and placed them in the fridge. they will keep this way for a couple of days and can be used in cooking to richen various foods. As we went away for the weekend they didn't get used and I forgot to use them yesterday. Instead of throwing them away I thought I would give them to Brac on his breakfast. He used to have eggs with his puppy food when we first had him. I then had second thoughts. what if they have gone off and give him diarrhoea? I decide to poach them first so they are well cooked. to do this I put them in the microwave in their cup of water and give them 2 minutes on full power. I check them, they are not fully cooked, still a little soft so thought to be safe I should give them another minute. the microwave pings and the water in the cup is frothing over the rim. I reach in and take hold of the cup handle. As I lift it out I'm thinking I'm going to have to wait for them to cool a little before I give them to Brac when suddenly there's a bang. In that instant I close my eyes, feel the cup go light and something spray across my face. My hand is still in the over holding the now very light cup handle and my eyes are still tightly shut. "Oh sh*t" I'm thinking, "that wasn't a microwaveable cup." My next thought was "If that cup has exploded that close I'm lucky to still have my eyes" Even thoght they were closed I could feel they were OK. I open them, yep, they're OK. I look towards the oven. It's a mess. Then I notice the cup still intact in my hand. It's just the contents that have exploded and plastered the oven. My eyes wander further only to realise it's not just the oven that's plastered; it's the whole kitchen including me. I the see Brac. He is sitting outside the kitchen peering in with egg yolk dripping from his eye lashes. That's it for me. We have just entered silly world and I know if Paul had been there to watch he would have been gripped in an uncontrollable bought of laughter. I look in the mirror; I have egg all over my t-shirt, splattered across my face and welded to my hair. How can 2 yolks go so far?
It's all cleared up now but I know I will still be finding bits of egg yolk in odd places in the kitchen for weeks to come.

My Weekend

Now our aeroplane is fixed we are gradually getting back into our old routine. That is to say, 50% of our weekends during the summer we fly up to a gliding site in the Midlands and go gliding. We are both very rusty so have got a lot of ground to make up. Still we did get our glider out of it's box and Paul flew it both days. My medical has expired :-( so I can't fly solo until I get that sorted hopefully in another couple of weeks. Instead I flew as navigator in the back of a two seat glider for a cross country exercise. This is a photo I took of Paul (not doing as well as us) from the back of the two seater. The gliding airfield is visible in the top of the picture just right of centre. I although I enjoy navigating and there is a lot to learn flying with someone else it does tend to cause me to get travel sick. I get travel sick map reading in a car! Luckily it didn't get messy but I was aware of the possibility all the way around but wasn't going to let on. Luckily, I'm not affected by it when I'm do.uing the flying but then I don't get the chance to take photos.

Sleep.

I saw this image on flickr and it's got to be a classic. How many mornings have you felt just like this? I can certainly identify with the lioness. Paul moans at me because I'm an 7-8 hours a night person when he survives on 5-6 hours. Mind you, there is a difference between living and surviving and I'm not the one that falls asleep when we go out anywhere in the evening. :-)
Paul is most definitely a lark to my owl, something that is becoming more obvious the older we get.

A very Satifying Day

OK so the weather and my PC might have prevented us from going away this weekend but that doesn't mean it was a complete washout. Yesterday was a very satisfying day. It started with Paul bringing me breakfast in bed. This always leads to something else as for some reason breakfast in bed makes me feel very playful:-) Them Paul fixed my PC...it's no wonder I married this guy! After lunch we took Brac for a long walk in the woods. Then we went shopping and bought some beautiful sea bass for dinner that I cooked baked in salt (the salt forms a hard shell that evenly distributes the heat and doesn't penetrate the fish at all) and served with a Mediterranean style potato dish with tomatoes and onions. Really scrummy.
That was followed by strawberries & cream, espresso coffee and an episode of Dr Who (A cult SciFi series over here in the UK) with the three of us all cuddled up on the sofa. Heaven.

I'm Back!

My lovely husband has fixed it for me. It was the power supply. Apparently it wasn't up to the job that was being asked of it so it's a wonder it didn't pack in before. We were originally planning on flying off somewhere for the long weekend but as the weather was well and truly against us (Dull today but heavy rain and wind for Sunday & Monday for all of England, Channel Islands and NW France) we decided to go to PC World instead to buy a new power supply. It's now installed and to my great relief works fine. Hopefully for several more years.
If that hadn't cured the problem it would have meant a new PC even though mine is less than 3 years old (old in 'techie' terms but still new by my reckoning). The thought of re-installing everything on a new system as well as having to accept Windows Vista was really daunting. So, I was so pleased that when I pressed that button on the front of my machine it sprang into life once more and everything was just as I left it.
Still the experience was not without a positive note. I thought I had just about everything covered in respect of backing up in the event of a PC failure but it's not until it does happen that you find out what you've missed. My photographic printer I use for my pet portraits is only accessible from this PC including all the printer profiles for ensuring the printer prints exact colours. Another even greater oversight is that I had stored all my login, password and registration details for various web sites, e-mail accounts and software on this PC and these had not been backed up. If I had had to buy a replacement PC I would have been stuffed trying to install a lot of the software I have without the registration details. All this will have to be amended so I am better prepared next time.

Cut Off

Today my PC died. I think the power unit has burnt out. I am using Paul's PC to write this but it's not convenient and I don't have access to my e-mail on this PC. Hense it is going to be difficult for me to keep up-to-date with blogging until I get back up and running. Hopefully fairly soon fingers crossed.

Another Show, Another Rosette (but only just!)

Brac and I went to our second show of the season. I took Paul with me today which is unusual but he was happy to go and as I have now got a tent that I can set up as a stool for my Pet Portraits I thought this would be ideal. He could man the stool while I worked Brac. Nice idea but Paul's salesman techniques were sadly lacking. He kept telling me of the 'ones that got away' and in each case he failed even to give them so much as a leaflet. I actually came home with the same mount of leaflets I went with and I don't do that even if I'm not there to give them out! He meant well and I would have struggled to get the tent up without him.
As for Brac. Still very excited about going to shows. He saw me packing the car last night so knew it was a show day this morning. Brac sleeps in his kennel outside and each morning when I go out to let him in he is always in his kennel. This morning I was up much earlier than normal and he was ready and waiting for me at the back door.
He was full of enthusiasm throughout the day and when he worked his beginners round he did some lovely heel work. His recall was spot on but his last test was a retrieve and just when I thought I was in with a chance he decided otherwise. He charged at the dumbbell, ran around the ring with it chomping on it as he went and when he did finally present it to me he refused to give it up without a fight. Not exactly what the judge was looking for.
Despite all that the rest of the round had been so good that he still managed, somehow, to get into 5th place out of about 38 dogs so not a complete disaster.

One Swallow Doesn't Make a Summer...but maybe a handful of Swifts do!

On a grey muggy day like today (and the past week) it's hard to think about summer. As I trudged around the playing field with Brac (I'm only walking him on grass until his foot toughens up a bit more) my thoughts were more about considering how many more circuits I should do before returning for lunch. That was until a familiar but distant sound penetrated my skull. It was the screaming of what sounded like a swift. I looked up and scanned the sky from where the sound came and sure enough two swifts were flying in lazy loops and calling out to each other. They were hard to amke out against the thunderous clouds but as I scanned further I saw more high up, tossing and turning as if celebrating the end of their arduous journey. There were about half a dozen in all, not many but a sure sign that Summer is only around the corner.

Dog Tired

Dog Tired
Originally uploaded by Kangaroo Shoes.

I've just seen this image on Flickr and thought it too good not to blog. I reckon they are on a metre!

Flickr

For any of you interested in digital photography Flickr is a really good site to check out. I discovered it thanks to An Aussie, a Frenchman and a Burmese blog and an from a video lecture posted on Digital Photography School blog. So I took a look, explored the site a bit, read the T's & C's and decided to give it a try. You can use the site for free but there are some constraints but nothing too serious if you are just a casual photographer. To get full, unlimited use of the site there is an annual fee but it's only about £12.50 currently so it's not going to sting that much.
I think it's the kind of site that will appeal to bloggers as you quickly get to know and chat with other photographers with similar interests particularly if you join some of the special interest groups.
I've signed up for a year's membership and have been steadily uploading images and getting feedback on my work. If you click on the thumbnails below you can see some of the stuff I've submitted so far. What I really need to do now is get out there with the camera but it's not stopped raining since I joined!

www.flickr.com

Back in the Ring

Brac and I took part in our first obedience competition of the year. Yes, I know, it's May already and we've only just started, but those of you who read my blog regularly will know why. Anyway, Brac had clearly missed competing because he was beside himself when we got there. We were drawn first on for one of the classes (we entered two) so we waited at the side of the ring while the judge and steward walked the course. As soon as Brac saw this he started whining because he wanted to be in the ring with them. when it was his turn he almost dragged me in there. So much for obedience. Despite this I thought he worked a good round although he was a little forward of me and he anticipated on one of the exercises, the recall. He did it beautifully but he didn't wait to be asked. Naturally he was marked down for this and his forward working but the judge said she loved his enthusiasm and wished more dogs were that keen.
For the second class he was a little more settled although I didn't think he worked as well in the heelwork. Even so we came joint 2nd with two other handlers so had a run-off for 2nd 3rd & 4th place. In the end we came 3rd out of about 40 dogs in the class so not a bad result and at least we got to go home with a rosette.
He is now crashed out in the hall probably dreaming about all the friends he met.

Prognosis

Things could have been worse. I went in with my friend at the doctors. She was told that her condition was as bad as it could get without being terminal. She has the chance of making a full recovery but only if she helps herself. Sometimes I think she is trying to self destruct and the hard part will be keeping her focused and positive. Going to the doctors and having the tests done was the first time she has ever taken any of the advice she has asked me for. I hope this is a turning point. She knew she was ill but was always too scared to find out just how ill. I hope now she will stop burying her head in the sand and concentrate on getting better but it will be a struggle.

Bad day

Today is not going to be a good day. Today I have to take a long term friend of mine to the doctors to get the results of a test. She is very scared and she knows the results are going to be bad. How bad we don't know but even the best case scenario is a long, rocky road. I spent much of the last 24 hours worrying about it but that makes me feel bad because what ever I feel will not compare to what she is going through.
I know you will all be keeping your fingers crossed for her today and maybe even thinking of her in your prayers.

Sally Jane's Pet Portraits goes Global

This is my first pet portrait commission from Australia. She is an Australian cattle dog from New South Wales. Her owner confirmed today that the portrait arrived in the post in perfect condition so I'm quite relieved. I always worry about the post as it's the one part of the operation that I have no control over other than to keep piling on the bubble wrap!
Her owner is thrilled with her portrait I'm pleased to say and is thinking of getting one done of her husbands dog. I'm thrilled too because this was my first overseas commission. Hopefully one of many more to come.

Happy Bunnies

On Saturday we flew up to our gliding club at Bidford-Upon-Avon for the bank holiday weekend. Yes, that's right, we flew! Paul has finally got his beloved aeroplane a TB21 back from intensive care with the maintenance engineers at Biggin Hill and it seems (tough wood) to be working properly. This last bit was whispered as I'm sure it's all just an illusion really and it's actually just a defective as ever. It's been about 18 months since it started having problems and the last 6 months it has been on the verge of having the plug pulled on it. Paul was getting more and more despondent as although the engineers could see problem they couldn't find the cause. When we were told it was fixed and we could fly it this weekend we only half believed it as we had been at that point so many time before only for the fault to reappear. This time it looks like they might have actually succeeded as the engine and turbo behaved beautifully on the short flight to and from the gliding club. I now have a happy husband.

I also have a happy dog as finally Brac's paw seems to have calloused over properly. It will be a while before the thick layer of the pad grows back over the new skin so it is still fragile but he is at least now able to go out without having a boot on. Gentle walking on grass only for a while I think until it toughens up a bit but it looks good for his show on Saturday. Assuming he doesn't find another flint to step on! This photo is him asleep on the back seat of the aircraft flying home. He is wearing ear defenders are to protect his hearing.

We didn't exactly do any gliding while we were at Bidford but we did get our glider it out of it's box before realising that those who were already launched were struggling with the failing conditions and having to land. So we gave it a clean and put it away again. Sunday was overcast all day so no thermals to make it worth launching and today was a wash out this morning. After lunch we packed up to fly back home only for the weather to break and give the most stonkinggliding conditions for ages. By now most people had also packed up and gone so there was no one to take advantage of it. As we were getting thrown around by the thermals in our powered aircraft on our return home we didn't see one glider anywhere and the visibility was fantastic. No doubt there were a lot of glider pilots sitting in their cars on their way home cursing that the good weather arrived too late. Still it was a British bank holiday so what else could we expect?

(This is Brac looking cool at the laucn point.)

Love to Lead Question 17 (Just for fun)

Ok so no prises for this question it's just for the fun of it, but why not?

Question - Is Global Warming a Media Myth?

My answer - Prophecy or Scare Mongering?

It’s always difficult these days trying to pick the fact from the fiction from the news. Sad to say even the BBC news waters down it’s facts so much it is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. I’m sure if you asked them or any of the news papers they would tell you it is what their customers (we) want; that facts alone are boring. That may be true, certainly a hyped up story sells better than a cold report of facts alone but when it comes to really important stuff how do we actually know what to believe?

I get really annoyed when the press take it upon themselves to make up facts. A example of this was reported on the BBC1 lunchtime news only a couple of weeks ago. They showed us images of Hawthorn in flower. It was the middle of April and they were claiming this was a sign of global warming because the ‘nick name’ for this plant is the May Tree. This plant would probably been given this nick name over a thousand years ago when the temperatures in this country were certainly cooler than today. As kids my sister and I used to comment on what a silly name this plant had seeing as it nearly always seemed to flower in April! I’m sorry to say this was so long ago that no one had heard of global warming. OK so we do live in the South East where the climate is warmer but this was a really poor example and one that made me wonder how many other examples put up by the media were also rubbish.

The facts that I think we can take for granted are that our annual temperatures do appear to be getting warmer. Winter snow when I was a kid was something we could look forward to, now it is just a brief possibility. The south East of England has always been the driest part of the UK and yes we do seem to be having more ‘droughts’ but I think this is more due to the increase in demand for water here than the lack of rainfall.

One a global count I cannot say so I have to rely on what ‘experts’ tell me. It has been shown that as the Earth wobbles on its axis changes in global temperatures do occur causing ice ages and droughts every few thousand years and may be that is all this is. I think there might be something in that but I don’t think that is the entire story. As a species we do cause an increasingly large amount of pollution and I can’t see how we could expect to get away with that and think the world will just cope.

Unfortunately global warming is such an important subject we can’t afford to take chances. Get it wrong and ignore the warning signs and the damage we create for the future could be catastrophic with no way of putting it right. Act now to combat it and we could help prevent that. If it turns out later that the climate changed for natural reasons well, hey, nothing lost but in the mean time we learned to be less polluting.

Media hype in my opinion is undermining the campaign for us to clean up our act. There is a good work of fiction on this subject by Michael Crichton called ‘State of Fear’. Even though it is in itself total fiction it successfully highlights the need for us to separate fact from fiction in the media.

Thanks guys

Well I didn't win the lap top, infact, despite your support, I came last. Hey ho, I guess I'm just not that good at putting together an argument. Thanks to all of you who voted anyway it was a bit of fun.
The Love to Lead team have decided to continue posting questions for debate even though there are no prises to be won so I shall probably continue to get stuck in. I bet I win it now! This weeks question is about Global Warming. I've not composed my answer yet, might not get around to doing it until next week now as we are off for the bank holiday weekend, but I will answer the question. In the mean time why don't some of you have a go as well. The only stipulation is that you must have a blog site that has been up and running for 6 months to enter. Why? Don't ask me, it's just the rules.
Just click on the title of this blog post to go to the Love to Lead site.

11 Tips for Better Candid Photography

I came across the Digital Photography School's blog today and read this great article about taking candid photographs. If you like photography this article is really worth a read.

Happy Dog

Brac had another visit to the vets this morning. This time for his annual booster jabs. While he was there the vet took another look at his foot. She was so happy with the speed it appeared to be healing she gave me the all clear to take him out for GENTLE walks. Provided his foot was booted up of course. After my initial relief I suddenly started to feel paranoid. I live in North Kent where flints are everywhere and I am now worrying that he will go straight out and do it again. "Come on, this is silly." I say to myself but it's a nagging thought. I eventually settle for the most boring piece of playing field where the grass is well kept and very flat to take him for his first taste of freedom in nearly two weeks. Brac didn't seem to mind the lack of scenery and simply couldn't wait to take flight. His disappointment at the end of the walk when I told him to get back in the car though was palpable. I'm sure he thought he might have to wait another 2 weeks before the next one.

Love 2 Lead Question 16

The Question - Is Commercialism Destroying The Blogosphere?

My answer - You Can’t Stop Evolution

If commercialism is destroying the blogshere then it is only because there is a ready market for it. If bloggers really wanted to keep blogs personal and non commercial they would not include AdSense on their pages. OK so I know a lot of blogs don’t carry Google Ads but there are tons that do. Myself included.

As for whether the blogshere is being destroyed by it that depends on your point of view. I agree that overly commercial blogs are not worth bothering with so I just ignore them but if blogging is to survive it has to evolve. Blogging is evolving very fast, just as the internet did in the first place, and still is. That should be seen as a healthy sign. If it didn’t evolve it would destroy itself by becoming obsolete.

Ok, so maybe we could control it’s evolution in some way by banning commercialism? Yes, that might work but the most likely effect would be to simply slow its evolution down. That could even turn it into something that too few people want and so once again, destroy it. Evolution is most effective when it is not artificially tampered with.

If there is enough support for purely personal blogs it could be that the blogshere simply splits. Who knows, anything could happen. I actually find that quite exciting, don’t you?

So to sum up…Watch this space!

Adendum....this is the final question from the Love to Lead team and so my last chance to win a lap top. If you have found my responses interesting over the last few months please vote for me here at the Love to Lead site.

Brac - A Long Road but We're Heading in the Right Direction

Brac went for a check-up at the vets this morning to make sure his paw was healing properly and the infection was in check. Unlike most dogs, Brac loves the vets. He want to make friends with every vet and nurse and if possible, lick their ears out. Smart dog, he knows who he needs to keep on his side. Just as you and I should never seek to make a enemy of our dentist Brac knows to keep in with the veterinary staff.

He got a big thumbs up from the vet and I was told it was healing better than expected. Great, I'm thinking, another few days and we can start going for walks again. Wrong. Despite it's progress we will still need to wait between 2-3 weeks before I can take him for a walk. Poor dog, he lives to run and have fun, and he having to be turned into a couch potato. I must say though, he has been extremely good about it. I thought he would have been climbing the walls with frustration by now but instead he is turning into a complete sook, lapping up as much pampering as he can get.

PS. Little tip for anyone else dealing with a foot wound on a dog. Cotton baby mittens make excellent dressings, once the wound has stopped bleeding, held in place around the cuff with a small amount of cohesive bandage. They keep the wound clean while still allowing the air to circulate. As they are cotton you can boil wash then in a saucepan. Primark sell packets of 4 mittens for 50p. Of course, if your dog goes outside you will need a waterproof covering so I use a Mikki boot which is a specially made dog boot but you could probably improvise on this too.

Safe Haven for Donkeys

In this country donkeys generally have it lucky. OK there are always some sad cases to be found but by and large they lead a cushy life...that is, at least when you compare them to many donkeys living in countries such as Israel. I won't go into too much detail here because the web site says it all and I would urge you to click on the link above or the image to visit it. I warn you, you won't want to believe the stories.
There is a positive side to all this, a lady called Lucy Fensom has set up a charity to rescue and look after some of these animals but she needs our support. The web site lists a variety of ways in which anyone can help and it's not just about cash.
Take a look at the web site and meet some of the donkeys...they would certainly love to meet you.

Brac Update

Well today is the day of the Newham show and as expected 'hope-along' and I are at home.
I mentioned he was being really good at not chewing his bandage. Well he is but this is a border collie we are talking about here and no body ever told him he couldn't lick it! Thursday I gave him that hide chew he has in his mouth in the photo thinking it would help prevent him getting bored. Small hide chews he eats no problem but big ones are worth hanging on to so he wouldn't eat it, just kept walking around the house with it in his mouth. Not quite what I was hoping for. Yesterday he lays down with it on the front door mat. I put some honey on it to start him licking it with a hope that he will then start to chew it and sure enough he gets really into the honey. Satisfied I go to my study to do some work. The licking noises continue and I feel pleased with myself for my small success. 2 hours later I go to get a cup of coffee. He is dosing on the mat not doing anything. I leave him be. Lunchtime arrives, he follows me into the lounge, I don't notice anything different. After lunch I go to bathe and redress his foot only to discover his bandage is soaking. I look at the chew, it's untouched. He had been laying there licking his foot and spent all morning in a sodden bandage which was otherwise undisturbed. On inspection of the cut I notice the beginnings of some puss showing. Signs of infection. Hey Ho...off to the vets, where I am told that a few hours in a sodden bandage would indeed have been enough to allow unwanted bacteria to take hold. He's now on antibiotics and under strict instructions not to so much as sniff his foot. He has now started eating his chew instead.

Love 2 Lead Question 15

Question - Should Gay Couples Be Allowed To Adopt?

My answer - The needs of the child outweigh the rights of the potential parents.

Let’s get this clear from the outset. I’m not a homophobe although I’m sure there will be people who will disagree. Once again, I have to speak as I feel which will no doubt ruffle a few feathers. I’m not out to upset anyone but the question has been asked.

I do not think it is right for gay couple to adopt. There, I’ve said it. Now for my reasons.

Initially it won’t make any difference to the child but how will things be for them once they start school? Chances are once the other kids understands about their parents they will use it as an excuse to pick on them. Kids can be cruel and anything that makes one kid especially different from the rest is likely to be a trigger for teasing or worse.

I never fitted in at school because my parents thought that pop music was bad for us kids so we were fed a diet of classical music. Nothing wrong with the classics but it meant I couldn’t join in with the conversations my piers were having and so I became branded as being different. That led to teasing and later relatively mild bullying.

If something so minor can prevent a child fitting in how much more would having gay parents cause problems? I accept that this, with time and it becoming more common, would eventually be less of an issue but why should any kid be placed in that position? Do we really want our children to play the martyr now so that future kids will accept gay parents as normal? We must remember that the babies placed with gay couple won’t have had any say in the matter.

My other reason is more old fashioned. All primates, including humans, learn their parenting skills from their parents. In a similar way we also learn our family and relationship skills from our parents too. If we agree that you are either born heterosexual or homosexual how will this effect the child’s understanding of how to make a relationship work if the child is heterosexual?

You could argue that the same applies to heterosexual couples who go through a divorce when the kids are small or that have a violent relationship. Children do go on to repeat the lives of their parents in a high number of cases. Some situations, such as a break-up of a marriage, cannot always be avoided but when a situation can be avoided I think we owe it to the children to do just that. For this reason it’s not just gay couple who I feel should not adopt but single people as well. The adoptive family should be as near normal as it is reasonable to expect even though, I accept, there is no guarantee it will stay that way.

I do understand that some gay couples desire children just as much as non gay couples but the needs of the children do need to be put first even though this may be a very hard thing to do.

Bad News for Brac

For most, the obedience season is well under way and Brac and I are entered in our first show of the season at Newham this Saturday. His training over the winter months has really come on and he is as enthusiastic as ever. Everything was looking good for this weekend until yesterday. I took him for a walk as usual and just as we were on our return home he cut his paw on a flint.
The cut was right on his main pad on a back leg and about 1.5cm long. It bled quite a bit but at the time he was not particularly bothered by it and quite happy to finish the walk home without the slightest limp. Having cleaned and dressed it he then decided he was only going to walk on 3 legs as if I had amputated his back leg at the hock! This morning I changed the dressing and the cut has stopped bleeding but was weeping a little. I think it is unlikely to heal sufficiently for the show and it will certainly be a few weeks before I can allow him to continue with his agility training that he loves. Still, he's a good patient, he's quite happy for me to treat his foot and he doesn't chew his bandage so I don't have to make him wear a lampshade!

Our next show isn't until the 12th May so he's got plenty of time to recover...fingers crossed!

The Sun No Longer Shines For BlueSoleil

Being a Nokia phone owner I have come to rely on being able to synchronise my phone with my PC as an easy way of keeping my contacts and calendar up-to-date. When I got my first bluetooth phone this job was made even easier once I purchased and installed a bluetooth adapter or dongle on my PC. The dongle came with BlueSoleil software which I installed (I didn't know it at the time but with Windows xp I didn't require this driver as it has it's own but hey, hindsight is great). All worked well and every so often the Bluesoleil software would prompt me that there was a newer driver that I should upgrade to. Nothing strange about that and the upgrades were easy enough until last week. Once again I had a prompt when I turned on my PC that there was a newer version of the Bluesoliel driver available that I should download. I did. So far nothing different from before until I go to run the software. I get a pop-up window that tells me that the licence cannot be verified so the software will only run in evaluation mode with a limit of 5mb of data transfer. Initially I ignore it thinking it will go away next time I start my PC. It didn't and the pop-up returns each time I log on. I hate anything not working properly on my PC and I especially hate unhelpful pop-ups. I go to the web site which initially appears to be accusing me of using a counterfeit dongle. Digging further reveals my dongle insn't counterfeit (I knew that) so I send the company an e-mail asking what the problem is. The reply in a nutshell was that this upgrade isn't free but has to be purchased! There was nothing to warn me of this when I upgraded. I was then told that I could simply go back to the old version if I didn't want to pay £14 to upgrade so that's what I did. The result...everytime I logged on I got prompted to upgrade! There was no obvious way to stop this pop-up. As I said, I hate unhelpful pop-ups. This is my PC and I want to be in control of it. So enough was enough. I have now removed Bluesoleil completely and have re-installed the dongle using the Windows driver which works fine. No pop-ups and no fees! "BluSoleil...you may have been considered to have had the best bluetooth software but you've shot yourself in the foot on this one as I'm sure I won't be alone."

Full of the Joys of Spring

Isn't this just a fantastic time of year? I love the spring. Everything seems so fresh. I get up in the mornings and look out on my garden that seems to change daily as the plants push into new life. My cherry trees are in full bloom and the wisteria will soon follow. Birds are singing and sorting out territories. I even have a pair of collared doves nesting in one of my trees right opposite my bedroom window. I hope they stay but they are facing quite a bit of hassle from a pair of magpies who originally were nesting in the neighbouring tree but were chased of by the collared doves!

Blue tits, starlings and sparrows are also nesting in my garden and I am waiting to see if the blackbirds return to a bush they nested in last year. Like the doves, the starlings nest site is also under contention. Not from magpies but squirrels who occupied the nest box over the winter and have been reluctant to give it up. Starlings are quite tenacious though and are quick to move in once the squirrels leave to forage. Arguments between them are common but my money is on the starlings.

I'll let you know who wins.

Original Photographic Art & Photography by Sally Jane

Looking for something to brighten up a wall? Something that is a little different from the normal run of the mill prints you find in high street shops but that won't cost the earth? Visit my web site at www.sally-jane.com and see my photographic art gallery. All prints are signed by me, the artist and sent out mounted and ready to frame. The gallery subjects include landscapes, flowers, architecture and animals. There is also a monochrome gallery for black and white or sepia images. Prices vary depending on size but start from as little as £18 plus postage and packing. Mount sizes are cut to fit standard size frames but special sizes can be catered for if required.

Love to Lead Question 14

Question - Does The World Need Disease To Control Overpopulation?

My answer - Well if it does it’s not working.

Disease and predation are the two factors that normally prevent a species becoming over populated. If they fail then there is a third and final control point…starvation. Humans are not predated on and medical advances are getting ever better at preventing premature deaths. The result is that we have over populated the world. So does this mean we will eventually starve?

I was once quoted by one of my uni lecturers that there are more people alive today than have ever lived! By that he meant that if you add up all the people on this planet who have ever lived but now deceased they would not outnumber those that are currently living. When you think about this it is really quite frightening. The lecture was on environmental sustainability. China got tough with its people by restricting couples to just one baby. This seems harsh to the West but even with this system having been in place many decades now their population is still growing.

Bird flu threatened to become a global pandemic and it would not be unreasonable to expect we were due for something like that but the risk of this appears (touch wood) to have subsided. In the past plague has hit the human population hard but it has not been seen for hundreds of years. Strangely enough Scientists still do not know what the plague was or why it hasn’t been seen in modern times so perhaps that will remain a mystery.

I think the question is a little behind the times. The world is overpopulated as disease has largely lost its grip on us. Any pandemic that kills enough humans to restore the balance would knock out so much of our infrastructure that the world economy would crash. Many otherwise healthy people would then probably starve anyway because food supplies would suffer. The great plague of 17thC killed a 1/3 of the population of the UK, that’s 20million by today’s standards. Now imagine that occurring across the entire world.

We all want to live, and we are doing that very well. Those who are able want to have children and we consider it our right. We all know the world is over populated but which one of us will volunteer to do anything about it? Disease is unlikely to provide the answer and we wouldn’t want it to. There are no acceptable answers. Perhaps the Chinese have come closest to the right idea after all.

Give a Pet a Home

RescueDB.com is a web site were there are details of hundreds of abandoned animals that need a new home. Don't think it's just dogs either. They have everything from Gerbils to Horses. RescueDB.com is a voluntary run web site that advertises the plight of these animals on behalf of other rescue organisations all over the country. If you know of an animals that needs a new home or you know of someone looking to give a home to a pet this is the web site for them.

The web site also has a auction page where you can bid for pet related paraphernalia. All proceeds go to help run the charity.
Go on...give it a look...you might find the friend of a lifetime.

Love 2 Lead question 12

Question - "Is Art More Valuable than Science?"

My answer - "I never considered them to be mutually exclusive."

Science is with us whether we embrace it or not. It is everything.

Art is man made. It’s a figment of our imaginations; a form of expression that probably predates language.

Art is not dependant on science nor science on art but they manage to live side by side without conflict and can even compliment each other. Fractals are a good example of science and art.

I am an artist but I am fascinated by science. I mainly use Photoshop as my medium. If it had not been for some very clever scientists developing the computer software like that would not exist.

I have to say I fail to see the point of the question. To me it is a bit like asking what’s better, a potato or the colour green?

A Little Canine Humour

This was sent to me as an e-mail from a friend. I liked it so I thought I would share it with you all.

A newly discovered chapter in the Book of Genesis has provided the answer to "Where do pets come from?".

Adam and Eve said, "Lord, when we were in the garden, you walked with us every day. Now we do not see you anymore. We are lonesome here and it is difficult for us to remember how much you love us."

And God said, "No problem! I will create a companion for you that will be with you forever and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me.

Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves."

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve.
And it was a good animal.

And God was pleased.

And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve, and he wagged his tail.

And Adam said, "Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and I cannot think of a name for this new animal.

And God said, "No problem. Because I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG."

And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them. And they were comforted.

And God was pleased.

And Dog was content and wagged his tail.

After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, "Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. They strut and preen like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well."

And God said, "No problem! I will create for them a companion who will be with them forever and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration."

And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve.

And Cat would not obey them.

And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat's eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings.

And Adam and Eve learned humility. And they were greatly improved.

And God was pleased.

And Dog was happy.

And Cat didn't give a shit one way or the other.

Dangerous Dogs or Dangerous Owners?

I have just watched the Tonight program on ITV which was all about the failings of the dangerous dogs act and the recent amnesty in Merseyside. Typically enough, this program, like all the others I have seen on the subject, has completely missed the point. No one ever seems to ask the question "Why are these dogs the way they are?" Instead there is this big label placed on the breed or breed type as if it was something genetic. Well it's not. The dogs that have attacked people did so because they had been brought up and trained by either violent or incompetent owners. Until the law focuses on the owners and not the dog breed it will always be a shambles. I have known several pit bull type dogs that have been totally loving and gentle. They are not my preferred breed but I have nothing against them. The problem is a large proportion of them are owned by people who either want a dog to boost their macho image or want one specifically for dog fighting. What hope have the dogs got?

Dogs only know what we teach them. Placing the blame on the dogs is a cop out when it is the owners or trainers who must take all the blame. These people should be banned from ever owning a dog again.

I felt really sorry for the families in the program who had their innocent dogs removed from them on the suspicion of them being pit bull type breeds. OK so they got them back after a lengthy court case because they were able to prove they were well trained and safe but the law dictated that these dogs had to remain muzzled and on leads when ever they were in public. How ridiculous is that? Some perfectly safe dogs are now to be treated like they're insane. One of these dogs was an American Bulldog, looks like a boxer but the size of a mastiff. Such a dog would require loads of exercise which it simply can't get on a lead. Keeping a dog well exercised is one way of reducing its stress. The other problem with keeping dogs on leads is that dogs are more likely to attack if they are on a lead than if they are free. This is because when a dog is on a lead it feels trapped so if something happens that unnerves it instead of being able to get out of the way and avoid confrontation it is forced to defend itself.
I know, without a doubt, that I could raise a pit bull type dog from a puppy in such a way that it would be as trustworthy and friendly as any other dog.
The dangerous dogs act was written by people who clearly didn't understand dogs and were too frightened to lay the blame where it deserved to be...at the feet of the owners.

Love 2 Lead Question 11

Question - Is Immigration Destroying National Identity?

My answer - What National Identity? I think we’ve destroyed that for ourselves.

It seems to me that being British is simply not PC. These days it seems we have to be European to be good citizens. But even that isn’t enough. We are now being encouraged to be culturally neutral so as not to offend anyone.

Immigrants are bearing the blame for this but it is really their fault? Are they the ones clamouring for us to change or are we just so scared of upsetting them that we are forcing the changes on ourselves. Let’s face it, the immigrants came here because they wanted to be here. Doesn’t that suggest that most of them liked the place as it is, warts and all? OK, so we do hear about a minority of immigrants that try to upset the status quo but I’m not sure this is reflective of the majority of them.

England has been invaded but immigrants since man first managed to float a boat. It is what has made us who we are so why should we suddenly start worrying about it now? What I believe upsets our population more than the immigrants is having policy makers forcing us to change our ways in order to fit in with our new neighbours. There is so much emphasis these days on keeping tags on everybody’s ethnic background so ensure that no one group is being discriminated against. Schools are discouraged from holding religious assemblies unless they are multi faith. Children are being prevented from wearing any religious symbols in school. Police forces have to discriminate against white European applicants in order to encourage more applicants from ethnic backgrounds. This is all crazy and does not help integration, quite the contrary, it gives us something to rebel against.

Although I don’t think we should fear genuine immigrants I do think we need to deal with illegal immigration swiftly and more effectively. Once a decision has been made to deport this should be done without hesitation. Those that are granted entry into the country should then be welcomed into the welfare system and helped to find employment. Once our immigration policy is seen by the world to be fair and decisive there would be fewer false applicants as we would cease to be seen as the soft target we currently are.

Embracing multiculturalism has made this country strong in the past but enforcing multiculturalism with tear it apart in the future.

Love 2 Lead Question 10

Question - Will Copyright Pirates Kill Television?

My Answer - Wound it yes, kill it no.

There is no two ways about it, copyright theft is a crime just like shop lifting. It’s no good trying to justify it by saying they can afford it or it’s just a drop in the ocean. Theft is theft. If we engage in any kind of copyright theft we have to admit to ourselves that we are criminals. Small time maybe but still guilty of a crime. The only difference is we haven’t been caught …YET. It happens because it is all too easy, like taking biros from work. But that doesn’t make it right.

Will it bring down the industry? No, I can’t see that. Losses from pirating may seem significant on paper taken in isolation but when they are measured against overall profits it’s not generally a problem provided the industry in healthy. If the industry is already ailing then pirating can certainly add to the coffin nails. Let’s face it, most people are going to want to watch the genuine article on their wide screen TV, not some hacked off copy on a tiny portion of their PC screen.

Once again I know this won't be a popular answer but I have to tell it as I see it and not simply try pandering for votes.

Pet Portrait Gift Vouchers

I am now producing gift vouchers as part of my pet portrait range. These make ideal presents especially when things have been left to the last minute. The gift vouchers can be for any amount and will be valid for 12 months from date of issue. Each gift voucher will be presented in one of the many cards available on the web site. Please specify which card you would like when ordering. For further information visit the web site at www.sally-jane.com or contact me direct on 07956 448690.

Love 2 Lead question 9

Question - Is Euthanasia Fundamental To A Civilised Society?
My answer - Civilisation?..no – Humanity?..probably yes

Basically the question needs re-phrasing. As it is, the answer has to be NO. Humans have been living in civilised societies for thousands of years generally without practicing euthanasia. So unless we are now going to reclassify the term ‘civilisation’ euthanasia isn’t and has never been fundamental to it.

However, if the question was “Is Euthanasia Fundamental To Humanity” I would have a different answer.

If a pet is terminally ill and suffering from its illness most owners would have it put to sleep. It is considered the ‘humane’ thing to do. We take the word humane from ‘human’ and yet we do not apply it to humans. If a human is terminally ill and suffering greatly they have to endure their plight until they eventually die. Can this really be right?

I think the main reason that euthanasia against the law in this country and many others has its roots in religion. It is against our Christian beliefs either to take our own lives or the life of another. Common law was based on the commandments and until about the 1960’s it was illegal to attempt to commit suicide in this country. Things are changing slowly and terminally ill people are often allowed to die in certain circumstances but this still isn’t euthanasia and still allows extended suffering.

In some cases I believe people should be allowed to be euthanized. Were a terminal illness or condition is causing so much suffering the person has no will to go on living they should have the right to choose. However, I feel strongly that no person, whether doctor, nurse or other carer, should be forced to administer any lethal treatment to that person if it is against their beliefs. Any such decision should also be authorised by an independent judge to avoid playing into the hands of people like Harold Shipman.

I have watched 2 close members of my family die from cancer. The last couple of weeks of their suffering is imprinted on me. I cannot say if they would have chosen euthanasia if it had been offered, I can only guess but I can say that what I witness was not humane.

Obedience Season Begins

Well it's March and the Dog Obedience Season is once more approaching. Cruft starts next week and I have many friends competing. I wish them all luck, their dogs are certainly working well.
As for me, I have a stack of entry forms to sort out and send off. Brac has worked well in training over the winter, I just hope we can hold it together in the ring.
I plan to be more organised this year both in terms of getting my entries sent off in time and remembering to turn up at the stay rings in time. Having said that, I'm sure the year won't be completely free of mistakes on my part. I am only too well aware that if Brac had a better handler he would be a Crufts contender himself. Still, it's a learning process and great fun for him and me so we will just have to keep trying.
Good luck to my friends at Crufts, I'll be gunning for you.

Blog to Lead: Hurrah!!

Blog to Lead: Hurrah!!

Love 2 Lead Question 8

"Can Money Buy Happiness?"

It depends what you mean by Money and how much. It also depends on which side of the fence one is viewing it from so I know there will be people who will argue fiercely against my views. I accept this and they may be right.

When I initially thought about this question I was going to post any answer in the ‘No’ camp but having studied my argument and looked again at the exact wording of the question I had to switch sides. You will see why. The article below is as I wrote it, I just inserted this paragraph afterwards. Remember as you read it I was trying to prove a ‘No’ answer.

Money is just a possession that has no value in itself. It has to be converted into something useful. Money to someone stranded on a dessert island would be completely useless.

There are two types of possessions. Necessities such as food, shelter and clothing; and luxuries anything else that is not either essential to survival or necessary to help us obtain the necessities. I.e. a car is not a necessity as we cannot eat it (although I guess you could use it for shelter) but it may be necessary to have for providing transport to work so we can afford the necessities. In this example it would not be a luxury but a second car probably would.

Happiness depends on us having the necessities in sufficient quantities to keep us healthy plus also having love and companionship of friends and family and sufficient rest. If money provides these things then you could argue that money has bought happiness but not all culture use money.

Having a large excess of money after providing for the necessities will not provide a large excess of happiness. It seems to me there are plenty of miserable rich people in the world. I would guess the percentage of miserable rich to the percentage of miserable people (above the subsistence level) generally is about the same. It’s only when people cannot provide for themselves or their loved ones that the levels of misery really increase and this is normally due to either drought or war, not a lack of money although these people are often poor.

But…can giving money away not bring happiness?

Many people gain a feeling of happiness by giving money to needy charities such as Oxfam or directly to people they know are in need. Doing this certainly gives me a warm feeling of happiness until I then realise that there are thousands of needy causes and should I not give to them all? I can’t afford to give to them all so then I start to feel despondent again. The more I have to give the more inadequate I feel about my ability to give. Shindler never felt truly happy about his ability to save Jews in the war because he always knew there were more that needed his help. His own selflessness caused his unease. I am not trying to place myself with such a great man but if he didn't gain happiness through his amazing acts of charity then I have no hope by donating a few pounds here and there.

OK so what about the recipients, are they not receiving happiness?

Certainly to a degree, but why were they in that position in the first place. Giving money frequently only treats the symptoms and does not provide a cure. Of course, if it is to get someone out of debt it can be the cure provided they are then able to stay out of debt. If on the other hand it is money given to help feed victims of famine then it only treats the symptoms and unless the money is used to find a sustainable source of food there can be no real happiness only starvation or constant need.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying giving money to charity is a waste, it’s just not always the solution to unhappiness.

Some forms of unhappiness can only be eased by companionship and no amount of money will help. Loneliness or grieving for the loss of a loved one for example. Depression caused by a loss of self worth can effect both rich and poor equally. There are many such examples but you get the idea.

I guess the answer to the original question is not so easy to define. I have already shown there are instances in which it can provide happiness to a degree so the answer has to be ‘Yes’, but I don’t think it is necessary for happiness and it certainly can’t guarantee it.

PS My response to the previous question (7) earned me a 3rd place so I'm well chuffed.