Saturday 31 August 2013

Furry Alarm Clocks and UFOs





Chilling on the decking

All this week I have had to get up at 5.45am to get Toby to work for 7am and Hugo and Pip have not been amused - they have remained lying down at the foot of the bed barely lifting an eye-lid as I climb over them and Martin has had to call them down at 7am to take them for a walk. So, why, oh why, when it is a Saturday and we can all have a lie in do that they decide 6am is a good time to get up and start jumping up and down on the bed?!! It is all very well trying to ignore them but they KNOW we are awake. They first start by charging up and down the stairs like a herd of elephants, dropping the occasional bone so it would bounce on every step. Hugo then lifts the curtain up so he can look out the window, letting in the light and Pip stands there woo wooing with a tissue in her mouth. Hugo then went and had a long drink out the toilet and came back to jump up on the bed trying to lick us while Pip came in with a wet face flannel she had found in the bathroom!! Think they were trying to tell us something. In the end Martin gave in and went and made a cup of tea and bought their biscuits back up to bed. As soon as they had had them they settled down and went back to sleep - we, of course, were wide awake. Thanks Hugo and Pip, you make great alarm clocks but not on a Saturday, please!



Selsley Common is a beautiful open space that is perched on the top of a hill and when you get to the far side you are greeted by fantastic views over the Severn Valley with the Black Mountains in the distance. It is a very popular place for flying model aeroplanes and paragliding as the thermals are good. As I was walking Hugo and Pip up there the other afternoon we suddenly had to duck as a very large model aeroplane glided straight over our heads and crashed in to the grass behind us - Pip was ready to kill it as she saw it approaching and I think she would have pounced on it when it hit the ground if I had not made her walk quickly away. 

On another evening some youngsters were flying kites which both Hugo and Pip were very interested in and they were constantly looking back over their shoulders and up in to the sky to watch what was happening - a tasty treat perhaps! As we rounded the mound right on the edge of the common where the hill drops away Hugo and Pip stopped dead in their tracks as this giant 'bird' took off with a whoosh and both of them darted towards it as it floated off over the edge. Fortunately the extender leads came in to their own and stopped them before they flew over the edge after this giant creature.- yes, you've guessed what it was, a paraglider with a man strapped in to his 'sleeping bag' hanging underneath. Think he was quite glad when the air currents swept him upwards otherwise he might have had a couple of passengers hanging on to him!

Hugo gets a bit jealous when Pip is getting a fuss!
On Thursday there was a bit of excitement up on the Common, which only allows cars to park on the very edge. As we reached the crest of the hill we spotted a gazebo with two vans and loads of people messing with a camera As they were right on the path we normally take we decided to go in the opposite direction and we saw a young girl in a high vis. jacket who was obviously part of the group. Hugo and Pip liked her as she made a great fuss of them and I asked her what was happening. She told us they were filming a commercial for Freeview, taking advantage of the beautiful scenery in to the valley. As we walked away there was a sudden whirring noise and a model helicopter took off with a camera attached underneath - it went right over the top of us, causing Hugo and Pip to spin round trying to watch it's progress and getting very excited in general. So, if you see an advert on Freeview where you can see a fat lady in a blue and white striped top with two bears prancing around and a herd of cows close by - its us!!

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