The Adventures of Fripp

 If Nix ever complains about having a horrible summer again I shall remind her of this week. She is passed out on the sofa groaning about how it’s too hot and she can’t cope. She wants to try wearing a fur coat and see how she likes that! To be fair she does go out on the paving stones in her bare feet to make sure it’s okay for me to go out and we only go out early mornings and early evening. Yesterday evening was fun…we drove up to the Harbour Club where there is a sandy beach and the water is very calm…I like that, not too keen on waves. I had a really nice dip and that kept me cool for the rest of the evening. This morning we had a walk down the boardwalk and as you know as I’ve got older our walks have got shorter. This is the story Nix likes to tell because she can’t face a long walk any longer either. This morning I took it upon myself to head off up the beach past our usual exit and so Nix just had to follow me…it was very nice but I was quite tired when we got home. Nix pa...

 It’s very hot today with no breeze but Nix has bought an artificial wind machine thingy which I like…a lot.  My urine results have come through and they are pretty near perfect. I’m nice and acidic so that’s good so now not much to do until September. Bron referred to me as ‘the old boy’ so I shall have to have words. When the Sainsbury’s man came today he looked very hot. They don’t have air con in their vans so it must have been horrible for him. As he was going back to his van he saw the water bowl we leave out for the dogs. Next to it is a large container full of water to top it up. He asked Nix if he could have some of the water and she was horrified and said no she would get him some fresh. She handed him over a large jug of fresh water and he emptied it all over his head 🫢 I wish we had a photo of that, he went away very happy and a bit cooler.  Speaking of photos there aren’t really any of moi as we haven’t really been anywhere. I went to the grass verge for a w...

 Phew it’s a bit hot today. We went out really early so it wasn’t too bad and I’m glad I’ve got shady spots in the garden.  Before we had our walk proper, we had a little meander to the grass verge where Nix managed to collect a sample of my wee. Then we had to go home again so she could decant it into a proper container and then we went for our proper walk. We had a bit of a break when we got home and then we set off for the vets. We were halfway there and we had all the windows open and suddenly there was this awful smell. Because I’d had a bit of an upset tum this morning Nix thought it was me so she pulled into a side road to check what was happening. There was nothing wrong as far as she could see and so we set off again. The smell disappeared and she decided that I must’ve had bad wind…I’m thinking pot and kettle 🫢 Anyway, she dropped the sample off at the vets and then on the way back we stopped off at Hove Park and had a meander under the trees. When we were at exactl...

  Oops we’re a bit late today, that’s because Nix decided to pull up the weeds on the front drive and it took much longer than expected (or rather she’s getting a bit slow.) So yesterday we had a visit from Trish and Bess which was very nice. We gave them a lift home and as it was almost sunset Nix and I had a lovely walk down the beach. I like it when it’s a bit cooler. This morning at church there was quite a lot to do for Nix so I made myself extra comfortable and placed my head on a prayer cushion. Very comfortable if I may say so and I’d like one at home. That of course would actually mean three, one for each of my double donut beds.  When we got home I had my lunch and then went for a nap in the garden. I think Nix went down to the sea because her hair was wet again. I don’t mind, it would be far too hot for me down there and it was very busy I think, a very rare sunny Sunday.  This afternoon Jackie invited us for tea and cake. I’m a bit annoyed with myself because ...

 I’ve been a bit disruptive again today. I’m okay if Nix is sitting down when she chats to people, I just go to sleep. It’s when she’s standing talking that I don’t like it. That’s when I try to mount her leg and chew on my lead. Today we went into town as the market was on and there was also lemon drizzle in the Parish Centre. Before we even got to the bridge we bumped into Anne and Richard having coffee outside the Beach Bakery and then once over the bridge we bumped into Frances and then into our neighbour Caroline. I was fine for those short chats and I was very well behaved while Nix was sitting down having her lemon drizzle especially as she saved me a bit.  It was on our way home that the problems started. I’m not that keen when Nix stops in the street to talk to people because I don’t know what to do with myself. That’s when I chew my lead and try to mount her leg and to be honest anyone else’s leg in close proximity 🫢 So going home was a bit stressful, we bumped into...

 We didn’t go to meditation this morning because a very kind man had offered to help us with the curtains in the church hall and we were meeting him. The curtains were all hanging off and it was almost impossible to close them so Nix asked on one of the local forums for recommendations. One lovely chap called Matt offered to come and look and not charge us. Kay and Nix  met him there this morning and he not only fixed the curtains but he cleaned all the window frames too where we couldn’t reach. He was telling Nix that he used to be a builder but now he was a carer for his wife who is mainly in a wheelchair and he taught marshall arts to kids too which helped keep them off the streets. He told Nix he wasn’t a churchgoer but he liked to help people. Nix told him he was as kind as most Christians she knew. We think we will ask for his wife to be put in the prayer book so she can get prayed for regularly. He said whenever we needed anything done to just ask him and if he could he...

 So I’ll start off with the most import information of the day which will obviously be news about moi 🙂 This afternoon I have been to see my vet Bron for a mid flush check up. I had a few things going on which Nix was a bit worried about but it seems none of them should be problematic and mainly are to do with my age. I have been making this weird noise from my throat for a couple of weeks. It sounds like I’m about to be sick or I’ve got something caught in my throat. I haven’t really done it recently well until this morning but that’s a story for later. So…I got my dew claws clipped and Nix will take a urine sample in tomorrow just to make sure my wee is nice and acid otherwise my next visit will be for my next flush which will be the end of September. Bron is right over in Peacehaven now so it takes a while to get there so Nix takes a flask of tea and some biscuits. It’s been raining all day so at least least she drank it in the car and didn’t embarrass me by getting it out in t...

 We decided not to go too far today after yesterdays incidents, thought it was safer to stay near home. We did meet Kay down at the church hall to wait for a disabled lady who was having problems getting out of the church hall. That was easily solved and we shall put a grab rail up for her so she can hang on to it when she goes down the step. Nix had also asked on our Shoreham forum for a recommendation for someone who could come and fix the curtains in the church hall as they are hanging off. They are very high, about 15’ so it’s too high for us. A very nice man got in touch and he said he’d come round with his ladder and he’d do it for no cost. Isn’t that kind of him, Nix says he’ll get a special place in heaven 🙂 This afternoon we just walked into town. We wandered round the churchyard but it started to get hot so we came home. While we were wandering we kept seeing very yappy little dogs. I think everyone sitting at the cafés thought I was a very good dog for ignoring them…I g...

 Oh dear I have had two incidents today and they’ve both been Nix’s fault. First of all this morning she omitted to mention that there was a board missing on the boardwalk. My foot went down it unexpectedly and I fell over. I landed on my side on the pebbles and I couldn’t get up again until Nix gave me a hand. It didn’t bother me but it really scared Nix. She wrote to the council when we got home and said she’d witnessed a very frightening fall there and if it had happened to her she would be on to her solicitor. She’s expecting it to get fixed pronto. It’s a miracle actually that Nix didn’t fall over it 🤣 This afternoon we decided to visit the old stomping ground. Not so much stomping going on these days but I do enjoy a meander round Hove Lagoon. In one part of the lagoon there is a sort of slip way which goes gradually into the water so it’s very shallow. Thing is there’s a bit of a drop on the side and I walked straight over it. It was a bit scary but actually I can swim quit...