It's A Good Job We Have Two ‘Ferocious’ Guard Dogs

As I roll my bike down the drive and set off for work, MD is rolling himself in something unpalatable and delaying their morning walk. If he doesn’t watch it he’ll be in for another Head and Shoulders session with Daughter. Then again, that’s probably why he’s done it. If he’s really lucky he might get the hair dryer treatment.

According to research, which looked at insurance claims, Nottingham is a hot spot for burglary. No surprise there then. Arnold, West Bridgford, Sherwood and Bilborough are all in the national top ten. We share a post code with Bilborough so that effectively put us in the top ten too. Good job we have two ‘ferocious’ dogs guarding the house... or failing that the smell of whatever MD’s rolled in should do the trick.

Teesdale in County Durham was the least burgled place, although it’s not exactly densely populated. It was already on the list as one of our dream places to live and it just got even more attractive.

By 5pm it’s still not rained yet today. Call this summer? So I go for a longer ride home. With the Pro Tour Ride coming up on 6th September, all 145km of it, I thought I best get some extra kilometres in. I take my usual long route home via Kegworth and then extend it out from Clifton through Ruddington and Wilford. 42km in around 85 minutes, which I’m happy with, but it’s still not even a third of the event distance.

After which I’m knackered but L needs to do a run as part of her marathon training. As Friday is of course the dog’s night out, we plan to meet up at the Victoria which is a pleasant hour's dog walk away. Of course, we inevitably get side-tracked and the best laid plans of dogs and men go astray because the Victoria is annoyingly one of the few pubs around here that still closes at 11pm. So in the end we meet up at the much nearer, trusty local. The dogs don't get a long walk but the pork scratching are good.