He definitely looks very chilled, very pretty too!
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"What have you eaten" Parallel Chat
- Thread starter zauberflote
- Start Date
Annb
Expert
Looks vrey relaxed. Handsome feller too.
That's amazing, I love it!
@JoKalsbeek , you can use a bit of a cheer up. Yes, I know it's not a cat maar hier word je toch gelukkig van!
maglil55
Expert
He'd had his eye on it for a while. They are from the wonderful M&S. Realising it was Mother's Day, he called his Dad to tell him exactly where Walter the Puppy was in store.
Annb
Expert
After a bad start, it seems that Hugo (the Basset hound) is settling in. He had a couple of confrontations with Banksie but he's not big enough to take on a Newfie and seems to have given up on that idea. He has either remembered or learned some manners and seems to be happier than he was when he first arrived. Just looks miserable, but he is a Basset hound after all.
MrsA2
Expert
Banksie? I thought all the big dogs were being rehomed? And Bassets aren't small, short yes, but small no!
Annb
Expert
Banksie was, apparently, too big for his other home, so came back. Without Ginnie, he's not much of a problem, so he is staying - unless someone else tries to get him into trouble. The Basset is not a small dog at all. He just has ridiculously short legs for such a big dog. They seem to be settling down together now. 2 older fellas will, we hope, spend the rest of their days as pals. Not sure what the lifespan of either breed is expected to be.
maglil55
Expert
I understand both are in the average of 10 - 12 years. Son's family has a leonberger, which is also a "giant" dog. My DIL says the "giants" (she was 10 years in a veterinary hospital in the USA) used to be around 8 years. Now, it's more like 10 - 12 with good health and proper feeding/care. Apparently, the Bassett falls into the same average range, although she says, like everything else, some of them buck the trend!
The giants all seem to be big soft lumps. The problem is that flatten you with their welcome
Annb
Expert
Banksie certainly does. He thinks he is a lap dog. He is such a big friendly animal, and a bit on the ridiculous side, to look at with his large mane and all that fur. He really doesn't have an intelligent look about him, unlike Ginnie who was the really smart one. Banksie hates his harness but when he is let off the lead (usually on the beach) he doesn't run far and comes back when he is called. Not sure about Hugo. His personality is a bit of a mystery to me just now. At least he will now walk on the lead so that Em can take him out for walks. He just looks so miserable.I understand both are in the average of 10 - 12 years. Son's family has a leonberger, which is also a "giant" dog. My DIL says the "giants" (she was 10 years in a veterinary hospital in the USA) used to be around 8 years. Now, it's more like 10 - 12 with good health and proper feeding/care. Apparently, the Bassett falls into the same average range, although she says, like everything else, some of them buck the trend!
The giants all seem to be big soft lumps. The problem is that flatten you with their welcome
MrsA2
Expert
I don't see the attraction to the breed. Some neighbours have had a string of Bassets and they are just so ungainly and sad looking. They don't even walk far , can't really fit on a lap and don't play.
Annb
Expert
Yes, we are affected here. Our freight ferry is being withdrawn and all freight will be brought across the Minch on the passenger ferry. That, as a result will not be available to carry passengers. So 3 crossings a day will be reduced to one for passengers. The other 2 will be dedicated to freight.
It is diabolical. People depend on these ferries for their livelihood. It is the start of the tourist season and the long, complicated way of getting to the Uists via other islands will put lots of people off. Getting supplies is going to be difficult too. There is a connection from Harris, that's if the Tarbert pier is fixed yet. The ferry from Harris is from Leverburgh - at the end of a long and winding road - and it is tiny. I think it can take a car or two, but not a lorry. If ferries can't get in to Tarbert, traffic will have to come via Stornoway and that ferry is always fully booked as it is. With the new schedule, there will be even less passenger space from Stornoway or Ullapool. If people need to get anywhere on the mainland for work or medical treatment from the Southern Isles, they'll have to go the long way round as well.
There are planes, but they can't carry much freight - they are fairly small, and they are expensive. Not sure how all this is going to work out.
Annb
Expert
The problem is that we are on islands, about 40 miles from the mainland, across a notoriously wild stretch of water - the Minch. We depend on the ferry service run by Calmac (used to be called Caledonian MacBrayne) and they are more and more unreliable. New ferries are on order but they have been delayed by problems at the builder's yard and cost over-runs so the fleet, which was already too small, keeps going out of service either due to breakdowns or bad sea conditions. When that happens, the only way on or off the islands is by (very expensive) air. Our tickets have always been the most expensive in Britain - at one time you could fly from London to New York for less than flying from Glasgow or Edinburgh to any of the islands. In any case, the small planes that serve the route are not able to carry much freight. Mail comes in on a small chartered plane, when it can get here - sometimes it breaks down or can't fly due to weather conditions.
There used to be a dedicated freight ferry that sailed between Ullapool on the mainland to Stornoway every week night but it has been withdrawn. That means that the passenger ferry which is normally fully booked for 3 crossings a day for cars and foot passengers is now being used for 2 of those crossings to carry lorries and freight, leaving only one crossing for everything else.
The pier in the south of this island, in Harris, has been closed for renovation work for some weeks now. So that ferry can't operate.
The whole service to the Uists has been cancelled for 5 weeks right at the start of the tourist season (the economy of the islands is very tourist oriented) so people there can't get their tourists onto the island, or their supplies either. There is a small ferry that links the Southern Isles to the Northern Hebrides, but it can only take a couple of cars, and certainly no lorries.
This all means that the only way onto the islands is via the reduced Stornoway service. Reduced just when it needed ot be expanded.
The Northern Isles (Orkney and Shetland) are, I think, in a better situation but are still vulnerable.
As far as I am aware, the ferries were much more reliable in the past. Not so smart or luxurious looking (but, generally more comfortable) and they sailed pretty well whatever the weather. Of course, they didn't have the same capacity or the massive superstructure that modern ships have.
Add to these difficulties that the local medical services no longer carry out the range of surgical or medical procedures that they used to, so travel to mainland hospitals is essential. Many people work on the mainland during the week, and come home at weekends. We depend on travel links to get specialist medical consultants to the local hospitals to hold clinics for some conditions. There is an air ambulance service, run by Loganair, I believe, to fly urgent medical cases to the mainland but it is only for real emergencies. Last time I was on that - a good few years ago - it was a dilapidated old plane, well past its use-by date. I don't have any recent experience of that service.
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maglil55
Expert
Part of the problem was covered in this BBC Disclosure episode, but there's a lot more to it than that. The ferries in this documentary are now 5 years over schedule and at least 3 times the cost currently. I have doubts whether these ferries will ever sail (especially as the harbours they were destined for need extensive work for them to actually allow the ferries to fit!) I don't believe these ferries were for the routes for the Western Isles. To be clear, this fiasco is fully devolved.
BBC One - Disclosure, The Great Ferries Scandal
Mark Daly reveals the inside story of the ferry fiasco which has gripped Scotland.
I know a few people who live on the islands, and almost all of them are wondering how much longer they can put up with this diabolical situation.
MrsA2
Expert
I will watch this, just need to find a clear hourPart of the problem was covered in this BBC Disclosure episode, but there's a lot more to it than that. The ferries in this documentary are now 5 years over schedule and at least 3 times the cost currently. I have doubts whether these ferries will ever sail (especially as the harbours they were destined for need extensive work for them to actually allow the ferries to fit!) I don't believe these ferries were for the routes for the Western Isles. To be clear, this fiasco is fully devolved.
BBC One - Disclosure, The Great Ferries Scandal
Mark Daly reveals the inside story of the ferry fiasco which has gripped Scotland.www.bbc.co.uk
I know a few people who live on the islands, and almost all of them are wondering how much longer they can put up with this diabolical situation.
maglil55
Expert
It's fully devolved. Basically, the mob in Holyrood would have to request help, and that won't happen. It's an utter shambles, and its been going on for years. I'm afraid it's much the same story with everything.
