The Year Of The Dog!

In China the next Year of the Dog is 2018! The Chinese believe , rightly so, that the dog is man`s best friend, will obey his master no matter what and are  the symbol of good fortune ( black poodles are seen as the most lucky ! ) Someone born in the Year of Dog are seen as  faithful, courageous, clever and warm-hearted, knowing how to keep a secret and inspire confidence in others!

In our house 2015 is the year of the dog, and very likely 2016, 2017 and many more years too. If you`ve read my blog before you will know that Rowan is quite new, we`ve had him 7 months now, and he is the reason why most of my annual leave this year will be taken in England! He has just had his second holiday in Norfolk where he loves running on the beach, chasing his ball and looking for rabbits in the sand dunes! The Chinese description of the dog describes him perfectly as his personality seems to grow and change by the day .

Next Monday evening will see him ( and me ) start the long journey to Boscastle in Cornwall for the second part of my September break from Cruise.co.uk. We have rented an apartment near to the beautiful harbour, just down across the road from our other friends cottage.

Boscastle is the picturesque Cornish Village that was badly affected by the floods of 2004, when over a months rainfall,  approx. 60mm, fell in just 2 hours, and anyone who has visited the fishing village will know that the way it sits at the bottom of the harbour where three rivers meet and a high tide on the same day just made matters worse.

Fortunately the village has recovered and the beautiful, natural harbour is once again a major tourist attraction which much of the area being owned by the National Trust. Rowan will get plenty of coastal walks, in fact my friend Graham has promised to take him to Tintagel which is about 5 miles away – I know who will manage the walk best !

So I will be off next Monday evening and back to my desk on Monday 12th October.