The ARA dogs, as many will remember them from the ARA website: Pandy, Fly (always close together) and Gina (always the loner).

Kirsty pictured in about 1996 on the nose of our first boat.

When we first got him, Toby refused to get into the Range Rover, now he jumps in every chance he gets.

Before they became trade bark attorneys all of the dogs had 'proper' jobs.

Kirsty, Pandy, Fly and Gina were all trained to herd sheep. and Kirsty and I trialled from Hampshire to Harris.

In the picture below, I had just taken delivery of 80 Swaledale ewes (it seemed like a good idea when I bought them) and Pandy and Fly (who was always the better yard dog) have just spotted some of them trying to get back aboard the livestock wagon that had just brought them from Northumbria, and you can see 'not on my watch' written on their little faces.

Below left, Maggie and Kirsty have just met a very young Fly whose brother (whom you can see below keeping an eye on the ewes who did not make a break for freedom), was trained by Fly's breeder and would go on to become an England Champion. Pandy was keen but not in his brother's league (and I could not compare as a trainer and shepherd); Fly as I have said was a good 'yard dog' (point her at some misbehaving sheep and leave her to it).

Kirsty would have been a lot better, had I been a better shepherd. But we did get an occasional place and even went home from one trial with a portable television we had won. (OK, OK, I won the raffle as well as taking a place in the trial).

dogs and music

Gina's love affair with UB40.

Every August we took the boat from Braunston to Cropredy where we met up with friends to attend Fairport Convention's folk rock festival, pictured here from August 2014. This is probably Gina's first trip to Cropredy after "the Twins" (Pandy and Fly) passed away. An undying memory of this gig is Gina sitting on my lap as it got dark, transfixed by UB40. "Cropredy" (as we called it) is at the beginning of August and GDSF was at the end of August so as soon as we got the boat back to its mooring in Braunston, I dashed off to Dorset to get the Scammell ready for GDSF.

Nowadays, because of my decreasing mobility, we don't go by boat but get to park our little motorhome in the Cropredy Convention disabled campsite which is located just behind that Burger Bar you can see behind me. We miss the floating narrow boat community but 100 yards with our chairs tied to my wheeled walking frame beats having to walk about a mile from the cut carrying everything on my back.