Farm Dogs, Music-making in the Sticks,

This is Dottie, my faithful companion who spends her days either sleeping in her nest in the bottom of my kitchen dresser or following me around the farm and pottering in the garden. She is now 12 years old but still as bouncy and energetic as ever, always ready for a walk and a great favourite with visitors. She seems be under the impression that anyone who calls has come to see her and she is more than ready to be their best friend. Sometimes this can be bit much and she has to be restrained from making a nusiance of herself but retreats when instructed and then just sends adoring glances from her bed. At present she is one of the five dogs we have on the farm and although the smallest is definitely the one in charge, even of Judy our no.1 sheepdog (see picture below). As well as Judy we have a young trainee sheepdog, Meg, a shouty little dachshund, Winnie who lives with Elder Son and his family, and beautiful noble Gwen, Younger Son's black labrador. It's quite a pack whenever they and us are all out together on the farm. The dogs are very well behaved in each others company, so long as there is no food around then they all vie with each other and it can get quite ugly...as in all scenarios with dogs never take their good behaviour for granted!

Yesterday The Farmer went out to play his violin at a funeral in the local church. Some years ago he had played for the birthday party of the deceased who so enjoyed the event that the request was made to have an Irish jig played at the funeral as the coffin was taken out of the church. The Farmer was very touched to be asked though playing such a jolly type of music at a sombre occasion can be difficult but it went well and the family were very appreciative. It was something different for the The Farmer as most of his music-making these days is classical as he plays in a string quartet and a chamber orchestra in Lampeter, our nearest university town. The chamber orchestra is giving a concert in November so there are regular rehearsals of the lovely programme of Mozart, Schubert, Haydn and Bach. Many years ago we had a ceilidh band with a group of friends and played a lot of folk music which was huge fun but very different to the classical repertoire which The Farmer so loves playing. We are so lucky out here in deepest west Wales to have an enthusiatic amateur orchestra of very good players, many of whom are ex-professional musicians, and who are prepared to travel considerable distances to attend rehearsals and put on concerts.