too!
End Of Chapter Two
GROWING UP IN SOUTHWOLD – CHAPTER 3
Time soon flew by and before we knew it Shelley had had her second vaccination and was free to walk the streets and byways of Southwold and the surrounding area.
We lived in Pier Avenue which was a stones throw from the seafront and the small pier situated to the North end of the beach. The road had an avenue of nice trees and although it leads to the beach, was not that busy which was ideal for us.
Shelley’s first walk on the lead was as we anticipated full of fun. Christine purchased one of those extender leads on a ratchet and a nice brown leather collar which looked very smart indeed. For a Labrador Shelley was small in size and we had to punch an extra hole in the collar, even then it seemed loose.
The initial walk was fine with a little bit of pulling and sniffs at every tree and fence. To our surprise we even passed a rather large collie but there was no response whatsoever. Once on the front we decided a nice walk along the beach would be worth a try and as it was very quiet we decided to let her off the lead. Oh dear! We soon found out she was interested in one thing only ‘water’ and before we knew it she was running through the surf and swimming out to the end of the beach groynes and back. Initial fear set in but within a couple of minutes she was back at our feet shaking spray all over us and rolling in the sand. I began to wonder if she was just enjoying her first taste of freedom or was there the gun dog instinct in her having come from a farm. Any idea of taking her into the Swan in her current condition was abandoned. We ventured around a long grass area hoping she would dry herself off, which she duly did after rolling in a small cow pat. Back home it was a hose down and a dry off before we even considered allowing her back onto our pristine carpet.
Next day being a Sunday we decided to walk to the Swan via the back streets which we felt would give us an opportunity to teach her to sit at road junctions.
We were told to let her get used to one command at a time and before long she was sitting at every opportunity knowing she would get a small treat as a reward.
Once inside the lounge bar area she was greeted with such a fuss not only by the locals but by visitors there for Sunday lunch. What surprised us was her initial response to sit beside Christine and myself and relax. There was no wish to run off or pull on the lead any time a person came up to her. Even Jack said that she was one of the best Labrador puppies he had seen for a long time adding that she was going to be small when fully grown. Both of us felt we had done the right thing in taking her out at such a young age and the encouragement we had from others supported this.
From childhood I had always wanted a dog but sadly my late mother suffered from very bad asthma. I grew up at Boxley in Kent making friends with a person called Willie Marr-Johnson. I was in the choir at the church and every Christmas Willie’s mother Diana Marr-Johnson used to invite the choir up to Boxley House to sing to the family; this was followed by hot mince pies. I first met Willie there and was then invited to the Farm to have tea with him.
Willie’s mother was the sister of the writer Robin Maugham and her uncle was Somerset Maugham. They had a Labrador called Sookey which I befriended straight away. Over the years Willie and I became good friends and when he returned from Prep School for the holidays most of my time was spent at Boxley House – I became part of the family!
Sadly mother’s asthma became a lot worse – and my father and her GP could not work out why. I remember on two occasions her being taken to hospital and being connected to an oxygen cylinder. It was later when the doctor was talking to my father that the subject of dogs came up. From
End Of Chapter Two
GROWING UP IN SOUTHWOLD – CHAPTER 3
Time soon flew by and before we knew it Shelley had had her second vaccination and was free to walk the streets and byways of Southwold and the surrounding area.
We lived in Pier Avenue which was a stones throw from the seafront and the small pier situated to the North end of the beach. The road had an avenue of nice trees and although it leads to the beach, was not that busy which was ideal for us.
Shelley’s first walk on the lead was as we anticipated full of fun. Christine purchased one of those extender leads on a ratchet and a nice brown leather collar which looked very smart indeed. For a Labrador Shelley was small in size and we had to punch an extra hole in the collar, even then it seemed loose.
The initial walk was fine with a little bit of pulling and sniffs at every tree and fence. To our surprise we even passed a rather large collie but there was no response whatsoever. Once on the front we decided a nice walk along the beach would be worth a try and as it was very quiet we decided to let her off the lead. Oh dear! We soon found out she was interested in one thing only ‘water’ and before we knew it she was running through the surf and swimming out to the end of the beach groynes and back. Initial fear set in but within a couple of minutes she was back at our feet shaking spray all over us and rolling in the sand. I began to wonder if she was just enjoying her first taste of freedom or was there the gun dog instinct in her having come from a farm. Any idea of taking her into the Swan in her current condition was abandoned. We ventured around a long grass area hoping she would dry herself off, which she duly did after rolling in a small cow pat. Back home it was a hose down and a dry off before we even considered allowing her back onto our pristine carpet.
Next day being a Sunday we decided to walk to the Swan via the back streets which we felt would give us an opportunity to teach her to sit at road junctions.
We were told to let her get used to one command at a time and before long she was sitting at every opportunity knowing she would get a small treat as a reward.
Once inside the lounge bar area she was greeted with such a fuss not only by the locals but by visitors there for Sunday lunch. What surprised us was her initial response to sit beside Christine and myself and relax. There was no wish to run off or pull on the lead any time a person came up to her. Even Jack said that she was one of the best Labrador puppies he had seen for a long time adding that she was going to be small when fully grown. Both of us felt we had done the right thing in taking her out at such a young age and the encouragement we had from others supported this.
From childhood I had always wanted a dog but sadly my late mother suffered from very bad asthma. I grew up at Boxley in Kent making friends with a person called Willie Marr-Johnson. I was in the choir at the church and every Christmas Willie’s mother Diana Marr-Johnson used to invite the choir up to Boxley House to sing to the family; this was followed by hot mince pies. I first met Willie there and was then invited to the Farm to have tea with him.
Willie’s mother was the sister of the writer Robin Maugham and her uncle was Somerset Maugham. They had a Labrador called Sookey which I befriended straight away. Over the years Willie and I became good friends and when he returned from Prep School for the holidays most of my time was spent at Boxley House – I became part of the family!
Sadly mother’s asthma became a lot worse – and my father and her GP could not work out why. I remember on two occasions her being taken to hospital and being connected to an oxygen cylinder. It was later when the doctor was talking to my father that the subject of dogs came up. From
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