Mr Bumble 10th January 2008 - 7th May 2011

Mr Bumble, friend, mate and a gentle soul.

Saturday was a very sad day in the Southwellski house,we lost a very dear and much loved member of our family, Mr Bumble (Berty Way of Delosinga) our Norwich Terrier died very suddenly. He had been unwell with his breathing for a long while, although an operation just over a year ago did make some difference.

Stop thief!

He was unlike any other dog I have ever had the privilege to care for, we didn't own Mr B, he owned us!

Don't get me wrong, we had our fallings out, in fact at times he was a git! But he was our git.  He would just catch the back of my heels as I walked along, and when I turned to admonish him he had that 'Who Me?' look on his face. He could steal like a pro and would then flaunt what ever it was he had taken in a series of skips and jumps.

Lily Perkins ice cream at the Wayland Show 2009, was there for the taking, Lily was three at the time and not best pleased.

Similarly, the chooks were not happy with his removing their bread and other treats!

Mr B's first show

He qualified for Crufts as a puppy, and we had great hopes. We arrived early on Terrier day and were the opening class of Crufts 2009, the ring was surrounded by spectators and I was very nervous as we made our way in.  Mr Bumble, who had beaten every other dog in the class time and again strutted his stuff into the ring, stood to let everyone admire him and then burst into his party piece of rubbing his back on the new green carpet, rollovers, skips, jumps, bounces, more rollovers followed by his impression of a Lipizzaner stallion.  We didn't even get into the last five!

He did redeem himself later in the day when he tried a dog puzzle on a dog supplies stand at Crufts.  "this puzzle will challenge the cleverest of dogs" said the salesman "they have to rotate each level to reveal the treat it keeps them occupied for ages".

By the time the sales rep had finished that sentence Mr B had flipped the puzzle upside down and had devoured all the treats and was looking to pee up the stand.  The sales rep's face went a similar colour to the rosette Mr B could have won had he not been a berk!

Peeing up things became something of an art form for Mr B, his ultimate achievement in this field was peeing up the back leg of a Doberman at the Welsh Kennel club show, as the Dobie went berserk and was dragging his owner towards Mr B, Mr B calmy stood his ground then turned and kicked grass at him.

When we moved to Broadlands we lived in a caravan on the paddock for what seemed an eternity. One afternoon as our dogs were eating their dinners two dogs, a Doberman and a Mastiff of some sort got into the paddock and started to chase after Blossom one of our terrier crosses.  You could see Mr B struggling with the choice of 'Do I finish my dinner, or do I sort this out?'

I am sure he let out a big sigh, before calmy walked towards the marauding dogs who seeing his advance turned towards him.  It became apparent to the Doberman very early on that Mr B was not going to turn tail but in fact was continuing to advance.  The Mastiff also started to doubt his ability to sort out this terrier and stopped in his/her tracks. The Doberman came within 10 feet of Mr B at which point Mr B stepped up the pace to a brisk walk then pulling himself up to his full 10 inch height he saw them off the paddock and then returned to finish his dinner, what a bloke!

Mr B and Nanny Southwellski

His idea of a cuddle was to lie across your throat and push himself onto you, if he had arms he would have hugged you.

We took Mr B and Scarlett to a number of shows and events to represent the endanged native dog breeds of this country, the Norwich Terrier being one of those breeds at risk.







There is a knack to having a dog like Mr B and it amounts to a list as follows:-

1. You don't own a dog like Mr B
2. A dog like Mr B owns you, you are in his pack so know your place
3. His love for you is unconditional, return this love in kind
4. He is the pack leader, trust his judgement, he knows dogs better than you do
5. He will protect you and every other member of his pack with his life
6. When he passes on, don't be sad, be happy he shared his life with you

I have grown up around dogs, I am now 50 and I have never been so priveleged as to have known a spirit like Mr B.

Forest Dweller?

We buried Mr B in the forest garden, why? When he was a very young puppy he resembled some kind of forest dweller.  I think he picked his spot a couple of weeks back.  I strimmed some 'rides' through a particularly wild bit of the forest garden and he came and laid on a bit of scrubby weedy ground I had cleared and lay resting in the dappled sunlight for a good long time.

Today we built an arboured seat over his final resting place, because when we sat outside he always sat or laid beneath our chairs.  We have planted a honeysuckle called 'Scentational' because he was and is sensational.

Mr B has died but he hasn't left us we feel him everywhere.

A beautiful day

No not just the weather, although it was a lovely day, it was a bit breezy this morning but it warmed up as the day progressed.

Today was beautiful because of the Royal Wedding. We had a day off from doing jobs of any description and had friends over to watch the proceeding on TV.

Its surprising how sharing a day such as this can make it all the more meaningful and we are blessed with some wonderfultrue friends.

It saddened me that despite the occasion there were still a few people determined to spoil it for Prince William and Kate Middleton, get a life please because you failed miserably to spoil our, and their enjoyment and wonderment of a very special day.

Coco was in a flag waving frenzy, egged on by Aunty Angela and Sarah who provided flags.  Ray, Nic and Ellie also came for the day and I think along with Nanny Southwellski, Uncle Robin, who arrived later, and myself we confirmed that this little piece of England remains loyal to the Queen and her family and we did Her Majesty proud.

Kate Middleton looked stunning and the smiles and looks that went between her and Prince William were undoubtedly genuine looks of love.  Made me cry!

We did have a rather unusual experience with the desserts Aunty Angela brought over with her, the red white and blue pavlova looked fantastic it was just that blue whipped cream had a certain unusual flavour.  We will leave it at that because they were a fantastic idea and certainly added to the day.

I did a tour of the forest garden this evening, I hadn't been down there for a day or two and my goodness how it has changed.  The rides I strimmed a week or so ago are now almost grown over and re-doing them will have to take a place high up on my jobs to do list.

The cherry tree is a mass of fruit already and I will be looking to see what we can do with the fruit, although Aunty Angela has made it very clear that this will not be an issue.

My Morning Glory plants, so savagely ravaged by the chooks a couple of days ago have had a new lease of life and I am confident they will make a full recovery.

I am planting out my runner beans tomorrow, its a bit of a risk with catching a late frost but they are taking over the potting shed and I need the space for pricking out my brassicas, listen to me being like a proper gardener.

Whilst this is my first garden of any significant size, I am not entirely new to growing stuff.  Great Great Grandpa Southwellski was a gardener for Mr Feetham and grew all the veggies for the family and his own needs along with flowers for Mrs Feetham.  The Feethams used to hold village garden parties in their garden and Great Great Grandpa always kept them looking pristine.

My father, Great Grandpa Southwellski, also had a passion for gardening, and like so many other areas of his life I did not take as much interest in what he did as I should have done, the same has to be said for Great Great Grandpa Southwellski. Oh the questions I would ask now!