It didn't get off to the best of starts, our journey to the Welsh Kennel Club Championship show, with a notice over the motorway on our way to the coach stating that the M74(the start of our southward journey from Glasgow) was closed with a diversion in place. The coach driver decided on an alternative route to join this motorway farther south and that involved a rather tortuous journey...not to be recommended when you are not the best of travellers sitting in the rear of a coach. However, the next lot of passengers were eventually loaded at Shawlands, and we joined the motorway south of the closure. Most of us then tried to get some sleep and I was awakened by the coach slowing and a bump, as if crossing a "sleeping policeman" but instead of stopping we then speeded up before stopping again to make another pick-up then resumed the southern journey. It turned out the driver had forgotten to stop at Carlisle services to take on two women so had to double back for them then proceeded to the next services for a "comfort" and tea break of an hour--a bit excessive at round about midnight, I thought. Then it was southward once more down the M6, past Birmingham, and on to the M5 before turning off for Worcester and so westward to Builth Wells in the heart of Wales...or so we thought! We did two little "circles" in Worcester (one in extremely narrow roads in a bungalow area where we clipped hedges and almost took down the corner of a wall) until we finally exited that town and set off along dual carriageway for Leominster--only to do a U turn as we'd taken the incorrect road off a roundabout. In the next town we ended turning into the supermarket carpark--all this with a sat. nav!
For the next what seemed like one hundred miles or so we drove up hill, down dale and round every type of bend you can imagine. This was doing my dicky stomach no end of harm. However, its contents stayed in place and we finally reached the showground, quarter of an hour after the commencement of judging, but entered by the wrong gate and this huge coach was then escorted by officials to the "Toy Dog" region. I was showing bitches only so there was no need for me to worry about missing classes.
Worse was to come. Because of strict driving regulations, the driver couldn't take the wheel again until after 7pm for the return journey. We usually start back at about 4.30pm, but of course this was a much longer journey than normal. When would we get back to the starting point at the Forth Road Bridge? More to the point, what was my husband going to say about picking me up at some unearthly hour?
We left the showground at 7.30pm and travelled north to Chester before joining the M6 and so home northwards, a journey, in total, taking nine hours (compared to our southward journey of 13 hours from my house!). Chic had been at the Bridge since 10pm in case he fell asleep at home and didn't hear my phonecall giving him our ETA! We walked in our door at 5am.
However, it turned out a very good show for me with Maisie winning Puppy Bitch class and Best Bitch Puppy and Swallow, not only winning the Open Bitch, but also taking the Bitch Challenge Certificate then crowning that by winning Best of Breed.
The show was on Friday and I felt like a wet rag on Saturday but today I'm fully recovered and have even done two walks lasting one and a half hours each!
