Fed up, must keep weight off ankle, foot elevated, …..I feel a blog coming on !!!.
I start by asking, when I
have clambered all over the French Countryside, over mud, gravel and rocks, the
size of THIS,
how you can you nearly
break your ankle walking down a flat, hazard free road ?. Well you can, and my first experience of
nearly breaking something, in 53 years of life on this planet is that it is,
1)Bloody painful, and, 2) is really expensive if you have not already gained
your Carte Vitale, which I haven’t.
Still, claiming on my E111, the process of seeing the Doctor, (23
Euros), having seven X-rays (Free !!!) and getting a prescription (212 Euros,
gasp !!!!) was a remarkably quick and simple one, even if it left my Bank
Manager gasping. I will be jogging down to my nearest Social Security Office to
enrol and get my Carte Vitale, and the compulsory health insurance, as soon as
I am able. But at the moment I am stranded on my settee. The dogs are not
impressed, but I have already started planning the “moves” I can teach Boq,
from a garden chair strategically placed outside, after all, I did WANT
distance control, trouble is, my OH can already see me eyeing the door for
escape, guess I will have to wait until he goes out shopping, or send him on some
other ruse. Mwahhhhhh.
So my blog today is about
one of my favourite subjects, and I make no apologies, as, having only just
started to get excited about the prospects in the New Year, I now have had
water tipped on my little parade, so, to cheer myself up,yes, I am talking about
AGILITY . You see, I actually MADE it to a show before my little catastrophe,
albeit not in a competitive capacity, but I did go and watch, so I could relay
my findings.
Now you already know the
problems I have encountered with my local fellow enthusiasts. ie:they appear to
be in a handling timewarp from the early 90’s, but this apart, they are a jolly
bunch and every bit as competitive as you and I, so I thought I would see what
was what.
The Cani’zazes Club of
Cognac’s November show (see what they have done with that – their logo is a
little Ninja Dog in a Brandy Glass) was at an Equestrian Centre at Broussac,
just outside Cognac, about an hour from my cottage. About 5 people I know were
going, and much like our shows, the “kick off” was at 8.00am. I decided to
trundle along at 10.30am (well I wasn’t running a dog) to get an idea of the
setup. This was a National Competition, open to all, so I imagined the place
would be heaving with people, so imagine my surprise when I rolled into the Car
Park at 10.30 only to find that the vehicular “contents” of the Car Park looked
like the line up at a local Community Centre, not a “dog wagon” in sight !!. In
fact, upon a tour of the aforementioned Car Park , cunningly disguised as a
walk with Boq, who I took, so I wouldn’t blow my cover….(I didn’t take Stitch,
as he would have got too excited and couldn’t have run, so it wasn’t fair) I found my own car was the only one with a
crate, or dog guard, of any description. I chuckled to myself at the amount of
really flash motors, BMWs and Mercs, with dogs lounging on their back seats. Upon
further investigation I found that the Motorhomes, housing the folk from
further field, were secreted around the back. This looked more like what I’m
used to……….that’s if what I was used to seeing amounted to less than 10, hardly a huge
turnout.!
Anyway,having replaced Boq in the car, I decided to go for a quick
recce, and locate the toilets, (always an exciting prospect in France, as you
never know if it’s Unisex, or a hole in the ground,… the ones on this occasion
were separate and very modern) and also the Hot Food Facilities (let’s face it,
a Bacon Butty is a MUST on a cold November Show day) The interior of the canteen,
looked like a lot of the UKA events I have had the privilege(!) of attending,
and was full of,awards ,Officials, and Laptops, being feverishly typed on.
Heaven knows why everyone seemed so busy, I had seen the size of the entry on the blackboards outside
the restaurant. Total entry: 70 and 7 Juniors
!!! The food looked “good enough
to eat” and reasonably priced, indeed you could “book” a repas ahead of time at
twelve euros a head. I however had taken my usual agility lunch, Sandwiches, crisps,
chocolate, biscuits, flask and a Red Bull for the drive home. Guess I am going
to have to “continental” this up in the future……..
Now from what I gather, if
you have Pedigree dog you get more runs, less with rejects like Stitch and to
enter you have to 1) belong to a club 2) have your Carte de Base, obtainable by
passing a test with your Club, checking your ability to compete, and also your
dogs’ temperament. Having received your Carte de Base, you then receive an
Annual Certificate issued by the French Governing body, the CNEAC.,then you are
“good to go” …..for your Club and region, but as far as I can see,NOT as an
individual. Will be checking on this as I go, don’t quote me on it, as I have
yet to see the system in action. I have tried to find out at what level my grade
seven,(with 65 wins to his name), will come in ?? but as of yet they seems
undecided, so I will go where I’m told, it seems only polite, their country,
their rules and all that !!!
So the show in action,
what did I see.?? Well it wasn’t what I saw, but more like what I HEARD.
Apparently “double handling” AKA outside assistance, has not yet been
disallowed by our French contingent, heckling and giving folk a “head up” to a
broken wait is common practice, indeed the Judge in our ring was kitted up like
Madonna, and both hand signaled and commentated on the dog in his ring himself
!. Unreal !!.
The courses, as far as I could see,seemed the same sort of thing
for all, heights, FOUR, although I wouldn’t have to worry about Stitch making
Medium (B) here….it’s 47 cms not 43. The fourth height (D) is for HUGE dogs,
Great Danes and the like. Lunchtime, 1 hour, and a complete standstill in both
rings, bang on 12. A relief to me as I’d imagined they would take the same TWO
hours they do in the shops everyday. I couldn't get over what a family affair
it all seemed to be, most competitors brought their husband,or wife, children
and Grandparents, all easily identified by their completely inappropriate attire.
Each dog seemed to have a “team” behind them, more “grooms” than I have ever
seen at any of our events.
At lunchtime, those that didn't go to the canteen, set
up “Club” tables in the Car Park and drank wine and ate picnics, even though it
was about -2 with the windchill that day !!! Nobody seemed to be on their own……..well,
expect me…I was throwing a ball for Boq in the exercise area, being made very
aware nobody else used it for the whole hour……..side note: sings ”All by myself”
in a plaintiff voice, little “Guillaume no mates”
Once I finished lunch, I watched
another hour of competition, and then made my way back to a warm fire, and a
hearty stew, so what was my summary of Agility “the French way” ?
I attach a copy of the
Schedule, and a couple of
photos (above) to complete the picture, so you can get the feel. also the results from the show are at:
For the really curious please take a look at the size of the classes and the overall performances. You need 3 “Excellents” by three different Judges to go up a degree(Grade)…so if they insist in putting Stitch in at 1 degree (that will make me popular !!) I guess I will find out how quickly this might happen. Watch this space bearing in mind this was a big show!!
If I apply the same two hour driving radius I
used to apply in the UK, (in my early years….coz let’s face it I would go
anywhere for a fix in the latter years, lol)and if my club allows me, (that
just sounds weird) I could do twenty shows next year, not including our Clubs
OWN show, which I have been told you are not allowed to compete in as you are
expected to help. Aaaaaah !!!. But enough
to keep this old biddy happy I think you’ll agree, IF and that’s a BIG “if”, I
enjoy it. As you may not be aware, I don’t actually like UKA shows(just my
humble opinion guys), I much prefer Kennel Club, so if the French show’s are a more
like UKA I might find it hard to really enjoy. We’ll see. I will still have my
August Holiday in Grande-Bretagne to look forward to. I will have to compete
for France at the KCI Festival, though, as my dogs live there one presumes….that’s
ok, I fancy a bit of Outside Assistance, now and then.
So on to news outside of Agility,..... who said that ???
Two of the things that typify Frenchness that have been lacking at Le Tardis are: a proper post box and a left hand drive car,these things have been rectified this last week.
When we were cutting up wood for the wood burner the other day,imagine our surprise when Mr "La Postes' " head appeared over the gate waving a rather crumpled packet. He explained in French(no surprise there) that he was somewhat struggling with our postbox. You see, as initially we had this cottage as a residence secondaire,(holiday home) we never bothered to put up a French Box and opted for a small letterbox,this allowed delivery of small letters(a rarity as all our bills went to England),and kept out "PUB" (leaflets and junk mail) Job done.
Now we live here its a different prospect,and French Boxes have a skeleton key,which the postman can use to open all the boxes, and leave small parcels.
Voila our new box.....sad the things that excite you !!
And the car……. I’m sorry to have to part with my Doblo, I
have had it since Lesley had her Transit, and therefore could fit all our dogs
in it, allowing me for the first time since my discovery of the sport to have a
normal car……with crates of course. Six years on it remains a brilliant
workhorse,has sailed through every MOT and done lots of holiday runs up and
down to Le Tardis. I love it….so why the change ??? Well the biggest problem,
obviously, is having the steering next to the kerb. This can be easily managed
with two in the car, as the person on the left can do the job of the driver(if
you trust them) when overtaking but if you are in the car on your own and get
behind a “Convoi exceptionnel” ie: a combine harvester, you try sticking your
nose out far enough to actually SEE whats coming the other way….cannot be done,
not safely. On my way to the show the other day I spent 7 kilometres behind one
at 18 miles per hour. That was enough to have me looking on forecourts by the
following weekend.
At first I was very very tempted to go back to a dog wagon,
I saw a smashing 6 seater Citreon Jumpy(a tarted up Dispatch) which was the Modern
Fiat Scudo shape, in my price range, good mileage, but could I get it in my
gateway easily ???? When I had my Pick-up truck here back in the day, I could
get it in, but it was a right pain in the derriere, I spent most of my time
leaving it at the end of the road, so something held me back. The garage was
closed on Sunday,you do get the impression out here sometimes that no one is
actually trying to sell anything. What huge dealership do YOU know that closes
from 12-2 daily and stays closed on a Sunday ??? Exactly !
So we did the tour of the other garages in Angouleme while
they were closed, and found two Doblo’s that appealed to my other half at the Fiat,Lancia,and Alfa Romeo garage. He
also fell in love with a couple of red Alfa’s but you couldn’t have got any
dogs in them.
With these to think about we went home to mull it over. I
still wanted the Jumpy(old habits die hard) and my OH wanted the Doblo, so on
Monday morning we went back down to test drive them both. Trouble was, the
Jumpy had gone,sold not an hour hence, and as a big believer in fate I knew
what this meant so……….. welcome our new Doblo.
Picking it up on the 11th December,although now,ironically,I won't be driving it until after my ankle heals
It makes sense really as I have to admit I am very happy with the one I have,if it weren't for the fact the is was RHD I wouldn't be parting with it and I daresay I would have kept it til the bitter end but hey ho this one has a few "new" bits,rear sensors and cruise control, I will be bringing the other one back in February to find a new home,I will shed a few tears doubtlessly, so if you know anyone whose looking.........
Well I'm off to watch some trashy daytime T.V.
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