Jonsey

I don’t know anything about Beagles so I’m not sure what their characteristics are, I’ll do some research on the t’internet and let you know. I don’t know that he is definitely Beagle, but someone said he had a strong look of the breed. I don’t really know how to find out. I’m hoping the training will soon start to get easier, he’s a lot to learn in a short space of time and he’s very late in learning it too so I’m trying to be patient (not something I find easy) He isn’t cocking his leg, only squatting. Which leads me nicely onto the question of how do they learn to do that? He’s not likely to learn of the other two bitches. Should he already be cocking his leg? He’s a bit of a delinquent actually, hardly going to pass his 11+ at this rate and he’s not started humping yet, thank god. He did a couple of lengths of the pond again last night. The fish are getting quite used to him being there now. Jonsey

I have a very important meeting with some clients this afternoon :( or in other words I'm sneaking out of the office around 3pm for a bit of practice at Gloucester Skeet Club.

your a what perv? <sigh> I was an expert for precisely 12 hours. Now I'm a perv, a drip and a has-been. Life is just so cruel.

4/10 Number 5 made me laugh out loud. John Christie serial killer. after tracing an unpleasant odour, the new tenants of his house peeled the wallpaper away to reveal a corpse......did the shape of the corpse behind the paper not give it away before the smell did?

Speak for yourself there Michael Fish. Believe me my score will be no laughing matter, crying perhaps but certainly not laughter.

Johnnie Walker? I've listened to him for years on Radio 2, he's never once mentioned he was a Skeet shooting legend

Did you hear that? I'm an expert

and the grumpy prize goes to Emmsy I've shot Olympic Skeet once and I was officially **** at it and respect to anyone that shoot a good score. If you think English Skeet is easy how about shooting it standing on one leg, do you think it would catch on?

Thanks, think I'm going to need it.

Arh!! thank you for the Congratulations NTTF. When he's being a little **** I keep repeating like mantra that we are doing the right thing by having him. Well it's Week 2 and I’ve still got all my shoes intact. In my first posting I was in the throws of puppy love I think. He’s been both annoying and funny these last few days. DD I’m sure we’ll end up keeping him, but just at the moment I’m telling myself we are training him and passing him on. He's been pushing the boundaries a lot over the last few days. One episode was quite alarming he actually went to mark his territory on one of my friends. We stopped him in time but he was clearly about the stake his claim. He had this problem at his first home and in actual fact did it to his owner. Is this a possessive thing? I stopped him with a firm No. I didn’t shout it I just said it firmly. I reinforced this with a fairly firm tap on his side. Not like a smack or anything just a firm touch with 2 flat fingers. He seems to react quite well to this approach for other things. However this instance he didn’t react at all as if it was his right to mark his territory. This was not an accidental wee it was a most definite squat on my friends outstretched leg. Sniff and squat. He’s also showing signs of being a 1 man dog. Consequently I’ve been giving out most of the discipline. At meal time, I make sure his bowl in put down last and it’s me on the end of the lead. I’m clearly taking him for a walk and not the other way round. Is this right? We’ve had dogs between us all our lives and we haven’t done a bad job. It’s not a professional job either but they are well behaved and friendly balanced dogs. I’ve only ever had bitches though so this territory marking is all new to me. I printed off your Obedience Training NTTF and we’ve both read and use parts of it every day. Just in a week all his commands are coming on a treat. We realised by Wednesday though that he was seeing himself above me in the house so I’ve taken on a lot more since then. We always make sure we end training with a fun catch game and we’ve been training him apart from the other 2 delinquents. Then on walks when all three are together they all have to sit and stay etc. He’s doing ok on the lead to, initially this was a game of tug 'o' war but its not like that all now. The hardest thing was we don't use the lead for the other two because they walk nicely to heel without it and Patch was having difficulty coming to terms with the fact he was the only one being held by someone. So for the next few weeks until he's better we started all 3 of them on the leads. They other 2 don't mind in the least. They are only on the lead for a short while until we can let them off. On a brighter note, he is hilarious with the whirligig. I had a pair of jeans hanging out to dry it was fairly windy so they were flying around. He ran up to them and grabbed the leg of the jeans and had a free fairground ride he spun round about 4 times before he let go and fell in a heap. Made me laugh out loud, I haven’t spotted him doing it since, perhaps he hasn’t the stomach for it. My border collie was famous for it when she was a puppy. Jonsey

Lovely dogs I've got one, but it's not a fancy pedigree one. There was a mistake in the back of the beaters wagon one evening She's got slightly longer legs, a curly(ish) coat. You can tell instantly there's some spaniel in her. She's got longer ears although they are Lab shaped and a spaniel shape mouth. People notice straight away. Mine also has that springer sleekness to her body. All black with a small white bib. In bright sunlight you can see liver in her colourings. I don't suppose you can in a proper pedigree. Great temperament with a bit of springer madness thrown in for good measure see if you can tell http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z46/Jonsey01/boat.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z46/Jonsey01/PICT2999.jpg

Nice bright day with good company and perhaps a visit to the pub to round the day off.

I could be wrong and if I am soz, but I thought the exemption certificate from the police covers non shotgun certificate holders to shoot on your ground. There's a shoot close to me that do not hold an exemption certificate and we all have to show our certificates at the beginning of a shoot and people without one can't shoot. Any more than 2 shoots a month and you require planning permission. Jonsey.

According to the CPSA Webiste it the recent DTL Championships at Bywell Jonsey

We have a new addition to the household Patch, although it’s not permanent we have 2 dogs already which is enough. My friend’s sister had the dog, she didn’t want him but her husband insisted they get one. They have a small toddler and another child soon to be born and they live in a second floor flat which isn’t ideal, she knew that but he wouldn’t listen and bought him anyway. Patch by the way we think is Jack Russell Beagle X although the Beagle bit is a guess. He’s almost 6 months old and not house trained at all. He’s been peeing on their carpet a lot, being exuberant as puppies are and chewing things, they allowed him on the bed on the sofa. They’ve never had a dog before and thought it would be easy. Being on the second floor they’ve not been able to get him out to the toilet fast enough and then of course he gets shouted at. We offered to help by having him for a couple of days, teach him to go outside and some basic commands and then they have him back over the week work with him on those commands to get it right and then the following weekend we would have him again and build his training up bit by bit. At almost 6 months and he should have a good grasp of a lot of commands but he didn’t even know sit. He arrived on Friday night and I’m not joking but he did a wee every 5 minutes and he drank so much water that I honestly thought he’d not seen it before. I’ve never cleaned the carpet so much. We couldn’t get him to the door quick enough then he go out and do more wee (with a Patch Wee command of course) and then he’d come back in drink loads more water and wee a million times more. (the million bit is a slight exaggeration) He continued to drink like that all evening, there was definitely something wrong. I rang them and I find out Patch’s water had been very limited at home, naively thinking that if they limit what goes in the what comes out would be limited. So he was dehydrated so no wonder he was doing little tiny wee’s all over the place. At bedtime we made the decision not to lift the water as he was so thirsty and we’d let him get used to having the water there and anyway we don’t lift the water at night for the other older dogs. I thought the next morning we would be swimming in the stuff but he’d very good all night not a single puddle. I let him out with a command he did his business on the lawn no problems. Anyway to cut a long “wee†story short, by Saturday lunchtime he had the hang of going to the French windows and providing we noticed in time he went outside every time. We a couple of accidents Saturday, a couple of Sunday only one on Monday and none yesterday, the little fella is coming on in leaps and bounds. He was left for 4 hours in the morning, then he was let out and 4 hours in the afternoon and not a single accident. His other commands are coming on beautifully too. He now knows sit, lie down and stay, although stay is about 5 seconds tops, but he’ll get the hang of it. Mind you he also knows Patch NO which we’ve said a lot. He’s really eager to please and is lapping up the praise we give him. He knows the sofa is not a dog bed and also that that he’s not allowed up the stairs. He’s learning a lot from the other 2 dogs too which is all good. He has only chewed the toys we’ve given him, I’ve not lost a single pair of shoes to him but he did have a good sniff of my husband’s trainers and I swear I heard him yelp so maybe that’s a good deterrent. Now you may have noticed that I’ve mentioned Monday and Tuesday, that’s because when I rang his owners on Sunday night they didn’t want him back and they were going to take to the Blue Cross that night. I put the phone down and we discussed keeping him. He won’t get the attention in a Dogs home still won’t be properly toilet trained and then someone may adopt him not be able to cope and he’ll end up back there so we’ve decided to keep him and re-home him ourselves when he’s a little bit older and is trained nicely. I don’t think we’ll have any trouble at all. The other two dogs were a bit crabby with him at the beginning but they all seem to be getting on ok. He gets a good telling off from the Labrador every now and again but he’s learning. She won’t stand for any funny business from him, my other dog the Border Collie plays nicely with him. He’s not a yapper or an ankle biter mercifully, and he seems to be very sociable with everyone who’s come to the house. He’s a sweet little thing. So in a couple of months we’ll be ready to find a nice home for him. Jonsey Here’s a few photo’s I have taken, not the best quality I’m afraid they were taken with a mobile phone. http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z46/Jonsey01/01082007.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z46/Jon...30072007001.jpg http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z46/Jon...01082007002.jpg

The South West Regional CPSA have organised a Free Have a go day for Junior and Lady shooters. It's part of the build up for the 2012 Olympics to find new and upcoming talent. It's an excellent opportunity and Steve Ling is a well respected shooter and coach. Here's the advert I received via email. So if you live in the South West and would like any further information or to discuss it, then PM me. Jonsey ATTENTION ALL JUNIOR & LADY CLAY SHOOTERS THE SOUTH WEST REGION OF THE CPSA IS HOSTING ITS THIRD FREE HAVE A GO DAY FOR JUNIOR & LADY SHOOTERS WHO WISH TO PARTICIPATE IN OLYMPIC SKEET & UNIVERSAL TRENCH DISCIPLINES THIS THIRD DAY WILL TAKE PLACE AT BROOK BANK SHOOTING GROUND SOMERSET AND IS PLANNED FOR SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 1st 10.00/10.30 am ONWARDS SO LADIES & JUNIORS PUT THE DATE IN YOUR DIARY. PREVIOUS ATTENDERS CAN COME ALONG AGAIN QUALIFIED COACHES HAVE KINDLY DONATED THEIR TIME FOR THIS EVENT AND WILL BE ON HAND TO TAKE YOU THROUGH THE SHOOTING DISCIPLINES WHAT’S MORE THANKS TO THE KIND GENEROSITY OF WESLEY & ALISON HANN AT BROOK BANK ITS FREE JUST TURN UP WITH YOUR OWN KIT AND BRING YOUR OWN CARTRIDGES YOU NEED TO BOOK YOUR PLACE IN ADVANCE SO RING STEVE LING ON: 07850 325608 OR 01823 662428. SO LADIES AND JUNIORS BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT Directions to BROOK BANK can be found on their web site at: (www.brookbankshooting.co.uk)

Hi TP Were they behaving themselves? I went to a family wedding in Leicestershire so couldn't shoot it. My friend shot 51 at Wylye, it's the first time she's scored over 50% at a registered shoot so she was really happy. Yeah Upavon is a nice ground, trouble is they don't change the targets there enough. I've shot there twice this summer and both times around half of the shoot has been put on before. Then you can go there for practice a couple of weeks later and the same layout is on. It's stopped me from going there now. Did you shoot well? Jonsey

Went to Southern Counties yesterday for the Wiltshire, Dorset and Somerset County All Round Championships. I've never shot all round before but 5 of us went for a day out. It was also the Double Trap Champs too. I know my limitations so I wasn't in the slightest bit tempted to shoot 150 Double Trap but the boys did. They all scored around the 80% mark but they were struggling to stay focused towards the end. The All Round was 25 Single Barrell 25 ABT 25 Skeet and 25 Sporting. Single Barrell went resonably well I scored 21, tried to remember to keep my mind focused and only to put one cartridge in the gun, nearly made a couple of mistakes there. Then on to ABT I started ok although for some reason my voice wasn't being picked up by the mike which is suprising because I'm not a quiet person. I started missing on a few stands and then I started thinking about what I was having for dinner and what I needed to do for work this week and that was it, only hit 12 out of 25. Lordy! just couldn't get my act together at all on that layout. On to the Skeet and a trusty box of 9s and I scored 23. Missed two silly low birds on station 2 and 6 which I was annoyed about. Then finished on the sporting with 21. Final score was 77 which I was very pleased with considering the **** ABT layout. I've never shot SB or ABT before and it was really enjoyable to shoot something different. The three boys in our squad scored 88, 87 and 76 and my friend who's only been shooting since November scored 45. She was quite upset to score that but I think that was a fantastic effort and once we'd looked at the master score board she realised she'd done really well. All in all a great day out in the sunshine with some nice people. My next shoot is the British Open Skeet in a couple of weeks time so I need to get a little practice in between now and then.

I don’t think you can compare Jamie Bulger’s case to this. His mother took her eyes off him she didn’t leave him in The Strand on his own. They were both in the butchers shop, she was paying for the food and he was waiting at the end of the queue of people by the door. He was lured away by two other children. The McCann’s left their children unattended in an apartment in a foreign country 50m away. That's not taking your eyes of them. Jonsey

There was something on the news last night about child abduction. In Bulgaria, for as little or as much depending on how you see it as £20k a child could be yours. It was very scary and I assume it happens all over the world and If this was the intention with Madeline then with all the publicity and public interest that has been drummed up by her parents the media and their families then surely this little girl will now be dead. In other words too hot to handle and they couldn’t give her back so they killed her. I don’t think this poor child will be found alive now. I do feel and have felt since the beginning that the McCann parents were negligent in leaving 3 small children in an apartment on their own. I agree that they should be brought home to face charges. Imagine how a British Court would react if for instance, I left my child in the house whilst I nipped to the pub a few metres away for a gin and tonic. I tell you I would be charged with neglect. However they maintain they were 50 metres away in a restaurant and could see their apartment from there. But not so near they didn’t spot someone stealing their child. 50 metres is a long way. You do not leave children on their own in an apartment whilst you go out to dine whether you are checking on them every half hour or not. I do not care if they maintain their behaviour falls within “responsible parenting guidelines†my personal feelings are that is just not true. There was a baby sitting service at the apartment complex which they declined to use, this was highlighted in one of their interviews whilst in America. I think they’ve raised close to a million pounds now and just recently there was an article in the news stating that the parents would not be returning to the UK unless they find Madeline and that they were both learning Portuguese. I guess the money will fund their stay but also keep everything ticking over the UK. Surely they’ll have a mortgage to pay over here and bills to keep paid. Their family need to fly over to them and also fund their trips to other parts of the world. Jonsey

You could win your Class Pin Good I have at least the right weekend in my head

Don't forget you may be nursing a mega hangover from your surprise win at the British Open the previous week..!! It will be a damn good shoot, as usual at Hepworth Hall, I may get there, won't make my mind up till nearer the date. Cat. Previous Week? hang on! when exactly is the British Open? I thought it was that weekend. Have I got my dates mixed up again

I've shot Westfield twice and I would say both times it was tricky, I could hit everything but I just couldn't straight a stand, I didn't do too badly saying that though. Steve does have a reputation for setting some tricky targets at Westfields. You certainly have to work hard to build a score. I've heard a few people moan about Westfields but I've heard the same people moan about Wylye and Chatcombe, they'll never be happy. For me it's not about being worried about my averages, if the shoot is very hard and I've shot a low 50's for example and then I go back the next time and do something similar then I won't go back for a while. This is my hobby and I don't want to feel demoralized by a low score time after time at the same ground. I'll give it a rest for a few months and then maybe go back. It's expensive £35 plus petrol to feel awful after the shoot - no thanks. It's not as if you can practice those targets either with it being a registered shoot and you can't take guidance from other shooters. I would still hand my card in though. I've had a few howlers lately at Upavon for a different reason altogether, half the shoot was the same as the last 2 and I got bored. That will keep more people away that the shoot being difficult. Did Gloucestershire win the Inter-County last year?

Well I had a 6 hour journey home yesterday from Reading. What a nightmare, Reading town centre took a bashing in the morning. The centre was closed, the station had to close due to a power cut and the roof caving in. The trains stopped around 3pm so I had no way of getting back to Swindon. In the end I managed to get a taxi that would take me two others back to Swindon. Took us 3 hours on the motorway crawling along. The taxi dropped us back at Swindon Station for our cars and then I still had to drive 11 miles north. I didn't make it, I had to abandon my car at a fellow shooters restuarant and get Mr Jonsey out to pick me up from there in his more sensible car. He was an hour getting through the floods. On the way back I counted over 50 cars abandoned, and the water was almost over the bonnet as we were making our way through the water. Mr J had disconnected the air filter so he could cope with slightly deeper water and it was clearly a good idea. Our little Town is cut off still with 2-3 feet of water round the perimeter and it's raining again. The A419 is closed too which is our main route to Cirencester and Swindon. It's awful, but I'm glad I made the journey home and didn't opt to stay with a colleague from work because the trains still aren't running. The taxi cost me £60 but worth it to get home. There are lots of houses flooded here, I feel very sorry for them. We are lucky we just had a small amount in the kitchen the storm drain just infront of our house coped very well all because we've kept it clear ourselves this year. Hope everyone else is ok.

I don't know if this still applies but companies used to be able to declare their cars as Pool Cars. The person driving them wasn't subject to any tax deductions. However you were not able to use them for private use other than actually getting to your place of work and home again providing you weren't at your usual place of work. So for instance Engineers who are based in a certain office but have to visit sites on a regular basis which counts as business mileage. It was a great benefit to small companies and their employees. The company had to be able to prove that there wasn't a single person driving that one vehicle but many people, so there was often a log book which obviously everyone filled in using anyones name in the company. I'm certain insurance was only valid if you were on company business so the risk was all your own if using it outisde of business hours. Maybe your van is on the books as a pool car and that is how you don't pay tax on it. Jonsey