Gangster Times

Here's another tabletop figurine that I came across yesterday whilst out shopping.

A strange hybrid of a labrador's head on a man's body. It's entitled 'Gangster'. Maybe the sculptor has seen too many science fiction or horror movies.

Not something that I'd like on display in our home. I don't think it would look any better if it was of a man's head on a dog's body either.

And yes, I have used the price tag to hide his modesty. If you were wondering about the cost. It's £59.

Tag Me In

This is a friend of mine's pet dog Tag. He's a wire hair fox terrier and is great fun to be with.

Even though he is quite old in doggy years, he is quite spritely and likes running around and sniffing things.

His owner lives near the canal in Beeston, so they often go for a walk along there, and they often have to stop, so that Tag can be petted and fussed over.

He is also quite a celebrity on LinkedIn, where people often ask how he is, and like to see photos of him.

The Dog With No Name

Gail & I spent a nice afternoon at a spring fair, that was being held at the local golf club's Walled Garden.

There were quite a few stalls there selling gifts, plants, clothes and food. Another good photo opportunity for us, as there were some nice things on sale. One stall was quite quirky, as it had toy plastic animals and dinosaurs dotted around the table.

We bought some home made jams, and Gail fell in love with this colourful, amusing metal dog. With its friendly eyes and springy tail.

When we finished we had a look around the Walled Garden, as we had never visited it before. We know that it is used for weddings, as we can hear music sometimes, as we don't live that far away.

Gail came up with this idea of taking a photo of our new 'pet' hiding amongst the shrubbery.

We just need a name for him, or her now. So if anyone's got any suggestions, then please let us know.

How Much Is That Doggie In The Window?

Isn't he cute? I spotted him in a shop window the other day.

He must be Scottish, as he is made from tartan.

I wonder what his name is. Scotty McScottyface perhaps?

Posing Pooch

I bumped into a photographer from Peterborough in the Old Market Square today. He was here for a bit of street photography. He had one of the large Nikon models in his hand, so I knew that he wasn't really a tourist in the general sense of the word.

We had a chat and we parted. Strangely enough somehow we both ended up looking in the window of a local second hand shop, even though we went off in separate directions.

So we ended up having another chat about photography. Then I saw this dog tied up outside this shop, and took a photo or two. Just as I managed to get a good shot, the owner untied her and they walked off.  So we then mentioned about getting the shot and missed opportunities.

Hound Of The Baskervilles

Today is of course St Partick's Day, and there was the usual parade and music in the Old Market Square. But due to a task at work taking longer than expected, I missed it.  Still I reckon it would probably have been more or less the same as last year. So by the time I reached the centre of town, a lot of the people had left, and probably gone to down a few pints of Guinness or a dram of whiskey.

So the hunt was on to find something worth taking a photo of. I didn't see that many people dressed up. Although there were some dancers on the stage, but they had built a cordon around it, so I couldn't get near it. So the was out of the question. But then I saw a group of about three giant Irish Wolfhounds near the steps of the Council House. I had seen them on previous years, but they were always surrounded by lots of people wanting to stroke them.  But as I had arrived late, there weren't that many near them. I gave a little whistle to attract his attention, then took his portrait.

Sidney

As you may have noticed by reading previous blog entries, we are very good friends with the Disco Prophets. So it was nice to be asked round for dinner today and having the opportunity of taking photos of Louie & Sidney, two very special cocker spaniels.

Louie & Sidney are very active and do a lot of running around, so I was happy that Sidney managed to sit still long enough in the garden for me to take his portrait. Poor Louie is deaf, so obviously he can't hear any instructions, so he has to be physically picked up or held for posing. So Gail had a go at taking his photo.

Playful Pooch

I poked my head into Cobden Chambers at lunchtime, just to see if anything was going on, when this little fellow came toddling towards me.

You have to agree he's a cute little fellow. Getting on a bit I think, by the greying of his fur round his face. Very friendly too. I gave him some patting, while he sniffed me. He could probably smell Oscar & Marmalade on me.

Somer

As it has been such a lovely, sunny day, we popped over to Southwell to take some more photos.

The weather forecasters said that it would be rainy and cold. How wrong they were.

We had a good walk round, and while we were in a car park, we came across this Alsatian dog called Somer, as he was born in Somerset. He was being fitted with this special harness. His owners explained that he has a muscle wasting disease and had difficulty in walking. By having his own special set of wheels, he could still get about and get some exercise.

A Model Pooch

This is Pinot, and is Kelli's special pet dog. A chihuahua of course, and a tiny one at that.

So cute and so full of life. Everyone was making a fuss of her. And no wonder. She is a little sweetie.

It's A Dog's Life

We popped over to Arnot Hill Park today to shoot some publicity photographs for the Carlton Male Voice Choir.

Being a private shoot, I won't be putting any photos on here. So instead here's a photo of a spaniel that is enjoying a spot of sunbathing, whilst comfortably sprawled out on his mistresses' legs.

We stopped and chatted to the owner, who told us that she had started to get cramp, as he had been laid like that for some time, and she didn't want to move as he looked so relaxed.

Oh what us pet owners do for our animals.

Patience

Coming out of Sainsbury's supermarket tonight I heard this dog barking that was tied up near my bike. So after loading my saddle bags with the groceries that I'd bought, I started to talk to him, to try and stop his barking, as I don't think its ever good for a dog to bark too much, unless its a warning or something.

He was obviously missing his master or mistress, who had gone shopping too.  After a little while, he calmed down a bit and I then got out my camera, as I thought he might make for a cute pooch portrait.

He was a bit unsure at first as to what my OMD might be, as he might not have seen a camera before. He cowered a little bit and started to bark again but soon got over his apprehension, and then quietly sat down while I got a few shots.

Barking Up The Right Tree.

Well I'm back. I don't know why, but somehow I haven't blogged for the past few days. Not sure how that happened. So I have a fair bit of catching up to do, and plenty of photos to show you of the various places/events that Gail & I have been to. So keep popping back to see the missing days.

Anyway, today is World Photography Day, and I was hoping that I would be able to take an amazing photo in celebration of my favourite hobby. But alas, Nottingham city centre was quite quiet today. Probably because it was a Monday, and lots of people are on holiday.

But I did come across this enormous dog, who was part of a sales team publicising a company that provides some new worming alert system, so you get a phone or text message telling you when your pooch needs his worming tablet.

We're Walking In The Air

An unbelievable thirty years ago, Channel Four first screened a cartoon based around the story of a snowman that comes to life and takes a little boy to see Father Christmas. Written by Raymond Briggs, it has been shown on TV every Christmas since then.

This year a new story debuted on Channel Four. It was a similar story, but this time the little boy makes a dog out of snow as a friend for the snowman that he has built. The boy had a dog himself but it died earlier in the year. He sends a letter to Santa asking for a new dog for Christmas.

It was a lovely story and used the same line drawing animation as the previous tale. No CGI, just old style animation. It's worth watching and hopefully will be on again next Christmas.

I noticed that my local branch of the Nationwide building society had a poster in their window of a scene from the film, so I just had to take a photo.