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Sunday 12 June 2011

That was the week that was!

Cliff top - West Bay (keep away from the edge!)

What a week we have had - good times and bad times all mixed!  I haven't been to visit your blogs as often as usual so apologies if I have neglected you!

Cliff path - West Bay

Last Sunday we had to take Thomas to the vet as he was very unwell and being sick etc and I didn't know if it would wait till Monday.  Sunday rates of course - but he's worth it!


Decent into the hamlet of Eype remember this little house form an earlier post seen from the other direction here?
To cut a long story short he ended up back there on Tuesday and stayed there for a couple of days.  At first diabetes was considered then his glucose levels dropped to normal and a tumour was thought a possibility but an ultrasound scan found nothing.  He was on a drip as he was so dehydrated and not eating - he is home again now looking a little the worse for wear with bald patches where he had the drip and blood tests and a bare tummy from the ultrasound scan but he is beginning to pick up and now he is eating better is less like a bag of bones I am happy to say - phew!


Meanwhile I was preparing for a visit by our French friends who arrived on Tuesday afternoon - after the trip to the vet we set off for the airport to collect them.


They are such easy guests and fit in like family, are easy to please and very appreciative of everything (they can come again!)  They had a dog which died recently after a long and happy life so my friend understood what I was feeling when the calls were going back and forth to the vet's!  She also made a fuss of him when he came home and spoke gently to him in French - "Comme tu es mignon" and so on and he lapped it all up and really took to her!


We were lucky with the weather on Wednesday and were able to go to West Bay for an outing . We did a walk along the cliffs before lunch - we introduced them to English fish and chips eaten from the bag in the open air and luckily although the wind was chilly the sun was bright and warm.  Followed the fish and chips with a cup of tea in Sladers Yard sitting in the sunshine sheltered from the wind before setting off to Abbotsbury.





The cost of visiting the gardens there was higher than any of us wished to pay especially as it is not an English garden but a sub tropical one and our friends are keen to take back to France ideas from English gardens so we pottered round the plant centre in the sunshine and had a look in the shop before continuing to Chesil Beach which I hadn't visited for many years.


Chesil Beach is part of the World Heritage Site known as the Jurrasic Coast and is an 18 mile long strip of land consisting of 180 billion pebbles - I am not sure who actually counted them and there are a few less now that we have picked up one or two to bring home!!!  Isn't this view amazing?

The remainder of their stay was lacking in sunshine although we did manage an outing to Hestercombe on Friday - I'll show you the photos of that later for those who are interested.  Our visitors went on to London yesterday morning and we are missing having their company, I am still thinking in French some of the time!

18 comments:

  1. Phew, what a week indeed. Poor Thomas, I hope he continues to recover and feel better. (Rosie Mae has occasional inexplicable 'blips' which go as soon as they have come. It's a worrying time).

    Beautiful photos of those coastal views - such empty beaches, so gorgeous!

    With all that worry about Thomas and all that entertaining, you have earned yourself a well deserved day off today.

    x

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  2. Goodness it's years since I went to Chesil, but yes, there are a few of their pebbles in my garden :-)
    What a week of highs and lows indeed. Hope Thomas is on th emend, it's such a worry.

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  3. Glad Thomas is feeling so much better Jane. Lovely pics of the beach - rain, rain, rain here...sighs deeply x

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  4. Jane,
    Hope Thomas is on the mend. Beautiful photos. I love Abbotsbury but found the garden a little disappointing when I went there. Much preferred wandering around the village and the church. Remember there was a house opposite with massive echiums in flower. If I could pick a place in Dorset to live it would be Abbotsbury.... or Bridport... or Lyme Regis.... or Burton Bradstock... oh dear! Lesley x

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  5. Firstly I'm glad to hear that Thomas is on the mend. Sounds like he was quite sick. I wonder what it was.
    Love your photos,especially the long range view of Chesil Beach - quite spectacular. We saw it from the other end and there were lots of those pink flowers like the one in your photo. There was a sign there saying it was against the law to remove ANY pebbles from the beach !!! Look out!:)
    I look forward to more photos and the rest of your outing.
    Cheers
    Helen

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  6. Thank you for sharing your lovely photos. It's so nice having visitors that fit right in like family. It certainly sounds like you had a lovely time together even if perhaps the weather wasn't very summery.
    I do hope Thomas continues to improve. It's such a worry when they are ill because they can't tell us what's wrong.
    Have a lovely week ahead,
    Anne xx

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  7. Oh poor Thomas! Hoping he continues his recovery. Loved your photos, I felt like I could almost get lungs full of fresh air from them..........

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  8. It might be worth changing his food - our terrier was most definitely ailing, and the vet could not give any firm conclusions, so we changed her food to a much lighter one for old dogs, different brand, and she completely recovered!

    Pomona x

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  9. You had beautiful weather last week! It is awful here. Really cold and wet and miserable. I hope that your Thomas picks up! x

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  10. Aww poor Thomas, hope he's well on the way to recovery. It is very worrying when they're ill!
    Gorgeous views Jane I'm sure your French visitors really enjoyed the English countryside.
    Vivienne x

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  11. Sending lots of (gentle) hugs to poor Thomas and hoping he recovers quickly. I do love Chesil beach and the surrounding area, such a pretty coastline. A bientot!

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  12. It is so worrying when they are ill, and we don't know whats wrong with them. I am so glad that he is getting better.

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  13. Poor Thomas! Relieved to hear he is on the mend. Sounds like after the worries with Thomas you've had a lovely time with your friends from France. The photos are just beautiful.

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  14. I'm so pleased that Thomas is feeling better, what a worry for you.
    Love your photos, the last one is my favourite. It's lovely to see sunshine and blue skies. It sounds like you had a wonderful week with your friends.

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  15. Hi Jane,

    Poor Thomas. It is such a worry when much loved pets are unwell.
    I do hope that he improves and nothing 'horrible' is found......

    Glad you enjoyed time with your 'french friends'.
    Fish and chips out of the bag. Gosh you have taken me back to my childhood days......bliss.

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  16. What lovely views - I can smell that sea air.

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  17. What lovely photos Jane. I bet your friends had a great time with you :-)
    I've always wanted to go to Chesil Beach!
    xx

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  18. You do the most FUN things ever... (happy for you!)

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