Tuesday, March 31, 2009

12 gold stars for Angus!


DSCF9912, originally uploaded by Phil Haygarth.

Angus recently completed his gold star chart so chose a Man U training top for his treat. Well done Angus! Other pictures of Angus playing with his brother and sister throughout March can be seen here.....

Matt's first fell race


DSCF0105, originally uploaded by Phil Haygarth.

Last week Matt was picked to represent his school in the cross country. This was no mean achievement because he was one of a small select group chosen to compete against a number of schools and he was two school years below some of the other competitors . Nonetheless he came 30th out of 100 and we are dead proud of him. Well done Matt! More pics here.

Happy mothers day


Happy mothers day, originally uploaded by Phil Haygarth.

I am a bit behind on blogging stuff but must tell you of our great mothers day weekend recently. Taking advantage of the top weather we popped down to near Newquay and camped the night (impromptu-like) in the Bongo. At first we struggled to find a place that was open! We could have done worse for sleep - all 5 of us tucked up inside - but it was jolly fun being away and in the morning we drove up to Padstow for a walk around in the brilliant sunshine and capped it with an ice cream and a Mothers day lunch at Ric Stein chippy. Lovely day, (see piccies here), spoiled only by missing of old Faithfull.....

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Old long since, farewell Faithful


DSC_7698, originally uploaded by Phil Haygarth.
This week we said good bye to Dileas (pronounced 'Jeelus', always some uncertainty as to the correct spelling or gender usage of the name, but we understood it was gaelic for 'faithfull'). He was in his 13th year and although a platitude, he really was the most gentle, human-like of dogs, wonderful with children. And a great running and cycling companion. When I first met Anne, 'Dile' came with her, he was only a pup then. He soon played second fiddle to the new boyfriend and subsequently our three children as they emerged in turn; but he remained dependable, loving and stoic all along the way- always living up to his name. This picture was taken at Crackington Haven in January - one of his favorite places. He passed on Tuesday in a strangely serene manner on our front lawn among glorious spring sunshine, in Anne's arms. The events of this week have shaken Anne and I more than we could have predicted and we have been overwhelmed by the messages we have had from you all. I have started a special set on our Flickr photo site called Dileas and if you have any half decent pictures of him please send them to me and will add them - or leave a comment on this blog (or for flickr users tag them 'philhaygarthdileas'). I plan to scan in some cheeky puppy ones soon enough! My brother posted a great blog too - see here. It marks the passing of time, auld lang syne - old long since - and all that. Farewell Faithful.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Our new car!


DSCF9938, originally uploaded by Phil Haygarth.

We treated ourselves this weekend and traded the two 'old' citroens for thsi new one - that has 7 seats! Lovely. See more pics from the event here.....