Birthday!

It was Rufus's birthday, give or take a day or two - he doesn't care - so we met up with the birthday boy and Bailey at a nearby dog friendly cafe. It was 11.30, and so brunch was in order - French toasts and a full English were the order of the day, accompanied by the house gin...

A very pleasant time was had by all, though (surprise surprise) the muzak was pretty bad - screechy, twangy, yelly pop songs - I almost wished for Slade's Merry Christmas instead.

Eventually I did ask if there was any quieter music other than the 'racket' that they were providing for our delectation. Yes, I used the word 'racket' instead of perhaps being more polite about it.

The lady, possibly the manageress, looked rather miffed and said, 'Racket? That's my wedding reception soundtrack!'

I'm not sure just how annoyed she was, or if she was kidding. However, it did change to less screechy stuff.

And therein lies the problem - if I'd had time to speak to her, I would have asked if a soundtrack carefully compiled to get a crowd up dancing, mingling and drinking was appropriate for a lunch clientele consisting mainly of older folk with Christmas hats on trying to chat... I think not.

However, the meal was nice, the G&Ts went down well and the dogs were given a water bowl (which I kicked over as I came and had to sit with a wet sock).

We wandered back across the Meadows, the dogs frolicking around and having fun. Well, Bailey and Archie did - Rufus just trots on behind us.

Back to Rufus's house for champagne and chocolate cake! Had to try to get a birthday photo of all the doggies. What a challenge that was...

Archie posed and kept posing while the other two mucked around, apart from a slight relapse when his tongue accidentally touched the chocolate icing.

Rufus's hat kept falling off and he got bored and kept wandering off.

Bailey, who's not keen on wearing silly hats, eventually gave in, but sulked in the corner. Dead funny.

We needed a glass of birthday champagne after that activity!

Thanks, Christine, for a lovely day.

Happy 11th birthday, Rufus!