Archie discovers he loves muddy puddles.

Popped down to visit Uncle A this morning before continuing our walk. I decided to go through Astley Ainslee Hospital grounds. This is a huge wooded, grassy area with various departments of the hospital dotted round the grounds. Lovely setting.

Although there are roads throughout the grounds (but not much traffic) there were plenty of areas for Archie to have a run around. And run around he did. Including finding a Big Smelly Muddy Puddle and discovering his inner slob. He kept charging through it, and eating great mouthfuls of mud. What a state he was in! He was so grotty, I felt I couldn't get on a bus with him, so we walked all the way home.

His cough was not in evidence all morning, until we went out. When he strains on the lead, he starts coughing. And he was pulling on the lead all way home, but mostly because he's trying to get away from the autumn leaves stuck on his hairy legs. They drive him mad! No matter how many times I took them off, more stuck on. And unless we walked up the middle of the road, we couldn't avoid them.

JR was not pleased with the state of stinky slobby Archie. I made a hasty exit to town, and when I came back he was as good as new - cleaned up and sweet smelling.

I need a new pair of jeans. Ones that fit the ever-expanding me. I have been putting this off for months/years. I hate shopping, especially clothes shopping. There was an entire WALL of jeans that I stood and looked at. Bewildering. I was about to give up, but heard myself suddenly asking an attendant for assistance. After discussing my needs (they have to come up to my waist!) she sifted through the nightmarish selection, and gave me three likely items. None of them fitted! I gave up and went home.

But I did get some treats for Arch in Poundland. And a plastic ashtray for the inconsiderate person upstairs who chucks out fag ends into Archie's bit. Not the same inconsiderate person as last time it happened, which turned out to be the visiting father, who should have had more sense/manners. I suspect it might be visitors.

This is Archie, pre-mud puddle, sitting beside some wee pets' gravestones. With names like 'Dum Dum' and 'Sambo', it must have been fun calling them to come in the park!