The Object of A Bulldog's Affection and Rock Concert Rehab

Constance's "Happy Face"

The British Telicom engineer was very attentive. He rang me four times. The first to let me know he was on "his" way, the second to tell me he had located the "problem" at the exchange and the final two the let me know that everything had been sorted and that he would call around to check our telephone line personally.
Not a bad service all told eh?
When "tradesmen"  visit the cottage I am well practiced with the control of the terriers. Over friendly William is usually locked away briefly in his crate whilst  nervous Meg is banished to the peace and quiet of the bedroom window seat. George being rather non plussed with visitors can be safely left to free range so I left him and the dead pan Constance to have the run of the cottage.
The BT man turned up promptly and was a young, rotund and chatty character who cheerfully waved away any problem with a couple of dogs watching him work stating that he had a boxer dog of his own.(I always warm people that dogs are around)
As he bent over to put his equipment onto the floor, Constance in a fit of excitement and barely concealed affection leaped onto the couch arm and threw two very heavy paws on each of his shoulders as she offered her face up to be kissed.
From the Kitchen I heard the chap yell out a loud "Fuck......ing Hell!" and raced into the lounge to find him holding tightly onto Constance as if they were dancing.
"I think she likes me" he joked as 25 kilos of infatuated bulldog blew kisses into his face,and between the two of us , we managed to separate man from beast.
I had never seen Constance react in such a strong way to a stranger before and I think this excited behaviour it is a testament to how comfortable she is with us in general....Indeed Is this the same dog whose former owner described as shy and retiring?

Anyhow the BT guy finally fixed the problem and after kissing Constance goodbye, (I promised she'd write) he left us to get back to internet normality!

Now most people that know me will testify to the fact that my music tastes are pretty well confined to the classical,  middle class musical theatre and the occasional "popular" tune.
Rock music is a sort of anathema to me , so I was fairly surprised to find myself at a sell out "gig" by North Wales' premier rock band The Alarm on Saturday night.
I was glad I went.....
The music was too loud, too , thumping and far too much for me of course..but for my Brother Andrew, who is the guitar tech for the band, it was a cracking good "do". Only days after he had undergone his emergency tracheostomy, and with my sister in law "manning" the portable suction machine he insisted he went to the 30th Anniversary concert to support his band and his friends.
My sister Janet tells the story better than I could ( see Janet's blog) suffice to say that as a I nurse my presence was needed for morale support and not for any physical need.....Andrew and Jayne coped with everything very well.........and it was great to watch Andrew "taking a risk" in order to do something that was important to him.
Rehabilitation is not just learning to change a trach dressing or dealing with some needed physio you know!
It's all about coping with some dry ice and a lager splashed rock concert way into the wee small hours!
or as Lemonyrenee said more beautifully
""Life is not about waiting for the clouds to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain."