Hello all our friends. 
 
We do hope you all had a very happy Christmas.  We certainly did here at St Mary’s, as you can see from our photo, we joined in the festivities as best we could
 
We -  Trudi, Elia and I  - would like to thank everyone for all the presents.  Sr Jennifer says she won’t have to buy us any treats for months!!

We have been walking in the park as usual in the early mornings, not so many friends around at that time, I suppose some have gone away.  The after lunch walks are more friendly, lots of children like to stop and talk to us.  Trudi is in her buggy some of the way now.  I like to talk because they usually say ‘how handsome’ I am!! Well, I know everyone loves me.
 
Banjo, our gardener, caught me the other day for a bath ☹, I know it has to happen but honestly I could do without it – still, I looked quite clean for Christmas, and apparently I smelt better (cheek!).
 
We are hoping we might get away for a break during the spring, as it quite hard work being on duty all day every day, but sometimes we sneak off and have a sleep on the sofa.
 
Hope you all had a lovely time and we wish you a very Happy New Year!

Well that was rather a wash out of a summer – a few nice days here and there – but generally dull weather-wise.
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However, we have done our best to keep everyone cheery in the gloomy days, and we have enjoyed walks in Chiswick House grounds, BBQs in the garden, the summer Sale – and when it’s a sunny day we always help everyone with tea in the garden, after all, it’s not good for the squirrels to be eating the leftover cake, and we need to save them from themselves.

Now that our mini-lockdown has finished, we’ve been out for long walks again in Richmond Park, I think we’ve got a little out of shape during the past 18 months, as when we got home, all we could do was sleep….. 

Enjoy this nice weather - before the thunderstorms come back!!
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The human who types this for me is away next week, so I am sending out my Easter Greetings early.

I hope you all have a lovely Easter, and enjoy the break.  Looking forward to a spring and summer of easing of restrictions and hopefully allowing us to all socialise again come July.

​Trudi and I have been enjoying the slightly milder weather and have been relishing our outings to Richmond, and across the road in Chiswick House grounds.  There are lots of new smells and sounds to investigate, and we’ve been busy checking them all out.

I was slightly surprised by the heron – but we’re keeping a  close eye on him and I hope he stays away from the ducklings and chicks that should be making an appearance soon.

The magnolia tree on the corner of Corney Road is looking wonderful.  I hope you enjoy it when you come in to visit us.
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The garden is blooming too, which is very welcome, and once the weather warms up a bit, we’ll begin doing activities in the garden for the residents again.  We’ve all been shut up long enough.

Today we’ve been celebrating two anniversaries – the 50th Anniversary of Sr Cynthia’s profession (she celebrated by doing an extra KM on the bike!) and one of those 0 birthdays for our chef (and our great friend) Chris.  The nice thing about days like this is that there is lots of cake!
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Happy Easter everyone – and I hope your Easter egg hunts are successful.  This is a picture from our Easter egg hunt last year.

Hard to believe but it’s about a year now since the first Lockdown started.  During this time we’ve mostly been restricted in our outings to Richmond Park and Chiswick House grounds.  Last weekend it got a bit warmer, and I couldn’t resist a bit of paddle….  I thought I could give the ducks a bit of a lesson in doggy-paddle.

​And now it’s Lent, already.  Lent is a period of waiting and anticipation.  Certainly this Lent, we are not just anticipating Easter, but also a relaxing in restrictions, and as the vaccine rollout gathers apace, the hope of a return to normal come the summer.  Trudi and I are particularly looking forward to some time away from Chiswick – hopefully somewhere with big beaches where we can run about and paddle in the sea.  I think Sr Jennifer and Liz could do with a bit of a break too, I try my best to give them a bit of exercise each day, but really we all need a good holiday.

​Visitors will be coming back into the home next week, which will be nice.  It may be Lent – but you never know I may pick up a few treats from some of them – especially those who have dogs of their own -  and often find the odd doggy treat in their pockets.  Spring is certainly springing in the garden.  Here are some photos

​Well, Happy New Year!  We are all fervently praying that 2021 will be an improvement on 2020. 
I haven’t updated this for a while.  Sadly, with the lack of opposable thumbs, my typing is not very good, so a kind human in the Office types these out for me.  She has been really rather busy for the past 8 weeks or so, and I haven’t liked to bother her (here I am peering in her office to see if she’s free), but we felt that we should get something down before January was gone.

With the Lockdown that started just before Christmas, it meant that our Residents couldn’t go out to visit their families, and families couldn’t come in and join in the fun and games we usually have going on here.  However, Christmas Day was passed in merriment with plentiful food and some beverages that didn’t look like tea…..  We also had a lovely family come to us on Christmas morning and sing carols for the Residents from the garden.  Some of us braved the elements to listen and other from the safety and warmth of indoors.

I’m pleased to say I didn’t notice any lack in treats and titbits over the festive period; my friends in the kitchen and the various offices and bungalow I visit were all very generous.
With the restrictions on travel, I haven’t had as many trips to Richmond Park as I normally have.  Trudi says she’s grateful for that, as she’s not as limber as she was, and gets tired.  But I just know that those rabbits and foxes are up to no good with out me to keep them in order!
We’ve enjoyed meeting our friends in Chiswick House grounds – both human and four footed.  Although I nearly gave Sr Jennifer heart failure the other day, as I was accosted by a very cheeky fox across from Burlington Road, and in a moment of distraction I raced across the A316, without waiting for the green man to appear on the pelican crossing.   I was thoroughly told off – and I fear I deserved it.

​Elia is doing her usual winter trick of pretending to be very pious, and spending her time stretched out across the shelf in Chapel, which just happens to be above a radiator, or else snuggled in Trudi’s bed.  She says her eyes are closed in prayer….  she doesn’t fool me!

​We enjoyed the brief snow on Sunday.  The garden was looking very pretty – but brrrrrrr – it was so cold the following morning, we didn’t go for our early morning walk.  We felt it wouldn’t be fair on Sr Jennifer and Liz to drag them out in the freezing, icy conditions.
I hope you are keeping safe and staying indoors.  We all want to get back to normal as soon as we can.

Well, it’s been a long time, but finally I was able to lure Liz and Sr Jennifer away on holiday to Norfolk.  As you all know this lockdown business rather got in the way of our holiday earlier in the summer, and our last holiday seemed ages and ages ago.
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Despite dire weather predictions, we had an excellent time and our walks were mainly in the dry.  We were staying at Scratby, and we could walk to the beach every morning from out of our front door.  

​​We revisited some favourite haunts – Backton Woods, Holkham Hall, Winterton Dunes, and those lovely long, sandy Norfolk beaches.  Bartie got lost amongst the sheep – and it was hard to spot him in the middle of a flock - he got some sideways glances from the sheep themselves, but we managed to extricate him.
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We visited Felbrigg Hall, and the church in the village was dedicated to St Margaret of Antioch, so that was a nice surprise.  Not many churches around with that dedication.   

It was nice to come back to the cottage at the end of a tiring day and fall asleep on the sofa, one each for me and Trudi – don’t know where Sr J or Liz sat…
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Sr Jennifer and Liz made the most of the fresh fish on offer for their suppers, and we managed to get in a few treats of our own too.

Back at the Convent Elia was missing Liz but was being tended to by Sr Cynthia, equipped with a new packet of Dreamies, with essential tickling behind her ears carried out by Jane Trigle and Sr Jane Olive.

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Trudi and I (not to mention Sr Jennifer and Liz) are getting excited that after months and months, we will soon be able to go outside the Home and Chiswick House grounds for longer walks in the country.  It’s been 17 weeks since we locked down the Home, and now that rules are relaxing a bit and we are allowing some visitors into the home, and have been taking resident out for drives, we feel the time has come for us to go out too.
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Sadly Richmond Park is still closed to cars, and we would have to be kept on the lead, as now is the time that the fawns are arriving.  Not that I would be a nuisance – but the bucks and does don’t know that!

We have been very lucky though with the good weather, which has meant that we’ve been entertaining our residents in the garden with BBQs.  Also we’ve been celebrating a 100th birthday.  The cake was delicious!
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​The kitchen decorated the coleslaw to go with our burgers with a very pretty tomato rose, with cucumber stem.  Very artistic!

Well, it’s been quite a while since I’ve had time to put paw to paper. 

We’ve been on Lockdown at the Home since 23rd March, and my time has been spent trying to cheer up staff and residents of the Home, as best I can.

It’s all felt very strange.  No visitors at all – not our cheery bunch of volunteers, nor families and relatives, no entertainers or visiting animals, and everybody sitting 2 metres apart at meal times.  
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Visiting priests are not allowed, so on Sundays and over Easter we were tuned into
Fr Stephen Stavrou at St Michael and All Angels, Barnes livestreaming on Youtube.  Nasima and Liz managed to get the three big screens connected through laptops, and everyone sat, socially distant,  in different rooms and joined in the services and sang the hymns.  Residents have also been tuning in to other church services from St Michael and All Angels, Bedford Park, St Nicholas, Chiswick, St Mary’s, Bourne Street, Westminster Cathedral, London Oratory, to name but a few.  It’s been lovely virtually visiting other churches during this time.

​On Easter Monday I helped with the Egg Hunt, not that there were any for me.  Something about chocolate not being good for dogs. Pah! The Residents made some very sweet flannel Bunnies. 
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Still, I have been keeping up with the neighbours and visiting those in our St Francis bungalows.  I’m happy to report that dog treats have not been in short supply and my friends there spoil us.  Mrs Playfair has been practising her yoga in the warm evenings; I’ve been correcting her Downward Dog, and generally encouraging her.

Our walks have been somewhat restricted.  Richmond Park has been off the agenda, so we’ve made do with the Garden and Chiswick House grounds.  The good thing about Chiswick House is that we do get to meet some local friends, so that’s been nice.  Also it’s been lovely to see the ducklings and cootlings in the pond.  They are all looking very fluffy and cute.

VE Day was celebrated in true St Mary's style.  Jan led us in a singalong in the garden; we had tea and cake and generally enjoyed ourselves.  A slideshow below from VE Day and the pictures of the garden looking glorious.  Not to mention a very handsome, blonde fella.....  

Sr Jennifer decided that it was time for my annual bath – whether I needed it or not!  We have just had installed an outdoor grooming parlour for me, Trudi and visiting dogs, who get a bit muddy on walks. 

As we were going round the garden after lunch, Sr mentioned in passing it was ‘about time I had a wash’ .  I thought a quick dip under the fountain would suffice, but no, she got all serious, and Jane Wright (who I had thought of as a friend) got roped in to help out, and Lo! there I was under the shower being shampooed all over. 

Of course, eventually I realized what this was all about.  It was so Sr Jennifer could use her birthday present given to her by the staff – and large pink dog hairdryer…..  The shame!  How will I ever hold my head up again.

Here I am, after my ordeal, looking blond, fluffy and handsome again. 
For some reason – Trudi escaped her bath.  I’m looking into this…. 

As for Elia, I've never seen her being given a shower.  She tells me that is because cats are super clean anyway