My Random Musings on Life

Thoughts about Boarding School

2010-01-04T21:43:57Z

Recently we've been watching tenko which was a drama series made in the late 70s about women held in a japanese prison of war camp. the last series is all about what happens immediately after they are released and how difficult they find it to live outside the camp.

this got me thinking about how being sent away to boarding school affected some of us. Before I continue I should point out that in no way do I compare boarding school with the attrocities which occurred in the prisoner of war camps, but it did displace us more than many people would realise.

In the series, one woman in particular was unable to go back to married life as it was as the camp had changed her so much. she ended up divorcing her husband.

For me, boarding school wrecked family life. I went away first at the age of six, only returning home at half term holidays and main school holidays. Suddenly I was different. Even my accent had changed because i'd been influenced by the people I was with. Later on I was very bored at home in the holidays when I was too old to want to play with my sister, as I had no friends at home. This made me into probably a very difficult teenager to live with.

As a younger child, I was faced with my sister finding it difficult when I returned from school. She lived the life of an only child and was suddenly expected to share with me when I got home. when I was upset by this, I was often reprimanded and told to think of my sister and how difficult it was for her to adjust to me being there.

As a teenager I had endless rows with my mother for being difficult. I was often met with remarks like, "You're not at school now", or, "I bet you don't behave like that at school". when I was at school, I wanted to be at home, and vice versa. I felt displaced in both environments.

As an adult after leaving college, I don't think it ever occurred to me to go back home, or to my home area. i'd left and that was that. Now my parents and sister live close by each other but i'm 150 miles or so away. their lives are similar and interchangeable, where mine is completely different. when family problems arise, I'm not told, much as I wasn't when I was away at school.

I'll always be different and I suspect that I'm not alone amongst people who went away to school and left siblings at home. I left school 26 years ago but the legacy lives on and probably always will.

First Day Back at Work

2010-01-04T19:00:38Z

Our first day back at work went remarkably smoothly. The spikes worked brilliantly which meant that I didn't slip on the snow and ice. Jasmine also worked extremely well, even finding that awkward drop kerb which had been such a problem in training. I'd hoped to be able to buy some lunch at work but this wasn't possible today which meant that I had to go out to a sandwich shop where jasmine had not been before. again she coped really well and seemed really happy. it was a very short new route, but nevertheless, a new route which I had to teach her independently of an instructor.

She seemed very settled at work and comfortable on her bed.

I feel this was an excellent start to what will be jasmine's bread and butter work.

Happy New year!

2010-01-01T17:06:27Z

Just to wish anyone who reads this a very happy 2010. Hope it bring health and happiness to everyone.

I haven't updated this journal in a while, simply because there hasn't been anything that really merited writing about or at times, I just didn't feel like writing.

Christmas was an unrivalled disaster and ruined for me by one person's selfishness and appalling manners. but that is not for these pages. Our guests left on Monday of this week by which time I had the start of what has turned out to be a pretty horrible cold. We were supposed to go to Friends in Birmingham yesterday to celebrate New year, but what with my cold, the fact that there are no direct trains anywhere from Nottingham this "Festive Season" and my partner's reluctance to do the Birmingham journey which is what he has to do regularly for work, we ended up staying here and had the evening by ourselves. It was actually very nice. A meal, followed by a film, a few drinks and some sparkling wine at midnight.

apart from that, we've had a lot of lazy time, watching old TV series and films. Only a couple of days and I'll be back to work which will be a shock to the system after not having been there for six weeks. I'm really looking forward to being with everyone, but the work is going to be trying I'm sure!

Jasmine has done very well particularly as she had a period of no work between 20th December and 30th December due to the pavement being too steep and icy for me to walk down. when she did start working again, although she was very excited and there was a lot of tension, she actually worked very welll. We had one unfortunate incident on christmas Day. Jasmine was intent on watching someone while they were eating, so much so that I walked into her while she was standing there and she didn't even notice. I gave her a pretty hard collar correction and told her no and to go to her bed. She turned on me and snapped but then immediately slunk off to her bed. I tethered her there for about an hour and completely ignored her. I was initially very worried about this, but as I couldn't contact Guide dogs about it for a few days I had time to feel calmer about it. Since that incident I've done a lot of obedience work with her and she's improving all the time. she hasn't attempted to have another go so I'll probably leave well alone but keep a close eye on her.

So Monday is the start of a new routine for jasmine. I keep telling her that she starts her new job on Monday! i've bought myself some ice spikes at vast expense which will probably guarantee that we have no further snow and ice this winter!

A Free Run and a Vet visit

2009-12-23T23:04:34Z

too much snow and ice to work Jasmine again today, so I went with the instructor to register Jasmine with my local vet. Jasmine's been a bit wary of the vet following an illness that she had when she was younger, but she showed no signs of it today. the vet was lovely to her, taking time to stroke and talk to her whilst she was examining her.

Following the visit, we took jasmine and the instructor's dog, a 9-year-old Labrador/Retriever cross, to some woods where they had an absolute blast in the snow. At one point, jasmine was rolling over and over, I swear she was trying to make dog angels in the snow!

So that's it. no more training between now and when I go back to work on the 4th. As soon as the ice melts, i'll be taking her outworking. I dread to think what she'll be like. very full on I'd imagine.

I suddenly feel very green and vulnerable with this very new dog. I think what I really need is a few consecutive successful walks under my belt.

The Pet Shop Boys at the NIA

2009-12-22T16:29:24Z

Went to see the pet shop Boys at the National Indoor arena in birmingham last Friday. they were brilliant. they played a mixture of their old hits and some meterial from their latest album which is really good. They finished off with an excellent cynical song called "it doesn't often snow at christmas" which I hadn't heard before and downloaded from amazon when I got back.

I must say that having been to the NIA twice now, their support for disabled people is fantastic. our seats were way up high, but when we showed the tickets to staff, we were moved to the disabled area on the concourse almost directly opposite the stage so ended up with far better seats than we'd expected. the setup there is very good. If you require assistance you can present yourself at the stage door reception which is very easy to get to and they radio for help for you there. A definite thumbs up to that venue.

Gide Dog Training On Hold

2009-12-22T15:25:10Z

Since I last wrote about the training, nothing much has happened as it snowed fairly heavily on Sunday and it has now turned to ice. Living on a hill has made it impossible to go out with Jasmine. I certainly don't have enough confidence in her yet to work her in icy conditions and if I slipped or fell, this could potentially be very damaging to her confidence in me and in her work.

Having said that, I did walk about 300 yards between the hairdressers and Sainsbury's yesterday, having been told that the pavements were clearing. This wasn't really the case, there was still a lot of snow and ice. However, it was on the flat and an excellent exercise in slowing Jasmine right down. I think she wondered what was going on, but her tail was still wagging when we got to Sainsbury's so no harm done I reckon.

Jasmine had to spend Friday night with her instructor as I had tickets to see the pet shop Boys in birmingham and its too early to leave her with people she doesn't know. I wondered if this would have a bad effect on her bonding with me, but in fact it seemed to be the reverse. she was very happy to come home and has been a lot more responsive to me since. I've also had to go out a couple of times without her in the last two or three days and again, she has been very happy when I returned.

Tomorrow our instructor will be coming to take us to the vet so that i can introduce jasmine, and afterwards we will be taking her for a free run. This is possibly a little earlier that we would have done otherwise but I think Jasmine could benefit from some exercise and we don't think it will have a detrimental effect on her work.

the big kid in me is hoping that there will still be some snow tomorrow for Jasmine to play in!

Guide Dog Training Day 25 - Back on Track

2009-12-17T16:43:04Z

having spoken to the instructor about Jasmine's work yesterday, we concentrated on the walk to work this morning, paying particular attention to the two drop kerbs that I keep missing. We went over it a few times, both on the lead and in harness, using food rewards sometimes to keep her interested. the instructor is having Jasmine tomorrow afternoon/evening as I'd booked to see the Pet Shop Boys in Birmingham prior to accepting jasmine and I'm not going to miss that one! she says she may take jasmine over those drop kerbs again tomorrow afternoon just to reinforce it a bit more.

this afternoon we walked to Sainsbury's and I can honestly say that apart from high excitement which I had to keep on top of, jasmine did everything perfectly. She even took me straight to the customer services desk which I was very pleased with as it can be quite difficult for the dogs to get to.

Now we're battening down the hatches and waiting to see if the forecast snow will arrive. its certinly cold enough for snow. It'll be such a waste if it comes though as I'm not free running Jasmine yet so wouldn't be able to take her to the park in the snow and see what she does.

Guide dog Training Day 24 - A dip in confidence

2009-12-16T23:32:09Z

I had to attend a meeting at work this morning so my instructor decided to watch me do the route to work. this Jasmine did well apart from one or two minor errors, and a bit of prompting over the radio by the instructor to enable me to get jasmine to find a drop kerb to cross a road.

I walked home again after the meeting unobserved and things all seemed to go wrong. We missed the drop kerb on the way back so had to re-trace our steps to find it. Then jasmine followed an incorrect straight line which I guess was an easy mistake to make. she did this by remaining too far over to the left on the pavement.

Once I brought her back to where she should have been we had a right turn to do and a walk down a road with loads of wheely bins out. I walked into a couple and then Jasmine tried to take me up a driveway. it was almost as though she was not wanting to keep the straight line. I really didn't feel very confident in her at that point.

Once we got to the final road crossing and this road, she was fine again and arrived home with tail wagging. I think she recovered from the upset more quickly than i did.

I discussed the walk with my instructor over the phone later in the afternoon and she was very reassuring. she told me not to dwell on it and that she could still see me and Jasmine going a long way together.

we're going to do more work on that route tomorrow.

guide Dog Training Day 22 - Qualified!

2009-12-14T14:02:03Z

I wondered if I was being followed by more than my instructor this morning when I did the block route around the shops again and wasn't given any help when I passed a crossing by mistake and was left to sort out the error myself. I did this successfully and the walk went very well after that. when I got home the District Team manager was there with the paperwork for me to sign, so jasmine is now officially my guide dog. We are limited on where we can go at present but that is the same with every new dog, and there is still more training work to do this week. The nice thing though is that I can go out with Jasmine unaccompanied which I'm sure will help both her and my confidence.

So a big thank you to all at the East Midlands team, and particularly to my instructor. If you're reading this, you know who you are!

I probably draw too much from significances, but there's a good one today. Jade qualified on the 14th of February and retired on the 14th of November. Its now the 14th of December, Jasmine's qualification date.

Guide Dog Training Day 19 - Considerable Improvement

2009-12-11T12:06:29Z

My plan today was to do my first walk then have one of those "I'm-very-concerned-about-this-dog" chats with the instructor on our return. However, I took Jasmine out with a radio again and did the block route with the shops that we'd started yesterday. she did it brilliantly. Only making one or two minor errors which are consistent with a young inexperienced dog. She slowed at the park entrance but didnt refuse it, and she was fine crossing the last two roads.

when we got back my instructor said that we would leave it at that to end the week on a high. She decided not to come into the house so that in effect, Jasmine didn't see her at all today, we had our post walk chat in the street with a cup of coffee!

I seem to remember that on previous classes, i'd have been qualified by the end of week three, so am slightly disappointed that week three has come and gone and I'm still not.

not sure if this is because of our working standard or whether classes are now just taking longer with the new system of hotel then home training.

Guide Dog Training Day 18 - Just when you think You're Getting Somewhere ...

2009-12-10T13:24:59Z

this morning it was off with the radio again. I worked jasmine to the end of this road where I met the instructor. We then did a round the block route with Jasmine on the lead, taking in a few shops and coming back past Sainsbury's. I worked her home the last couple of roads that she has already done. She did refuse once but the pavement was fairly obstructed near the entrance to the park. jasmine was a little reluctant to cross the last two roads on the way home and I just had this feeling that she would sooner or later refuse them.

bless her, she didn't prove me wrong. After a break we did the same walk again although I worked her this time. She did brilliantly in the more crowded parts apart from frightening one poor woman by walking me right up behind her.

once we got back to the park entrance, I got Jasmine past with her only slowing rather than stopping. I really thought I'd cracked it until we got to the next road where she refused this time, causing me to miss a gap in the traffic. A passer-by then helped me across the road, so Jasmine had no choice but to follow me. she then refused at the bottom of this road and I had to step out without the handle to make her go again. then to cap it all, she stopped and had a wee half way up the pavement!

with all my dogs I've been tested, but I can honestly say that none of them have done it as constantly as Jasmine is doing.

I will win! ... will I?

Guide dog Training Day 17 - Radios

2009-12-09T14:54:51Z

As arranged, the instructor dropped the harness and a two-way radio outside my house this morning then melted into the background out of the line of sight of Jasmine. I was asked to do the route to work and back and if necessary, if Jasmine put the anchors on again, I was advised to walk with the cane for a short way making Jasmine walk with me then try again with the handle. This was to enforce the fact that if she stops when not required to and refuses to go on, this will not be tolerated and the walk will continue.

So off I set feeling like a right idiot with my fluorescentSam Browne belt with radio clipped to it and cane hanging out of my pocket.

the walk to work went very well, a good standard of work although perhaps a little more tension than I'd like. when I got there, the instructor came over the radio asking me to go into work for a few minutes in order to give Jasmine a bit of incentive to do the route in the future. well that's the reason she said. Personally I think it was to make me go in there all trussed up with training paraphernalia! naturally I got a ribbing when I went in! I looked like a traffic warden they said and wanted me to go out there with fake parking tickets! I guess it could be fun.

The walk back was also good with nothing to report. We had a short break then went to our local Sainsbury's and back, again with the radios. The walk there was fine but on the way back there were one or two people distractions and Jasmine started refusing. I didn't get as far as having to use my cane, a few steps forward and a firm voice seemed to do the trick each time. she really played up at the bottom of this road and pulled over onto some grass. A firm correction made her sit up and listen I feel and we got home with no intervention from the instructor and in safety.

For whatever reason, I feel very emotionally and physically tired today.

MRI Scan

2009-12-08T20:14:40Z

Had to have an MRI scan today as a precautionary measure to ensure that there's nothing drastic going on which would be causing my migraines. I was absolutely dreading it as I'd heard of people not being able to tolerate being in the scanner and even needing sedation.

I arrived at the MRI department in plenty of time and was called in fairly quickly. I was surprised to be taken back outside and up some steps into something I can only describe as a trailer. Metal steps leading into a small room with a lot of engine noise! After filling out a short questionnaire and removing everything metal, I was taken into an inner room where the scanner lurked like a malevolent beast, ticking and chugging ominously.

I lay on a bed that had a slight moulded area for my head and a wedge to put my knees over. It seemed very narrow and I felt slightly vulnerable with my elbows sticking out! A kind of plate, a bit like an Xray plate was then put in front of my face in some sort of frame to keep it there, and strangely enough, when I did actually go into the scanner, I felt in a small way protected by this frame. I was given a pair of very large headphones to wear to protect my ears from the noise, the bed was raised and slid back into the scanner. At which point the radiographer, or whatever these people are called, left the room. The headphones were playing Smooth Radio but it was too late to do anything about that by then! A voice then cut over the radio and told me the scan was about to start.

it was certainly loud, with a fair few changes in pitch and at times some chugging and juddering, but it wasn't really that bad once I was in. I can't say how long I was in there except that about four songs were played on the radio with the chat between them.

I bought some Rescue Remedy before I went today and used it. not sure if it helped or not, but I got through it!

guide Dog Training Day 16 - Challenging Madam!

2009-12-08T16:36:18Z

madam Jasmine has certainly thrown a few things at me today! Our instructor asked me to do the walk to work with no real input from her. She went out first and tried to blend into the background so that I could get on with it. madam, however, realised she was around and half way down the road she simply refused to go on. I tried cajoling, I tried correcting, but nothing would move the stubborn little dog! Eventually the instructor came back to us and Jasmine went on her way, although she was generally very distracted and a bit naughty. We had no further incidents like that on the walk though and after a while her work settled down.

Tomorrow, the instructor is going to come to the house without jasmine knowing hopefully, leave the harness and a two-way radio outside the door and get out of Jasmine's sight. We're hoping that if jasmine hasn't seen the instructor at all, she'll work better for me.

This afternoon I had to go for a hospital appointment and leave Jasmine at home. when I got back she'd obviously been fast asleep and was very excited to see me which was good.

Guide Dog Training Day 15 - Our Walk to Work

2009-12-07T18:34:40Z

I'm so pleased with Jasmine today. Our instructor arrived this morning and we decided to work on my walk to work. As its only a ten minute walk we took Jasmine there on the lead first to show it to her. We then took her into the office where her new friends were waiting to say hello! I had to keep it low key but she was well behaved and stayed calm despite the attention.

I then did the route with jasmine in harness. We walked there and back with very little input from the instructor. I noticed on a familiar route that although jasmine has a lot more tension when she works, she actually tackles obstacles in much the same way as jade used to, so she was very easy to work in familiar surroundings.

I know I have a long way to go with her yet, but I really felt confident walking with her today.

Poor dog cried at the door though when her instructor left.

Jasmine's Weekend

2009-12-06T21:13:02Z

Its been an odd kind of weekend really. Jasmine has been very unsettled at times and then at others she's fine. she's eating and spending well which is good. However, she's been very jumpy and hasn't slept much during the day. After her evening feed she just crashes out which she has done now.

At one point today she kept darting away from us both and refusing to come near. I was starting to really worry about this odd behaviour. I didn't, however, think to check to see if she had anything in her mouth, as it transpired that she had a sock which she then proceeded to make a hole in before presenting it back to me.

note to self. always sort socks upstairs and put them in a net before washing them. that way madam can't run off with the lost one!

Guide Dog Training Day 12 - Jasmine is Home!

2009-12-04T21:25:04Z

Well, we've finally made it, we're home. Jasmine is somewhat overwhelmed by her new surroundings. She was very restless till I fed her and is now snoozing in her bed. Fortunately she has taken to jade's cupboard, so I won't have to re-locate the dog bed.

Before we left this morning we had a quick visit to the train station. However it just consisted of sighted assistance on and off trains so it didn't meet my needs at all. One to discuss later on in training.

so happy to be away from that hotel.

park Inn - Their Mistake is my Gain!

2009-12-03T20:39:59Z

Went to settle my bill this evening expecting to pay my £70 meal. I gave my room number and they asked for £21.50! I felt I had to query it, saying I was expecting it would be a little more. they said no so I paid it and ran!

Guide Dog Training Day 11 - working Hard and Playing Hard

2009-12-03T20:20:40Z

This morning it was off to victoria Centre in Nottingham which is a fairly large indoor shopping centre. We walked the length of the upper level, went over a bridge across a road, came down, crossed back over the road and walked back the length of the lower level. Jasmine was very highly strung when I started her off, but she soon realised that I wasn't going to let her go flat out and she worked brilliantly. I only brushed two or three people on my right and who's to say they were looking where they were going! jasmine was so positive and certainly seemed to take notice when I did have to correct her. We had a coffee in a cafe on the way back and she settled down very quickly.

this afternoon we took the dogs up to the kennels where they have a paddock for free running. We ran them in pairs and jasmine ran with her friend Pedro who allowed Jasmine to bully him ceaselessly. I do wonder what it'll be like when I eventually introduce Jasmine to jade as they're both dominant little madams and I think fur will fly while they sort out which positions they hold in their pack!

Home tomorrow at last. I'm off now to have a drink with some of the class.

Guide Dog Training Day 10 - Testing Times

2009-12-02T20:13:54Z

We talked today about the "honeymoon period" which is particularly relevant to rescue dogs. When they are re-homed, for the first few days they behave extremely well, but once they feel more confident and settled, they start to exhibit behaviour which hadn't been obvious up till that point. New owners are often surprised that they have what would appear to be a butter-wouldn't-melt dog who suddenly starts to misbehave.

I have that dog today! We have been taught to use a "first command, second command" system. first command is pleasant. if the dog doesn't respond to that command, the second is done with a harder voice and a correction.

Today, jasmine has been doing everything on second command. I feel sorry for her really as in a way today has felt quite negative, but its the only way she'll learn. I feel as though I've been on at her all day.

This morning we did more traffic work, including having a car drive across the pavement in front of us whilst walking along. This was the last traffic session we'll do and I'm not sorry as I felt Jasmine was losing momentum with constantly being driven at. That sounds awful and in reality it is very controlled even though the dog doesn't realise it!

This afternoon we went back to mapperley Top where we did more crowd work. jasmine was a lot steadier and apart from a minor brush with a wheely bin on a narrow stretch of pavement she did well.

This evening I took her to the restaurant whilst we ate our evening meal and apart from some initial sniffing, she was very good.

She's snoozing happily in her bed now.

Guide Dog Training Day 9 - Positive Walk

2009-12-01T20:52:09Z

Today I woke up feeling incredibly tired and down. this morning we did some more traffic work which Jasmine did very well. However, she seemed generally distracted and sniffed a fair bit. I wonder if the little madam realised that I wasn't as positive as I'd been on other days!

this afternoon We worked in the north Sherwood Street area again and there were a fair amount of people there. Jasmine worked like a dream, weaving in and out of the people, feeling very confident.

I received an excellent compliment from my instructor who said she wished she'd videoed us as jasmine was working so well and I was following well too.

When we arrived back at the hotel, we were asked to assemble in our lounge area and the instructors suddenly rushed in with squeaky toys, rattling biscuits and generally making a racket. this was to see how we'd cope when the dogs were faced with a high level of distraction. Jasmine was initially very out of control and it took me a minute or so to settle her properly but I achieved it. One of the instructors then came in with her pet dog on a lead. Jasmine was well behaved that time, probably because i'd just told her off!

Guide Dog Training Day 8 - A Full On Day

2009-11-30T21:45:50Z

Its 9:30 in the evening now and we finished working about half an hour ago. Its been a long, fairly mixed day today. Our first walk was around North Sherwood Street in Nottingham with some busier conditions for the dogs to work and many more distractions. I was largely left to my own devices and at times I didn't feel that jasmine was concentrating very well. I also felt that she was challenging me a bit which is bound to happen. That was followed by a talk on dog welfare and health, and lunch with jasmine in attendance for the first time.

this afternoon we did the dreaded traffic work. A member of Guide dogs staff driving a car close to us to enforce the dog's response to unexpected or misjudged traffic. Jasmine did well with that. Its a difficult area to work on as it has to be so controlled. Following that we had another talk, this time on dog behaviour. I learnt that Jasmine is probably a more dominant dog with both other dogs and with the handler. I was pleased to hear this as I had certainly asked for this type of dog.

We then had a short break, followed by our evening meal and then a night walk. no real difference for me than a walk in the daytime, but an opportunity to work the dogs in training at night.

So, a 12 hour day with very little in the way of breaks. Jasmine is spark out at my feet now and I don't think I'll be far behind her.

the other thing I learnt today is that Jasmine's birthday is 29th of december when she will be two years old.

Am I One of a Dying Breed?

2009-11-29T22:39:43Z

I am increasingly more and more concerned about the emphasis that seems to be put upon blind and partially sighted people these days that we need sighted assistance in order to live our lives to the full.

I can honestly say that there are very few things in and around the home that I can't do. OK, I don't do DIY but my partner does the basics, and he too is blind. I also don't paint or decorate because I can't see to do it. However, not doing these things doesn't set me apart as a blind person as there are plenty of women and a lot of men too who don't do these tasks.

OK, I don't do my garden, but that is because I'm lazy, not because I am blind. I don't do my own cleaning because I believe that our weekends together are for other things and I am fortunate enough to be able to pay someone to do it for me.

Today I was told I was expecting too much from my guide dog in training because I expected her to work onto a bus. The advice was to take off the harness and seek sighted assistance to board the bus. So GDBA are clearly advocating that as blind people, we should not expect to be able to board a bus independently.

Some of us don't have sighted help at home from other family members. those of us who work are met with howls of derision by social services departments if we dare to ask for a couple of hours' support a week to help ensure a good standard of cleanliness in the home and to assist with form filling.

So, we maintain our independece as best we can and protect it fiercely. it is therefore soul-destroying when organisations such as Guide dogs suggest that we can't now, because of changing times and health and safety expect the same level of independence as in times gone by.

I'll be teaching my dog to board buses, to navigate railway stations and if necessary to travel on escalators, with or without help from GDBA. And, to hell with the assumption when I do ask for a little help, that we all have sighted help to draw on.

Guide dog Training Day 7 - Rain, Rain and More Rain!

2009-11-29T22:21:49Z

Got absolutely soaked first thing this morning when most self-respecting folk were still in their beds! Did a straight walk up Mansfield Road with lots of traffic, surface water and spray. Jasmine didn't seem perturbed by it at all which is unusual as all my other dogs hated working in the rain. We then caught the bus back to our starting point which was uneventful except that the latest thinking amongst GDBA staff is that we take off the harness before the bus comes and get sighted assistance onto the bus! Yeah right! So i'll be teaching Jasmine to work onto buses myself.

After a very nice pub lunch, we did some off-kerb obstacles and some work on a flight of steps. Jasmine coped well with both situations, although I think she found going up and down the same stretch of pavement with the off-kerbs a bit boring.

have had a lovely relaxed evening with my partner. Jasmine was pleased to see him but didn't jump all over him which was great.

Over half way through the hotel stay now and the end is in sight.

Park Inn, Nottingham - complete rip-off

2009-11-29T11:50:43Z

I hate this hotel. I would never, ever recommend it to anyone. In my opinion, it has all the comforts of a Travel Lodge and the food is mediocre pub food at posh restaurant prices.

A three-course meal for two last night with a glass of wine, a bottle of cider and liqueur coffees cost the best part of £70. thank goodness I am living cheaply courtesy of Guide dogs this week.

Its no wonder the dining room was so empty. I've paid that amount of money for meals many times but I'd want a lot bettter quality for my money. the starters were very modest, the main courses were meat or fish, no sauces, chips and a sprig of salad, and the dessert was probably the best bit!

Its clear that the Park Inn relies on people passing through on business for its trade. I don't know how they can get away with charging those sorts of prices but they do.

A definite thumbs down for this establishment.