Batman Diaries #10 In Sickness & In Health.

It can be pretty hard to tell when your completely black, unable to sit still and horribly fidgety rabbit isn't quite right. I think the main thing that fellow pet owners would agree on when your pet's sick is a change in their behaviour. Batman is usually pretty upbeat, leaping across the sofas and lapping around the room. Basically, when he stays still for long periods of time and you can't hear him snoring loudly, there's something wrong. He was eating, drinking and pooping just fine but we noticed that he wasn't putting any pressure on his back leg, holding it close to his body and walking instead of running. After a day of resting in his hutch, limiting his movement, things still weren't right. Time for a trip to the vets. 

At almost three, Batman has only been to the vets once before on dreaded "Ball-a-versary" and I was anxious about how he'd behave. Previously he's been prefect. right up until the vet handed him back to us stating "He's still pretty drowsy from the anaesthetic" He bit her. Sending Harps in and telling Batman I loved him, I'm ashamed to admit I stayed in the reception, tearing at the thought of the vet having to examine him and the pain it might cause ( I know this is really pathetic. Deal with it.) I heard whoops and laughs coming from the room and thought "What have they done?!" Turns out Batman felt well enough to leap from the scales onto the floor. A few minutes later they came out, prescribing Bats some pain killer in a little syringe, stating he'd probably pulled a muscle. He needed to rest. Now the first time Batman tried his medicine I was amazed at how well behaved he was. In hindsight it was more than likely down to being glad to get home. Every night after was like a military operation.

Soon Batman was back to normal, lounging on the bed and generally loving life since the heating has been on in the evenings. Batman loves snuggling in winter.

Love Sophie & Batman Xx

Location Location Location: Lanhydrock Cycle Trails.

These sunny days are meant to last. The weather has been kind over the last few weeks and it's given us a chance to get our more than our little Cornish land usually allows at this time of year. During a bit of life panic, Harps swept me outside for a little bike ride, I say little because I spent most of the time talking to wildlife and taking photos. Lanhydrock is part of the National Trust and is home to the most beautiful and fascinating house, boasting title of 'grandest in the county'. With the weather so glorious, we weren't there to learn about Victorian life indoors, nor were we here to admire the perfectly coiffed and manicured gardens, we were here to explore the captivating, wild estate and the newly added bike trails that bring cyclists and dog walkers alike. The estate itself is free to enter, making it an ever better choice for a day out in the sunshine and the variable skilled trails are suitable for all abilities.

Incase you've never heard me mention, I have really big problems with my knees. I'd probably worry, once upon a time of making that seem too serious but they've got to a stage (after about six years) of severe pain that cycling is actually quite high impact for me. Harps, on the other hand works with bicycles every day and loves a chance to get me riding with him. As much as I loved the wind in my hair, it wasn't long before I'd had to stop too many times to stretch my knees out, that I totally lost him. Both resting and documenting my missing status, imagining families finding my phone months later and hunting for clues as to where 'the lady stuck in the woods' is, I tried not to wonder too far, wishing I'd made a trail of breadcrumbs and taking some of the loveliest photos.

Eventually Harps found me (look how excited I am to have been reunited!) and flitted between riding the shorter trails and my knees having a rest and taking poor quality photos of him. I am not the sports photographer he needs me to be.

And I made some friends with nature. I actually had to be moved along by Harps because I spent so long talking to the caterpillar.

Finally we headed to the dog friendly bike cafe and scoffed some chocolate cake and cold drinks, before heading home via the National Trust gift shop/plant centre and picking up a few herb seeds that are sprouting really quite nicely.

Have you been to Lanhydrock? Maybe it's on your list of places to go? This winter I plan to head to the house and have a quiet day roaming the halls of history. Do let me know if you fancy coming along!

Here's some other places in Cornwall that you might want to add to your Location list:

Daymer Bay Beach

Charlestown

St Ives

Falmouth

Roche Rock and Hermitage

Pentewen

St Austell Brewery

Melinsey Mill

Polgooth

Dairyland Farmworld

Mevagissey

Love Sophie Xx

Batman Diaries #9 A Very Important Day.

Batman has had a life changing day. He's finally been outside in the garden! It's no secret that our little bun is actually a massive pain in the arse- stubborn as hell and no way was he ever going to let us get him in a little harness (and finding one small enough proved to be impossible!) He's more than happy to get into his little pet carrier though and we know how much he loves lounging in the sun through the window. 

Finally we've found a little pen for him that was a) Affordable- most of the runs or pens we'd found had been really overpriced this scraped in at just under £30! b) Very safe- Of course any sort of harm coming to my bun was number one priority but this pen comes with a half netted/ half shaded cover for sneaky birds and cats from above, pegs into the ground so that little Batman can't squirm his way out into harm and is really the perfect height and diameter for him to have a nice run around without being vulnerable. c) Super easy use- It literally took us less than five minutes to put it up and take it down after Batman was finished frolicking- remember not to keep little buns out in the sun for too long! Especially if they're a bit weird like Batman and don't like to go in the shade much.

After a while of trying to convince Batman to use the door of his new pen, we ended up putting his whole carrier in the pen so he still had a familiar place to run back into and could come out in his own time. He was pretty unsure for a while...

New found freedom! Eventually he emerged, stretching and sniffing, sneaking and stalking little bugs and blades of grass. 

Settling down for a snack and some sunshine. 

Do any of you have any tips for keeping small pets safe outside? Whether it be cooling down tips or fun ideas for buns in the sun? This summer is going to be much more exciting for our little Batman. He really did love his first time outside!

Love Sophie & Batman Xx

Batman Diaries #7 Batman in Winter.

Here's Batman just casually sitting down to update his diary. He actually really does love sitting in front of the screen, watching what I'm doing. I'll leave the room, come back and he'll have typed some illegible sentence on a blog post or clicked on so many buttons that it takes me five minutes just to close down all the pages he's opened!

Batman gets pretty lazy in Winter. The days where the sun is shining he finds himself a spot and sleeps for hours. On the days where it isn't he usually pops himself at the end of the bed and sits, watching the tv or playing with the duvet cover.
Fullest in fur and probably at his grumpiest, Batman feels exactly the same as I do in willing spring to arrive. Soon he'll be needing endless brushes and will be clogging up every available surface with his whispy hairs. I've been collecting them for a while now with the long term plan of giving them all to my friend Stacie to use as wool. Super eco friendly Batman! 

And then every now and then, that cute little face doesn't just look like a black ball of wool and you catch a glimpse of his little grey bits and those cutie pie brown eyes...I might be biased. 

Love Sophie and Batman Xx

Windy Walks & Beach Badgers.

On a windy day off within the last few weeks, mother asked as to whether I'd like to walk the spaniels with her. Practically scratching at the walls with no access to my laptop, I jumped at the chance for a little catch up time and to blow the cobwebs away. After spending a little time walking I began to tell tales of the lesser spotted beach badgers that had dug holes just like this one << in the sand.

Mother thinking she's much smarter disagreed but hey, not everyone can be as in the know as I am.


Winter walks on the beach are some of my favourite. There's hardly anyone there besides the fellow dog walkers and this results in lots of doggy related chit chat.


Me: "Look that dog has a coat on, why don't your dogs get coats?"
Mother: "They don't need coats, they're warm enough as they are!"
Me: "Well I'm sure they'd be happier if they were even warmer, I'm going to call the authorities."
Mother: "That dog has a purple coat on and it looks ridiculous."
Me: *Spots whippet* " That dog definitely needs his coat!"


And so on and so fourth.

Followed by many doggie butt sniffing awkward interactions with other dogs. 

Aaah winter.

Love Sophie Xx

Tonaaay The Magical Dressage Ponaaay

One day late last year, I came home to discover that my brother, who works as a chef in a lovely local restaurant, had invited me to join his group on Facebook. 

It was called "Tonaaay's Dressage"  

The only information on the page said the following: "Come follow Tonaaay is he horses around on his magical dressage journaaaay!"

The only picture was this: (that's my brother in the background and yes that is spiderman...)

I honestly have been wanting to tell the entire world about the journaayys that followed but just couldn't work out quite what to say. I'm still not sure exactly 'what' is going on in my brother's head in his spare time at work but here it is...and I love it!

So lettuce begin...

Sundaaaayy morning Tonaaay.

Nice pear Tonaaay...

Cheer up Tonaaay, why so blue today?

Tonaaay's ready to go out and impress the ladies tonight...

Tonaaay's late for everything. He's always playing ketchup.

Tonaaay's always letting medical problems get waaaay out of hand!
See a doctor Tonaaay!

Tonaaay doing a little research on a dish close to his heart...Always on a roll there Tonaaay!

Tonaaay needs to lose a few pounds. Bit of a lard ass there Tonaaay!

Tonaaay took scrubbing up a little too seriously..

Tonaaay got into the Halloween spirit but needed help staying upright after a few...

Tonaaay showing off what a fungi he can be...

And then....disaster struck... Tonaaay was taken hostage for weeks...many thought he wouldn't return, there was even talk of his cousin Anthonaaay coming over from Gallopoli to help the search...We received this devastating hostage photo...

We mourned....

Had Tonaaay had his hay day?

As Christmas approached, all we really wished for on our festive lists to Santa was for Tonaaay to be returned safely...and then, a Christmas miracle if I've ever witnessed one...

Tonaaay feeling festive with braaandy sauce...

Since then....nothing. Tonaaay didn't see in the new year with us. We haven't heard since...so I write to you now to ask you all.... Have you seen Tonaaay whilst he gallops around on his magical dressage  journaaay?

Love Sophie Xx

The Two Questions That Will Determine If We Will Be Friends.

Image Via Pinterest.

There are two questions for when you meet someone new that in my opinion, can tell you enough about them to make an instant judgement. I shared these questions with Leona and Liam over lunch the other week and we agreed that they're at the very least a good conversation starter! I honestly use both of these questions when I meet someone new and hey I don't get a bad response! 

1) What is the best type of biscuit in the world?

Now, my answer (after MUCH deliberation) is of course a jam cream. Some people get confused with a jammy dodger here but I assure you that is not the same thing. Jam creams are usually found in the Christmas selection box (not nearly enough of them!) but literally EVERY UK supermarket agrees with me that they are amazing and now stock them all.by.themselves! I'm not a dictator, there are plenty of appropriate answers! For example; bourbon is a very close second and a delicious choice. A true, honest person would choose a bourbon. Etc etc, Someone who chooses a 'NICE' biscuit is probably pretty close to the bottom of my biscuit list- there's just so many better biscuits!  

There is one answer that is under no circumstances allowed- and this my friends, is where you can learn about someone the most.

Jaffa Cake.

Leona: "Anyone who answers with jaffa cake is a c***t."

2) If you were (hypothetically of course) to throw an animal over a rugby (American football) post, what is the largest animal you could throw?

As we all know I'm not exactly 'sporty'. This is what I think of when I hear rugby posts...

The answer here is important. Once you've got past the whole "Well I'd never throw an animal like a ball!" part. Let's just make is clear people- NOBODY WOULD DO THAT IN REAL LIFE! People's answers can be quite interesting. Mine is currently a small goat. I'm feeling a little feeble from the weather but sometime in the summer I was feeling confident about a large monkey. The question is really two-fold. A) The size/weight of the animal compared to distance/height to throw. B) The ability to actually throw the animal (the goat- use the horns *underarm swing*) etc. People that wuss out and say " Oh I could't throw dust from a moth." Get out. 

So what do you think? Good conversation starters hey? Maybe not in an interview...Or an animal charity event....Or in a jaffa cake factory..But great over lunch!

Love Sophie Xx

Wednesday Words #4

Painting by Fiona Phillips Click image for source.

Isn't this portrait beautiful? I found it on Pinterest and knew I had to share it with you all! It brings my Wednesday Words to a rather obvious reveal; 'Raining cats and dogs.' Pretty apt if you're in the UK this week. What a weird phrase, if a collie fell on my head from the sky I'd be pretty panicked! A persian would rip your face off, I wouldn't mind a spaniel though- Michelle would agree. It was thanks to a lovely lady who I discovered actually reads my blog and sent me a lovely link to an article she saw and thought of me that I came across this. 

"So where does it come from?" I hear ye cry?

Well, so it says; a long ol time ago, houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof... Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."

And now we know. Watch out for those animals hiding in your roof, and if they are, be a dear and pop some floor grips down to avoid any nasty accidents.

Love Sophie Xx

Location Location Location: DairyLand Farmworld.

DairyLand Farmworld is actually a magical place! I remember moving from London, first seeing this place on a leaflet in a super market- chuckling to myself as someone who'd lived near Thorpe park and Chessington- I mocked places like Dairyland Farmworld. And that'd how life carried on, I grew and appreciated Cornwall for what it is; the perfect place to grow up, and sadly, longer passed without visiting DairyLand. Located on the way to Newquay, the ideal place to take children (or animal lovers like me) this summer. I was lucky to be invited to go and have a mooch with my dear friend Tracey and her daughters. (It's always better when you can go to places like this with children). Tracey had been the week before and had a ticket which enabled her and the girls to get back in for free (a great tip for families). 

We played in the sandpit, using the diggers. I got sandy knees.

We played on the tractors and put on our best farmers accents.

Tracey ran around in circles on what can only be described in my opinion, as the greatest idea for swings ever. Seriously, why aren't all swings like this?!

We checked out some farmy friends.

And then came the main attraction....PET-A-PET. Which is just like Sophie Heaven. We all sat in a circle (I say we, more like me and 12 children) and got passed these pets on trays that we were allowed to stroke. BEST. IDEA. EVER. I've got me a whole career lined up from this idea! Oh and there was a cutie bunny sitting in his food.

I played in the DairyLand stocks. Not sure why there's stocks here, but there ya go. King sheep told all the others what to do a'la Animal Farm. Tracey sped down a slide so fast, her whole faced morphed into a blur...Yes that's her daughter standing at the top looking embarrassed.

Then was time for feeding the baby animals. I managed to interrupt this scary, frothing looking calve...and stopped to take some farm selfies (of course).

Coming to Cornwall this summer? Not sure what to do? I got ya covered. 

Love Sophie Xx