Pride...and Prejudice

Today is our little Alice's 2nd birthday - I can't believe that it's been that long already! China is staying with us for the weekend too - I realise how much I've missed the sweet girl! Last night she curled herself up into Alice's Cath Kidston bed (way too small!) and looked so cute. They have got used to each other again now and Alice really enjoys having a friend around after the initial harrumphing & jostling for power (all on Alice's side...China is so docile & accepting, jostling doesn't enter her head. But bossy little terriers are a different case entirely.....!)

Last weekend we headed down to the South Coast to take part in:

Umbrellas were NOT required as it was the most beautiful, hot & sunny day. There were 28 dogs altogether....mostly fox terriers, but a few Welsh, Irish & other terriers too. We met at Brighton Marina at 11am - it's a couple of miles from the centre of Brighton itself and just beautiful...

and feels very cosmopolitan with outdoor seating for numerous restaurants & a lovely boardwalk that leads to the undercliff path we walked:

many 'family photos' were taken (it was an amazing sight to see so many dogs of one - fairly unusual-breed all together, and to spot the differences & similarities!) and we stopped after a few miles to let the dogs off the leads for a good run on the seashore and refreshments for the humans!

It was a wonderful day and we were very proud of Alice who behaved almost impeccably! If you want to see more photos of the day (and the 'family' ones) go to the Fox Terrier Rescue website and click on 'events' at the top which will take you to the pictures. There is an adorable one about halfway down on the left with a furry face staring into the camera in the foreground - that's Alice! Unmistakeable when you know her!

This weekend, a much uglier side to human nature is sadly showing itself in our little market town. A hateful group known as the English Defence League or EDL has decided to descend on us to hold a demonstration. At the same time, another opposing group - Unite Against Fascism - are protesting. This is, in effect, closing down the town centre for most of Saturday and 'trapping' the residents in their homes. Most of the shops, pubs & cafe's are remaining closed all day (costing money as well as irritation) to avoid any conflict.The weekly market is cancelled. Our fountains and monuments have been boarded up. We are expecting 400 police in town (at an estimated cost of £300,000) and possibly 2000 protestors. Paul, in common with other business owners, is boarding up his plate glass office windows. It is as if we are under siege. No one I know supports either group - they are all extremists, out to cause misery & fear by spreading their hate-filled, racist messages. One of the reasons they have chosen us for their protests is because one of the London bombers of 2005 lived here. A fact that horrified most of us, but surely has nothing to do with where we live!

Our town is a generally tolerant one, where people of all races live together in relative harmony. This sort of out-dated ranting belongs to another age. One I had hoped was long gone. We cannot wait for it to be over and to get back to normal life.

I hope that your weekend is a peaceful and happy one, filled with sunshine!

I will be drawing the winner of the Emma Bridgewater mug tomorrow and will post the name on Sunday!! Good luck everyone! xox