Of fuel and stoves and bouncy dogs.

Wednesday 22nd September 2010
At the moment we have no central heating. The old storage heaters are disconnected and the new system will not be fitted until the extension is finished and the heat pump is installed. We therefore have to use the stove if it is cold.
We got a delivery of Phurnacite for the stove today. Only two 50kg sacks but it was £20.30 per bag. That's over 40p per kilogram.
I am not going to burn stuff which costs that much. I was thinking of perhaps having a heavy duty frame made and hanging it on the wall as a status symbol to prove how rich we are, or how foolish.

Fortunately we also got a tote bag full of logs for £85. I am not sure where they came from but definitely not from Orkney or there would be no trees left. We shall in future be burning logs and saving the phurnacite for special occassions.

The extension should be nice and warm now because as well as all the insulation that is in the walls they have for some reason clad it all in nice shiny foil backed bubble wrap. All very pretty and shiny.

On Thursday the unruly dog had her first obedience class. Unfortunately the classes are in Kirkwall and to say that Molly does not travel well is an understatement. (She can just about make it in the car down to the beach just over a mile away and then she is covered in drool and looking really sad).
If she had her way she would not go anywhere that she could not walk to. Consequently she was as sick as the proverbial dog on the way down to her class and again on the way back. I think that we will have to see the vet and get some travel tablets for her so long as they do not dope her up for her class.

The class itself was not bad. We were the first ones there so Molly had a chance to sniff round and get used to the hall. Next in was a Jack Russel. It was a dog so that was OK with Molly the tart but the next in was a border terrier bitch and she did not like that at all and just sat by me growling softly and barking at it a few times. She eventually settled however and was not unduly perterbed when a huge and boisterous Akita from our local pub in Burray came in. She did do a "double take" when a very large black Great Dane entered but she decided that he was a very nice boy, just like a bigger version of her friend Jock.

She did not disgrace herself and the woman in charge of the class was obviously very taken with her and mentioned bronze, silver and gold awards and the fact that they have dog agility classes in the summer. For the moment though we will settle for sitting when she is told and not eating my slippers. At the end of the class we won a lollypop but as everyone else won a lollypop it rather takes the gloss off her achievement.

We got back from Kirkwall, dropped Molly off and then Pam and I dashed over to the Cromarty hall in The Hope to see Dick Gaughan, one of the top Scottish folk singers.
We just got there as the warm up act were finishing. the man himself was a very good guitarist, slightly folk/rock and sometimes a bit bluesy but his singing was not to my taste, a bit loud and aggressive. I prefer a more melodic voice. Still you have to try before you know who you like.