Charlie..

Charlie is our dog; a fantastic rescue dog we have had nearly 3 years now. He is a boxer, and is the best of all the dogs I have ever owned. He has the best temperament, and the most brilliant personality. He truly is one of the family and we count ourselves very lucky to have got him.

Now, today was stressy! Charlie had this funny growth from his gum over his canine teeth; just skin but the vet suggested it needed removing. In fact he had two, one on each side of his mouth. So, early this morning we took him to the surgery and left him for the operation. i have to say we both worried all day till they told us he was OK and we could come and get him. 

So we went to collect him and bring him home: and while they said he had come round ok, he was still very wobbly, and couldn't stand properly and his tongue was all hanging out of the side of his mouth. Poor thing, he flopped onto the sofa and stayed there most of the evening, and has now gone up to his bed, which is by our bed and seems to have settled in there quite well. He couldn't walk up the stairs so i had to help him but with any luck he will be better tomorrow and back to his usual bouncy self.

Stand Behind the Yellow Line!!

I travel to work most days on public transport. that involves trains and the underground in London. Frankly its a bummer of a journey which because it is some 80 miles each way and takes over 2 hours both adds a lot to my working day and is fraught with opportunities for the train companies to screw you over at any one of dozens of places on route 

Now, on the tubes in London, the platforms are often crowded and to minimise the possibility of falling onto electric lines they paint a yellow line about 18 inches from the edge of the platform and continuously via the public address systems extoll the virtues of "standing behind the line"

"...For your own safety please keep well behind the yellow line, the train is approaching. Keep behind the yellow line for your own safety..."  and so on, ad nauseum. 

Now, certainly at night , and even in the day times, the underground system in London is not always a safe place to be: there are pickpockets, and muggers and all sorts there. So, I was dutifully standing behind the yellow line the other day when it struck me: just WHAT does "stand behind the line" mean? Now, i can be safe from electrocution by standing on the platform side of the line, but, I may get mugged or pickpocketed. So, what if i stand the other side? I am still technically "behind" the line just from a different perspective. So, If i stand teetering on the edge of the platform "behind the yellow line" would I be safe from pickpockets and muggers because they wont cross the line? 

Question is, I think i may opt to stay trackside, because i reckon a damn more people get mugged and robbed in london each day than get killed falling on tube train lines.