12 May 2017 – Dog World

Lovely dry day at WELKS situated at the Three Counties Showground, Malvern. Compliments must be extended to the WELKS committee on the condition of the outside rings, which looked fabulous. Beautifully mown rings with plenty of space for grooming. This year we were fortunate to be in the Severn Hall. There you have super sized rings, bright and with fabulous loos. One side of the building there are wide open areas so the wind if any blows through at an alarming rate, especially if the doors are open on the other side. So, eventually as the day went on it was colder in the hall than outside, in fact I went for a walk around outside to get warm at one point.

The grooming area around the immediate location of the Papillon ring was extremely limited; this was partly due to other breeds that felt they required electric point to be included in their grooming regime. The majority of the back wall was hence unavailable to the appropriate breed in the ring. We arrived early and all the places close to the ring were taken and we eventually ended up nearer the stakes ring, this was not a problem for us but may have been difficult for some folk that perhaps were not as sprightly on their pins. A little thought and consideration for our neighbouring ring breeds at the shows could well be appropriate for the future maybe.

This show has many trade stands to browse and all appeared to be bustling and enjoying good trade. A number of refreshment vans were available for the hungry beings. After purchasing a coffee (that may not be the correct terminology) at the main coffee van that gave the appearance of knowing what they were doing, I have to admit the only favourable bonus was that it was hot and helped to chill the bones. Any further recognisable coffee features were unapparent, except for the colour and it being wet. I strongly believe if a trader is charging three pounds per small cup then it should have the qualities that we have come to expect of a Costa or Starbucks, it would have also have helped if the cup tops fitted properly and didn’t pour down you when drinking. When asking if there were any different tops, the answer was simply no. Yes, we are at an outside event but should this mean we have to put up with sub-standard qualities for purchases, or is this unacceptable. Rant over!

Our judge for this show was the well respected all rounder Mr Albert Wight. He arrived looking immaculate and ready for his day ahead, going over the dogs sympathetically on the table and gave every exhibitor the chance to show their charges off in the best manner. I did notice, which I thought was very considerate, if a dog had a moment of uncertainty he went out of his way to give the dog and the exhibitor a moment to collect the situation, in some cases returning to the exhibitor for a second chance. This I thought was very kind and considerate, especially for the puppies.

The day went smoothly along with the help of the very able stewards and we were finished in good time. The principal winners of the day were as follows. DCC / BOB Irene & Glenn Robb’s & Glenn & Mia Aaggaard’s Int/Dan/Ger/Swe Ch Gleniren Santediego Sunshoo. This was a first time outing with our Gleniren Sunshoo show team after leaving us as a five month old puppy, so it was a special day indeed. Still learning the English lingo but we are getting there! BCC went to a delighted Mrs Gregory with Skyvana Reddy To Go To Tonkory JW. This was a magical third cc for this little girl, so a very special moment. Many congratulations also to her breeder Sophie Langdon. BP went to Kirsty Miller & Evan Ryan’s Feorlig Wake Up Maggie. For the RCC’s for the dog it was Kirsty Miller’s Feorlig Smarty Pants and the for the bitch Jean & Roger Banfield’s and Caroline Lee-Slater’s Jorgealin Cast A Spell For Kingshaven. I am sure her breeder Lynn George-Evans would be delighted too.

Glenn, Carolyn and I attended Anna McKnight’s funeral on the 3rd May in Doncaster. It was lovely to see that Pap folk close to Anna had travelled many miles to be there and celebrate her life and pay homage for her expertise and knowledge of our breed in years gone by. What a kind thought from daughter Mairi and son Malcolm asking all the people present to pick a memento from Anna’s Papillon ornament collection to take home in remembrance of the lovely lady herself. Ours has pride of place and will be treasured always as a little piece of Anna in our home.

Will bring news next week of the National, hopefully will receive a few snippets of the goings on as we are unable to be there. Until next week take and happy showing everyone.

IRENE ROBB