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welshphil

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Posts posted by welshphil

  1. Holidays

    in General Talk

    Posted

    Vancouver in June to visit my Son, first time for us so really looking forward to it. He's got a nice little itinerary planned which includes a weekend on the Sunshine Coast so we'll get to spend some quality time with him and his Canadian girlfriend - who now considers herself half Welsh lol. Taking the Grandkids to Bulgaria for a week at the end of August and again will enjoy every single minute of that so all in all two cracking holidays to look forward too after a really stressful couple of years.

    • Like 8

  2. What started it for me

    in Lurchers & Running Dogs

    Posted

    I was about 13/14 and sat in a maths lesson staring out the window as always. There was a piece of waste ground next to the school covered in brambles and a few trees, a couple of lads appeared with a ferret box and started to lay a few nets, out came the ferret and in no time a rabbit bolted out of the brambles closely followed by a whippet lurcher that i hadn't noticed previously and it took the rabbit in what seemed like a nano second! I was absolutely hooked from that moment on and have kept lurchers for over 35 years.

    Phil

     

     

     

     

     

     

    • Like 5

  3. How's your summer?

    in General Talk

    Posted

    3 hours ago, jukel123 said:

    Our summer in SW Scotland has been dire. A sunny June and now 6 weeks of wind and rain. Leaves are falling from trees already. It feels like Autumn. We even had a mist on Wednesday. I had a single swallow's nest in an out building. Five eggs, five chicks, but only three made it. I believe they died because of a lack of insects because of the wintery weather. Usually they have a second or even a third  brood, but they haven't attempted to go down on eggs again.

    Peed off. Its blowing a gale at the minute.

    Same here in the Gwent valleys mate, been a shocking non-summer!

    • Like 1

  4. Dogs

    in General Talk

    Posted

    The vast majority of my dogs have been small whippet based lurchers and I reckon the next lurcher will be my last so i want a big hairy beast! Ideally it would be beddygrey x deerhoundgrey hybrid - reckon I might have to start putting the feelers out soon ?

    • Like 1

  6. Hobbies

    in General Talk

    Posted

    I'm a bit of a fitness freak and gym four days a week alongside averaging about 50-60 miles a week around the local mountains with the lurchers. Played rugby for more years than was probably good for me and try to get out and watch a local game when I can. I also have two young Grandsons who i take to mini rugby training and gymnastics, also trying to dysgu Cymraeg. Thinking about it I'm not sure where I find time to work lol. Definitely wouldn't have it any other way though, the last few years have shown us that life is very fragile so I'm a firm believer in making hay while the sun shines and making the most of the hand you get dealt!

    • Like 11

  8. Turkey

    in General Talk

    Posted

    2 hours ago, mackem said:

    No mate, vancouver isn't cold, doesn't get 3 feet of snow nor -40 like it does here ? I told my kid to move here but he chose florida. I know a guy arrived here 5 weeks ago, within a week he had a full time and a part-time job. For me it's a relaxed chilled out place to hang out for a while ?

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    My Son moved to Vancouver in December last year to play a bit of rugby and have a bit of fun. He's previously lived in Melbourne, Auckland and Canterbury but reckons Vancouver is head and shoulders above them. Plenty of work available, locals very friendly, stunning scenery and fantastic facilties. Last weekend was Saturday on the beach and Sunday hiking in the snow. He's said that he's found his spiritual home and will be applying for permanent residency.

    • Like 4

  10. Deerhound/Grey X Wheaton Grey

    in Lurchers & Running Dogs

    Posted

    7 minutes ago, chartpolski said:

    I've no experience of the cross, but I've seen a few, so these pics may give you an idea of what to expect, at least as to what they look like

    Two litter sisters, deerhound x Wheatan/Greyhound ;

    IMG_5145.JPG.a3e0c7c55c2f72c1e386e081ca890e0d.JPG

    IMG_1106.JPG.e3011b4d47d4f6ce052f6d7fe1773a7d.JPG

    A litter brother went down south, and was evidently a very tidy dog on fox and deer.

    The bitch in the first picture was put back to a deerhound, and the only pup I've seen looks like a smaller, stockier deerhound.

    Not exactly the breeding you mentioned, but as near as I've seen.

    Cheers.

     

    Thank you, much appreciated. The litter is very pleasing to the eye to be honest as are the dogs above ?

    • Like 1

  11. Deerhound/Grey X Wheaton Grey

    in Lurchers & Running Dogs

    Posted

    Just wondered if anyone has any experience with this cross as there's a litter local to me and i'm a little tempted. The lurchers i've had for the last 30 years or so have been small whippet based dogs for rabbits but as this is potentially my last lurcher i'm tempted to try something a bit bigger. To be honest i'm more of a countryman and environmentalist these days (getting old and soft lol) but fancy something that could potentially take something bigger than rabbits and squirrels. My main concern is the reputation of wheatons being aggressive to other dogs (don't know if that's justified?) and a bit unpredictable. My dogs spent a lot of time with my young Grandsons so 'a loose cannon' is definitely out of the question! Would welcome the objective feedback of anyone with experience of this cross.

    Cheers ?

    • Like 1

  12. Squirrel road kill

    in General Talk

    Posted

    Last year and the year before that we had loads of the b*****d things but this year definitely not as many about. Although to be fair my little beddy whippet has become quite adept at catching them so that might have something to do with it ?

  14. Bedlington x whippet taking fox?

    in Lurchers & Running Dogs

    Posted

    I've got a 3/4 whippet 1/4 beddy who recently caught his first in a reed bed - he finished it off but it wasn't particularly quick or 'pretty'. Not something i'd want to see him do on a regular basis if I'm honest but he's well up for it and I know instantly when he picks up a scent as his whole body language and demeanor changes into 'seek and destroy mode.' Definitely goes up a gear from when he's on a rabbit or squirrel.

    • Like 5

  15. Johnnyboy

    in General Talk

    Posted

    17 minutes ago, Wales1234 said:

    We went for a walk up there yesterday was nice to be back ! Seems to be a few rabbits come back a seen a fox 

    Allright Ow, yeah, they were hit really hard by mixi but have slowly started to re-populate, used to get a few jet black one's off there years ago.

  16. Johnnyboy

    in General Talk

    Posted

    A week to the day after receiving the awful news I decided to pay my own little tribute to my old buttie John - or 'gobby' as he was affectionately known to us by taking a walk out with the lurchers to the forestry and moors above our little village where we spent most of our childhood. In no time time at all those long forgotten memories came flooding back to me, like the time we miraculously found in pound note as we were literally in the middle of nowhere - we invested that wisely in pop and crisps when we got back home ?. Also, the time we saw a couple shagging in the forestry and crept up behind them until they realised they were being watched by 5 or 6 cheeky kids, never forget the woman screaming at us "F*ck off you little perverts" and Gobby shouting 'you've got a massive minge luv' as we ran away lol. The time we actually caught a rabbit, skinniest excuse of a rabbit you ever saw but we were absolutely chuffed to bits and talked about it for years. The time we had to walk down the mountain in pitch blackness because my little russel had gone to ground on a fox or rabbit and not for one nano second did anyone consider leaving him there to find his own way home. Was a very poignant couple of hours with a few laugh at loud moments as I remembered things that we said or did and few 'lump in the throat' moments. It did make me realise though that growing up in a small, scruffy mining village where most families were just about managing but people had pride and respect in our very, very tight knit community and looked out for and supported each other in times of hardship. We were very lucky to be able to spend hours on end up the mountain picking wimberries, blackberries, wild strawberries, hazelnuts and anything else we could get our hands on so we actually had a very rich upbringing which shaped the Men we became, this has been reflected in the comments on here that have described gobby as someone who would go out of his way to help anyone. We've lost a good 'un lads but he'd want us to crack on with our dogs and teach our kids the good old fashioned values that have sadly became quite rare in today's me,me, me society.

    I'll definitely miss our very opinionated office chats about politics, society, lurchers and whatever else we decided- we called him 'gobby' for a reason??

    • Like 13
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    Johnnyboy

    in General Talk

    Posted

    Having grown up with John he was a lifelong family friend, was best man at my Brothers wedding and a work colleague to myself for the last few years. As young kids our little gang spent god knows how many hours tramping the mountains after rabbits with just my little Jack Russell to keep us company. We caught virtually nothing but spent all day laughing and ripping the piss out of each other - is there a better way to spend your formative years? We also had some great drunken times playing rugby for the village where John was a little tasmanian devil of a hooker, we didn't half rip the piss out of him regarding his height but by feck he never, ever took a backward step! Was a massive shock when I got the phone call this morning - devastated is an understatement ?. RIP old buttie, was an absolute pleasure to have shared so many brilliant memories with you.

    • Like 21
    • Thanks 3

  22. Turning in to a beauty let’s see some more bedlington xs

    in Lurchers & Running Dogs

    Posted

    4 hours ago, jpt said:

    Was this the bitch you had from John in Neath?

    I had one out of the same litter as you years ago.

    She was a brilliant lurcher, how did yours turn out?

    ?

    Yes mate the bitch and the red dog were out of the same litter as yours. I couldn't have been more pleased with my pair as they did everything I wanted and a fair bit more! The bitch John kept back was as good a lamper as I've seen. Really glad yours did well for you too ?

  24. Grandkids. Phew lol

    in General Talk

    Posted

    I've got two Grandsons aged 5 and 3 and they stay overnight twice a week, they're boisterous little sods fair play but I wouldn't have it any other way! They both love the dogs and our Saturday afternoon stroll around the mountain with them is the highlight of all our week - dogs included ?. Having Grandkids is different gravy and i'm making the most of every precious second ?

    • Like 2
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