~DaiCymru

Quite shy, apparently! No question, it's been a bit of a rubbish summer so far, in terms of weather. Certainly below average temperature most days, and overcast and wet for the most part. Thankfully, that has been interspersed with the occasional heatwave, for which my backyard farm has been grateful. Already, I'm getting little cherry tomatoes off my plants, there are strawberries and peppers on the way, and the bees are going nuts for my flowering fragrant herbs. Good to know that my thumbs still have a bit of green in them. :)

Let's start where we left off, at the end of May with the UK's biggest con, of the fuzzled kind. I've always said that, if possible, a fun event like a furry convention should be attended twice, for two reasons. First, to make sure that the first time wasn't a fluke. Second, because at least part of the first time is spent finding one's way around, getting used to the atmosphere, learning what's around the con, etc. The second time around, one already knows one's way around, even if vaguely, meaning more brain space can be devoted to enjoying, and enjoy I very much did!  _huskyteer and I roomed at the Crowne Plaza again, and I had a really smashing time. As usual, there are daily posts on the way for my time at Confuzzled - what this space! ^__^

Into June, and my dear home, La Maison de Chien, saw something of a change of personnel. You see, the Ukrainian refugee who currently lives with me is a deeply religious fellow, and after over 2 years of living in the UK, he felt a calling to make a pilgrimage to the Orthodox monasteries of Mount Athos in Greece. So he arranged to go for the whole of June, which might lead you to believe that I was rather lonesome for that time. Thankfully, my sister was also leaving the country for a month - a work trip to South Africa - leaving me with her two cats to look after! They were (mostly) good as gold, both providing hours of entertainment, cuddles, and lost sleep from starting their meowing for food at four in the blasted morning. Usually I'd have left them to it, but I like my neighbours and I want to stay on their good side. :P

June also saw a first for this Shep - attending a wedding ceremony! I'm now of that age where people of my generation are starting to settle down with the ones they love, which is so lovely to see. For a first experience, this could not have gone better. The bride-groom, both diligent and talented senior civil servants by day, were the sweetest of lovebirds for the whole celebration. As a civil wedding, I gave a speech - an excerpt from the bride's favourite book - for which about 30 people quite unexpectedly came up to me throughout the day and complimented me on my reading voice. I also MC'ed the reception, which was a barrel of laughs, and the party lasted until 2 in the morning, with no drama, ill feelings, or mishaps in the slightest. Of course, as senior civil servants, they had both rigorously war-gamed the event for weeks in advance. :D

With the departure of the felines came July, not that a change in weather conditions would tell you that. The first weekend saw the return of the Wales Air Show to Swansea Bay, a grand day out that was only washed out with rain for the first half of the day I visited. Attending the show also gave me an opportunity to train for another upcoming long-distance bike ride, allowing me to cycle from home to the beach in Wales' second city, a round-trip distance of about 20 miles. A few days after that, those of you with an interest in politics may have noticed that we had a bit of an election. From a local perspective, I can say that the result was pretty much a foregone conclusion, which made it all the more fascinating that the incumbent government seemed to have a campaign geared at making its defeat even worse - scandal after scandal, mistake after mistake. That may also explain why the turnout was so low, but nevertheless, my country now has a shiny new government and I wish it all the best in its business.

The latter part of July saw another first - the first visit of a friend to the UK! I had the pleasure of hosting  _ursusarctos in South Wales, visiting the new and old sights of Cardiff and reminding the Central Plains-based fur of the joys of the beach. We also met up with  _huskyteer at RIAT, and carried on from there to London before the bear took the tunnel train to the continent. Not many can say that they visited two UK nations on one trip, especially not their first trip, and I'm grateful for the chance to show off some of the best that Britain has to offer to a very good friend. Thanks for coming, Ursus! ^^

Whew, it's been quite an action-packed couple of months, to be sure! That explains, but in no way is meant to excuse, my lack of activity on this site, which I hope to pick up as August gets going. Work has definitely slowed down with recess, so I just need to get into the habit of seeing your awesome submissions, reading your lovely journals, and giving you all the support and love you deserve. You're awesome, one and all!

Flt/Lt. Dai, out.