May 2007.
My apologies to all our interested readers for my long delay in up-dating our web-site. The clamour for news, from friends and clients has got to such a pitch, it has moved me to action!
In the autumn of 2006, Edward was invited once again to judge a Spaniel Trial, for a south of Sweden Club. Also to hold a training day for participants. We set off for Malmo, enjoying the weekend in the company of very keen trialling and hunting spaniel people. There was a good standard of work, on lovely ground, with the host accompanying us all day. The triallers were very keen to improve their standard of work. Many of them travelling great distances to be with us. Thank you to one and all for making us so welcome.
On leaving the south of Sweden, we flew to Oslo, where spaniel friends Wenche and Knut Farstad were our hosts for the next couple of days. They keep a good kennel of interesting spaniels and a pointer puppy. We are very impressed with their super kennel arrangement, attached to the house but entirely separate from living quarters.
Knut is an outstanding chef, a hobby, and we feasted on a marvellous dinner of capercaillie, from up in the north of Norway. A fascinating bird and quite delicious!
From Oslo, we took the scenic train route, over the roof of Norway, to Bergen, en route to Floro, where a former Kennel Maid of ours, Hayley Bird, lives with her partner Eivind and two delightful little girls. Hayley, who works at the local veterinary centre, has two of our Sealpin Labradors, whom she does competition work with.
The dogs live in a traditional turf roof house in the garden, which we were to see everywhere in the huge mountains around their lovely home. Eivind is a huge supporter of Hayley with her dog work and a good hand with the camera. It was great to meet other members of the Fonn family and to share a very traditional meal with them all.
This trip concluded our autumn travel and it was back to work and into the picking up season, in earnest!
Edward had many weeks when he was away four and five days picking up and towards the end of the season, began to take its toll, on man and the dogs! He generally takes a team of eight or ten dogs, working them in turn, from heel, throughout the day. He often says they are the most photographed dogs in Scotland!
A casualty of the autumn was our dear Rondo, at only eight years old. He hurt his back somewhere, being a very vigorous jumper and we could not get it right He was in such pain and so hated being left behind, as it seemed it was not going to heal our decision that he join the happy hunters in the sky was terribly hard.
Just before Christmas we enjoyed a sporting weekend away, down in Essex, with the wonderful Bunting family at Westwood Park, shooting pheasant and duck and soaking up the generous hospitality. It was great, as always to meet up again with members of the Grouse party who come up to Scotland each year, walking up grouse over pointers, to which we have been honoured to join for a number of years. While in the south, we managed also to fit in some family visiting, distributing Christmas cheer!
All through the year holiday makers have been coming and going to the Granary, enjoying the peaceful, beautiful area, in which we live, marvelling that they can just go walking and run the dogs, from the front door, in almost any direction!
Our tenants moved from the Cottage, early in the New Year and we gave the whole place a re-vamp…new bathroom and kitchen, new carpets and furnishings etc. in order for it to become a holiday venue, the same as the Granary. Our son William put a kennel and utility on the side and this has proved invaluable for holiday makers to keep their dogs with them. Brochures for this are available on request. All the holidaymakers are interested in watching Edward at work, usually ending up joining in and wanting lessons themselves, this can be fitted in as and when. There are huge areas available on our hill for hand training.
We have been disappointed that neither Wanda or Clemmie had puppies, this spring. Both Digby and Claus have been prolifically fertile with all other bitches visiting Sealpin for studs so, we made a big error somewhere. Edward was determined not to let the numbers of dogs get to many again and I think he had a quiet whisper in their ears!! However, we have greatly enjoyed not having so much kennel work, with fewer dogs, it has been much more relaxed for us. I know we have had to disappoint a number of people, over training and with puppies etc. but we have worked extremely hard over the past eighteen years, since arriving at Lanton Hill and do hope to carry on keeping the quality up and not doing quite so much of it.
In fact there is so much estate type work to do here, outside the kennels, Edward has enjoyed the change of emphasis. With three gardens, a big vegetable garden and all the trees, hedges and roadway etc there is a full time job here sometimes!
Edward decided early in the year not to do any public demonstrations this year, for Crufts, B.A.S.C., or the Scottish Game Fair. He felt that it was time that someone else’s opinion and ability with gundogs were given the opportunity to show their skill. It has been a marvellous showcase for us and so popular but quite a demanding time.We still very much welcome dog handlers to Lanton Hill for individual tuition, this proved most helpful, on a one to one basis.
The three youngest cockers in the kennels, still in their training are Ginnie, the black one, Tana, the dark gold and Gus, the chocolate, all bred here at Sealpin and showing great promise, as Edward says time will tell whether you get to see them on the trialling field in due course.
F.T.CH. Miss Alexandrovna has recently joined us in the house for her retirement, after a wonderful working and trialling career. She was rather anxious about the home situation to begin with but at the age of ten, we thought she deserved a little special treatment and sure enough, she has settled and thinks it is just the place to be!!
We have taken four puppies into the kennels from nice bitches to our stud dogs, in some small measure to make up for not having our own litters this time.The bigger pair are sired by Digby and the smaller ones by Claus. We thought so much of Claus’s litters last year, we are anxious to look at some more. We have a problem keeping our youngsters long enough to really complete their training, when folks come along and encourage us to let them go!!
Another disappointment to us this year, has been the Scottish Executives decision not to allow an exclusion from the tail docking ban, for working dogs, such as in place in England. Edward has decided we shall not breed cockers, or springers here, until the ban is lifted, which it surely will be, when the consequent damage to working dogs undocked tails, will be evident for all to see. Animal Welfare has a lot to answer for, to these unfortunate creatures, who will have to suffer for mans’ stupidity.
Not quite wanting to end on a sour note…..we here in Roxburghshire, managed to buck the trend both locally and Scotland wide, by voting in a new Conservative M.S.P. to the Edinburgh Parliament, in the recent elections!! Well done to John Lamont!
Have a good summer with your dogs, enjoy the tests and game fairs, upholding our country way of life……take care of our beautiful countryside and back Great Britain!
Elizabeth and Edward Martin.
