Shelley the Lifeboat Labrador (5 page)

It was a long drive and Shelley spent most of her time asleep on the front seat of the car. We stopped a couple of times at some excellent transport cafes. I have always used these; a hangover from my days on the road.  The more lorries that are parked outside the better the food is. Having Shelley along always meant we got a warm welcome and her experience at casting her sad eyes towards the kitchen resulted in some nice tasty samples.

Over the years many of these cafes were purchased by a company called Little Chef and it became a lot harder to find them. Many lorry drivers often took their dogs with them for company. This resulted in many discussions about life on the road over a half pint mug of hot tea.

We arrived in Cumberland late and were made very welcome by Chris and Celia. Both were avid dog lovers and no where in their house was out of bounds for Shelley.

Chris was an Assistant Governor at the prison and he had roistered duties. He had planned it so he had plenty of time free to spend with us both. He was such a kind and caring person and his many years of experience in the Army meant that he was a good listener.

I stayed there about 5 days and the both worked hard to encourage me to start life again. I was not the first person nor would I be the last to go through a broken marriage. They had a social night in the club at the prison and it was great to hear Chris playing the blues and singing once again. Shelley was allowed in and she spent most of her time under my stool at the bar asleep.

I was also show around the inside of the prison. I of course had no wish to be an official resident but it was nice to be visitor. Once again the respect Chris was given in his role by the inmates showed. He had time for them and stopped to discuss any problems introducing me.

Celia wined and dined us well and Shelley never went short of food.  I took them out for some nice meals to say thank you and before I left to drive back they told me to call any time of the day or night if I felt low or needed to chat to them.  I did take this offer up several times and they became like Samaritans to me. The art of being a Samaritan is to be a good listener and not give advice but to reassure the person on the end of the phone with the problems that they can be overcome.                                                                                       

End of Chapter Six

A CHANGE OF DIRECTION CHAPTER 7

Many people asked me how Shelley got her name. Three people stood out in my mind over the years. Shelley Manne the jazz drummer from the West Coast of America. Shelley Winters the actress who I had admired over many years and I felt was so underrated by the movie industry. Last but not least was Shelley the poet. It was also easy to pronounce and dogs always worked better when called by a shorter name.

When I got home I had to come to terms with the fact that I had no work and more important of all I would have to return my company car. They had been good considering my circumstance and let me keep it for a few weeks.

With my healthcare sales background I got myself linked to an agency in London and caught the train down for an interview. I am glad to say it was not too long before I was short listed for three jobs. I knew at the time that there would be no profit from the sale. I contacted a local solicitor and estate agent to set things up and whilst with the solicitor discussed the impending divorce.

I decided as much as I would like to go back to the Suffolk Coast it would be better for me to head south.  I had always liked Sussex having spent a lot of time there in my early days of medical selling.  I remember being in Hove when Richard Attenborough was filming ‘Oh What a Lovely War’ and liked the surrounding areas.  I met the actor Jo Melia who was one of the stars of the film at the Grand Hotel. I was with a pilot friend of mine Neville Needham and we had been watching the filming on the pier – Joe and Neville were old pals and we had been invited onto the pier as his guest.  What a day - I met John Mills, Richard Attenborough and many more of the cast. 

Joe suggested we go out for a drink so Neville took us to a pub in the nearby fishing village of Southwick called ‘The Schooner’. It was great and overlooked the harbour - we had one of those evenings that I will always remember.  Following that we went back to the Grand and met a lot more of the cast and production team staying up very late.

The film came out to excellent reviews and I met Sir Richard Attenborough (as he became) again later in my life getting him to sign his autograph. He even referred to ‘Oh What a Lovely War’ written above it.  At the time Richard was Chancellor of Sussex University.  I was invited to a dinner where he was guest of honour.  What a nice man he was talking in detail to me about making the film. With this in mind I decided to look at a possible move to Sussex once I had found a new job and sold the house.                                        

A short break was needed so I decided to take Shelley up to Woodhall Spa in                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Lincolnshire to visit my Aunt Grace.  She was my late father’s sister and had   always been very close to me.  Grace had moved to a nice bungalow in Woodhall from Potterhanworth where for many years she was married to a farmer called Derek Young.  Since childhood both had been very kind to me and I had spent many happy weeks staying with them at ‘The Manor House’ where they then lived.  Derek passed away and Grace sold the manor and moved to Woodhall.

I arrived with Shelley and she had made a room up for us both for a couple of days.  It was relaxing and she was very kind to Shelley giving her a fillet steak.  On the second night it rained a lot so rather than walk Shelley I let her into the back garden.

After a while I called her in – but no reply.  Having investigated the garden I found she had managed to get out of the back gate. I was concerned as there was a main road close by and a large wooded area to the back.  Getting my wet weather gear on I set off calling for her – still nothing - after a hour I went down the road and into some of the woods.  Walking back alongside some rather large properties a voice called out of the darkness asking if I had lost a small golden Labrador.  The rain was torrential by this time – I was soaked – angry and frustrated.  “I think I have your dog” he said with a laugh.  “He is a little muddy – my wife heard some noise in the back garden and we found him in the pond having the time of his life.” I apologised and was greeted by a muddy dishevelled Shelley. No way could I take her back into my aunt’s bungalow so I removed some towels from the boot of my car dried her off and she spent the night in the garage.                                                                                         

Next day after a typical Lincolnshire breakfast (The sausages were great and from the local butcher) I made my way to RAF Coningsby where I watched the RAF Phantoms take off meeting up with one of my pilot friends Barry Titchen before going to see my cousin Basil and his wife Anne in Boston.

It was just what I needed a nice drive round and to see some family and a couple of close friends before I drove back home to try and sort my career out.

Once home I got in touch with one of the well established medical agencies in London and before I knew it I had been offered a job based in Sussex near Worthing selling surgical equipment in Kent Sussex and Surrey.

I had a call from an old friend of mine Stewart Collins whom I knew in Hythe and he was now a teacher in Nottingham.  He wondered if I would like to go to the Lake District with him for a few days to do some fell walking and camp out.

What an ideal opportunity, the weather was fine and he was great company and liked jazz as well as a pint of real ale.  My only concern was that he was a lot fitter than me and was used to walking and cycling.

I picked him up in Nottingham and we drove to a camp site near Keswick. I had not told him about bringing Shelley; however after a while he came round to the idea of sharing the small tent with us both.

On our first day we seemed to walk for miles getting high onto the fells often above the clouds.  A lot of the time Shelley was off the lead but when things became a little difficult I put her back on.  She was very good and did not pull. When we got back we walked to the local pub.  We had a meal whilst listening to folk music.  Shelley slept by out feet all the time not even moving for a packet of crisps whilst I did not know I had so many muscles in my legs and back.

Next day it was decided we would go across some of the lower fells and aim for a nice village Stewart knew for some lunch.  We followed a shallow stream, up through a valley walking along the path beside it.  I picked a stick up and threw it into the stream and Shelley ran in after it.  Suddenly there was a terrible yelp and the water turned a bright red.  I rushed in to find she had trodden on a broken bottle and cut her pad open. It was deep and we tried to stem the flow of blood.  I was pleased in a way that we had not gone higher and that there was a village in the distance.

We wrapped her paw in handkerchiefs and put a small plastic bag over it securing it with some string taking turns to carry her back to the village. We were lucky as there was a vet nearby.  It was a very deep cut, she said, and was not easy to stitch being a pad.  After an antibiotic injection her paw was well bandaged and we left with her walking on three legs with her injured one in the air.                                                                                                   

There was little point in going back home that afternoon as it was a long way to go so we visited a few local pubs with Shelley making the most of her injury  resulting in a few packets of crisps.

I dropped Stewart in Nottingham returning to Eaton Socon.  That evening Shelley became very distressed and I could see she had a temperature.  First thing in the morning I took her to a local vet and he confirmed she had picked up an infection.  For a couple of days she felt sorry for herself  but then the antibiotics took over and she improved no end.  The wound healed very slowly once the dressing came off and the air could get to it.

A few days later a call from the estate agent confirmed I had a buyer for the house – I let my new employer know this had happened and set the ball in motion to move and pack up my belongings.  A drive down to Hove and back in a day found a nice letting agent and before I knew it I had found a bed sit in a house off Western Road.  The property was owned by the Fogle family who had been established Jewish bakers in the town for many years.  Their daughter had turned it into flats as an investment and her parents lived on the ground floor opposite me.                                                                         

As it happened they liked dogs and I was told providing there was no undue noise and damage done to the property it would be ideal for me to keep her with me.

A couple of weeks later the contract for my house was exchanged - both of us set off with the furniture van in tow to a new home and a new job. I was pleased to be leaving the area having never being really happy. To this day I have not returned even when passing by on the A1. It was part of my life I wanted to put behind me!

End of Chapter Seven

MOVE TO THE SOUTH COAST – CHAPTER 8

The move was easy – I drove ahead and the furniture van made its own way down to Hove.  We met at my Aunt Kath’s house in Braemore Road in Hove where they put most of my furniture in her garage.  This was kindly arranged by my cousin Geoff Matthews.  I had always kept in touch with Geoff over the years. He played the guitar and had been with a well established group called ‘Design’ and was now living in London hence the garage was empty and he agreed I could use it until I got sorted out.

We then took the rest of my gear to the new bed sit. This comprised of my clothing, books, my large LP Jazz collection and Hi Fi.  I also had two large Quad Electrostatic Loudspeakers which took up a lot of room; sadly these were not to remain with me long as funds were short.

Once I had sorted things out and Shelley had found a suitable place for herself to call her own we decided to venture out to get some shopping and find our way around.

The sea was at the foot of the road and there was a park about half a mile away.  She loved the sea front with the beach huts and the grass areas behind them and soon found her way down the many steps onto the beach.  It was a nice time to move as summer was just starting and the evenings were drawing out.