Day 51

Happy Vaentines Day everyone! Aside from lovey-dovey-wishy-washy vomit inducing cards and wilting-after-five-minutes overpriced flowers (I'm not a massive fan of the day you might have guessed, although you probably could have worked it out following my laissez-faire attitude to Marty) there is some sybolism in this comercialised cadaver of love. According to legend, St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by the roman emperor. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer. (Thankyou wikipedia) I only digress onto this timely tangent as today Valentine, and any other Saint or martyr for that matter would have suddered at our suffering. In the movie (after the last few days progress I'm starting to think that there's a chance of Scarlett Johansson playing me again) there will be ominous music overlayed as we set off this morning, blissfully unaware of what was about to transpire...
Again keen to demonstrate (demon being the key part of the word with regards to that dog) that Newbie was capable of being let off his lead to walk freely with us Dad unclipped him. I should explain that the path we were on is on something of a valley, flanked on both sides by steep uphill slopes, atop these slopes there are fields one side, woodland the other. Newbie then took this instantly as his chance to barrel off up the slope and straight into said woodlands. "He'll be straight back," we commented to each other, unconcerned. Oh what fools we were. We kept walking for a while but Newbie did not re-emerge, eventualy we grew worried, and a mere half mile into the walk we turned back to look for him. To turn a negative into a positive I will phrase what happened next thusly - we got to practice on soime different terrain, and our search and rescue skills were improved tenfold. In reality we were forced to scramble up the slope, which we learned to be covered in brambles and all manner of other uncomfortabe things, and crash around through the woods bleating for the dog like little lost sheep. Eventually he appeared, totally unaware of the distress he had caused, and having also managed to lose his collar. Having recaptured him (with not inconsiderable difficulty) we returned home, scuffed, grazed and annoyed.
So screw you Valentine, I've scratched my knee, Dads cut his hand, and Newbie has lost himself all off-lead priviledges.