this is getting serious

Oh dear. I know I've been absent from the journal for a while but we've had a bit of a whirlwind few weeks. My master seems to be trying to kep himself as occupied as he can and we've been all over the place. Also, he's not been talking to me very much lately, so it's been difficult for me to report.

I thought he was cured but for the last few days it has been obvious that he has not. He joined a couple of on-line dating sites and he was receiving chat up messages from amazingly gorgeous girls wanting to get to know him better, with a view to a relationship and even marriage. He said that they were all in their 20s and early 30s and it was a common scam, whereby fraudsters set up profiles on dating sites, posted pictures of beautiful women and lured vulnerable lonely mature people into believing the hype until they were eventually asked for money, eg on the pretext of wanting to fly over to visit. All very irritating. The only genuine enquirers seem pretty awful.

He is now like a bear with a sore head. The real object of his affections is back after staying with her family for Christmas. It has made him so much worse. He has been on the point several times of going up to her place of work and asking her out for dinner but then he thinks better of it and says it would scare her off. Well, I really don't know. Much easier just to sniff a bottom and see how it goes.

late update

Sorry. My master left me with a big juicy bone and I was a bit preoccupied with that, so completely forgot to update the blog. Not that much has happened. He has been busy with work and tells me that he is coming to terms with his hopeless private scenario. Nonetheless, he did stop for a coffee on Monday night on the off-chance that he might 'accidentally' bump in to the target of his affections, without success. He came home muttering "how stupid is that?" He has only mentioned Her twice today. Well the lady concerned is away for Christmas, so perhaps we can return to some sort of normality. Though I heard on the radio something about Arctic weather conditions, which might be a problem. If it snows, my short legs bring vulnerable parts closer to the ground.

What does Crisis mean

My Master has told me that his life has reached "crisis" point. What does that mean? He seems in a bad way. Something about too old to be feeling like a teenager in love. I don't really understand and I feel a bit useless being unable to console him. I think is confidennce has been so knocked by the Mistress going off on her own way that he can't bring himself to address the object of his affections now.

We managed a pleasant walk along the river but his mind did not seem with it and he seemed very introspective, occasionally muttering, "not a chance". After that he went out with friends who seem to give him comfort in the banter that ensues in the pub.

He's off to his secret world in the morning, which means that I've got a day on my own until he gets back.

Secret Spaniel's tale 2, my lonely master.

Well that was close! I had to shut down the computer and scamper to my basket, pretending all was normal. Master made a big fuss of me when he came in but I get the feeling that he knows what I'm up to really. He just had time to take me out for a quick walk before dashing off to pick his mum up from dialysis at the renal unit in Kent. His mother seems to live in an opera, a real prima donna and there are loads of stories about her dramatic way of doing things.

He's putting a brave face on things but when he got back last night he sat down with me in front of the telly, stroked my ear and said "what the hell am I going to do Sam? I was muddling along fine and now my ivory tower has been breached. It's a hopeless case and nothing good can come of it. I feel as if I'm in a hopeless plot of a Thomas Hardy novel." I'm not sure where this is going but I wagged my tail and gave him the sympathetic Spaniel stare.

Today his old mate round the corner moved away to live with a son. They used to go out for a drink together once a week. I know the guy can be infuriating, 'cos my master has told me but I also know that, infuriating or not, he is going to miss him and his wife.

He went to a party nearby at lunchtime with nice people. That seemed a welcome distraction. He came back and played a CD very loudly which keeps banging out "Solitaire". I'm very worried. We haven't been out for a walk yet and I'm busting...

Hello World

I get a bit bored when my master's not here, so I've taught myself to use his computer and share some of the thoughts he confides in me. I used to live with a family of five but something went wrong and I find myself in a different home with just my master now. He looks after me well and I don't mind being left on my own occasionally, now that I can use the computer. I am a bit worried about him at the moment. He did not seem to mind at first that it was just him and me. He has built himself what he calls a strong wall of defence and is usually cheerful but just lately he has been distracted. He is off his food and tells me that he has a heavy heart. Oops, I hear his key in the door - more later...