The Red Panda and other tales
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 at 11:42AM I have finally tired of being retired and am looking for something to do that will make some money in earnest. I am very seriously thinking about resurrecting the fondue cart. London has loads of great markets and has nothing like my fondue for sale. I am spending much of this week getting all the details on costs, what licenses I will need and what all the regulations are. So far it looks much easier to set up a food business here than in Ottawa. For one thing health standards seem quite relaxed, I am not sure I could be quite as relaxed as they allow for though…most food vendors at markets don’t even have running water! We had hot and cold running water at good old Dipsticks.
;)
Good old Dipstick's Fondue
One nice thing about being off all summer is that I have been able to walk Cassie at a less god awful time. My work routine had me out the door at 6:30 for an hours walk, I now walk the bitch (no really she is a lovely dog) at 7:30 or 8 and at a much more relaxed pace. This later walking has allowed me to meet a host of the other dog owner locals; there are quite a few characters in Camden; but more about the dramatis personae in a moment.
The am walks are often quite the adventure. Yesterday we noticed a commotion over by the edge of the park beside the football pitches. There was a police van, a cordoned off area complete with red and white ‘do not cross’ tape and at least 10 green overall wearing people milling about. Oh-oh, not good. I was not keen to go see body parts or some murder scene but my friends Emma and Ian were drawn like moths to a flame. Actually pretty much all the usual dogs and their owners were converging on the spot to gawk.
;)
Well happily it was not a murder scene but an escape! The London Zoo is next door to Regents Park and during the night a Red Panda had slipped its fetters and made good an escape! It was lounging happily at the top of one of the trees at the edge of the park and the green overall crew were zoo staff trying to re-capture the critter! We watched for about 20 minutes while the zoo staff brought out a motorised lift and nabbed the escapee. I snapped a few photos on the iPhone but am not sure they show much, I keep kicking myself for not having my camera with me at all the times, maybe I should get a new little digital camera.
;)
A Red Panda...related to the...
As I was saying I have met a lot of the locals both because they have dogs and I see them in the parks and because people meet me on the streets and recognize me (when you work from 7:30 to 19:30 you don’t meet many people in your hood!). I can now walk around Camden and people nod politely, say hello, or more commonly stop me to pet Cassie. Here is a sample of the people that you meet just walking down the street…or in the park.
Grumpy old man – This guy always looks angry, walks with a cane and has a little white dog which might be a Staffordshire Terrier. He walks the dog off lead and uses his stick to guide it, like a shepherd controlling the movements of his flock. I used to see him when I walked Cassie very early in the morning and he always kept his dog away from her. I have been saying ‘good morning’ to him for 2 years and as of about 2 months ago he now says it back sometimes even with a little almost smile!
Grumpy old lady – Actually she isn’t all that grumpy but she has that north London hard done by air about her, and the north London accent. She has a collection of little dogs one of which is a little Jack Russell. Cassie’s one and only fight to date was with the Jack Russel, she won handily, buy bowling it over and sitting on it. Grumpy old lady met my nephews once and now always asks after them.
The Treat lady – I have no idea what her name is but she never fails to have some sort of dog treat in her pocket. Declining her offer of a treat for you dog is NOT an option. She has her own little rat dog type of thing.
On the dole #1 – A neighbour from down the street. I often see him in the late afternoon sitting in front of his house drinking beer and taking in the sun. He is a nice guy who I know nothing about.
On the dole #2 -- #1’s flatmate (roommate). He is quite a character he can also be found out in front having a beer. He has a really nice looking Border Collie named Blue. Local rumour has it that he is both a male prostitute and HIV positive. Some on the street even claim to have seen him in transvestite mode. Oh also supposedly a heroin or something addict? Hard to put the rumours in context with talking to the guy, seems very nice, he also has a cat named Jack.
Elaine – My next door neighbour, she is a very nice old (90, 75, 110?) lady who lives next door to me. We often exchange pleasantries over our shared garden wall. She almost always has something wrong with her, stomach bug, head cold, toothache, eye infection, whatever. Emma saw her naked once. Shudder.
The School Girls – This is a collection of young girls who live in the neighbourhood who like to scream ‘Cassie’ whenever the see my dog out for a walk with anyone. They then flock over (do young girls flock or swarm? What is the right word?) to pet Cassie. While this is going I stand to one side looking aloof and disinterested so I don't get charged with some sort of sexual misconduct for speaking to young school girls. Engand is fun like that.
The Aritist – A relatively new find, I have only come to meet her since I have been off this summer. She is a francophile (her dogs name is Bref) who has a house in France and on a posh street near Regents Park. She is always sporting a turban like head scarf. At first it seemed as though she only had one turban but I have now seen her sporting one of several different colours. I met her husband a few times too…posh but friendly, we chatted about cricket, I didn't understand a word but nodded a lot and tried to sound keen.
The Mystic – She is one of my favourites. She likes to pull out her dowsing pendulum to scare away bad spirits. These spirits are usually the cause of our dogs misbehaving or acting funny (dogs can sense these things you know). She is harmless but a bit delusional. I feel a bit sorry for her because she suffers from a reputation as a nut amongst the dog walking crowd, it doesn’t help that her dog is not particularly well behaved.
The list could go on for a while actually! Perhaps I will simply introduce people as and when necessary!
Reader Comments (3)
Looking forward to seeing the Australia posts!
XO
Christie
PS Looking forward to seeing Cassie.....