The Sun Shone For Bolognese Stratford Canal MEET UP

We were so lucky on May 30th for the first Bolognese MEET UP in a long time as the weather was amazing. We were double lucky as prior to this day the weather had been cold and wet for ages. We met at 11am at the lovely Fluer De Lys pub right on the Stratford Canal. The pub is large with lots of outside tables with umbrellas and is such a relaxing and tranquil place. We were limited to 6 people per table and as we arrived early we grabbed 4 tables together. In total there were 22 Bolognese including 3 puppies and 8 veterans (over 7-years).  We decided not to walk down by the canal, to keep our seats and also we thought it could be muddy due to all the recent rain. Some people went for a walk at the end. They wanted us to order food and drink on an app, but luckily the waitress was kind and took orders for us the old fashioned way. Some of us stayed at the pub till almost 5pm, keeping topped up with food and drink throughout and just happy to be able to socialize with our dogs.

The first to arrive was Tracy & Nick with their 2 boys Archie & Marco who are brothers. Nick was a star taking water round for the dogs and helping to calm those who got excited. Nick would make a great Dog Whisperer. Mark & Diane Whatley are local to this area, they helped us with the venue and brought their 4 Bolognese Max, Bella, Cara & Amy all looking immaculate. Quite a few Bolognese were related, so this was a chance to meet up again after a long lockdown and take some family pictures. My boy Harry met up with his sister Amy and Amy with her mum Lily. Chris & Brian Thatcher were pleased to meet up with several Bolognese Chris had bred and their owners!

Diane & Stuart Morris were our guests of honour as they came down from Leeds with little Pixie. Diane said Pixie was shy, but on the day she seemed relaxed amongst other Bolognese. It was lovely to see a few puppies at the MEET UP, Chris Thatcher brought her 4-month old girl Kali (along with Zita & Monty) and Vikki & Martin Phipps their new puppy Nancy. Jane Towers brought 2 dogs including her 9-month girl Emi and also Caro. We had a few fun classes and Joy Hough’s boy Joe won the Best Veteran prize aged 13. Joy also brought her younger boy Alfie (also over 7-years) who showed off his amazing coat.

We met Anne & Steven Bell last time at this venue with Izzie and it was lovely to see them again especially as they never get to meet other Bolognese normally. It was great to welcome Bolognese mega fan Cindy Costello and her husband Loz with Petal & Teddy. Petal & Teddy are often featured on our club website as they are superstars, a little pampered and very photogenic. Beth & Jim Symmons brought their 2 Bolognese Lola & Izzy, although Izzy has been rather unwell recently, so she stayed in her mum’s arms. Get well soon Izzy.

We found a lovely judge for our fun classes called Keith, he did know a bit about dogs, was really happy to be asked. Keith was great fun too, even posing for pictures at the end. ‘Best Girl Bolognese’ was Emi, who was also ‘Best Puppy Bolognese’. ‘Best Boy Bolognese’ was Max and ‘Best Veteran’ Joe. Amazingly there were 8 Bolognese over 7-years at the MEET UP, Petal, Teddy, Zeta, Joe, Izzie, Bella, Alfie & Lily and we gave them all a lovely round of applause. All winners had prizes and we also run a draw, which was a bit like a raffle, but everybody got a prize!

Thanks Martin Phipps for the group picture and for everybody for coming with their lovely Bolognese. The MEET UP went really well, was memorable and enjoyable. Our next MEET UP is in Chiswick House & Gardens on the 20th June CLICK HERE for all the details.