Rufus and Dino update

Rufus_and_Dino_update

Well, we’ve been in our new place for a couple of weeks now. This is the first week that we are on our own and it’s proving to be very pleasant.

To be honest, for the first few days, neither Rufus nor Dino ate a lot. The stress of the move; being unsure of their surroundings, etc. However, now they are back to normal.

Every morning, before most people are awake, we walk up the Perfect Street to the same dog areas that we used to use. Then back down another street (past the back of Sotheby’s and the Dolce & Gabbana offices) and home.

On Tuesdays we see the market stalls being set up as we cross one street.

On Saturdays and Sundays we troupe off down the Perfect Street to go to the big Park, Giardini Pubblici, where we spend an hour or so before, on Saturday, stopping at Free Time café, at the bottom of Corso Buenos Aires, for a pasta dish and a beer (well, obviously, that’s just me, not them – they just ‘hang out’).

Just recently, Dino has taken to playing by himself (in the flat). He used to come to me with a ball or a pull or something, drop it in my lap (eventually) and I would throw it up the hallway. He would, as any other good dog, go fetch it and bring it back. Occasionally, I would keep hold of it and we would have small tug-of-war.

Sometimes Rufus would get involved and they would play tug-of-war together, for a bit, until one of them (usually Rufus) started to bark, when I would stop it.

Here it is no different except this playing by himself thing. To be honest, he had done it a few times in the old flat but here it’s quite often. It happens if I don’t have time to play or, sometimes, when he first gets a toy to play with.

He will throw it – in the air or a foot or two along the floor – and then go chase it down! It’s quite amusing to watch.

And then, sometimes, if I am not giving him enough attention, he will throw it at me!

He is so cute. I will try (to remember?) and get new pictures this weekend to post so you can see what a pretty dog he has grown in to.

They are being (I think) very good in the new flat. No accidents, so far. No chewing (thank goodness Dino seems to grown out of that phase already) and they do like the two balconies. The one from the bedroom lets Dino look at the traffic and the people walking by and the one at the back is cool and allows them to just lie there.

It’s nice to see them so happy.

Primark in Milan? Why not?

Primark_in_Milan__Why_not

From my glance at the stats every day, I’ve noticed that quite a few people come looking to see if there is a Primark in Milan. The short, easy answer is no, there isn’t. At least, as yet. Although I don’t quite see why Primark haven’t expanded their exposure abroad. Surely, at this time of economic crisis, Primarks would be welcomed all over the world, including Italy?

Alright, as I’ve said before, the quality is not brilliant but, for the price of things, you wouldn’t really expect them to be, would you?

So the material is a little thinner than one would expect, the finishing is not really so good, the amount of time you can wear them is less than for other things – but, hey, they look OK and do a job!

The pair of jeans I bought a couple of years ago will be coming out of the wardrobe very soon (they are summer jeans for work), which means they will be paying for themselves for the third year running! Not bad, really.

As soon as I find that there is a Primark in Milan, I shall, of course, let you all know.  It’s only a matter of time…….

Will this make me gay?

Will_this_make_me_gay?

As a gay person I must be a bit of a disappointment to the rest of the gay community. Indeed, I have been called the straightest of gay men. Many, many years ago, at a place that I worked, we did consulting to a well-known company based in the East of London/Essex. My work colleague was rumoured to be gay by the people we worked with at our customer. He countered this by telling people how wrong they had got it and that he was married with kids (and showing them pictures to prove it) whilst I was the one that was gay! I didn’t bear any grudge but thought it quite funny that so many people had got it so wrong.

Amongst other things, this straight/gay thing means that, for instance, I don’t wear any make-up; don’t really worry about being ‘toned’ (although these days it is a young, straight thing anyway) and never, never put what I call ‘crap’, on my body. ‘Crap’ includes cream – i.e. hand cream/body cream, etc.

However, since about November of last year, when we didn’t have a working washing machine, I had to do a lot of washing by hand. This played havoc with the skin on my hands which, until that point, had been as soft as a baby’s bottom (well, almost). The thing that really frustrated me is, that, my hands never recovered and, even now, parts of them are very rough with dry skin.

So, last night, after several months of putting up with this I had to phone V to ask what handcream he used, whilst I was in the supermarket. And, for the first time, really, I have started using hand cream. I am really hoping it is a temporary measure and that within a month or so, my hands will be back to normal as I am not keen on this new normal at all.

Perhaps, I am becoming a real gay person after all?