Boiler Juice

[kallis3]

I can honestly say that we have no 'no go' areas at all near me.

The kids on the estate are no problem at all - never have any trouble with them. I can be as private, or as public as I wish and I know that if I have any problems at all, I can knock on any door in the street, any time of the day or night.

The dogs by me are all well behaved, well loved pets and do not go round attacking people. Even the dogs I see when walking my own are with responsible owners who put theirs back on a lead when they see me - as I do with mine.

[Shining]

I wish I lived somewhere like that Jan, sadly not true about this town anymore although it was once upon a time. There is a good readers view letter in our local paper this week which depicts my feelings towards this town entirely.

[angelrainbow]

Have you considered moving, Lesley? There are still some nice places around where we are. I think the massive influx of Eastern European workers has changed things a lot. I went shopping in Asda in Boston a while back and didn't hear an English voice unil I got to the checkout. I felt I was the one in a foreign country!
I'm sure you are a considerate dog owner Jan, but I fear many are not and as a result of this both the girls and I are now terrified of dogs. One of my biggest fears is a dog savaging my girls..I have seen so many stories in the paper of children being killed or maimed. Even a much loved and trusted family pet can turn on children, sadly.

[Skippy]

There are very few bad dogs, only bad owners. The majority of dogs turn on children because the child has poked or prodded the dog and they are defending themselves.

My mum's last dog tried to nip a child - it had come up to Cindy and hit her hard on the head and she turned. Luckily the child's mother said it wasn't the dog's fault, but I was ready to defend her.

Your daughters do need to understand that not all dogs are bad as it could cause them problems as they get older. My friend's daughter was terrified of dogs and wouldn't go round many of her friend's houses as they had dogs. In the end her mum's friend let her slowly make friends with her dog and now she's fine.

Some people overreact with cats as well - one of my friends won't come round our house any more since we got Harry. I told her he bites, and she said would I put him out if she brought the children round, and I said no as it's his home and the children need to respect that and not poke or prod him. They haven't been round since!

[kallis3]

Neither of my dogs have a nasty bone in their bodies.

As to, shall we say, ethnic minorities, we have very few by us. No Eastern Europeans (they couldn't afford the rent) a few Asians and Chinese who mostly run the local restaurants and takeways.

At the risk of sounding racist, we are very much a predominantly white area here.

[Shining]

AR I would love to move, but being in a mortgaged property it is not possible (although I realise not impossible) to move whilst in my IVA, maybe once it's over I will be moving to downsize for sure.

My dogs are both very gentle and are both highly trained, however, I would never ever trust any dog including my own with a child. I have 5 grandchildren and am always aware of my dogs and where they are. Sometimes a dogs socialisation can be blamed for their fear of men/children, hats/bikes whatever they're aggressive towards, socialisation of all types is vital in a dogs development.

AR I would always be willing to meet you with my chocolate lab, he is used to children of all ages as we've always a houseful of teenagers and when the grandchildren are here they vary in age between 8 weeks and 5 and a half (the half is important she tells me). Let me meet you with my granddaughter who is able to walk my dog, he walks to heel at all times on and off the lead, never barks, I know a fear is a fear and I'm afraid of birds and I think if Max offered me around and told me Max was going to be ok I'd be wary, but we could meet in Ayscoughfee, you wouldn't have to touch him or socialise with him, he'd ignore you unless I told him he could leave my side. People are always oohing and ahhhing when they see my granddaughter walking him.

My cocker is blind so doesn't come out of the house, he has a great quality of life but only in his own environment. Up to you AR but the offer is there, dogs are wonderful and they're not all the same, there are bad owners out there but I can assure you I'm not one of them and if we were in Ayscoughfee, he would not bother a you or your children even if they had an icecream in their hand, you'd be amazed a lot of people are with him.

[kallis3]

I have always said that it is the owners, not the dogs.

We used to have two Rottweilers live next door but one to us and they were wonderful dogs. The female died of a heart attack quite young, but the male dog he was gorgeous and my daughter, who was very young at the time, used to love to fuss him.

The owners were excellent and the dogs well trained.

[angelrainbow]

I don't like seeing how upset they are, but it is understandable as they have had lab sized dogs knock them over in their eagerness to say hello. Ones off the lead and out of control.I do blame the owners toally.
I have come across some nasty dogs doing a paper round in the past. When I was about 14 one dog jumped a fence and pinned me in the corner,hackles raised snarling at me. All I was doing was delivering a paper the owners wanted. I quit after that and have been scared ever since.
Lesley, thanks for the offer. I may very well take you up on that! My eldest in particular likes doing the same as the big girls, but it is my nearly 2 year old who is the most scared. She shakes and trembles all over, it is heartbreaking to see..especially as from a distance she really loves dogs.It is just when they get close she gets scared.
Ayscoughfee is so beautiul too, would be a nice outing!

[Shining]

Please do take me up on this AR, I promise my dog would not bound up or knock anyone over, add me as a FF and I will do the same and you can email me. I would love for your little girl to enjoy 'nice' doggies. The older one could walk him with me beside them as he doesn't pull and is receptive to commands from myself 100%.

[Julie]

I couldn't imagine life without my central heating sorry. My house is relatively new on an estate but there are lots of different designs, so the houses all have character. We have a lovely garden with complete privacy....now if only the chavs next door would move out [:D]

There are plenty of places around here that do not have gas supplies, but there is funding for certain areas to get free gas brought into the street and connected.

Since having Dobby, I have noticed how many children run upto him and expect him to be a friendly dog. Luckily he is, but I do think parents need to raise children to have an awareness of animals.

[Skippy]

I can't imagine not having central heating now! We used to have electric heating at the flat and it was awful - I had permanently dry skin and eyes. When we moved gas central heating was one of my must haves!

[Skippy]

I can remember having coal fires at home - we didn't have central heating until I was 13. My mum used to shovel the coal from the coal bunker at the bottom of the garden (my dad was ill and couldn't do it) and they decided to get central heating to make life easier for mum.

[kallis3]

My daughter was always taught to ask before approaching a dog. She would ask us if she could ask the owner if she could stroke it.

Your estate sounds a bit like ours Julie - there are 6 different designs so they are more individual.

I didn't have central heating until my mid 20's. We had coal fires when I was a kid and my bedroom used to be freezing!

I loved my hot water bottle!

[Julie]

I love my hot water bottle too Jan....a bit of a comfy thing [:I]

I'm sure the "older" estates were boxlike, but where i live is certainly individual. With at least 7 different beaches within 15 mins, I don't think I can complain.

My sister lives in a fab barn conversion ( took them 8 years to complete) and I sometimes dream that I'd love to live there in the middle of nowhere. She says the same about my house......maybe we should swop, or maybe its a case of "THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER".

As long as I'm warm [:D]

[Shining]

You'll get everything you deserve one day LadyH and that includes your new bike, a lift to work and heating at the flick of a switch because you're genuinely a nice caring person x