2 h. ago ‘At the lowest point, I lose the dog altogether’: my disastrous debut at a dog agility competition

Dashing through labyrinthine courses of tunnels, jumps and seesaws at breakneck speed, agility shows prioritise skill over pedigree. But can Tim Dowling last the course?Before every dog agility event, the human handlers walk the course as a group – without the dogs – wandering slowly round the ring with one hand or the other outstretched. It’s an eerie thing to watch, like a crowd of bleary eyed tourists wearily progressing through an airport.But it’s important: the dogs don’t get to try the course beforehand, so their handlers have to formulate a strategy to guide their pets from jump to tunnel to seesaw in the correct order. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Tim Dowling: our dog is on heat – but I’m the one turning red

Regular parks are out of the question – there are just too many other dogs. And besides, lonely routes are better for hiding my embarrassmentIt is mid-afternoon – post-lunch but safely before the schools let out – and I am walking the dog in the direction of what my wife and I now call the Triangle parks. The Triangle parks are the result of a long road cutting diagonally across the regular grid of suburban streets, leaving two small, three-sided communal gardens. They are close but hard to get to – a lot of roads round here come to unceremonious dead-ends – and it was only during my long lockdown walks that I eventually discovered a route to them.Recently, however, they have proved useful: they’re both fenced and likely to be deserted mid-afternoon. When your dog is on heat, regular parks are out of the question. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Tim Dowling: I had this amazing dream. But I can’t divulge the details

There was a horse in the living room and I thought: this will make such a good column. But then I woke up I wake up suddenly and early, the dog lying so heavy across my legs that my feet have gone numb. I extract myself and hobble across the bedroom until circulation is restored. Then I throw open the curtains to introduce my wife to the new day.“Ugh,” she says. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago 'Garden of Eden' discovered with exact spot of 'forbidden tree' identified, says expert

A scientist has claimed to have found the Garden of Eden in a controversial new study - and says the exact position of the "forbidden tree" can be identified

Politics

3 w. ago Tim Dowling: our garden is identical to next door’s – only with added weeds

The privet hedge has been uprooted and the two front gardens have become one – revealing a stark contrastA tall hedge – a privet – marked the boundary between our front garden and our neighbour Marianne’s. The hedge afforded both a measure of privacy and an illustrative contrast in maintenance regimes: Marianne’s side is always neat and straight; ours shaggy and bulging into the walkway.A couple of years ago the hedge started to die. At first it was easy to ignore, to hope that the remaining greenery would spread into the bare spots. But it got worse, not better. The time came for a difficult conversation with Marianne. Continue reading...

Politics

last month Tim Dowling: on my band’s nationwide tour, it’s vital to be in the right car

Long journeys provide way too much time to tinker with the set list – but my opinion doesn’t seem to countFor the second leg of our band’s nationwide tour we’ve hired a van for all our stuff, but it only has three seats, so the rest of us are following in two cars. We have agreed that no changes will be made to the show, but halfway to Bristol a revised set list appears on the band WhatsApp. “The other car have swapped two songs out of the first half into the second,” I say to the guitar player, who is driving.“Why have they done that?” he says. “Dunno,” I say. “Since when are they in charge?” Continue reading...

Politics