Last journey

Back blipped on 11 March 2023

This was the day that we all left Arnside, our home for 23 years (Gus’s for ten years). Here is Gus in his nest in the back of the Golf. He was frail, and Arnside Simon had lifted him gently into the back of car which we had filled with cushions and dog bedding to keep his aching joints as comfy as possible. He does looks vulnerable in this photo, and we knew this was likely to be his last journey by car, it was getting too uncomfortable for him to travel.

After a tearful farewell to Simon, we set off for Bishop Wilton, stopping on the front at Sandside for a last look at the estuary, and then in Milnthorpe to drop off the keys to the house. We all made it our new home that evening, and the removals men arrived the following day with our belongings. Gus stayed with P & D next door while the vans were unloaded, just in case anyone tripped over him with a heavy box.

We were so relieved that Gus made it here, a place he knew well from many visits over his ten years with us. And now he rests in a special place, close to us.

Three weeks on from losing him, the pain is still raw. Yet on the other hand, we feel a deep sense of good fortune that he came into our lives unexpectedly at the end of 2012. He has left us with so many lovely memories. We truly were privileged to have shared ten years of our lives with such a beautiful, gentle and gracious animal.

And the response to the blip of the last photo I took of him shows that somehow his story and personality touched the hearts of many people, most of whom never met him.

It also convinces me that I do need to keep blipping and maintain the contact with my blip friends near and far. I haven’t taken a lot of photos since we arrived here. This is a lovely place, and it presents different challenges for a photographer to show it off at its best. Arnside was sometimes a bit too easy to photograph, all I had to was drop down to the front at sunset and I was more or less guaranteed a good shot. I shall post a couple of backblips, one of which will explain how Reg the tortoise is getting on, and a couple from here in East Yorkshire. Then I shall try and get back into blipping on a regular if infrequent basis.