Escape

l was interested to read that the hugely enjoyable Volkswagen Polo commercial featuring a singing Jack Russell has been pulled from our screens following a barrage of complaints from members of the public, and an investigation from the RSPCA.

Much as l loved the joyous warbling of the Spencer Davis Group track 'l'm A Man', by the 'confident' JR, sitting in the front seat next to his owner and living life to the full, his doggie counterpart - shy, trembling, in a head down, tail between his legs stance did, l admit make me have some misgivings about how exactly this was achieved.

Apparently, the 'shy' version was perched on a motorised plate which made him tremble, but it does'nt explain how the tail and head down 'trick' was done. As this is a classic posture of a frightened and submissive animal and would l imagine be quite difficult to emulate unless the dog was actually feeling scared in some way, l will have to reserve judgement.

lt was a pity they couldn't  have introduced a 'bored' rather than a 'cowering' doggy act instead. Perhaps yawning or filing his nails.  Then it would have been perfect !

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/sh...

While l'm on the subject of animals on TV commercials, l just have to mention the hilarous ads for Teletext Holidays featuring a pair of 'home alone' cats. lnspired!  See it on You Tube.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RZtKdsirjTs

Well that was an unexpectedly long break - apologies to my readers who have been waiting for the latest blog post.

lt's been a strange beginning to the year, after l thought l'd escaped the winter blues, l suddenly sunk into a kind of apathy, and nothing seemed to be happening that was worth blogging about.

The arrival of a few fine days (apart from some unseasonably vicious snow storms over the Easter break), and shorter nights have lifted my spirits.

l have also discovered a product which has proved useful for those suffering from disturbed sleep, or not being able to drop off at all. Try some melatonin drops. Three or four on a teaspoon, or stirred into a drink and you may find you have a good nights rest. Mine were from a company called agestop.co.uk

The seeds from a variety of tomato called 'Aranta', saved by me last summer, were sown in early February and are now healthy plants, happily basking in the sunshine on my windowsill with some runner beans and cauliflower plants for company.

A few dvds l've enjoyed over the past week or so -not necessarily recent releases but new to me are '- The Cell'; 'Eastern Promises'; 'Society'; and 'Wallace and Gromit - The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'. 'Into The Wild' is next on my list, but l am reading the best selling novel of this first.