June | 2021 | Guy Portman's Blog

It’s A Dog’s Life

Jun 25 2021

Nothing of significance has happened this past week. Usually, I have some exciting news to share, such as pictures of yummy tidbits I’ve consumed. The only news to report is that a green tinge has appeared on what is going to be the new lawn. However, it is not yet in a photogenic state, so I’ll save the lawn pic for another week.

Therefore the dog is going to be the centre of attention this week. Firstly however, here is a picture of a deer. Back when wolves roamed the countryside, I doubt deer were so audacious. I can get almost close enough to touch them.

Two comfy chairs available yet Trigga opts for the floor. It gets hot in here in the summer and the wooden floor is the coolest place. He does have a mat to lie on. Latches for the windows are supposed to be arriving soon.

Trigga leading the way on a walk.

Relaxing in the garden post-walk.

Staring at things on the floor is so much more interesting than watching The Euros.

Will this tedious football tournament ever end? Guy is watching it practically every day and it’s so boring. Surely men should have evolved beyond watching a ball being kicked about. Dogs have.

The Germany vs Hungary game on Wednesday was a fascinating spectacle and undoubtedly the highlight of the week thus far. England are playing Germany next Tuesday in the last sixteen. Can’t say I’m feeling particularly optimistic. Like most of my nation, I am still haunted by the memories of ’90 and ’96.

When was the last time you saw loads of people at once? I am going to a wedding this Saturday. It will be the first time I have seen more than a handful of people in one go in a very long time. I guess most of you have faced the same Covid-related predicament/blessing in disguise.

Torrential Rain & Back From The Brink

Jun 18 2021

Last Friday for the first time in nearly a decade, I didn’t post an update on my blog. You must have been thinking I kicked the bucket, was put behind bars, or removed by the men in white coats. This is not the case.

What happened was, last Thursday when I tried to access my website, it didn’t exist. In a state of panic, I logged in to HostGator. My account had been suspended because I hadn’t paid. The reason I hadn’t was because I was under the impression guyportman.com had migrated to AWS. I was mistaken. There had been some miscommunication which had led me to making a potentially ruinous assumption.

A decade’s worth of blog posts and nearly 150 books reviews disappearing into the void was too much to bear. I was searching for the key to my shotgun cabinet when HostGator got back to me to say that my account was only suspended, and that I could get it restored for a fee.

It proved pretty complicated getting my website moved back over to guyportman.com. It took thirty-six hours and the help of a friend who updated the code, as well as Sunil from HostGator to get it up and running again. While I waited nervously for the site to be resurrected, I found solace in nature.

And eating.

Anyway, the site is back now. In other news, I got 140+ tonnes of soil dumped at the bottom of my garden. It was going spare. The soil has now been spread around. With any luck it will become a nice lawn in time.