Trespassing

When two teams are playing football, only the players and the referees are allowed on the football field. If you run down unto the field and are not a player or a referee, you are trespassing.

In the last minutes of the Poland v. Portugal quarter final, a man tresspassed and ran onto the field. Security guards took care of him quickly. The TV producer did not air pictures of this man, which is good, because he does not deserve this kind of attention in live TV across the world. The game was resumed in just a little while.

I hope there will be no more trespassing. It disturbs the game. People should do better things than interrupting the game for every player and spectator. They could get out for a run with their dogs instead.

Walk the Walk

In English, you can say that somebody "walks the walk, talks the talk". This means they do what is expected of them to prove they are what they say they are. I just see one flaw with this test. A human can never "walk the walk" without a dog. As a human, you have to have a dog to walk. Unless you have a dog, you cannot properly walk. Walking the walk, thus, is about walking with your dog. The definition of the "walk the walk, talk the talk" saying still does not mention any dog. This is a major flaw of the saying.

Never try to "walk the walk" without a dog! It just is not a walk.

Midsommer Murders

It is summer, and new episodes of Midsommer Murders are aired on Swedish TV. It always run on TV during the summer. We like this. Our favourite is Sykes, the dog, of course. His human, chief inspector John Barnaby, is also good.

New Washing Machine

We have got a new washing machine. The old one broke down a couple of days ago. Paula and Daniel tried to mend it, but they did not manage to. The old washing machine was eight years old and has washed a lot of clothes, puppy blankets, sheets et cetera. I guess it was about time to get a new one, anyway. We now have a Bosch, which is known, German quality. We hope it will be nice.

Final Sixteen

There were sixteen teams left to the knock-out stage in the UEFA Euro 2016. Among them, I hope Belgium will win. (My paternal grandfather was from Belgium, this is why.) Belgium played Hungary today and won in an impressing manner. The Hungarians played well, but the Belgians still beat them 4-0.

In the quarter final, Belgium will meet Wales. Wales had an easier opponent in Northern Ireland, but won with just 1-0. I believe Belgium will win against Wales.

Midsummer

It is Midsummer Day in Sweden, a holiday held in great reverence. The great celebrations are held on Midsummer Eve, the day before, however. This is just like the celebrations of Christmas and Valborg, so it is common Swedish practice, though curious.

I came along with Paula and Daniel to watch folk dance in Wadköping, the museum part of Örebro. Paula's parents participated, as they do every year. It was great fun being there. I also got some ice cream to eat. The other dogs were envious of me, when I came back, but then we all got food and everything was all right again.

We have all stayed at home, taking it easy, the whole day today. I like days like this.

Welcome Back in the Future, Britons!

We woke up this morning to the news that the Britons voted for the UK to leave the EU.

This is not good news, I believe. Still, it is too soon to say for real that the outcome will be bad. There will be uncertainty about what will happen for a while, but it is not the end of the EU, of the UK, or anything similar.

The Kennel Club in England is not a member of the international kennel federation FCI. Still, there is cooperation and mutual recognition of dogs, breed standards, and dog show results. There will be cooperation between the EU members and the UK in the future, it is just that it will look different. Perhaps it will be a little more paperwork et cetera in the cooperation, but there will never be inpenetrable walls.

If the Britons want to return to the EU in the future, I would wish them a warm welcome back.

Referendum

Dogs and humans alike are curious about the outcome of the referendum in the United Kingdom today. It is a referendum on whether the country should remain a member of the European Union or leave this union.

Daniel says this is the most important casting of votes this year, much more than the election of president in the USA in November. I tend to agree. If Britain would leave the EU, this would affect the whole union, as well as Britain itself. Perhaps it would be the beginning of the end of the EU. A British result to remain would, thus, be of equal importance. It will probably change the EU in some ways, probably to the liking of the Brits.

The polls have showed that the referendum will be a close call. We will have to wait for the result.

Go, Belgium!

Team Sweden has not played well in the Euro 2016 football Championship. They do not deserves to win tonight against Belgium and continue to the knock out games.

My paternal grandfather was from Belgium. This means I have family ties there. I root for Belgium now.

Yikes

One of us felt sick and puked on Paula's pillow tonight. Yikes! I am glad it was not me, feeling sick. The mess is taken care of, so we can sleep now. I hope it will be a calm night without any more accidents like this.

England and Wales

Wales may be a much smaller part of the United Kingdom than England, but they have had more success in sports lately.

In the Euro 2016 football championship today, Wales beat Russia 3-0, while England played 0-0 against Slovakia. Thus, Wales won group B, England came second. Both advances to the knock out phase of the tournament, but Wales will play an easier opponent.

It was even worse for England in the Rugby Union World Cup last autumn. Wales and England played in the same group in this tournament as well, but while Wales managed to advance, England did not.

I would, perhaps, rather be Welsh than English tonight.

Siesta

While Daniel went out to mowe the lawn in the afternoon, the rest of us took a siesta. This is a Spanish expression for a little longer nap in the middle of the day. This is custom in Spain due to the warm weather in the middle of the Spanish summer days, but I think it is a quite comfortable thing to do anywhere in the world on a Sunday. After all, Sunday is the day of rest.

Geordie Shore

It happens sometimes, late at night, that we watch a TV show from the UK called Geordie Shore. It is about some young humans whose sole focus in life seem to be to party and have sex. It is like bitches in heat, but they are like this all the time. The humans I know are not like this. Ii wonder if there is something wrong with these humans.

Spain

We are rooting for Spain against Turkey in the Euro 2016 football championship today. This is not just because some of us are from Spain or with Spanish family. Orange's parents are from Spain. It is also because we believe a democratic kingdom is better than a republic with questionable democracy and questionable human rights record. In Spain, they like dogs. Turks are not so fond of dogs, as far as we know.

Go, Spain!

Horrible Murder

A British Member of Parliament, Jo Cox, has passed away after being shot and stabbed. She was in her costituency Batley and Spen in Northern England when attacked. The police has arrested a man for the deed.

It is as yet unclear why the murder was committed.

Both campaign organisations for the options in next week's referendum has suspended their campaigns.

Any murder is horrible and tragic. In some cases, however, the murdered person has such a position in society that her passing is not just a personal tragedy for herself, her family and friends, but a tragedy for the whole country. An attack on a politician, as Mrs Cox, is like an attack on democracy itself, as well as a murder. We feel with the family and friends of Mrs Cox, and her dogs, if she had any.

We hope we will soon hear why the murder was committed.

Chicken Big Mac

Paula came home late tonight. She brought hamburger sandwiches from McDonald's. One of them was the ordinary Big Mac, a great burger that I have tasted more than once before. The other one was new to me, a Chicken Big Mac. Instead of beef hamburgers, there were chicken hamburgers in this sandwich. This one was for Daniel, but he was not that hungry, so he gave half of it to me.

The Chicken Big Mac was great. It was not quite as great as the ordinary Big Mac, but quite pleasing, nevertheless. The sauce was a little different, but it fit. It was the same good balance between meat, bun, vegetables and sauce as in the ordinary Big Mac. I can recommend it.

Trying new burgers is nice.

Falling Stock Market

The stock market in London is falling, due to anxiety over the referendum next week on whether the United Kingdom should stay in or leave the EU. The anxiety is due to polls showing a growing support for leaving the EU. The stock market is not fond of great changes, as far as I have understood.

I am not an expert on these issues. It is definitely not up to me to say whether the UK should stay or go. If asked, I would just say I feel that cooperation is a good thing, and leave it at that.

I believe it would be a good thing if the Kennel Club in England would be a member of the International Kennel Federation, FCI. This is something I can say, because I have been around to dog shows hosted by local, regional, and national kennel clubs around Europe. More cooperation between the kennel clubs could make the rules and regulations more similar and easier to understand.

Well, we will have to see what the outcome of the referendum will be.

Lucky to Get a Tie

The Swedish football team played its first Euro 2016 game tonight, versus the team of the Republic of Ireland. The Swedes did not play well and we are thankful they were lucky enough to get a tie after scoring a rather late 1-1 goal.

Sweden did not do very well in the qualification round, reaching the tournament by being third in the qualifying group and defeating Denmark in play off games. We did not have high hopes, but we were still disappointed. The Swedes can do much better than they did tonight. The following games in the group are against stronger teams, Italy and Belgium. We watched the game where Italy won by 2-0 over Belgium. It was clear to us both of these teams are much better than the Swedish and the Irish teams. It was the game tonight that was Sweden's big chance at winning a game, but it did not happen.

Well, if Sweden does not go far, there are other teams to root for. I wrote about that last Friday.

Official Birthday

Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, etc., etc., has celebrated her official birthday. She turned 90 years old many weeks ago, but always celebrate the birthday officially in June.

The Queen is a fantastic human, still actively performing her duties as Head of State. She is also a lover of dogs and has bred Welsh Corgis under the breed prefix Windsor. This must, of course, be her most important contribution to civilisation, even though being a Queen of so many countries is also extremely important.

The Queen is one awesome human. Congratulations on your birthday, Your Majesty!

Party

Paula celebrated her recent exam today with family and friends. I had participated in the planning, but all of us dogs stayed at home watching the house, while Paula and the others celebrated away from our home.

If it would have been a fine day, the party could have been held in our garden. You can never be sure of the Swedish summer weather, however. There was some rain in the afternoon, at the time of the party.

Paula told me the party was a success. I am so happy it was.

France Won

Hello, Karstuhl here!

France won the first game of the Euro 2016. Our Poodle friends Laila and Momoko celebrate. They root for France, since their breed is from France.

During the game, I told Laila and Momoko I rooted for Romania. They did not like it. Romania is not a country I feel anything special for, but it was the underdog and it was fun to tease the Poodles. I am not that sorry that France won.

Upcoming Tournament

One of the greatest sport events of the year will soon begin, the UEFA Euro 2016 footbaal championship. We are looking forward to following the games on TV.

There are a lot of my favourite countries that do not participate. Japan and the USA are not members of UEFA, of course, but in the continental associations of Asia and North America, respectively. This means they cound not participate. Dad's home country Norway did not qualify. However, his father's home country Belgium participates. So does Sweden.

We all root for Sweden, of course, but if Sweden would not continue to the later games, there are other countries to root for. My Poodle friends root for France, since the Poodle breed is from France. My Affenpinscher friend root for Germany for the same reason. Tenn, Orange, and Karen root for Spain, where they have family and friends. I root for Belgium, as does my daughter Polly, for my grandfather. Javier roots for England, because he has a brother who lives there.

No matter what country will win the gold in the end, it will sure be entertaining. We are looking forward to it.

Tagliatelle

Italy is a great country. It has given the world pasta.

We got pasta in the form of tagliatelle with our food today. It was great. I always love it when we get more than just dog food, and pasta is among the things I love the most. Tagliatelle in the food bowl was great.

Thank you, I taky, for pasta, and tagliatelle!

Funny Tanks

Tanks as war equipment seldom seem funny. In the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, however, specialised tanks nicknamed funnies played a huge part. Here is a story about these. It is an interesting story.

The Second World War keeps being an interesting period of human history. It was a great conflict, involving many countries. It had an evil side with the Nazis of Germany and Fascists of Italy, versus a good side with the democratic countries like Great Britain, the USA, and Canada.

It is true that Japan was on the evil side, but how much I do love Japan as the home country of my own breed, there were undisputable good outcomes of losing the war and becoming a democracy. It is interesting, however, that democratic Finland was allied to Germany 1941-45 in order to keep up its defence against the communistic dictatorship of the Soviet Union, allied to Britain and America. Finland was a good country on the evil side, while the Soviet Union was an evil country on the good side. War and international politics is ironic sometimes.

National Holiday

It is the 6 June and we celebrate the national holiday of Sweden. We do not have many traditions for the national holiday, but it is nice to celebrate it, nevertheless.

Interestingly enough, this is also the anniversary of the British, American, and Canadian landing in Normandy in 1944. This was a decisive event of the Second World War, not so much to win the war, but to save Western Europe to freedom and democracy, so it would not fall in the hands of the Soviet Union army. We could celebrate this as well in Sweden, because it probably saved Sweden from falling into the Soviet Union sphere of interest after the war. Sweden could preserve her democracy and stay free. Sweden took no part in the war, I guess this is why the liberation of the West has never been much celebrated here.

Danish Constitution Day

The 5 June is the Danish Constitution Day, celebrated in Denmark as their national holiday.

I am a Danish Show Champion, so I feel somewhat affiliated with the Danes and celebrate with them. Congratulations, Denmark!

Man Made or Nature Made?

Humans are great constructors. They can build large houses, bridges, harbours etc. There are, however, some formations which humans have believed to be man made, which was not. By the shores of Greece, snorklers discovered what was first thought to be a harbour built by men, but lost to the sea. It was not. It turned out to be natural formations, formed about five million years ago. Humans are not the constructors of every seemingly artificial artifacts. I like humans anyway.

Finish

Paula finishes her speciality training and gets a Masters degree. She will now be able to work as an intensivt care nurse. This is the most advances type of nurse there is.

We congratulate Paula, of course. It is time to party! When she starts her new job as an intensivt care thorax nurse, she will eran more money as well. This is good, because this means she can buy more dog treans and candy.

No Miracle

A baby panda has been born at a zoo in Belgium. This has been called a "true miracle", because pandas are known not to get babies often. Still, the baby was conceived by a male and a female panda. It is not like it was a virgin birth or anything. Making babies can be done, I know, I have done it a few times. It is fantastic, but it is no miracle. It is completely natural.

Summer Times

In an old song, the lyrics say: summer times, when the living is easy.

It is summer now. We are in June, the Sun is shining and the weather is terrific. Still, the summer holidays is yet not here. It is summer times, but the living is not yet easy.

I am looking forward to the weeks when both Paula and Daniel have summer holidays. Then, the living is truly easy.