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20 • Visit us @ www.ChampNews.com CMB The Champion • Wednesday 30 January 2013Charity challenge for swimmersSEFTON swimmers can makea splash and help boost fundsfor charity this spring, bysigning up to Marie CurieCancer Care’s Swimathon.The event is held at morethan 600 pools across the UKfrom April 26–28, and seesthousands of participantstaking on 5k, 2.5k and 1.5kindividual challenges, as wellas team 5k and 1.5kchallenges.Money raised through theevent will help Marie CurieNurses care for terminally illpeople at the end of theirlives.Stephanie Lacaille,community fundraiser for the1116073charity, said: “This year wehope even more people willtake the plunge and raisefunds to help Marie CurieNurses provide more freenursing care to terminally illpeople in their own homes.”For details on how to enterwww.swimathon.org untilApril 24.There’s even more on our website...Take a look at champnews.comLCD TV • PLASMA TVFREEVIEW RECORDERSSALEWIDE RANGE OF SCREEN SIZES AVAILABLEFully Guaranteed • Fully Reconditioned WAS SAVE SALEPHILIPS 30" widescreen LCD TV £99 £30 £69TOSHIBA 19" HD Ready Freeview LCD TV £99 £30 £69PANASONIC 26" HD Ready Freeview LCD TV £99 £20 £79TOSHIBA 26" HD Ready Freeview Black LCD TV £129 £40 £89PANASONIC 26" HD Ready Freeview Black LCD TV £149 £50 £99PANASONIC 32" HD Ready Freeview Black LCD TV £149 £50 £99TOSHIBA 37" HD Ready Freeview Black LCD TV £249 £70 £179PANASONIC 42" HD Ready Freeview Plasma TV £299 £100 £199PANASONIC 50" HD Ready Freeview Plasma TV £449 £120 £329SuperVisionFullyGuaranteed101 Shakespeare Street PR8 5AJSOUTHPORT514744CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTEDFullyReconditioned1116067Law of Sod: you feel a wreckthen the train is cancelledI’M afraid this is going to be arather ‘fluffy’ Dog column –because, I’m sorry to saythat’s the way I’ve beenfeeling for the past week orso. Fluffy.I’m well aware thatbragging is never a goodthing to do, but I know I tendto bang on a bit about howgenerally healthy I am.I should just count myselflucky and keep quiet.Because for the last week Ihave been not really up tosnuffatall.I’ve had shivery bits, amucus cough, my tum hasbeen far from at ‘grade A’operation and my head hurtswhen I cough.Add to this that my legs haveached and you can see what awreck I have become. Andapart from anything else,what all this has added up tois that Tina has had tomanage with but one walk aday, the evening one havinggone by the board in thecause of staying put andkeeping warm.Anyway, a couple of daysago I felt sufficiently better toventure forth to Maghullstation and a trip by train toOrmskirk.Now this is an excursionTina enjoys for some reason,and from my somewhatfragile point of view is goodin that it includes three fairlyshort walks with a sit in thewarm on the train inbetween. Now obviously theLaw of Sod is about to takeover here – and indeed it did.Train the Ormskirk, fine,warm and on time.Mile and a half walk aroundnorth east Ormskirk neatlyaccomplished in the required30 minutes.Train for Liverpool arrivedon time, dog and I installedwith a bag of peppermints tocheer us up (well meanyhow), driver in cab andautomated message abouthow welcome we were to thisMerseyrail service etc etc.successfully delivered.Then the first intimationthat all was perhaps not well.Like nothing furtheroccurred. No closing of doorbeeps. Nothing.And the sight of the guardrunning along the platformand having a ‘heartfelt’ withthe driver did nothing toinstil confidence.Mind you, the inevitableannouncement when it camewas at least different.A small landslip near TownGreen station was causingdisruption.There was talk ofreplacement buses –perhaps.Now had I been alone therewould have been no realproblem. I’d simply havedecamped, walked thecouple of hundred yards tothe bus station and found myown alternative route home.But Tina presented aproblem. She’s four and ahalf now, but the only time inher life that she has everventured on a bus (she wasless than two then) she madesuch a to–do that I got off inembarrassment half wayhome and walked the rest ofthe way.The problem with a dog insuch a situation of course isthat unlike a small child thereis simply no way ofexplaining what is going onto her.Or, indeed, in this case whyshe should be forced toabandon her familiar train inthe first place.There seemed no real optionthough. No way of knowingwhen or if the train would begoing. The alternative of arail replacement bus (whichwould probably be full). Ortry the bus station.So I did. And apart from avery few and muffled squeaksof protest from Tina, we bothbehaved amazingly well andwere delivered home safely.The only casualty of coursewas the final walk home fromthe station. And tryexplaining that to your dog.1115976