HOMING HUNT BEAGLES

I notice from the stats, that despite only having been functional for just over a week this site has been seen from the Wild West to the Exotic East and sundry places in between, north of the equator.  How is this possible I wonder since my research with search engines seems to suggest they have yet to discover it?  Pure chance I suppose as they were probably looking for something quite different. 

In the search engine test I did to prove the point I discovered a picture of three hounds with collars.  They looked remarkably like Colne Valley hounds to me but our hounds don't  wear collars.  Beagles used for hunting are somewhat different in appearance from their pedigree brethren, having their own type of pedigree to make them fit for purpose.  Unlike some of the biscuit barrel shaped ones one sometimes sees these hounds looked fit and well proportioned yet they wore collars.  Checking the source I soon realised why.   

The picture I found was this one and it led me to the link below about a retired Colne Valley hound called Taboo.

 

http://www.animalrehabilitation.co.uk/testimonials/hall-of-fame/taboo/

The Colne Valley Beagles look to home hounds that have retired or lost interest and despite what I was told many years ago they settle down happily to family life and make fantastic pets.  Beagles love children which is why they are such a hit at country shows when they are paraded and then children are encouraged to come into the ring to mix with them and pet them.  So Taboo became adopted and below is a photo taken when a puppy.  Having taken on three beagles must illustrate the point that rehoming retirees works and can give mutual pleasure.   As it happens my cousin who lives down south in Watlington, Oxfordshire, adopted Treasure who must be from the same litter as Taboo, having a name beginning with T.

Taboo on the left in 2004

Just for comparison, Treasure is the light hound on the right.  She lost interest and asked for early retirement

as can be seen below

COLNE VALLEY BEAGLES PUPPY CHRISTENING 2013

  The Colne Valley Beagles puppy christening was held at the Royal Oak in Upperthong on Sunday afternoon, 28 July 2013 to a full house.  

I rather lost count.  Were there five or six puppies?  Our celebrity GP, Scottish bag pipe virtuoso, singer and performer of the wild and exotic, decorously conducted the christening ceremony.  In the tradition of these things he used his Yorkshire accent and a voice that carried almost as well as his pipes as he gently anointed the heads and dipped a paw in a bowl of punch.  We used to use a teaspoon in the days of Ken Green but since then we seem to be using a large ladle, although this is purely symbolic as only a few drips of the punch escape onto each hound.  

Having a GP perform this ritual is probably sensible since the bowl of punch is traditionally consumed afterwards by those present who fancy the idea. Actually it all seems to go with no ill effects ever reported.

I suppose the christening tradition has been limited to the depths of the Yorkshire valleys in Summer Wine country as a strong dialect is virtually essential to the words of the christening ceremony.  It really would not sound right in Essex.

Of course the other thing we do is sing.  Well some do and some rather well.  In the past a few made a name for themselves, not least using songs they learnt to sing at hunt do's.  I used to to think a culture of song was related to a culture of hardship and deprivation but in a bond of community, such as the Welsh Valleys as one example.  We are not quite up to that standard in the hunts but singing certainly lingers here as in the Lakes and I guess life was hard at one time.

  

 

PENNINE FOXHOUNDS PUPPY CHRISTENING 2013

There is a tradition in hunts in the valleys of Summer Wine country to christen puppies as other pics on here show or will show.  The Pennine Foxhounds had a christening a few days ago and the character of where we live shines though on here.  There is the flavour of local dialect and a strong community with roots in the past that make us still a bit eccentrically unique in what is now a cosmopolitan country.  Long may it continue.  

I regret the quality of this video as it was not a conventional camera and I could not see what I was taking so had to point and hope.  Then a lady with an IPad or something dived in front so I had to move around. The time is still set for winter so it is an hour across, not that it matters.  But you get the idea.

A marginally better version here now - Pennine Christening 2015

SOME CVB STAFF AND SUPPORTERS

I think I am beginning to get the hang of this system now.  I have been asked to put some older ones on here just when I thought I could relax and only add what crops up from now, like the Puppy Christening this weekend.  That should be a 'good do' being very local and in Holme Valley country too.  Hopefully our association with the HVB will mean a few supporters from there.  Anyway I will pick a few images out as time goes on.

The one below is a group at the closing meet but unfortunately half the followers were still in the pub or trailing up the road far behind. 

COLNE VALLEY BEAGLES HOUND SHOW 2013

The annual CVB Hound Show was held at Harden Moss on the 23 June 2013.  Harden Moss is a bleak spot at the best of times and it excelled itself that day with a very unseasonal chill, a wild wind and driving rain. It was well supported by competitors who probably expected a dose of midsummer when they booked their entry and so as a show it was a success.  Onlookers were mostly hardy souls who follow or are associated with local hunts.

There are probably too many pictures posted here but my enthusiasm ran away with me.  For those who don't know, if you click on a photo it enlarges and then you can scroll through the lot in that size as quickly as you like.  I am not naming people in them as either you will know them or you wont.