It could be a SOAP opera!

It could be a soap opera!! A glimpse into the lives of the humans and hounds that frequent the wetland known as Waiatarua. I have a script, a location, a cast .... and some of the most unbelievable characters. 

It has drama, intrigue, suspense .... you name it, I’ve got it!

The defining feature of a soap opera  is that it has a continuous open narrative .... each episode ends with the promise that the storyline will be continued in another episode. We have all that and more!! We have more than one storyline .... several of which run concurrently and at times, interconnect with one another. Not all the characters appear in every episode ... typical of any soap.

Most are set in one familiar location with occasional forays to other locations. 

We have that too!

I think I’m on to a winner!!

Our rambles have DRAMA .... in bucketfuls! Woe betide anyone who runs off with Sam or Chocolat’s ball and not bring it back. OUR hackles rise ... NOT the hounds! Carol in full flight is a sight to behold, she doesn’t mince words. 

We have INTRIGUE ... of the highest order. We make plans .... or PLOT .... to rid the park of inconsiderate hound owners. You know the kind I mean ... the ones who don’t SCOOP after their hounds POOP! There are far too many of those at Waiatarua at the moment and I’m running out of poop bags!!

Ebony ... trying to tempt one of them to come and take it off her.

We DEFINITELY have our own version of SUSPENSE 

.... fighting birds, amorous hounds, grumpy humans. 

I could go on and on and on but I think you get the picture. I’d thought of giving you a brief synopsis of the characters but I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. For a start the characters in the daily soaps on TV are generally well-groomed, beautiful, sexy and usually very wealthy. I’m not saying my fellow ramblers aren’t beautiful or sexy but we’re certainly NOT well-groomed when we ramble .... anything but. Trainers and shorts are the order of the day for me when I ramble .... ditto for Carol .... and Julia adds the stripy socks .... all the better to SEE her with!

She's lost her ball .... very confused!

Days like today .... wet, woeful but NOT windy .... deter the ‘precious’ kind of pooch owners from rambling at Waiatarua. They’re the well-groomed ones, with make-up and jewellery and VERY clean hounds ... no MUD on them. Goodness knows HOW they manage to avoid the mud ... it’s EVERYWHERE! 

It got stuck for Sam too ... but he saw it!

We make mischief when we ramble. We solve the problems of the world ... but not our own. We know who’s going to win the Rugby Championship .... but we’ve each picked a different team. We discuss the dramas that are unfolding in each of our lives ... the fire .... me moving house again ... Julia’s toothache. We discuss our hounds and the impact they have on our lives ...... AND ....... we drink COFFEE!

All the necessary ingredients for a really good soapy!

Indy found himself a stick to chew on!

Even Shadow went for a swim!

Julia's making a habit of ending up on her bum ... can't imagine why.

Shadow WON'T take the ball from Chocolat

She's winking at me!