MY BEST EVER STAYCATION

Apollo

Archie

Titch

Luna, a two-year-old Cocker Spaniel/poodle cross, helps Lily House, 15, from Cornwall with her autism.

Titch, a 12-year-old Jack Russell Terrier cross, found 10 years ago in a bad way by Amy Challis, 18, from Dartford, Kent, and trained in agility.

Archie, a two-year-old Lurcher, owned by Alex Cowtan, 23, from Oxfordshire, who competes regularly in both agility and dog shows.

Emma Stock, 17, from Taunton, Somerset, has used lockdown to work on training her high energy bundle of joy Apollo, a one-year-old, Collie/ Poodle cross.

Dobby, a fiveyear-old Cocker Spaniel/ Poodle cross, and Grace Westow, 11, from Waltonon-the-naze, Essex.

One of my earliest memories of being in a static caravan in Clacton with my grandparents was sleeping on the dining room banquettes.

My granny Peggy refused to take the plastic covers off the cushions, so every night my nylon sleeping bag would slowly slip off and I’d wake up on the floor.

I think that would probably be considered child abuse now, but back then it was character forming.

A lovely couple who also enjoy their static caravan are Michael and Anne Keenighan in Leeds, with their funny story of 70s style parenting.

Married for 57 years, the pair enjoy doing everything together in their retirement.

Sadly, Michael is recovering from a heart attack – but they have their beautiful garden for him to recuperate in and they’ll be off to their caravan when holidays are allowed again.

Anne writes: “We’ve had lots of fun on cheap holidays in the UK camping on a budget. Then three years ago we bought a static caravan when we decided to stop holidaying abroad due to health problems.

“We have three daughters and often reminisce about camping holidays we had when they were young. One in particular we still laugh about was when we went to Jersey on the ferry.

“During the day the girls had gorged on Jersey fudge and were sick in the night and everything they ate or drank for the following day tasted of fudge. They have never touched it since.

“Also, here’s last summer’s picture of our back garden which my 80-year-old husband keeps looking lovely.

“Unfortunately this year will not be quite so bright and blooming as he has been unwell.”

It’s fair to say a lot of bickering goes on in our house. Having been a single parent of an only daughter for 11 years, there’s a long list of things to get snicky about. And that goes both ways – apparently I am not perfect. One of my biggest bugbears is madam’s food complaints. It’s like living with one of those kids’ books, That’s Not My Dinner – it’s too spicy, it’s too green, it’s too garlicky. Little Miss Fussy even once refused to eat a home made jammy dodger because it wasn’t round enough! Basically she has the taste buds of a 60-year-old boozer – she’d be happy if I fed her pork scratchings, Sunday roasts and Marmite on toast. I made the mistake of drizzling healthy olive oil over a salad on Sunday, which she then refused to eat. Next time I’m going to use chip fat like my mum did in the 70s, back when olive oil was something you bought in a chemist and splashed on for sunbathing! I’m here with you every day on our community pages, bringing you funny readers’ letters, snaps and jokes, and competitions to find the best-looking backyard and silliest pet selfie. We’ve also got stories about what you’ve been up to over lockdown, the doggies who have supported us, and tales from our favourite UK staycations. This week we’ll be running some blasts from the past to get you reminiscing, so please do get in touch with your memories. Send your ideas and stories to siobhan.mcnally@ mirror.co.uk or write to Community Corner, PO Box 791, Winchester SO23 3RP. And finally, thank you for being part of our community pages – we couldn’t do this without you. Best YKC At Home Heelwork to Music Best YKC Rescue Best YKC At Home Obedience Best YKC At Home Trick Best YKC At Home Handling If you would like to be part of our UK holidays memories section, please email me at siobhan. mcnally@mirror.co.uk with your treasured holiday snaps – even if they’re so old, they’re practically sepia – and tell me what makes our beautiful islands the best place in the world.