Thank you to team member Hannah Elizabeth Wright for writing our quiz night blog.

The dogs are looking forward to another warm winter, thanks to all who participated in last Thursday’s quiz in the Salle des Fetes in Verfeil.  With entrance fees, food, drink, our popular raffle and donations – including some that came afterwards from those who couldn’t attend – we managed to raise a whopping 1,096 euros – thank you!

We kicked off the evening with a welcome speech from Anke and D+D’s latest resident, Mr Q, who seemed very happy to be out and about. Anke did mention that he took himself straight to bed when he got in, but only after telling all the other dogs about how lovely Sarah Belcher’s tagine smelt and that he had very much hoped he’d get to taste it. Much to his (and Anke’s dismay), he had to leave before it was served. 

A fun night was had by all with two teams,  the ‘Top Dogs’ and the ‘Saint Projet Saints’ (with only 3 members!) claiming joint first place. A big congratulations to both teams who all came to the stage to choose a bottle of vino each to celebrate their victory.  There was one other team that also deserves a special mention – mine! I had entered us as ‘The Try Hards’ which proved to be the perfect name, as there was a lot of head scratching/disagreeing, which resulted in us coming last in part 1. For part 2, in a desperate bid to change our luck, we tweaked our name to ‘The (Must) Try Harders’ but came last again – it was a spectacular defeat which we all laughed about in the end. We had hoped there would be a prize for doing that badly.

On the last two quiz nights we have been blessed with the presence of chef, Sarah Belcher, who cooks everything from scratch in the kitchen at the Salle. This year we had the choice of a delicious chicken or vegetable tagine, with harissa sauce on the side. We got lots of ‘compliments to the chef’ and ‘the spices were perfectly balanced’ when we collected the empty plates.  Sarah runs the popular restaurant, the ‘Boui Boui’, near Arnac very kindly donates her time, along with providing the ingredients for cost. We are so appreciative of this Sarah – thank you! Our lips were licking for a second time with Ali Stickler’s legendary (back by popular demand) sticky toffee pudding and cream. I was so excited to eat mine that I forgot to take a photo of it, so had to go back for a second serving.

With our tummies glowing, it was time for our ‘Winter Evenings’ themed raffle, which was kindly organised by Caroline Mills. The winners were able to take their pick from a variety of prizes including wine, ginger cake, scrabble, books and chocolate.

Also available to buy on the night was some of Theresa Wildsmith’s charming pottery. She has very kindly donated this to us to sell at events such as this with 100% of the proceeds going to D+D. Thank you Theresa!

A big thank you also, to Jo Castelli who helped to set up, serve, wash up and tidy away and to those who participated in the quiz, then helped put all the furniture away at the end. 

Last but not least, un grand merci beaucoup to Gillian and Karl for organising the entries and creating a very (challenging – for my team  anyway) fun and memorable quiz. We couldn’t do it without you at the helm.

by Hannah Elizabeth Wright

We were blessed with perfect (not too hot, cold or wet!) weather for our al fresco, dining concert chez Gillian Lindsay and Karl Billington last Saturday. A big thank you to them both for allowing D+D to use their garden and for driving all over the place on Friday to collect enough furniture to seat up to 83 people! We had a fantastic turnout and would like to thank everyone who came and supported us. With our two latest arrivals, Mabe the Babe and Quatorze, on special diets for their delicate tummies and skin issues, it is events like this that allow us to cater for their needs and get them back to health.

An extra special thank you to ‘Cod en Bleu’ who very generously contributed 50 portions of Fish and Chips http://www.cod-en-bleu.com/LoadPage.aspx?PageId=0, and to our resident bakers, Amanda Bakhtiar Irvine and Caroline Mills, for their ever popular (we sold out) doggy and apero biscuits. And to Mandy Govey, Karl Billington and Keith Hurley who serenaded our diners with an eclectic mix of Jazz and light rock and pop, click here to see a snippet https://youtube.com/shorts/rmb4lz6Nt1Q Look out for them at other events this Summer, as the Two Bad Wolves (Karl and Keith) and Retro Kandy (Mandy and Karl).

I was most impressed with how Cod en Bleu made sure that everyone had fresh, piping hot fish (or a faux chicken vegan pie, along with mushy peas and curry sauce) and chips and didn’t have to cue for ages to be served. Thanks to Gillian’s pre-planning, orders had been placed with Tony and Resa in advance, and when our guests arrived, all they had to do was check their names off the list at the van and take a bleeper that would let them know when their meal was ready. Gillian set up a condiments tables next to a van, which, courtesy of Cod en Bleu, featured a very nice bottle of traditional malt vinegar – yum!

Wild flowers and lavender from Ali’s garden were placed in vases on the tables, along with bunting and fairy lights in the trees. It was a feast for the eyes, as well as our ears and tummies.

Organising an event like this requires a lot of behind the scenes work for it to run smoothly: pre-planning admin; sourcing, collecting, washing and returning of furniture; decorating; shopping; parking; bar tending and the cleaning up! We couldn’t have pulled it all together without the help of our wonderful team members: Ali, Caroline, Gillian, and Lesley. I, (Ali) am adding Hannah too as she put in as much effort as us all but won’t blow her own trumpet.

Thanks to everyone’s efforts we managed to raise a fantastic 1338€! The evening was a great success and we look forward to seeing you at the next one.

Written by creator Hannah Wright

Our new ‘Muddy Paws’ range has been a big success. Thank you to everyone who bought a tea towel and/or a bag at the quiz night last Friday and to those who have placed orders with us this week. As some of you may know, it was inspired by Andy after he walked over a duvet in the barn with very muddy paws.

When I saw the bedding airing over the railings, I managed to snap a quick shot of him standing in front of it and shared the picture on our social media pages, saying how proud Andy was of his latest work of art. We had lots of lovely comments on the post, including one from Caroline, who suggested that his muddy, paw prints would look great on a scarf….and there the idea was born!

Inspired, I contacted Jean and Martin of ‘Maison des Loups’ (printers) in Caylus to see if they could help us create something with the paw prints and they came up with the idea of bags and tea towels. We have plans to extend the range, but in the meantime, our bags and tea towels will be for sale at all future ‘Dawn and Dusk’ events.

Post written by Caroline Mills

A BIG thank you to Caroline and her team for their day spent at the village vide grenier (boot sale)

Last Sunday morning the alarm went at 6.15 and I hauled myself out with my dogs before leaving to meet up with Jo Stephens, the first of my much-appreciated volunteers. We made our way in convoy into the centre of the village where a lady with a clipboard exclaimed “ah oui, Dawn et Dusk” and directed us to our space near the church. We unloaded, set up our table, and displayed our bric-a-brac. Jane Robinson joined us, and armed with coffee, we sold quite a few things.

Amanda Bakhtier Irvine had made cookies and dog biscuits, and there were a few bags of chocolate brownies left over from the Quiz Night. Once I’d decided to allow a tasting, the dog biscuits sold very well. Hard to resist the sales patter when your dog has just devoured a cheesy biscuit. One lucky border terrier got three packs! Mid morning I was joined by Sue Sherratt who generously donated some pieces of her work which sold well.

At lunchtime, Andrea White took over, going off to find us delicious burgers to keep us going. Linda Walsh joined for the afternoon slot which saw a bit of sunshine, and a swell of people who had gone to Laguépie for plants in the morning. By 4.30 the stalls were beginning to pack up as the skies clouded over so when Sue Bedford and Maria Murphy and her helpful small niece arrived, I retrieved my car and we loaded up. Later at home, armed with a fortifying G&T, I added up the takings. Including a few bits sold afterwards, our total was 227€. That’s not bad for a vide grenier.

Thanks to everyone who donated items, cakes, or their time. Very much appreciated. In many ways this was a public relations exercise. As was my hope, we met lots of locals who were aware of D&D and pleased to see us there. It was an opportunity to chat about our elderly dog family and how they are unadoptable, but lead a good life with good food and healthcare, access to open fields and a comfortable barn furnished with rugs and old sofas. It’s the Dawn and Dusk way.

Hello, I’m Cheyene, I’m the latest addition to the Dawn and Dusk doggies. I have been speaking to Caroline Mill’s who has translated my message for me for you all to understand.

I’ve been here for nearly seven months now. I was living in the woods after my owner became ill, so I love all the comforts and regular meals I get now. They sometimes call me the Bossy Bitch, well, I wasn’t going to let Colin, Primus and Mitch boss me around was I, but I’m a sweet old lady really. You just have to let them know who is in charge, so I told Pompom that I was taking over his diary this month, because there’s an important message to deliver to you, our very kind supporters. I mean, you can’t leave that to a terrier, can you?

Very soon we are moving to spacious new premises, and you wouldn’t believe the costs involved. Just fencing us in for safety is costing five thousand euros. I’m allowing the three boys to share my barn. There’s a new floor going in, and the walls are being tiled so my housekeeping team will be able to clean it easily. There are so many things to be done, and the ladies who run Dawn and Dusk (Anke, Ali, Elsa, Gill, Lesley and Caroline) are very determined to do everything right first time so they work closely with an official animal protection inspector lady who tells them what has to be done. Of course all this costs a lot of money. Usually it costs about a thousand euros each month to keep all of us comfy, healthy and well fed, but this move is going to cost about 20,000€. So we are launching a Go Fund Me appeal https://gofund.me/1cddcf1d to raise this money. I understand that not everyone can afford to make a big donation, but everything you can give will help us reach our target. Will you help us? Please click on the link and help us reach our target.

We have two fundraising channels Go Fund Me https://gofund.me/1cddcf1d which accepts Bank card or PayPal and HelloAsso, our French platform which does not take any commission from you or us (it will ask you to donate a % but you do not have to) https://www.helloasso.com/associations/dawn-and-dusk/collectes/fonds-necessaires payment is via a bank account.

Should you wish to donate the old fashioned way we have other options. Please could you mention ‘ projet’ with your payment. Our Paypal account is donations@dawnandduskfrance.com (option friends & family, please) or Euro cheque payable to Asso Dawn & Dusk and send to Ali Stickler, La Singlarie, 12270, Najac or by Euro Bank transfer account details below.

Thank you so much.

Your very loving bossy bitch Cheyene

Our first online dog photo competition was a big success with 117 entries in 8 classes it raised 527€ for our oldies.

Judging was between our vet Oona Van De Gucht (Mas de Cazes, Parisot), Award-winning local photographer Lynn Emery and our web designer/ illustrator Freya Stickler. And boy, did we get some great photos, making judging hard.

First prize was donated by Dutch artist Suzan Visser, an illustration of the winners dog and her book filled with her artwork. Mutley, dog in motion won, his guardian kindly donated his prize to be auctioned raising another 175€ the highest bidder. Second prize was donated by photographer Lynn Emery a photo shoot of the winners dog or if not local a basket of dog goodies. It just so happened we had joint seconds so Susan Bedford won the photo shoot of Toby the goofball while Senior winner Buddy’s guardian, Rachael Finch kindly donated his prize to our oldies. Third prize went to scruffiest dog James, who hopefully is sharing his box of natural dried animal parts with his two housemates. (if guardian Tanya Cullinane can face opening the box).

Congratulations to everyone who entered here are the great photos of 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd places. If you did not enter this year why not start flicking through your phone and save those best shots ready for next year.

Question 1. How much money can we raise for Dawn and Dusk by holding a quiz night?

The answer was 1109€. An amazing amount from an amazing number of wonderfully generous people who came to Caylus last Friday. It was a fantastic evening, everyone enjoyed it, and huge thanks to Karl and Gill Lindsey who ran the quiz. Sorting out the pizzas were a bit of a challenge, but lessons learned! There was such a lovely friendly atmosphere, with people catching up with friends they’d not seen for a while, but the best thing was being able to tell people about Dawn and Dusk, and their generous donations to support our dogs.

Thank you so much to everyone who came and supported us. We will do it again!

Two wonderful dog-lovers, Brigitte van Gestel en Gwen Pieters, both Champions in the world of Dog dancing, did a fundraiser for Dawn & Dusk, showing their Dog Dance skills with the incredible Vidar and A’Mayzie at a Fish and Chips evening in France raising 140 euros ! Thank you so much dear friends!!