calling all Aussie diggers (serving soldiers)

are you a soldier in the Australian Army? 

and do you have an old pair of cams you don't need?

if so, then maybe we could do a deal :)

and you could score a neat lil' hare for your wheels

not so long ago I made my very first 'Drive Safe with Baby Hare' rear view mirror charm for your car 

and put them in my etsy shop

well, I made up a batch of these tiny leverets from my old Army shirt and before I knew it, I had hardly any of my old cams left, from way back when I was a soldier in the Australian Army 

so if you are a digger, and reading this, 

and would like a cute little hare for FREE, (worth 30 bucks!) for your hot wheels, 

(will be an ice-breaker for the ladies :)

and have a set of spare cams - don't matter what pattern, new issue or old ones, then ...

just drop me a line and we can do a deal ~ easy :)

my email:  dhoy@lumison.co.uk

attn: Scottish hare Annette

I live in Scotland, so when I mail your hare back to you I shall put in some snow, we have plenty of it just now!

this one above is my own hare and he loves being in my car as we cruise the streets
... oh okay then, as we make short trips to the grocery store ....
.....and the gym .......
.......and the ....

all my hares are made with heart - I'm good with heart

even my sangers have heart in them!

(Aussie for sandwich)

so if you'd like a purdy lil soldier hare who is very opinionated - and good with the ladies - and is guaranteed to keep you right, when you're on the road, with all his back seat driving -

♥ A tiny baby hare companion to keep you safe on every trip.

♥ When out and about in your wheels hare loves to dangle from your rear view mirror and make sure that you have a great trip. 

♥ Hare doesn’t mind your cursing but remember to smile, no hogging the road or tail gating, and be pleasant to other drivers.

♥ You will get there in the end so just chill. Besides, being on time is overrated! (try telling that to a soldier eh?)

♥ And don’t forget to carry spare batteries for your GPS, though hare is great at map reading and will help out any time, just make sure it is a big fold-out old-style map and not one of those silly books. Hare might get trapped in a leaf.

♥ - and in December hare will appreciate a shiny bauble or two on your dash, perhaps even a sliver of tinsel, to get in the festive mood. 

♥ Hare loves nothing more than being a backseat driver and being admired. 

♥ This little hare wants you to know that baby hares are called leverets.

♥ Hare has been lovingly made from a scrap of Annette’s old Aussie cams when she was a soldier in the Australian Army and is a beautiful keepsake to name and pass down. 

then drop me a line mate, even if you are a choco ....   :)

Forward Scout

....so a few weeks ago I got out my watercolours and splashed out a doggie

'Forward Scout'

in memory of Max

it's a painting of my kelpie/heeler dog Max from when I was a sapper in the Army and attached to Engineers in Sydney, Australia.

Max became a bomb dog, or more specifically a MWD - Military Working Dog.

MWDs are dogs that are trained to detect explosive materials and most of the International peace keeping forces engaged in Afghanistan use their own MWDs to clear routes of IEDs and detect caches of weapons. These dogs are invaluable with their work, and save many, many lives.

I used my old photos to get Max's markings.

He was a very handsome, muscular, energetic dog.

And because Max came from Aussie working dog stock, he was not lazy in the slightest, unlike the alsatians that the Engineers were currently using. They were impressed with him and I heard that he was a very good worker.

The other month I was catching up with some news and I came across the RAE Foundation that helps soldiers, specifically Engineers, and they were having an art auction to raise funds, so I thought I would offer a couple pieces, hence my painting of Max.

It's rather like an illustration, with an inked Royal Australian Engineers Corps badge in the top left, and a very simple scene of Max detecting something under the rubble.

If you'd like to see the pic in more detail, just click on the images above.

and I've put this small pic in as well.

It's of the Scots Greys statue that stands on Princess Street, Edinburgh, and behind is the imposing breath taking Edinburgh Castle!

Every time I go to town, 10 minutes up the road from here, I see this beautiful sight.

The Royal Scots Greys was the regiment that charged at Waterloo

I thought I would put in the 2 rough sketches also, and it could perhaps be displayed as a triptych?

Sometimes evidence of the process is as interesting as the finished piece.

Max was just a tiny fat ball of a puppy when I got him, way, way back in 1990!!

He grew up side by side with my new baby house rabbit Burns. One day he was sick in the car, and I had to clean up a stomach full of chewed grass and carrot!!

Burns was smaller, but she was the leader!

As you can see in the photos above - Max is fawning over Burns as she jumps up onto the couch to see what he is doing (one could not participate in something without the other racing over to see what was going on... siblings.... :)

and outside in my 'garden' (heh heh that's a fancy term eh? I really meant to say 'backyard') you can see Burns about to chase Max across the mud! (I would have said grass, but you would have known I was lying).

Burns ruled the house and Max deferred to her all the time.

when I was visiting the RAE Foundation I came across this photo, and all I could think about was Max! and my heart melted!

and then I thought maybe they may like one of my paintings perhaps, to help the soldiers and the doggies?

It will be nice to send my paintings to Australia, so I am hoping that someone at the auction likes them.

This little kelpie/heeler cross has just come back from a tour of duty, probably Afghanistan?

good grief, dog this.... dog that... yap yap yap!!!

how 'bout getting me more greens and carrots here then? I'm nearly out...

and I ain't coming in your car nowhere so your seats are safe (some dogs eh? wasteful!)