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And this isn't doing me, or my dog, any good. I think we may both be going a little stir crazy.

With the Nationals, August has been and gone with lots to keep me busy on the k9tales site.

Unfortunately, being at the Welsh and Irish Nationals meant no trials for Corrie and I.

Then I had a date with Bono for the U2 gig at Cardiff, so that was another weekend missed.

So last weekend I was really looking forward to walking to the post, with lots of trials to choose from.

Only problem was I caught a cold and spent two days under a blanket on the sofa, surrounded by tissues and Sudafed.

My nan called it a ‘summer cold'. I'm not sure where she's been but I'm still waiting to see any sign of summer. I'm thinking about taking a boat with me to the International in Cumbria next week, just in case.

Bank holiday shifts in the office don't help either.

Work does tend to get in the way of pleasure during the summer months. Next year I'm going to try to take the whole of August off.

August, as well as being inundated with trials dates, also happens to be my newspaper's busiest month of the year - our county show week (feared even more than Christmas week), exam results, carnivals, summer guides etc etc.

August, one of the busiest sheepdog trialling months, already seems to be flying by. The 2009 Irish National is over and I've returned home after a tiring and busy, but very enjoyable trip to Co. Tipperary.

The Scottish National is now in full swing and next week will be the turn of the Welsh. The final National will be the English, from August 21st-23rd, being held in north Devon.

Leading the home nations was Ireland. After a four-hour ferry trip at some ungodly hour and a two-and-a-half hour car journey, we arrived a little blurry-eyed at Burncourt for the first day of competition.

The field was set in beautiful surroundings, although they were not always visible thanks to a good dose of the Irish wet stuff - rain, not Guinness unfortunately. Beyond the field spectators could admire the mountain where Brian Casey's flock had been gathered to run at the trials.

Over the three days the standard of running was high and was reflected in

the marks. The cut-off point for the team was 188 points and Simon Mosse, of Co. Kilkenny, won on 204 points. It looks as if Ireland is determined to retain the team shield they won last year.

The plan had been to update the k9tales site as the trial progressed ­ but internet access was a bit patchy and the updates were more intermittent than I would have liked.

So, possibly in a moment of madness, I decided this week to buy a shiny new iPhone which is due to be delivered at the weekend.

Apparently Britons are still happy to spend money on gadgets, despite the recession (see the BBC news story Technology, Twitter and the Downturn at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8187809.stm). Hard times are forcing us to cut back on holidays and eating out but when it comes to technology we just can't get enough.

I could argue that the iPhone will be an essential tool to keep me ahead of the field of sheepdog trials websites, but I love Apple products, and to be honest, I just really wanted one full stop.