It’s a very sad time for us in the Devlin household. A few weeks ago I told you about our beautiful little dog, Bailey, our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who sadly passed away aged 12.

Bailey had a sister called Laila, aged 11, who had never spent a day without Bailey by her side and she was as heartbroken as the rest of the family at Bailey’s passing.

Laila seemed to give up on life after Bailey died, hardly touching her food and water. She got very ill very quickly. Our fantastic vet Kate, from Trafford Veterinary Services did all she could for her, and I can’t thank her enough, but we sadly lost Laila from what I suspect was a broken heart.

We are all devastated at losing both our dogs within a month of each other. Absolutely heart-breaking. They will be sadly missed.

To try and lift my spirits I decided to visit a couple of events from my website ‘All About Trafford’ at the weekend.

Urmston Masonic Hall was having a Freemasons open day where visitors could go and have a look around the lodge and ask any questions they may have.

I had a lovely afternoon, taking a tour of the Lodge, enjoying a cup of tea whilst meeting all the gentlemen there. Everyone was really friendly and courteous.

I was surprised to learn that the Freemasons are the second largest givers to charity behind the National Lottery!

That’s quite an achievement as the Masons only collect charity donations from their own members and not the general public!

It was great to learn all about what they do and dispel any myths I had in my head about them. I was really made welcome and I thank them for their hospitality.

Val and I also attended an afternoon tea party for the charity Breast Cancer Care that was held at Our Lady & English Martyrs Parish Centre in Davyhulme.

The event, organised by Marion Sheridan alongside Paula Kerry-Caine, Maggi Hassall, Karen Downs and Filippa Martin raised a fantastic £1,674 at the last count. The room was beautifully decorated with balloons and banners and the afternoon tea looked absolutely amazing! There was also live music kindly provided by Emma Lewis.

The event was originally to be held in the back garden of the main organiser Marion but due to the overwhelming response, a venue was required.

It was lovely to see so many people supporting such a worthwhile cause. I wish them every success with their fundraising.

See you next week!