All Conquering

Yesterday I was again working at Snape, this time the Tallis Scholars and wonderful music of the Renaissance, with some modern but not unharmonious input from Arvo Part. Truly it was bliss on legs. The previous day I'd been paired with a lady called Mary, a real music afficianado and we had wonderful conversations and were equally blown away by the music. For the Tallis she was a punter, sitting right in the  front row, and she greeted me like an old friend, such a lovely person. In the interval she came over to me, eyes shining, and asked me what I'd thought of the music. I hardly needed to speak, and she embraced me with sheer happiness. She used to work for Mills and Boons apparently. I must find out more about that. She's well past retirement age. I think she might have mentioned a great-grandchild. Anyway, back to Hugo. We parked very close to the entrance of the concert hall in the early stages of a gale, everything blowing wildly. I took Hugo out for a stretch and a pee, and we met Frances who was walking her tiny King Charles spaniel, a rescue bitch who had been locked in a barn and used for breeding. Ye gods. We puttered about together for a while, then put our respective dogs away in our cars. Again Hugo hopped into his crate and settled down. Again it wasn't a long concert, and when I came out the storm had hit and it was lashing. I jumped into the car thinking I could drive home as we were, but he got distressed very quickly so I stopped in a garage forecourt under shelter and carried him onto the back seat. He settled down and we drove home. And that night? I left the door to the stairs open, and I didn't hear a peep out of him all night. He was rapturous when I reappeared in the morning, and so was I. Those reunions are so special. Later I found out that he'd slept on the spare bed, luckily not yet made up. Tonight I'll put his bed on the landing and close all the doors. I'm getting there Hugo. I'll catch up with you.

We had a long walk this morning in the Easter sunshine, but he wore his sheepskin-lined coat because the wind was evil. Yesterday we joined Sammy and her black labrador/staffy Stella for a walk in the woods, and the two got on really well together, though Hugo can't be let off the lead yet. They had fun together, and he loved the interaction. Ruth is coming for lunch today and to meet him. He's a wonderful, delightful, perfectly-mannered boy, the best there could be and so beautiful. I couldn't be more pleased with him (understatement of the century).