The New Normal

What a difference a year makes. Last night I went to the cinema and left Hugo behind, comfy on his sofa, fed, watered, walked and warm. He was listening to the Archers, waiting with rising impatience to see if Justin was going to reject Lillian or choose her over Miranda, and he barely noticed me leave. (He hasn't told me which one it was, but he knows I'm not a fan like he is, just an incidental listener.) When I returned he waited until I was properly in the door before dismounting from his bed and rushing at me excitedly. No distress, no anxiety, just a placid, contented, trusting dog who knew he was safe and that I would return. Oh the relief, the joy! Try as I might, I have been quite unable to imagine this scene. Yes, I would leave him for a few hours in the daytime, but go out at night without the stress of having a highly strung dog in the back of the car, both of us dreading the moment when I parked and left? No, I didn't believe it would be possible. Welcome, Hugo and Denise, to the realm of normal dog ownership.

The film I went to see in Peasenhall Village Hall was I, Daniel Blake. It was a harrowing story of life as an unwilling, unwitting even, dependent on state benefits. Ken Loach laid it on with a trowel, using every gut-wrenching, heart-breaking trick to make his point, and I think he overdid it. At first I found it simply unbearable, reminiscent of so many interview sessions I've carried out myself as an adviser, but after a while it became so awful I must have hardened myself because I felt nothing but a pang of pity. I'd had my own share of distressing moments that morning, listening to people so under the control of the system, or someone close to them, that it was all I could do to continue the sessions. Empowering those you can with information and support, and being a conduit for those who are beyond helping themselves, is the best you can do sometimes.

Hugo had a great time at his creche while I worked. "Roger", Penny called after the black hound had been there for a while, "did you remember to remove those pieces of bread you left out for the birds?" Then glancing into the garden at an empty lawn, "Oh good, I see that you did." But Roger shook his head and they both looked towards the boy who was nonchalently licking his lips, and clearly thinking, it's good here, before curling up in a sunny spot for a snooze.