Drama

I was very happy to read that black (or probably any colour) whippets go grey on their faces very early, often as young as under two. Hugo is quite light around his whiskers, and has a few white hairs through his coat, but it's not as a result of living with me apparently. Phew. We both could have gone completely white with shock this morning, though, as I was preparing to drop him off at Penny and Roger's before going to work. For some reason I forgot that the boot lid was open as I drove off. Hugo had been lying in there in his basket, but he leapt up and jumped out as I started to reverse. I heard the commotion and jammed on the brakes, and there he was, shocked and confused, cowering by the hedge and looking back at me in fear. I went to him at once and hugged him to me, stroking him and speaking calmly, and he was fine again. He didn't hesitate to jump back into the boot again. I know, it doesn't bear thinking about.

Sarah wasn't so lucky yesterday. One of the four cats she inherited from Hector, a little grey girl called Rooney, was hit by a car outside my house. I knew nothing about it until another Sarah, she who rides along the lane every day, rang me to ask if I owned a grey cat. She told me she had seen Rooney on my grass verge, dragging her hind legs as she tried to walk, but only registered that something was wrong when she got home. Sarah took the poor little creature to the vet at once, but she was paralysed from the waist down and was put to sleep. Sarah was beside herself with grief. Of all the cats, Rooney and old Neville are her favourites. When she took them on Rooney was very underweight and anxious, and she fed her up and gave her a lot of attention, and brought her back to full health. At 15 she was enjoying life as she probably hadn't for some time before. It's such a shame.

I'm still feeling euphoric about my stay of execution re. bed bugs. The disruption they would have caused made me feel so anxious I hardly knew how I'd ever manage to eradicate them. Hearing the reality has put a real spring in my step, and I also have a spotless bedroom to boot. With a succession of summer visitors booked in the house will remain in this state for some time to come, but the challenge will be to keep it like that when I'm on my own. I thought of trying to find a cleaner, but of the ten or so I've had during my adult life not one has pleased me. I could advertise for someone with OCD - mild, severe, I don't mind - but it may be a bit non-PC to do that. If only I had a touch of OCD myself, but any high standards I do have are expressed only in the garden.