We got to Pitlochry in time for tea with Marian in the retirement home she had moved into. Her youngest son Graham, who had qualified as a doctor in Edinburgh and then worked there along with his wife, had retired, and Marilyn and her other son Robert who had also retired had moved there so they could all be together. ...
One night with the puppies was enough for Benjy, perhaps because I kept a light on, so after that he went gracefully upstairs. The night after he had been with us, Toby plonked down by my bed and seemed disinclined to move, but when he realized Benjy had gone, he got up and moved. I must admit I was thankful, ...
And then we were off to Ford Castle for the Opera, Martin having come armed with his picnic and a chair to go with us. Bruce was wonderfully efficient, with chairs and umbrellas (useful since it rained this evening) lavish picnic, and we went early, to get a good place, and also enjoy the gin and tonic which they served ...
Interestingly, though initially she did not allow either of the male dogs too close, she was more indulgent towards Toby, almost as though she is aware that he is the father. But he, though he is inquisitive about what is going on, does not push too far, and having checked on things moves away fairly quickly. Benjy however would get ...
The smaller castles in the area around Berwick were also splendid, though we did not go to the best of them, Ford Castle, for we were due there the next evening for a summer opera. We went however first to the Museum nearby, with beautiful murals by Louisa the Countess of Waterford. She lived here after the death of her ...
In looking for the quotation from Scott, I found that in the previous piece in the series I had written about Lara that She is an excessively active character, and rouses Benjy at all hours, particular when he is inclined to sleep. Her teeth are very sharp, and occasionally we hear squeals of anguish from him, which I suppose she ...
After the early morning walk on the beach, on that first morning in Berwick, we went back home to poached ducks’ eggs which Bruce prepared and lots of toast and home made marmalade, which was most satisfying. I lay then on the sofa and read while Penny came down and had her more exiguous breakfast and they did their household ...
Two weeks after I got back from Thailand, in the middle of February this year, I was told that Lara was indeed pregnant, with at least four puppies. And she then delivered on the date forecast, eight weeks after the were conceived, six of them. And, workmanlike and precise, as Lakshmi de Silva once wrote about a book of mine, ...
On June 21st, after lunch in Birmingham with Richard Weatherill, Bruce drove north for many hours, though it was still sunny by the time we left motorways and headed towards Berwick on smaller roads, for it was the longest day of the year. As we neared our destination Bruce decided he should get us some ducks’ eggs, so we went ...
In the nights, to get to his favourite place, if he has left it, and to get out again, Benjy often has to step over Toby who, for the last five years, has slept between my bed and the dressing table. Sometimes he is near the other end, but when he stretches himself beside the nearer end there he fills ...
On the morning of the 21st of June last year, I had arranged with Bruce Balden, with whom I had shared the flat in Norham Gardens in my seventh year at Oxford, to drive up to Berwick in the very north of England. He had retired there, in what had seemed an unusual choice, but his emails since had indicated ...
This might seem most outdated for the few of you who also follow me on Facebook, for I have spent the last week there in memories of the youngest of the newest generation of dogs, Bimbo, who died on the Friday before last. But the subject of this blog now is supposed to move chronologically, so I will go back ...
I had two delightful days with Leslie Mitchell at his retirement home from June 19th to the 21st. On both afternoons I was there we watched Agatha Christies on television, a custom that had become entrenched over the years, whenever this was available. On both days it was David Suchet as Poirot, which is the best form in which to ...
I continue today with the narrative about the dogs that joined me just over a year ago, but even before I had come to the next generation they produced, one of them died, last month. Since I talk about him on Facebook, I will continue here with a chronological narrative, though aware more than ever before about how transitory the ...
In the Senior Common Room at Univ, having coffee with the Deputy Director of Development, on the morning of June 19th, I wondered whether I would ever be there again, just as I had wondered about the Meadows, both places which I had enjoyed together with Leslie Mitchell, more and more so in recent years. But I got the impression ...
Janaki too spent ages with them, and said she got little done when they were around. Fortunately in those early days they still slept a lot, and collapsed conclusively for a couple of hours after their morning and their afternoon bursts of energy. However even watching them while they sleep was a joy, particularly when despite their best efforts their ...
Despite the pleasures of Oxford and the past, I was throughout my stay also anchored in the present, in that I wanted to keep in touch with the new puppies I had got, less than a week before I left. So I would call home every day if internet was possible, and find out through Facebook Messenger how they were. ...
While waiting I told Kithsiri that I should now get another dog. I had thought about this earlier, but it seemed self-indulgent, but now it had become a necessity if Toby was not to give up his peripatetic existence totally. And then, astonishingly, while I was on my way back, Nigel Hatch called me to ask if I wanted ...
The next day was also filled with calls, including from Morar Lucas, who had known my uncle Lakshman when he worked in the East End of London. She had married the brilliant philosopher John Lucas, who was at Merton, and they had both been immensely kind to me during my time at Oxford. They had been in Rose Lane when ...
What I meant when I spoke last week about a retreat into privacy was settling into a self-contained world which is full of interest. The human element in this world is limited, which is why I stressed animals in the original title of the series. But of course that title was also inspired by a book about another self-contained world ...
