Cats, forests and tittles

Lorraine drove us to the vet with three disgruntled, and vocal cats for various check ups. The vet now thinks Calliope is two weeks younger than first thought. She still teething, which has made her glands swell up, and put her off her food, which is what had concerned me. The waiting room is infused with relaxing cat pheromones, so Calliope swanked about investigating the waiting room and store room, while Lorraine's cats were given jabs. The receptionist/veterinary nurse is very friendly, and locked the front door so she could safely explore. She returned slightly cobwebbed from under a large fridge, and I was told that if she wanted employment as a duster, she could come again.

In the afternoon drove north to St Leonard's forest with Anton. The temperature was a couple of degrees colder than in Brighton, and the trees and fields were rimed with frost as soon as we had got through the downs. Parked at The Dragon in St Leonard's Forest (where we had ended our Dragon Walk) and then set off through the sparkling, Christmas card woods. Walked for two hours, and it was beautiful and invigorating. The only bad bit was the dogs which were adding an extra spring to Anton's step every now and then. After a while the dogs and people thinned out and we walked with nobody else in sight, apart from a party of four men and boys with shotguns and rosy cheeks.

Home and a defrosting shower. Earlier in the day I had turned the dial on the fat flap to prevent her going out (on instructions from the vet who wanted me to check her poos). Just before I left there was a wild scrabbling, and then a slam. Calliope had jumped repeatedly on the dial, till it had slid back to the open position. She is smarter than several people I know.

In the evening back up towards the forest, when Lorraine drove me and her pal Tracey from Wales to join some of her ex-colleagues in a village hall crammed with tables full of quiz night people. It was all highly-organised - with a vegetarian balti served half way. It was fun, and an interesting way to meet people, and to fill your mind with useless junk. Did you know, for example, that the dot on the letter i is called a tittle? No? Neither did I.

Below Anton and the Christmas card paths, menacing hounds not pictured.










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