Friday 5 January 2007

Today has been another day of exquisite promise for my partner. She had to telephone one of her friends about her play this morning. He wasn't there, but by a most happy coincidence she found herself speaking instead with BC! He was very jovial and friendly and he said that he will invite my partner to his birthday celebrations in a couple of weeks. Privately, I expect he might forget, but my partner is enjoying the flushes of hope long-thought extinguished. It is nice to see her eyes sparkling again, even if it might only be for a short while.

My estate has been a little quiet of late, what with the hedgehog hibernating and the seeming disappearance of the New Cat (my partner says she saw him recently, so he isn't totally gone - he's probably too weedy to be out during the winter) but I was startled this evening to find that an old friend had come a-calling. For a long while, there was an affable fat toad living in the garden. He'd made his home in a damp place where my partner's mother stores her compost and gardening tools. Being an inoffensive and respectful lad, he and I had always got on well, but I assumed that he'd moved on in recent months. Earlier this evening, I had to visit the garden to download some urgent weemails. As the jet began to flow, I heard a cough and "I say, old boy, do you mind...?" I looked down and, sure enough, there was my little batrachian friend, now liberally sprayed with pee-wee. I apologised profusley and helped to dry him off. Apparently he'd been visiting some of his lady-friends down by the river. Well, I was pleased to see him back and gave a wag of my tail as he meandered back to his usual stall. He didn't seem too put out by his unexpected ammonia-infused shower. Ah well, it's a good source of nitrogen, I suppose.

But now - the pre-Christmas fog has completely lifted, the new year travel backlog has been cleared, so once again we set off together: Around the World with Jasper - Part 4:



Good night.