Friday 27 March 2020

Any relative novelty at being housebound is seriously beginning to wear off.  Mistress is almost climbing the walls and although I can occupy myself in the garden (thank goodness for gardens) I am feeling distinctly fed-up.  So fed-up in fact that, earlier this afternoon, when Mistress was on a live webchat with her colleagues I climbed onto her lap and tried to display my fou-fou on the screen.  I was quickly ushered away in disgrace.

Mistress and I have been out for our once-a-day permitted exercise and were able to buy some food and some treats for me.  A blessing - in South Africa their government has instructed that even walking a pet dog is a forbidden activity.  I was very struck by the households where there are obviously small children.  A great many of them had very bright and jolly pictures and drawings in the windows. Mostly rainbows and smiley faces, but some had also written "thank you NHS" or just plain "thank you".  Lovely to behold and terribly touching.  Much that is good can come out from within this global hell.

And that brings me on to yesterday evening.  As a nation, we were encouraged to stand at our windows or doors and applaud the wonderful NHS workers (who number among them Mistress's brother and sister-in-law), carers and support staff.  I was somewhat cynical, especially on learning that some bright spark had called the effort "Clap for the Carers" (surely the very last thing they would want at the moment), but when the ripple of applause from neighbours and nearby streets began, Mistress and I immediately opened our front door and heartily joined in (well, I did until I spotted my long-time nemesis, The Toad (he is a toad), who dares to live in MY garden, in the front border under the honeysuckle.  Then I had to go indoors because my barking was rude).  It was a touching and powerful thing; most of our neighbours clapping, cheering, some banging saucepan lids and pots.  All the more so for my Mistress, as she has spent considerable time in hospital just lately and the lady in the house opposite ours is a nurse who helped tend to her.  We gave her a special cheer and she waved. It was a very, very special thing in these desperate days and most moving.

Enough of my cynicism returned to me today, however, to make me consider how galling this must all be to those who set  store by psychics, horoscopes and fortune-telling.  No-one predicted this chaos, did they?!


My feelgood clip for the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHfHMvH7owo

Thursday 26 March 2020

Another day in lockdown.  I mean, it IS happening, isn't it?  It all seems so mad that at times I think I might have eaten some cat food by mistake and am dreaming.  But it does seem to be true.  Jasper would be able to explain it to me, I know.  But he isn't here.  So I just try to understand as much as I can and refuse to join in panic.  On my walk yesterday evening some dog had left a weemail post on a wall about how all pets were going to starve to death because our Masters and Mistresses were all going to die from plague.  I gave the post the respect it deserved and wee-ed over it.

Here are some top tips for staying sane in a household at present:

1.  Appreciate that your Mistress's foot is still not right after her hospital stay and is getting sore again.
   
2.  Don't wee on her things and especially not on freshly cleaned clothing.
   
3.  Don't watch stuff on YouTube that makes you cry.
   
4.  Smile at people and wag your tail.
   
5.  [Important] When your Mistress opens a bottle of pop to drink with her tablets, if it should 'explode' and shower her with fizz, do not react. Certainly do not laugh at her so hard that a little bit of nose-juice trickles down your snout and has to be wiped clean.

If you follow these simple steps you will find your life in isolation that little bit sweeter.

Here is my feelgood clip for today: https://youtu.be/nGeKSiCQkPw.  Actually, I'm not sure of the direction these clip choices are taking. Yesterday, very pro-feline; today, well... It's not my fault I went in the house.  Those towels WANTED me to pee on them; they begged me.  So did the T-shirt.  And the pants.*

*(Actually I might be lying about the pants.  But I DID pee on them, hihihihiiii).

Wednesday 25 March 2020

Here I am! Still Gisele, still alive.  Though these are very scary times for people and dogs everywhere, what with Coronavirus stalking the planet like a silent, malevolent curse.  But there is NO evidence at all to suggest that the virus can spread to pets. Just humans.

We have been here in lockdown since the weekend, going quietly insane.  At the moment we can still go for our walks and enjoy the spring sunshine.  Mistress suggested that we fire up this blogbeast once again to keep ourselves at least partially sane. Though you may judge our relative sanity for yourself before the end of this global crisis.

Though today, they announced the following: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-52033153 The Village People's YMCA is being preserved for posterity, so at least some construction work is going on somewhere...

In the meantime, take a moment, if you can, to appreciate what IS still out there.  Newly-nesting birds in an atmosphere relatively free of planes and most cars.  A ray of sunshine.  The best of spirits that many people are exhibiting in their concern for others at present.  And there remain cats out there.  They won't bark at themselves, you know.  They rely on you to bark filth at them.

But, and to show that I am not completely anti-cat, here is my feel-good clip for today... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btuxO-C2IzE