Well, it’s not a good thing but it’s a good thing for me, and it means that I get to help out that elderly couple from the village with the uneaten fruitcake. I got a call from Jenny and the old man had another fall and had to go back to hospital and so they needed someone to mind their insane dog Buddy.
Apparently Nanny Gloria is very strict about no animals because, as she said, ‘she likes everything spick and span and her floors clean enough to eat off’, (which doesn’t make sense as Buddy is the only one of us who would actually eat off a floor, and therefore make her happy). But Aunt Maisie said Icould keep Buddy here if I take full responsibility and make up a bed for him in the shed.
I have just spent the last hour tidying everything in the shed away neatly and making a space for his bed. I am now getting good at tidying and cleaning and it feels so good that I’ve no idea what my problem was with it before. It’s like how I couldn’t eat peas for years and then one day I suddenly couldn’t get enough of them. Jenny called around with three old blankets and we put these in a big cardboard box that I cut the front off.
I hope Buddy gets on OK with all of us, especially Pie.
Then Jenny and I rode over to collect Buddy. On the way I teased her about meeting Bob last night, but she genuinely didn’t know what I was talking about. She couldn’t deny that she likes him, I mean, she redoes her nail polish every day now. She is still not sure if he likes her. Well, she is, but saying she isn’t means that I say all the things she wants to hear.
We glimpsed Buddy through the window of the house and he looked so sad all on his own. I had forgotten how scruffy he is, and because he is a medium-sized dog he doesn’t look cute, just scruffyand light brown. In fact he has to be the worst looking dog I have ever seen. I bet the other dogs play with him only out of pity. But he obviously doesn’t know because he thinks he’s the business, strutting around showing us his toys. He was a bit confused when we put all his stuff into a couple of plastic bags and tied them to our handlebars. I loosely fastened his leash to the back carrier and we cycled slowly back to Aunt Maisie’s with him running behind, really loving it.
A hose-bath on the lawn was the first thing, because he was a bit stinky. I used this great apple-scented shampoo so he now smells like dessert. You’re probably not supposed to use human shampoo on a dog, but who cares.
We left Buddy in Aunt Maisie’s shed and went to the tearoom, that is, the Tea Palace (God it’s going to take me forever to remember that, and I was the one who came up with the name!). We sort of got some things done, but Jenny and I wanted to get back to Buddy, and Jackson and Bob were yawning their heads off and not paying us any attention. So we agreed to meet back tomorrow afternoon. The afternoons are best because the coach tours of the Big House are usually from ten to twelve in themorning and one of them has to be there as the guide. Jackson and Bob say it’s fine to bring Buddy tomorrow as long as he doesn’t knock things over with his tail and can make friends with Pie.
***
LATER
I got a flashlight and a cushion and went and read with Buddy in his shed. Well, I was reading Jane Eyre (which I have been missing) and he was just looking at me waiting for me to do something interesting. It was not the best place to be reading it because it has all got a bit mental with this mad servant and ghostly laughs and someone setting fire to Mr Rochester’s room. Every time Buddy moved, I jumped about a mile.
I would have been out there half the night, only my brother Aidan phoned. We talked for about thirty minutes and he sounded really excited about his summer courses and he said that I sounded really great too. I was a bit sad when I got off the phone and felt like I wanted to kick something. So Aunt Maisie made us some scones and a hot malt drink, and I felt much
Apparently Nanny Gloria is very strict about no animals because, as she said, ‘she likes everything spick and span and her floors clean enough to eat off’, (which doesn’t make sense as Buddy is the only one of us who would actually eat off a floor, and therefore make her happy). But Aunt Maisie said Icould keep Buddy here if I take full responsibility and make up a bed for him in the shed.
I have just spent the last hour tidying everything in the shed away neatly and making a space for his bed. I am now getting good at tidying and cleaning and it feels so good that I’ve no idea what my problem was with it before. It’s like how I couldn’t eat peas for years and then one day I suddenly couldn’t get enough of them. Jenny called around with three old blankets and we put these in a big cardboard box that I cut the front off.
I hope Buddy gets on OK with all of us, especially Pie.
Then Jenny and I rode over to collect Buddy. On the way I teased her about meeting Bob last night, but she genuinely didn’t know what I was talking about. She couldn’t deny that she likes him, I mean, she redoes her nail polish every day now. She is still not sure if he likes her. Well, she is, but saying she isn’t means that I say all the things she wants to hear.
We glimpsed Buddy through the window of the house and he looked so sad all on his own. I had forgotten how scruffy he is, and because he is a medium-sized dog he doesn’t look cute, just scruffyand light brown. In fact he has to be the worst looking dog I have ever seen. I bet the other dogs play with him only out of pity. But he obviously doesn’t know because he thinks he’s the business, strutting around showing us his toys. He was a bit confused when we put all his stuff into a couple of plastic bags and tied them to our handlebars. I loosely fastened his leash to the back carrier and we cycled slowly back to Aunt Maisie’s with him running behind, really loving it.
A hose-bath on the lawn was the first thing, because he was a bit stinky. I used this great apple-scented shampoo so he now smells like dessert. You’re probably not supposed to use human shampoo on a dog, but who cares.
We left Buddy in Aunt Maisie’s shed and went to the tearoom, that is, the Tea Palace (God it’s going to take me forever to remember that, and I was the one who came up with the name!). We sort of got some things done, but Jenny and I wanted to get back to Buddy, and Jackson and Bob were yawning their heads off and not paying us any attention. So we agreed to meet back tomorrow afternoon. The afternoons are best because the coach tours of the Big House are usually from ten to twelve in themorning and one of them has to be there as the guide. Jackson and Bob say it’s fine to bring Buddy tomorrow as long as he doesn’t knock things over with his tail and can make friends with Pie.
***
LATER
I got a flashlight and a cushion and went and read with Buddy in his shed. Well, I was reading Jane Eyre (which I have been missing) and he was just looking at me waiting for me to do something interesting. It was not the best place to be reading it because it has all got a bit mental with this mad servant and ghostly laughs and someone setting fire to Mr Rochester’s room. Every time Buddy moved, I jumped about a mile.
I would have been out there half the night, only my brother Aidan phoned. We talked for about thirty minutes and he sounded really excited about his summer courses and he said that I sounded really great too. I was a bit sad when I got off the phone and felt like I wanted to kick something. So Aunt Maisie made us some scones and a hot malt drink, and I felt much
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