Well, my Pals, this year has zoomed along, like a Border Terrier after a ball (unless they are me of course, I don't do that chasing stuff) and here we are, at Christmas already. As I write this, in spite of soaring numbers of new variant COVID cases, the Juniors are still legitimately set to come home tomorrow, although 'Him Indoors' is going to collect them in his car so they don't have to run the gauntlet of train travel. 'Him Indoors' mum is due to join us on the big day too. Bear and I shall be dressed in our festive jumpers waiting to greet all visitors at the door and let them in if they have brought us presents. 'Her Indoors' has dusted and wrapped, decorated and baked to such an extent that passing royalty would find nothing lacking in our household, so if you are near by Sir Clapton.....!
It has been quite a year. Adding to our cannine household has been a major event. Bear is my great-neice, she is a Border Terrier and she has a lovely nature, but other than that we are very different furs. She is an adventurous, undaunted, pocket rocket with exceptionally hairy ears and the teeth of a pre-historic raptor, who thinks everyone is her friend. The list of things she has chewed her way through in the last eight months is legend and she is a monkey moo of the first order. We all love her dearly and she loves us, especially, with impecable taste it has to be said, me! This is a mixed blessing as she wants to play, endlessly, she loves my beds far more than she loves her own, and I spend a lot of time squeezed into a bed intended for a much smaller fur, namely her! If I manage to hold out in my own beddie, she climbs in and shares. Whilst I occasionally grumble, she is nice and warm and she does do good ear lickings so I generally let her get away with it, as we all do acutally, accept 'Her Indoors' who has a heart of pure granite as you all know.
'Him Indoors' finds it impossible to be firm with either of us and his most severe rebuke of 'Bear, would you mind not doing that please, there's a good girl,' is not really cutting the mustard. If 'Her Indoors' has to go out and 'Him Indoors' is left nominally in charge, she normally comes back to an harrassed husband and a dining table covered with items that have been rescued from small jaws, a good proportion of which have been severely chewed. His explanation is that he is, by nature, much more suited to the 'good cop' role, so he doles out the treats, is generous when doing the cooking, and leaves 'Her Indoors' to the job of instilling some modicum of decoram into our behaviour.
Whilst Bear has appeared in my Sussex Living column, and, of course, has her own Twitter account where she has accumulated a fine number of followers for one so young, I haven't let her loose on her own yet, in literary terms. Still, it is Christmas, so I will leave Bear to sign off with our Christmas greeting. Here we go, and don't say you haven't been warned....
Thank you Uncle Teds! I just want to say a very happy, yappy Christmas to all our fur pals and their hupeeps. Chew everything, eat everything, drink everything and regret nothing! Love everyone, be happy and, whatever you do, don't be boring snoring! Love and lickings to you all.
