It can be cold in London… damned cold…

No, wait a minute…that’s the start of one of my favourite episodes of The Goon Show. *Thinks, I wonder if I can get it online…? (I sound like Bluebottle even to me at this point) Ah yes… now, can I listen and type? Time will tell… A certainty is that Running Elk will be clicking the link…

Where was I?

It can be cold in the village, and this morning was damnably so. I woke to heating that had given up the proverbial ghost and a dog cocooned in most of the duvet. Ani does not sleep with me as a rule, preferring to occupy the sofa, while I prefer not to have her snoring in my ear, chasing imaginary prey in her sleep or filling my bedroom with the type of noxious gas only a small dog can emit. It was, however, November 5h and Bonfire night; dogs and fireworks don’t mix very well. Although Ani shows no sign of fear she does belligerently object to the invasion of her airspace by short-lived and uncatchable UFOs that make more noise than she does.

Of course, Bonfire Night falling midweek this year, this could go on over the weekend too. I may choose to sleep downstairs with her instead. It would undoubtedly be warmer and the duvet thief would be hard pushed to pinch all the covers if I am wrapped in them. Alternatively I could stay up late and sneak up to bed alone. We will see…

There is, however, no avoiding the early morning walk. By the end of the road my fingers were alerting me to the frost, as if I hadn’t already noticed the slippery footpath. An excited dog towed me to the fields; her breath making her look for all the world like a miniature dragon breathing smoke from an inner fire. She is excited every morning, as if, for her, each time is the first time and her zest for life knows no bounds. Her presence is a constant reminder that life begins anew with every second and what we carry into it is our own choice. She chooses joy… and tennis balls; it isn’t a bad way to be, though I, for one, could dispense with the balls.

The fields were beautiful as the sun began to rise; the sky that clear blue of winter fringed with palest gold, the grass and stubble outlined in crystal. And frost is all very well in fields, but I had seen the thick layer I would shortly be scraping off the windscreen… Even so, it was a joy to hear the crunch beneath my feet, feel the solidity of the turned earth and know that paws would return to the sofa devoid of mud for the first time in a while.

The house, however, still did not feel warm as we came back, the dog, by this time, walking impeccably beside me. She runs and pulls on the way out, walks sedately on the way home. There is no disguising her emotions… her time is only ‘now’ and her only use for clocks is to remind me when it is time to feed her. She, of course, doesn’t even need them for that… only for me to check her inner senses. Walking with Ani is always a revelation, and always a reminder of how things should be in a way. She is in tune with her world, herself and her people. She gives boundless love, holds no grudges and embraces each moment as if it was the first morning of the world.

She doesn’t care if the morning dawns warm and gentle or has the bite of frost. She will watch the rain and runs with the wind. To her the world is a fascinating, wonderful place, with delight just waiting to be tasted. No, it isn’t a bad way to be at all.

As I sit here listening to the familiar lunacy of the Goons, a hot water bottle on my lap to thaw frozen fingers and my feet on a hot dog I have to wonder which of us has the better handle on evolution.

Click the link for the episode of the Goon Show in question: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZO0llmxCWY