Saturday was a quiet day. A few hours with Nick, a lot of talking and processing the lessons learned from the Glastonbury evening, and a lot of work. We had the new book in progress, Doomsday, to look at… updates to websites and author pages on Amazon to do… School stuff…. For a lazy day we did seem to get an awful lot done. But then, you do find that, don’t you, that the unhurried, leisurely pace often gets you further in the long run than diving at things full steam ahead.

Steve had put together the draft of a very neat little brochure, no bigger than a business card when folded, and had brought it to the talk on Thursday. There was the inevitable wrangling over minor details, of course… there always is. And there has to be really. A simple, ‘yes, that’s fine,’ would show a lack of interest and passion for what we do; a ‘whatever’, only a lack of care and a blasé approach to detail. What each of us produces on a personal level is one thing, what is done for the School another thing entirely. And that is where the concept of three comes into its own. Between us one of us will usually spot where changes need to be made. Not always, of course… we share a vision and a commitment and we can be blinded by that sometimes. But where one might forge ahead regardless and two might simply argue, three can reach consensus. Our triad mirrors the properties of the triangle at the heart of the enneagram and gives a stable foundation on which to build, yet our individual characters each hold their own and add their unique flavour to the mix.

On Saturday, however, the unique ingredient was provided by Ani as she and the inevitable tennis balls joined us on the deck. She is odd with those balls, fixing her attention on the one well-chewed ball and disregarding all the nice new ones unless absolutely necessary. Even when it disappeared into the tangled mass of honeysuckle, only that one would do for her. I have to wonder at that sometimes. Why? Is it love and loyalty, the things we know dogs do best? Or just a single minded determination to keep what she knows instead of trying something new? The questions spread from there and lead down the pathways of the self like a trail of breadcrumbs. That dog has a lot to teach.

Mind you, she has a lot to learn too. Including not trying to eat the bees… But she is a quick learner once you have her attention, as she proved to Stuart when he threw the ball inside and she refused to chase it. She’d been caught once that way… Ani is, however, very fair with the ball and alternates between ball throwers, giving each of us in turn the chance to join in… which, doubtless, she sees as a rare privilege. She has also learned that certain people can be trusted to share cheese and other interesting tidbits at mealtimes, and manages to look suitably hungry every time.

So Saturday passed quietly, with a meander to the village pub and cheese, wine and tennis balls on the deck in the garden. We stayed out till it got a little chilly before coming in to do some research. It wasn’t long before the tapping of fingers on the keyboard was harmonised by something that I am reliably informed could not have been a gentle snore. It seemed an early night was in order, and leaving the dishes till morning, I turned out the lights and went to bed.