Fractious Mice and Furry Dogs.

The audio system in my office is eighteen years old, and it wasn’t expensive when I bought it. The record deck is poor and the CD player packed up years ago, so when I’m in the office I still listen to tapes. That’s fine; most of the music I want to listen to is on tape, and what CDs I have can be played through the computer when it’s switched on.

Problem, though. The tape player has suddenly developed a loud squeak, so when I’m trying to listen to quiet music, it’s constantly being interrupted by what sounds like two mice having the granddaddy of all arguments. That’s irritating.

*  *  *

I met another of my neighbours and three new dogs today. The neighbour was the woman (and her daughter) who live at a house called The Shippen in Bag Lane. The dogs were little furry things that looked as though they might be obtainable from a hardware store for the purpose of washing the dishes if only they had handles protruding from an appropriate (one might even joke ‘fundamental’) part of their anatomies. I queried Mrs Shippen as to their breed. Two Lhasa Apsos and one Shitzu. (‘Shitzu’ sounded somehow appropriate.) OK, so now I know.

‘Do you have dogs?’ asked Mrs Shippen.

‘No, I make friends with other people’s. It’s cheaper and a lot less hassle.’

Mrs Shippen concurred, though with little apparent enthusiasm. Two of the dogs, however, were very enthusiastic, treating me like the long lost cousin from across the sea. Or maybe across the field, which is where I live. I would even go so far as to say they were characterful.

I decided to be friendly back, and forgive them their unwitting propensity to resemble dish washing implements. And the image of fundamental handles went clean out of my mind, especially after I discovered that Lhasas are Buddhist dogs. Well, there you are then.