Monday 30th May 2011

You can always spot an English bank holiday by the weather. It can be dry and fine and even sunny for weeks, but put a bank holiday weekend into the calendar and it will rain. It should be a national strategy in the event of drought. Instead of stopping people using water, we should have a bank holiday or two to refill the reservoirs.

The leprechaun came to do the grand switch on of the new solar lights yesterday. My Mistress likes them even if the dragon fly ones are a bit gaudy. Then as my Master said, if it keeps her happy it is probably worth it. It would keep her more happy if the girls would stop nibbling the plants and to be fair if I stopped peeing on them. I do find having a target is irresistible. It’s a boy thing, but my Mistress just doesn’t understand things like that.

Our visitors have gone, which is a shame as we are now back to just the usual number of people in the house, which is fewer than needed for full time stroking of three dogs. I wondered whether James’s friends could set up a rota to take turns to stroke us, seeing as they are on holiday from school. My Mistress said that was unreasonable unless I could afford to pay them, which I can’t. I suppose the best we can hope for is curling up on the bed or the settee with my Mistress while she reads the books she has bought to research her novel. If it weren’t so damp we could have spent the time playing outside, but I’m not inclined to do that until the weather is warm and sunny. I am very much your fair weather dog with no desire to get my paws even the least bit wet.

Alfie Dog with a little help from Rosemary J Kind alfie@alfiedog.me.uk