Escape

Rodney has a new girlfriend. She lives next door to him. While he admires her with quiet admiration, she doesn’t know when to shut up. Surprisingly, this doesn’t bother Rodney. In fact, it appears to just increase his admiration…which remains quiet.

Rodney is the puppy that lives next door and the target of his affection is Emma. There’s a gap in the fence through which she can see him. Whenever she spots him, she gets all mouthy. Rodney just keeps wagging his tail with increasing swish.

It wouldn’t be a problem if Emma just barked a few times then left it alone but she doesn’t know when to stop. This makes Day-z join in and causes a greater ruckus, particularly when I join in, telling them both to shut up.

Take this morning, for instance. I was happily working away in the office, Day-z was asleep behind me and Emma was busy finishing off the shrub she’s been destroying since her arrival. I was amending a page for the U3A and was concentrating on my coding so I wasn’t aware of Emma’s disappearance for a while. Then I heard her barking.

It sounded like she was down the side of the house. I yelled for her to shut up, which, remarkably, she did and went back to what I was doing. Then her barking started again. Day-z suddenly leapt off the chair and raced outside. I sighed and joined her.

We couldn’t find Emma anywhere until she started barking again. She was next door. I saw her run passed the gap in the fence. I sighed and went next door to retrieve her.

Before they had their small side extension built, next door’s back garden was easily accessible down the side of the house – I’ve had to go and collect Carmen in the past – but now it’s not so easy. Mind you, they were home so I just knocked on the door.

Dave answered the door, followed by the ever friendly Rodney. I told him that Rodney had an unexpected visitor in the back garden. We went through to the back to find a very muddy Emma barking like an idiot.

There then followed a rather comical attempt to retrieve her. While she was obviously keen on talking to Rodney, whenever he approached, she’d run away. The same with Dave. And Gail. Eventually, though, Dave grabbed her and handed her over. He also said he’d plug the gap. Though I’m fairly certain she’d dragged herself under the fence via a shallow and very muddy hole…which I have since plugged up.

It was a very sad and sorry Emma that I plonked in the laundry sink and started washing. The water ran black for quite some time.

Sadly, there was no garden work today due to continual, very wet, rain. It didn’t stop Nicktor coming round, though. We went to the Albion to discover they still don’t have a chef. We had a couple of pints then went home to cheese on toast.

He wasn’t staying the night (something to do with Tuesday nights) so we watched a rather self-absorbed movie (Gridlock’d) which I’m fairly certain not many people would truly enjoy. Nicktor gave it 5-6/10 while I gave it 4/10.

Sadly, I bade him good night at the front door as he drove home.