Pipe and slippers

As quickly as the snow came, it went. First thing in the morning it was still blanketing the garden in all its frozen glory but come nine o'clock and the arrival of Madame Bay it had started to melt. Madame Bay breathlessly told us that Narbonne, the town we went to with the two boyz for the weekend , has had 30 centimetres of snow and is now completely cut off. 'You were lucky to get back M'Ongoose, You were lucky to get back' - the clear inference being that those reckless enough to leave the departement in winter should be prepared for , and deserve, life threatening mayhem .

Faced with the arrival of Madame Bay and the dreaded hoover - an instrument of torture as far as the boyz are concerned - Digby grumpily took himself off to his bed on the terrace. His irritation was clear for all to see. When the sounds of the vacuum or Madame Bays singing reached his ears he would issue a half hearted gurgle of annoyance. While Wilf explored the garden looking for intruders Digby sat propped up in comfort, basking in the warm early morning sunshine. Looking at him you felt that all he needed was a pipe and a pair (or two) of slippers and he would have been in heaven. Wilf , guarding duties completed, lay on his back , paws in the air, content to let the sun dry the snow that was matted on his fur.