My dad's wake-up call

I think this is really funny, and it's pretty close to what Sooty does to my dad every morning! Make sure your speakers are turned on and double click the little right-pointing arrow to enjoy the fun.

Goodbye to a Good Man

My mum and dad are very, very sad because John Bastable, one of their very best friends, has died. They had known John—and his wife, Sue—since they first arrived in Provence more than 15 years ago, which seems to a puppy like a very long time. I liked John, and I think that he liked me, and I know my dad is right when he says that John was, in every way, ‘a good man’.

So, I’m sad, too. And, I don’t know how to make things better. All I can do is keep a very close eye on my mum and dad—which, believe me, I’m doing—and hope that their many fond memories of John will help them overcome their sadness.

Poor Sue. I hope she knows how much we love her.

John with his wife and stepdaughters

Time flies

So, my dad tells me, it's almost a year since he first set eyes on me, in Laura's house in Barbados, and decided that I was the puppy for him (and mum, of course).

Which is why, I suppose, they decided to throw their very first party of the year - to celebrate the anniversary. Now, they pretended there was another reasons for the party: the fact that Grizzle's mum and dad, Victoria and Simon, finally got married and came to Provence for their honeymoon. But since Simon and Victoria didn't bring Grizzle with them (can you believe that?) I knew the party couldn't possibly be for them. Sigh, it was for moi, and didn't we have fun!

There was lots of food - of which I managed to secure my reasonable share - and then an impromptu concert. Wonderful!

And, best of all, I met Jay and Jecca, who live in Paris, and who really really liked me, and if ever I need another home in France I know where to go!


Oh, yes! Anyway, I thought I'd share with you some moments from my party. (Click on the loudspeaker icon if you want to hear the cool music.)

My dad thinks this is funny

So, what have I been up to since I last posted to my blog?

In a word, bonding. You see, my mum and dad said that if I wanted my life to go back to the way it was BS (Before Sooty)—when the upstairs of the house was mine—I would have to learn to be on my very best behaviour with all the kittens all of the time. Meaning, I was never to chase the kittens, even when they hissed at me, and, most specifically, ‘You are not to eat Sooty.’ As if I would!

I thought about that for a while and then I decided I’d give it a try. Perhaps Sooty could become my friend, I hoped. Perhaps we would become inseparable?

Well, be careful what you wish for, folks. We did become inseparable—because Sooty spent her entire day chewing my tail or my legs or even my nose! She never left me alone, especially when I was trying to sleep. There I was, lying on my sofa—oh, excuse me, it’s our sofa now, apparently—dreaming of chicken suppers, or long walks with my best friend, Basta, when suddenly I would feel her needle sharp teeth. And though she was very tiny (when my mum and dad took her to the vet for her first check-up she weighed just 1.1 kilos) boy, could she bite! The only way to stop her was to put her head in my mouth and keep it there—which, if my dad caught me in the act, meant I got shouted at. How unfair is that?

Anyway, I’ve persevered with ‘bonding’ and I have to tell you that something remarkable has happened: Sooty now seems to regard me as her ‘mum’, and I feel much the same way, and I’m the one who takes care of her (I like to wash her fur with my tongue) and gets her out of trouble whenever she fights with one of the other kittens. Which, let me tell you, is often. That’s because Sooty’s favourite trick is to sneak up on Savannah or Georgia or Rabbit in the garden—when they’re minding their own business, asleep in the sun—and attack them like a terrorist. She does it so often, my mum and dad have taken to calling her Sooty bin Laden, and I’m the one who has to break up the fights. My mum says I’m ‘the playground monitor’—whatever that might mean!

But, honestly, I’m loving it. I’m getting on much better with all of the kittens, and almost never chase them, and because of my ‘good behaviour’ I now have the run of the entire house and garden, and can sleep where I want at night (usually under the bed). So, thank-you Sooty for coming into my life. Now, let go of my tail!

Talking of sleep, young Jack Eddy doesn’t, apparently—at least not at night.

So, as you can imagine, his mum and dad are feeling pretty exhausted. This second picture, I’m guessing, was taken in the daytime…

Isn’t he cute?