I arrived at our friends, at midday, to collect my laptop. Richard is an ace computer engineer and has been working to eliminate gremlins and bugs from my machine. We walked through the garden to Richards office and on the way Sammy pointed out the pheasant that had been chased and caught and killed by one of their dogs, Badger, this morning. Naughty Badger.

In the garden is a collection of rescue hens. They arrived with missing feathers, traumatised from their previous lives. Now they are healthy and happy and fluffy.

Sammy has decorated the house, inside and out, with the prettiest tree and Christmas collectibles that I have ever seen.