THE CFZ ON CHRISTMAS EVE

It is cold, it is frosty, and although the sunshine in the middle of the day has made the snow melt to a certain extent, it re-freezes at night, and the garden, the paths, and even some of the lane outside, is covered in a glassy covering that is as slippery as, ummmmm, a very slippery thing.


Two CFZ Residents - Graham (aged 52) and Biggles (aged 18 months) - are taking advantage of this and are using the garden as an ersatz skating rink. Biggles in particular is very funny to watch. Last year he was taken aback by winter, but this year he is grokking it immensely,


When he was a small puppy I made the great mistake of buying him a present which consisted of a rope, upon which was threaded a number of hard, rubber applecores. Over the last year and a bit he has become proficient with what Richard describes as his `doggy nunchucks` and he can cause enormous amounts of damage with them as he whirls them around his head. Corinna banned them from the house when doggy was under six months old, and he keeps them in the garden.

The rope became sodden in the waters of the melting snow, and then froze solid, and so when Biggles went into the garden for his morning excercise he whirled them about like Hassan I Sabbha after a particularly savage bender. I wish I had a fraction of his energy. For that matter, I wish that I had a fraction of Graham's energy, but that is another story.

Graham is still on the track of unknown animals, by the way, because Maureen the rabbit is still on the loose.

Graham put her hutch out, with a convenient ramp leading up to it, and left some food in it. Amusingly, she obviously visited the hutch during the night because the food was gone, although Graham did see a large cock blackbird helping himself to the provender that had been so thoughtfully provided by a munificent CFZ.

So the battle of wills between Graham and Maureen the rabbit continues. Who will come out top? All bets are off. Watch this space....