Right then. The pavement is covered with undulating ice an inch thick. It's slippery, dangerous, and I'm fed up of risking my neck on it. So I retrieved my trusty spade from its burial place and got to work. I dug up a narrow path something like fifity to seventy yards long. Some pedestrians merely strode past me without a word, but three actually said thank you. I suspect an asian woman would have been number four but talking to strange caucasian shovel-wielders in the street isn't part of their culture, even if she knew any english.

I'd dug up the worst of the ice on the hillside pavement and that was enough, so I went back indoors and waited for the inevitable backstrain to make itself felt. Now get this. In the meantime, one of my neighbours, incensed that I 'd had the temerity to even consider clearing ice along 'their' pavement, threw a load of snow from their front yard on the cleared path and stamped it down to create fresh ice.

My faith is Swindon is restored. It really is populated by anti-social neanderthals.

A Dog's Life

Once again a young child is mauled by family pets. In this case, tragically, the child died. It's all very horrific but when you boil it all down, you have a pampered pet suddenly having to come second place to a screaming annoying infant. Eventually the dogs lose their temper, and since they have teeth and children are not too capable of fighting dogs.... The result is a media headline and a family tragedy. Fido is still at heart what he was born to be and the squabble over pack status is done. I think we forget that at our peril. If you allow a dog status and privilege , it doesn't like losing them. Unfortunately, most of us aren't too good at communicating with dogs even though they often warn us aboiut how they feel. Worse still, we forget that their fluffy pet image is only skin deep.