​We were granted the gift of a whole extra hour of weekend, thanks to the clocks changing, and I enjoyed Jim Connolly’s excellent blog on this subject yesterday.

Time is a precious commodity and, like water, we tend not to appreciate how precious until there is a shortage of it. Hugo is our oldest dog – at 14 we are now counting his remaining days like pearls slipping gently off a string. I’m not sure what happened to the tiny, fluffy soft-toy puppy we brought home in 1996, or where the glossy, energetic young dog has gone, who used to love the beaches in Guernsey. I remember walking along Vazon Bay one day and John saying he wished we could save a day of “young Hugo” to spend when he was old.

Hugo can no longer walk very far, but still enjoys a potter around the lawn and has a prodigious appetite for fallen apples, which he crunches up with tremendous satisfaction. He can no longer jump onto the sofa, but with a bit of assistance he can make it onto the furry beanbag which adapts itself very comfortably to his arthritic little body. Ensconced in front of the fire, he dreams dreams which make his feet twitch as if he’s running once more along Vazon beach – I think maybe he spends more time as “young Hugo” than we know.

Hugo’s Teachings:

• Live in the moment – today is a gift (they say that’s why it’s called ‘the present’).
• When you can no longer do what you used to do, find something better.
• Even when you are old, the younger you is still in there – somewhere.
• When life gives you an extra hour, spend it with someone you love.
• The most important things in life are love, compassion and patience… always.

Lily, as her name suggests, is a white dog. Well, usually she is white, but occasionally some other colours creep in to add a little variety…
Last weekend John gave the lawn what was hopefully one of the last cuts of the season, but the grass was terribly wet and the mower left clumps of wet cut grass all over the lawn. The dogs were all very excited about the fact that we were in the garden and decided to have a very mad game of chase. When Lily came in, her feet were a bright, fluorescent green…

Another of Lily’s passions is coal – for some reason she adores it and can’t resist eating small pieces from the coal bucket (quite a feat if it’s a bit empty – she’s a small dog – we’ve just never had the heart to stop her!). Always a bit of a giveaway, however, when she wanders innocently into the office – with black whiskers and black tips to her ears…
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Lily’s teachings:

• Let go once in a while – forget about your appearance and have fun!
• Do whatever it takes to achieve your goals (or coals, in Lily’s case), even if you might have to put up with others thinking you look stupid.
• Sometimes things might have an alternative use which nobody else has considered.
• Weirdness is what individuality is all about. You are always free to be weird whenever you want to be.