Bob the Greyhound

I met Betty Maura-Cooper walking her dog Cookie, and her first question was "Have you heard about Bob?"
I had, because I met his owner the night before, walking back home from Spar without him. The poor dog has been unable to stand due to something pressing on a bundle of nerves near his spine, and he's had to have an operation. Keith seemed to think it had been a success, as he'd gone up to Spar to get a celebratory bottle of wine. So we hope to see Bob up and about soon. (He's one of Islay's many boyfriends).

Meanwhile, good luck to Wim Huijser, who is writing a book about Hay in Dutch. Hay has always been popular with Dutch visitors, and one of the booksellers used to be Dutch (he's gone now). I forget his name, but he was known to be knowledgeable about first editions (though he wouldn't pay a lot for them if he could help it), and he had a tendency to let off fireworks at random times of the year, to the terror of several nervous Hay dogs. He was also keen on naturism.