There was a new face last week at the leader conference: young and interested but politely reticent at the Zoom microphone. His name was Bertie, he’s 10 weeks old, and he’s a Cavalier King Charles spaniel.
I don’t think I am breaking any confidences in saying that Dr Tim Stanley, his protector, has his work cut out. He tweeted a photo of the creature asleep, implying a welcome break from educating Bertie.
He’s not the only one. I’m surrounded by doggies. It’s like being the kennelman of the Pytchley. That agreeable classicist Professor Armand D’Angour posted a video of his new puppy chasing its tail. But now he has taken down all such pictures, having been warned that dognappers are about. We are all Lady Gaga now, fearful that our French bulldogs will be rustled by gun-toting gangsters. What a world.
04 March 2021, The Tablet
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