Houdini

Another lovely day, though we did have a few tentative spots of rain just after lunch. They panicked, however, and decided to go elsewhere. This part of Sussex is not friendly to rain.

The Gorse Fox had football this morning, so pottered across to Worthing and met up with the lads. The teams were dreadfully unbalanced and the Gorse Fox found himself pinned back and defending for all he was worth. Things weren't helped by a couple injuries to a couple of our players. We did our best and played some decent football, but still lost 6-1.

The primary event this afternoon was Jasper's appointment at the vet. We had kept this very quiet, and only put it in the handwritten diary, in case he saw it in the Gorse Fox's Google Calendar. This worked well. He had no inkling.

At about 15:20, Jasper wandered into the kitchen. The door was closed behind him. He got a bit twitchy. Doors are never closed in the house. What was going on? The Silver Vixen snuck in. Jasper's senses were on high alert. He started to howl. Then, in an instant he charged into the Orangery. We chuckled. The doors were closed. Then there was a clunk. We looked at each other. "He hasn't? Has he?" Sure enough, Jasper had fled through the cat tunnel into the garden. This is the cat tunnel we have been trying to get him to use for six years, and he has steadfastly refused. Not today, there was no way he wanted to get into his carry-case and go to the vet. This was a case of flight. With a crash the flap was smashed open and then dropped closed. The Gorse Fox was after him in the blink of an eye (though didn't use the cat flap). Jasper was swept up into his arms and returned to the Orangery - and the catflap was blocked. So much for his days as an Houdini impersonator.

Eventually, we got to the vet for Jasper's annual checkup. He is, we are pleased to report, fit and healthy and is maintaining an ideal weight.