Roots

 Ellie woke and charged into our room at 6:15. After a cuddle wit grandpa she was happy to grab the iPad and return to her room until 7:00. That is manageable! We got her ready, as usual, and spent 15 minutes on her "Numbots" maths game before Urban-Cub arrived to take her to school.

Mid-morning the Silver Vixen had an appointment at the dentist. This was the first part of a multi-visit treatment. Not quite knowing what was likely to happen, the Gorse Fox drove her in to Chichester with a view to being nearby if she needed assistance and being available to drive her home. As it happened she was relatively ok. A root had been removed in preparation for a bridge later in the summer. Her mouth was numb but she had to avoid drinks for as long as possible.

While she was in the dentist chair, the Gorse Fox wandered along to the Cathedral grounds. He always feels immensely tranquil when there.

We strolled through the cloisters into another garden where several photographers were set up with their huge telephoto lenses. The Gorse Fox then remembered that we have peregrines nesting by the spire and both the cock and the hen were out keeping watch from opposite pediments by the spire. The Gorse Fox only had his iPhone so did not have the 40x zoom available to him that his Canon camera affords.

As he dropped through a doorway and into an alley, the phone rang. It was the Silver Vixen. She was done. The Gorse Fox hot-footed back to meet her and take her home for a quiet afternoon.

For the Gorse Fox it wasn't that quiet. We had Jasper's annual checkup and jabs. The Gorse Fox wasn't really up to the excitement of the vet, so the Gorse Fox took him - mewling the the whole way there and back - to the outskirts of Chichester. The vet, a sour-faced, humourless woman, gave him a clean bill of health and his annual jab. All is set for his forthcoming spa break with the Cat Whisperer.