Secrets and Stories

Evie has her own house rules, sleeping in our bedroom and specifying which external door she prefers to use to pop outside. At this time of year in particular, she reviews the weather before making any final decision about even heading out. With liquid expressive brown eyes and an excellent turn of speed, she has long established her place in our household.

Evie is the last of my own family of spaniels and so small that I have never bred from her. I love the life and positivity of a spaniel  and I have therefore been looking for my next spaniel family but keeping it secret from Geordie simply because I was not sure how to broach the subject, so thought perhaps it better not to mention at all. 

Suddenly a wonderful girlfriend, Marie Louise, messaged me … she knew of the sweetest puppies, both brother and sister were adorable and she wondered if  I wanted them. Naturally, as soon as possible, I was on my way to visit them.

 I told Geordie I needed to pop out and find some mirrors for some of the castle loos…The puppies were about an hour away and I have no idea why I thought this was a good cover story but soon there I was, heading south. Another girlfriend could not wait to text me to see how the mirrors were…

Three weeks later I was worried as I still could not decide how to break the news so instead the puppies arrived and Geordie met them in the middle of the cooing Highclere office team. He was amazing about it, and we passed through the sticky moment.

 Each generation of puppies makes a difference to our lives. They teach us to love and be loved unconditionally, and we can just be ourselves with no fashionable front or style. Labradors are always focused on us and, with their genuine frankness in their eyes and body language, they teach us to listen and be kind. Spaniels remind us to appreciate every day and to not waste a moment with their inexhaustible supplies of energy.

In a world in which we look at back lit screens all day long, dogs bring us back to the moment. They are good for our health and make us exercise although paradoxically they are often the stars of Instagram as well as being key screen savers. The two puppies instinctively curl up together, explore and run together, play tag and argue over toys.  Every day that passes they seem to swell in size, tummies full and, of course, there is plenty of cleaning up. 

 Dogs and puppies are a reason to get up, to have a purpose and to go for walk in the morning. They rely on us for food, exercise and love and are devoted companions even if we do not always deserve them. In return, we need to be responsible for them. It is a shared journey, but sharing is caring.

The friendship of my dogs is at the centre of my life (apart from my son and husband of course!) and are very much part of the sense of home here at Highclere, but I am not alone in this. For centuries they have played this same role as companion and, in the past, co-hunter, featuring in prehistoric scenes, Egyptian tombs, Greek vases and Roman sculptures. I have given them an entire chapter in my book, because even if they do not speak English as we do, they do speak and we are the better for speaking their language.

They make our journey through our lives so much richer to the point where I sometimes think they have a clearer idea of where they are going than we do in our more muddled lives. Every Monday is better when it begins with a gaggle of happy dogs explaining how they slept and now it is time for outies!