The Day of Rest

I've spoken with the vet this evening. Ed's been up on his feet and taken some food. The other good news was that he hadn't been sick for about 8 hours. The bad news was he still had violent diarrhoea and was still passing blood. On the whole, the vet feels he's making progress.

I've kept myself really busy today- including disinfecting the landrover,kennels,runs,bowls, cages...in fact everything that didn't move. I've cut grass, strimmed, tidied, sorted and mended. Talk about nervous energy.

And tomorrow is the start of a full-on week, driving grouse. There will be 20 beaters, 2 or 3 pickers-up, 8 loaders, 6 flankers,

8 shooting guests and a lunch man. Everything has to be choreographed to perfection or the whole house of cards can come down.

The only thing I wont have to worry about is where my spaniels are, and what they're up to. For the first time in my career I'll be heading to a grouse day without a dog. I can't risk the chance that they'll still be infectious.

It's going to feel strange. But not as strange as the house feels right now. Every time I look round I see a terrier-sized hole.