FRANCIS GAY

Caroline brought her new puppy home recently. Despite only being six-months-old, he’s already quite a decent sized dog.

Her next-door neighbours have two Jack Russells who are never happier than when they are barking.

The fence between the gardens was big enough that the dogs couldn’t see each other – but they still knew. The smaller dogs did some epic jumping and barking. The

Mandy and her eight-year-old daughter, Amelia, are a lovely family unit.

Home-schooling and working from home brought pressures, which Mandy hoped would ease when Amelia returned to school.

But both are stubborn and both are weary from all the restrictions. Arguments spoiled a few days in a row.

This morning Amelia seemed to ignore her mum on her way to the bathroom.

“She may have,” Mandy told me.“But when it my turn in the bathroom, I saw she had left a little dollop of toothpaste on the bristles of my toothbrush. And from then on, we were golden again!”

We get weary of lots of things. Even arguments. Sometimes we don’t know how to change the situation. We worry it might take a huge effort or a serious talk.

But all it took to make Mandy’s day and melt her heart was a little dollop. new pup barked back. It was all getting very aggressive.

Her neighbour suggested opening the gate in the fence. The snarling was instantly replaced by curious sniffs, which led to an afternoon of happy playing.

“Doesn’t it make you wonder?” Caroline asked, telling me about it later. “What’s that?” I said.

“What humans would be like if all the barriers that gave us the confidence to bark at each other were taken away.”

I’ve known Michael for a few years. He’s a solitary soul with no family. When we bump into each other, I try to strike up a conversation. I’ve never really known whether he likes that or not. But, it’s important to me that he knows that someone is interested in him.

I’m not the only one! When we met recently, I could tell something was exciting him. His landlord, one of the few who legally know Michael’s date of birth, had arrived at his door two nights before. The landlord’s wife was there with a cake, and they wished him happy birthday. Michael had apparently accepted the cake, said thanks, and closed the door!

“Were you embarrassed?” I asked. “Annoyed?”

“No,” he whispered. “It was wonderful!”

Sometimes, for some people, a lot can be too much. But a little can be appreciated beyond all expectations.

James is famously, even stubbornly, independent.

“They say no man is an island,” he told me. “But I certainly felt like one this morning!”

He’d been putting away a pile of crockery when his hand slipped. Plates, cup, and glasses, fell to the tiled floor, smashing, sliding and bouncing off the kitchen kickboards.

“There were shards and splinters everywhere and I had nothing on my feet!”

His son Josh heard the noise and came running. His wife Jackie heard it from the garden.

Seconds later Josh son had the vacuum cleaner for the smaller splinters and Jackie had a cardboard box for the bigger bits.

They went to work and the floor was soon safe to walk on again.

“I’m normally proud of my independence, James said. “But, this morning, I was much happier to be an ‘island’ surrounded by a loving team!”

How we missed our gardens, In those dreary winter days, They brought us so much pleasure, Cheered us in different ways. Keep on looking forward, The weeks are passing by, Soon the flowers of springtime, Will brighten up the sky.