Tail end

In yesterday's blip I mentioned that our dog Raki's brother Toothpick is with us for a couple of days, their first meeting for a year since Ash (left in the pic) brought them and their 5 brothers and sisters back to the UK from Greece where he had rescued them. The two dogs have been getting on brilliantly, racing and chasing around the garden and the beach.

We learnt for the first time the exact circumstances of their rescue. They were not street dogs as we had imagined, rather Ash had found the seven pups alone on a remote hillside in the interior of the island of Lesbos. He spotted a Toothpick by the side of the road, stopped and found the rest of the litter on their own without human or canine attendance. Next day he decided to go back and collect Toothpick and to take some food for the others but when he got there it was raining and the puppies were wet and miserable. He couldn't bear to leave them so he scooped them all up and took them back to his hotel where he hid them in the shower cubicle. The rest is history.

Ash Perrin was not just some random tourist. He was in Lesbos with his troupe of clowns, The Flying Seagull Project, that brings a little light and laughter into the traumatised lives of children in the refugee camps of Greece and elsewhere. By setting up a circus tent and putting on performances Ash and his troupe provide a safe space for the kids to laugh, relax, and be children again in lives blighted by insecurity and uncertainty. That he was able at the same time to rescue a litter of starving pups suggests a humanity and generosity of spirit that we should all try to emulate in the coming year, whether in respect of people, animals or the environment. 

On a personal level, best wishes to all - Blwyddyn Newydd Dda