Hello Dominique

I'm writing this from the lovely house of Piers (my brother) and Dominique, where I am delivering some fish. Our very small pond is full of goldfish which have, rather surprisingly, produced yet more goldfish. We were concerned that over the summer, with the sun beating down (hah!) and no fountain running, there might be more fish than the pond can support.

Catching the fish was something else again. The pond is only about 3m x 1.5m and 50cm deep, but it's amazing how effectively they can hide in among the plants and fountain stand. In the end I had to uproot a water lily to give me room to swing my net, and managed to catch six fish, transported to Griston in an enormous brewing bucket. I went the long way around to get the straightest roads, and wished I had a back window sign for the impatient drivers behind, saying "Warning: fish in transit. Gentle manoeuvres imperative to avoid slopping fish out of bucket".