Swamp

When I picked Poppy up from her house, she was bedecked in a fine tweed coat. I wonder if Reenie (Poppy's owner) did this deliberately after the mudfest on Sunday, reckoning that I wouldn't wish to muck up this lovely garment. We steered away from from the grass and tried to stay on the path around Streatham Common. Poppy shouted a bit at a St Bernard and then at a black lab. There's no malice in the bark – just a bit of Small Dog Syndrome. Poppy insisted on bringing a ball on the walk. As I chatted to Reenie before the walk, Poppy nosed through bags by the door before rushing into the front of the flat. Moments later, much to the surprise of Reenie, she appeared with an orange ball. "Where did you get that?" Poppy must have a secret ball stash somewhere.

I also had a lunchtime walk with a colleague and neighbour. We saw the pair of peregrines on the church bell tower. It was Scarlett's first sighting of the birds and she was suitably awestruck. Poor things were sheltering from the drizzle.

I've spent the day working on sales materials – one of my least favourite jobs. The Bologna Children's Book Fair is approaching and the team is preparing all the advance information and promotional pages, and making sure the correct covers are on the right documents. There's a lot of cross-checking, emailing various people, and sending documents for checking before uploading final* documents into a special folder so it can be viewed by sales. Blimey. The fair isn't until June, but the promotional materials are in full swing for the Bologna briefings that happen towards the end of this month.

*Nothing is final – it can all change right up to the day of the fair itself. And even during!


In Juno news, Fred informs me that the cat waits until I go out and then he gets pestered for food. Juno has enjoyed two dinners today. Clever cat.