PUPPY ENVY

Isn't it the way of blip? I went off down to the steaming valley to photograph an old door overhung with trumpet vine. On the way back we encountered our weekend neighbour as he scooped up a tiny animal that had skittered across the road. It was his new puppy, "Mini," a pincher. I shot her picture from the passenger seat of the car, heart melting as I did so. Mini's owner was rather worried that I would put her picture on FaceBook. Not a chance.

Mini is three months old and apparently won't get much bigger. We were told these puppies normally sell for 800 euros (£671 sterling, $1,000 dollars) but he got her for 300. It doesn't seem like a lot of dog for the money, does it? You can judge its size by his wristwatch.

I blipped this man's weekend house sometime back. Livorno Man's Weekend Retreat It is now decked out with pots of geraniums and since then he and his wife have created a very steep and narrow garden, complete with a tiny lawn and hedge at the bottom.