Great guard dogs.

The plan worked. After yesterdays early morning exercise and subsequent tour of the fields the two boyz were worn out and slept solidly all the way through from one until five - I was able to work in peace without constant interruptions. Their well earned rest was suddenly shattered by the unexpected arrival of a police car and three machine gun wielding caribinieri at the front door.

The police had come to the house to show me some mugshots of possible villains.Quite why Italian police go around carrying machine guns is one of lifes unknowns.Anway we all settled down around a table in the garden, me, the three officers, the two boyz and the three machine guns. What an incongruous sight it must have been. I'm glad the 'font of all knowledge' was away in London and didn't have to sit down and study each of the photos - there is something deeply unsettling about seeing pictures of people who might have done you harm. It brings all the memories back and somehow makes it all personal.

This morning the boyz were fit for action bright and early. Wilf went digging in the lavender beds and returned with his nose covered in mud. The evil smelling ball with the stuffing hanging out has been quietly disposed of and replaced by an altogether more decorous green ball and a soft animal. Neither seem to excite them in the way the malodorous ball did. The great guard dogs are now on patrol at the front gate waiting for the return of the rest of the family from the airport.