The Good German Shepherd

Geniosity, a neologism recently coined by Frode to designate a readiness to share one's genius with others!

Today I will partake of a little of his own geniosity by borrowing the title he has devised for a combo-sequel to both The Good Shepherd and The Good German for this post about our dog in Antigua.

Firstly Jin became a father just before I left Guatemala. The eight puppies will share my birthday.

It also seems that V has at last found a suitable long-term home for him, a matter that has been of great concern to us both since she first rescued him from abandonment and near starvation last summer.

At a party last weekend she met a wealthy Anglo-Spanish woman that has a seafront home in Brighton and a big estate close to Tecpán which she runs as a stables/riding school. V invited her to come and meet Jin earlier this week and they really bonded (After a shaky start, because he jumped up and flattened her nose when she first arrived.)

It's a great relief to us to know that he is going somewhere where he will be loved and looked after and where he will have much more of an open space to roam around in. We'll miss him a lot, but will be able to visit.

As for the kittens (also plucked by V from near certain death) the grey one, 'Tiger', has learned how to climb up the bourgainvillea in the garden but not yet how to get down again, which V is finding more than a bit frustrating. From the start Tiger has been the object of some fairly shameless favouritism, but of late V has found reason to transfer more of her affection to the endearingly runtier, gatito pintado, 'Cherry'.

Frode and I had dinner at the HK Diner in Wardour Street with his fashion-photographer friend Enamul last night. "Isn't this just the best restaurant in London?" Frode enthused. "...No," replied Enamul bravely. The sea bass was very good though. Earlier we'd tried Kowloon in the characterful Gerrard Mansions building, which serves a variety of oriental pastries in a setting Frode described as almost calculated neglect. Unfortunately the main kitchen is closed for a few weeks and I didn't fancy a curry bun for dinner.