Every Blog Needs a Dog

Every Blog Needs a Dog was the prescient title of a post in August 2015.

It was written on the train heading north up the Norwegian coastline across the Arctic circle to Brodø. I am writing this heading north up the English east coast to Alnmouth in Northumberland with Bertie. He has become a seasoned user of public transport: buses, tubes and mainline trains. No matter how crowded a bus or tube is he can always find room to stretch out – he has no concept of sharing scarce space. He expects to be indulged. This morning the tube was not crowded and three passengers took photographs of him. At the station he behaved nonchalantly as strangers patted him and told him how lovely he is. Now he is relaxing in first class waiting for me to fill his bowl with two bottles of complimentary Harrogate spring water. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if LNER want him as a poster boy to advertise how stress-free first class train journeys are.

I, on the other hand, have been trying to stop him pulling me over while juggling with his luggage and my own on staircases and getting on and off trains and lifts. His bag contains three raw food dinners, his bowl, extendable lead and a blanket which must double up as a bed and a towel while we are up north.