This is Floppy, who lives with Judith in the south of France. This is their story: Once upon a time, a gorgeous Golden girl called Zoe came from England to France to live next to an old mill stream. She rollicked, frolicked, then seduced and married Socrates. Soon she was the surprised but tender mother of ten. Her biggest and brightest boy was born smiling, wiggling and wagging his ears and tail all the time, and so she called him Floppy.

They paddled in the river and chased cows in the field until Zoe needed to retire to the sunny south to warm her old bones. There she lies, after 14 great years, and her faithful son Floppy stops by her grave every day, on his way to chase the goats. He is now 12 and still smiling and wagging, the sunshine of my life.