Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
“No, actually he's not a…”
Jack tapped me on the shoulder and stared pointedly in the direction of the house. Ir-
ritatingly I was forced to bite my tongue on the question of Australian shepherds versus
collies. The conclusion of the doggy welcome was that Sam and Biff were allowed total
freedom of the
domaine
, which we all agreed would be completely safe, locked as we were
behind five different sets of gates.
As we approached the house I reminded myself of the descriptive blurb regarding the
interior, which had seemed very promising. It was simple, small and conveniently appoin-
ted. There were three ensuite bedrooms, assorted utility areas, a kitchen-cum-diner-cum-
salon arrangement which sounded intriguing and a 'spacious sun deck with pool'. The sun
deck affair sounded particularly dreamy and would be the ideal spot for our post-hunting
drinks parties (for two) and barbecues on a hot summer's eve.
Bearing in mind that we were viewing hunting properties we expected to see the odd
'trophy' on a wall in place of pictures. But what we were about to witness easily surpassed
even the taxidermy extremes of our first
domaine
. It was a scene that we have never wit-
nessed since, save possibly in the Natural History Museum.
The entrance to the house was an innocent lobby, just big enough to hang one's coat
(antlers provided for the purpose, one prong already occupied by a
sola topee
) but nothing
more gruesome than that. However, as I peered into the room beyond, I could see that it
closely resembled an exhibition hall for endangered species. This was the main section of
the 'cum-everything' area.
Signore
bustled ahead of us.
“Nowa, you muzz come anda meeta
mya
lion,” he cried with a beaming face, “she eez
the pride of my
collezione
.”
With a high pitched giggle he led us into the salon section. It contained a substantial
assortment of African wild animals, the most obvious of which was a full-sized stuffed li-
oness. It was standing on a raised plinth decorated by what appeared to be a segment of the
African savannah.
The whole feline assembly was sensitively positioned for best effect in between a four-
seater settee and two large arm chairs. Unsurprisingly, it completely dwarfed the furniture
and effectively destroyed any attempt for seat-users to converse with one another. That is
unless they were prepared to chat at a level somewhere beneath the animal's belly.
The triumphant look at our amazed expressions told me that this minor social incon-
venience was plainly of no consequence to
signore
. He then stood next to the animal,
stroked it, performed a graceful bow and ambled off.
“Good God! Poor animal,” exclaimed Jack. “It's certainly one up on shooting rabbits.
Why on earth would you want to shoot one of those? Mind you, there might be some po-
tential benefits.”
“And those are what, darling?”
