Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
away from his blissfully
laissez-faire
existence in Yorkshire to live with Jack and me where
he had to endure endless lessons on how to behave. All of these changes he had taken in
generally a good spirit and then completely ignored. So here he was, our tiny dog with a
heart nearly the same size as a lion's and a bloody-minded attitude to go with it.
I returned home with a bag full of tablets, special food for his bladder problems and
weight, and a resolve to be more lenient. Biff clearly couldn't care less and sought out Sam
in case there was some domestic rabbiting to be done in the garden.
In the week running up to the start of our epic trip we made our final preparations. It
was Jack's job to sort out the car which, predictably, became a tense affair when it came to
discussing the baggage allowance. He felt it was entirely acceptable to exist on two pairs of
pants, a couple of socks, one pair of jeans, a shirt and a jumper. This was completely out of
the question. I good-naturedly reminded him that many of our stops would be one-nighters
in
auberges
, not five-star hotels with express laundry services. He continued to grumble
but realised that he was never going to get his own way.
“Have it your own way then, you always do.”
This was all the confirmation I needed and the modest-sized holdall he had in his
mind's eye for the clothes grew quickly to two substantial suitcases which I filled in a jiffy.
The other unforeseen horror for Jack was the need to accommodate Biff's new regime.
It included bags of special food and a month's supply of various tablets, which were added
to Sam's food, water bottles and containers for the trip. Then there were treats, leads, col-
lars, Biff's jackets (always nice to have at least two), acres of kitchen roll and wet-wipes
for embarrassing moments, all of which stretched Jack to the limits of his patience.
With some level of trepidation I was then obliged to confess to the two indispensable
picnic bags destined to be filled with snacks to sustain us on the journey. This last necessity
proved to be a container too far.
“I know the dogs need their special stuff, darling, and we need snacks. But why so
much? We're going to France, for God's sake, not Ethiopia. I understand they have shops
there now that don't just sell garlic and snails. And guess what? They have dogs too. And
I've even heard of the odd vet working there. So is it too much to ask to top-up the various
supplies during the course of our travels?”
“Oh come on darling, you know how destination-focused you are once you start driv-
ing. It's just as well we have to stop occasionally to refuel, otherwise I'd have to wee out of
the window.
Adequate
quantities of snacks and drinks are essential between pit stops. But,
most importantly for Biff, we now have some very special stuff for his serious conditions.
There's no telling if they sell those medicines in France. And in Sam's case, you know how
fussy he is about his food. I am not prepared to risk the possibility of having to use substi-
tutes that don't properly suit them.”
