Returning up the house road one hazy afternoon I was curious about the little orchard walled in on the T junction. I’d only seen it as an olive grove but this day a clementine caught my eye. In we loped, to have a mooch about, off leash, before dinner time. We were all tired and […]

They are in my care. I feed them once a day and walk them twice. I provide emotional security too, for their family is holidaying on other continents. This is why I am here. And they are too my living, breathing companions on this winter trip. Almost everything I do is in their company.  At the beginning I confused their names, and was embarrassed. I saw Chili as a King, as a Raja I suppose. Now I see that his warmth, like a mild chili pepper, reveals itself but slowly. Raja is more a prince than a king among dogs; a spiritual leader. This was my confusion.

I want to talk to the young man I was from across time. I want to remember. Let’s start at where I met Nic. We were studying film production at Westminster Uni…