Day Four, Rutland Water

Aramis and I began the day with a walk with my friend and her two lovely dogs, Indy and Rio. One of the reasons why Aramis enjoys their company is that they are very respectful of his personal space and don’t really care about him.

Lovely as the staff at the Cambridge hotel had been, getting in and out of the building became more and more of a challenge. By now, everybody was aware that I had brought a dog and whenever I showed my face in the lobby, virtually every single member of staff around dropped whatever they were doing and came running, squeaking with delight, to shower Aramis with their love.

Now here’s a secret: even though Aramis enjoys meeting people, he does not like being touched in these moments. He finds it very intrusive (as many dogs do) and this is also the reason why he will become increasingly agitated and will start jumping up when his patience runs out and you do not give him the space he needs. Using a calm voice and gentle petting are ok when saying hello, but making loud, high-pitched sounds when greeting him and invading his personal space with your hands are not.

Humans like using their hands a lot, but dogs are often uncomfortable to receive this sort of attention. Many people mistake Aramis’s wriggling and jumping for an expression of joy, but in truth it is everything but. He moves because the situation overwhelms him and these behaviours are his way to cope. Greeting people calmly is a difficult exercise for him, so do not be surprised when he receives a treat or two for not jumping up.

I checked out at the hotel and got ready for the drive to Rutland, England’s smallest county. According to my satnav it would take me a bit more than an hour to drive to Rutland Water where I was going to spend the night. Due to a significant number of roadworks, an accident and several traffic jams, it almost took me two.

My mood did not significantly improve when I inspected the hotel room. It was tiny, cold and dark. Not dark enough, however, for me not to spot the several dozens of dead mosquitoes on the windowsill (photographic evidence does exist, but will not be shared here). There was also an inviting arrangement of mugs, teabags, spoons, sugar and milk – but no kettle. The very worst, however, was the non-existent wifi signal (the Blog!). Though that is not entirely true: there was a signal, but only if you stood on the bed and held the laptop up like Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.

I did not see myself spending the evening in this posture. But as I was not yet clear on how to improve my situation, nor on how to avoid the wrath of my handful of followers (you are my heroes!) who would in vain await tonight’s blog post on how I still hadn’t crashed my car, I decided to take my canine for a walk.

This did not make things better.

There was everything to turn this outing into The Most Wonderful Walk Yet: a lot of inviting, fresh water, a lovely stretch of open grassland nearby and free access to the shore. Alas, a Thou Shalt Not sign spoiled the fun before it had even started.

With Aramis on the retractable lead, we walked over to Normanton Church.

What I was doing here, is very much forbidden. Rutland Water is a location strictly adhering to the Dogs-Must-Be Kept-On-The-Leash-At-All-Times-Even-When-Taking-Pictures rule. I was going to learn this right after taking the shot below.

Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, a very warm welcome to ‘The Picture of Normanton Church’, a one act play with Aramis and Me in the main, Normanton Church and a Law-Abiding Citizen in supporting roles.

Enter Aramis and Me. Both are determined to explore the surroundings, but look as if they had been on a long journey. Their dress is appropriate to an unexpected heatwave.

Me positions the dog in front of the boat and church, ostensibly leaving the dog attached to the retractable lead, but hiding it behind the animal as its neon signal colour would spoil the picture.

Me takes a few steps back, positions herself and starts shooting pictures. The Law-Abiding Citizen approaches.

Law-Abiding Citizen: ‘I would like to make you aware that dogs must be kept on a lead at all times.’

Me: ‘I know, thank you. He actually is on the lead and I just wanted to take a picture. He won’t budge. It’s just for ten seconds.’

Law-Abiding Citizen: ‘It’s the law, I’m afraid.’

Me: ‘I am aware of the law and he is on a lead. I am just taking a picture.’

Law-Abiding Citizen approaches Aramis and wants to pet him, while the dog is being a very good boy, obediently following instructions to stay put, but starting to worry about the Law-Abiding Citizen trespassing on his personal space.

Me to Aramis: ‘Good boy, here’s a treat.’

Law-Abiding Citizen sees that the dog had indeed been wearing his lead all along and now tries to engage in friendly conversation. He adopts a significant change of tone suggesting friendly interest in dog husbandry.

Law-Abiding Citizen: ‘May I ask what it is that you are feeding your dog?’

Me, to Law-Abiding Citizen: ‘Chicken.’ Aside, to audience: ‘Is it dead enough for Rutland or does that need to be on a lead too?’

The actors part ways. A gong.

The most recent events having developed the proper spirit in me to address the issues at the hotel, I betook myself to the reception. Changing the room was not a problem though and staff were extremely helpful and understanding. This reconciled me with Rutland somewhat.

Even though he does not normally enter bathrooms on his own accord (it’s where baths happen…), this one here is so spacious that Aramis can easily ignore the shower and cool down on the tiled floor.