Isobel is due at the vet in 25 minutes. Getting her into the carrier is a stealth mission; at the critical moment, I put the habeas grabbus on her slumbering form (currently on my lap) and drop her in. The hitch is always maintaining my grip between the comfy chair and the carrier, which sits on the parlour floor over by the window, for Isobel is at one with that 19th-century naval officer who declined to surrender because he had only just begun to fight.

Here goes nuttin’ …