Thoughts from France....but of home!

I’m pretty sure it would be no exaggeration, if I said, the boy Bing is a hound of extraordinary discernment. I speak as one who has, over the years, known many of our ‘best friends’ and their ability to ‘nosh’ just about anything that has come in close proximity to their ‘chops!’

Where this lad is so very different, is in his apparently delicate palate.  All of his regular pals would not hesitate in agreeing with this. 

We have all become aware of his talent for not just downing ‘grub’ willy-nilly. No, here we appear to have a bon viveur of the first and very likely second, water!

Before we attempt to elevate this chap to the ‘foody’ equivalent of beatification, I should point out that, he has been known to ‘lapse.’ Such occasions occur when, what appears to be an insignificant morsel is tackled with all the enthusiasm and gusto anyone of us would show, when delighting in our own favourite comfort food!

This said, he is not one to be led on by such comments as ‘M’mmm Bing this is really lovely’ or ‘This is so toothsome, I wouldn’t mind it myself.’   He has such a way of peering at you, as if calling your bluff!   He’ll then shrug and turn away with never a backward glance.   IF, the proffered ‘nosh’ has an interesting ‘pong,’ then the lad will gently relieve you of the tit-bit and wander off to a quiet spot for further investigations.  However, it is not unusual to find this item, parked in another place, having been abandoned as ‘not required on board.’

As I’ve said, it has been my observation over the years, that such behaviour is contrary to the normal reactions of our family ‘barkers.’ In short I recall one black Labrador, who ‘delighted’ in unzipping used tea bags and then spitting the contents out with disgust, only to tackle a second, third and so on, in the belief that one day, one of these soggy sacks would contain the ‘mother lode’ of doggy delights! Undimmed, dear old Bess tackled tea bags from puppy to grey-chops!

The discerning palate of our pal Bing, is a thing of wonder, and to his extended family such behaviour is just one of the reasons why we’ve become ‘drawn in’ to what can only be termed……

‘The World of Bing.’