Newsletter – January 2026

Dear Irish Terrier Friends

Lymington is known for its barmy climate, we huddle behind the Isle of Wight and the legend is that we don’t get the strong winds – but even the shelter of the island hasn’t kept the gales away and Marybel goes to the door, puts her nose out and walks backwards away very quickly to sit on her nice warm bed.

She has one of those shaped pillow and she discovered this is the most comfortable place she’s ever found. She can lean up against one side and have her legs on the other and her head in the perfect little dip in the middle. Irish Terriers are always able to find the most comfortable place in the house, not even the best sofa is sacred – she gets up in the night to stretch out happily and waits for the morning.

To my great delight, Freddie Patches has been singing and swaying, head in air, since before Christmas. It’s really remarkable as no canary is supposed to sing through the winter months. I think it must be because he has a lot of company, I’m there most of the time and I have a great many visitors. If I’m playing the piano, he starts tuning up and he’s very comical, trying to keep steady on his perch. Celandine (Diney) seems to have produced a coat of feathers in shades of yellow and gold this year and she’s prettier than she’s ever been. She’s still enjoying pushing Freddie off his perch but they’re great friends and sit in the same corner of the cage for the night.

Marybel knows everybody’s name, every part of the house and garden, I think her vocabulary is enormous . . . Front Door, Garden Door, Gate, Back Garden, on and on, she knows it all.

Talking to a friend the other day, I said ”I’ve been given a lovely Stollen Cake”and Marybel was immediately on her feet running to the kitchen table where it was. I sometimes think she’s not quite as sharp using her doggy senses like her sense of smell – she often can’t find her ball when I can see it clearly from the window. But if I shout really loudly “It’s on the garden table” she finds it at once. She knows some of the plants too – if I say “It’s near the plum tree” she finds it.

Marybel has 2 best friends who take her out for wonderful walks when it’s not too wet. She still has her beloved friend Marie, the dog walker, who walks her every morning but she’s always ready to run to the gate for walks in the afternoon as well. Everyone is so kind to her and the minute the rain stops, she’s there waiting at the gate.

A friend in the Close has her name down for a puppy in the Spring, I shall be ecstatic as there’s nothing more enchanting than an Irish Terrier puppy.

As we all know, this little sleepy baby turns into a scrambling disobedient demon for a while and one has to go through this very serious part of their development.

I wrote a piece called Love Song, which describes the joy of watching a new puppy grow – listen to it here, it’s read by Joanna Lumley.

I think I love them the most when they’re being a bit wild, exploring life, pushing one to the limit, I love the scrambling – their naughty phase, Libby was the naughtiest puppy of all and I was actually ask to take her out of Regent’s Park as she’d chase every football, puncture it immediately and move on to the next one! We ended up in the Paddington Recreation Ground with equally naughty puppies! She turned a marvellous dog whose intuition and love particularly of the family, was exceptional.

I heard a lovely story about the dogs in the First World War who would go out on No Man’s Land at night looking for the wounded. It seems that the Germans, and I think our soldiers too, would pick up the odd dog and it was well known that the Airedales would put up with someone speaking German but not the Irish Terriers. The saying was that they wouldn’t cooperate if they were spoken to in German!

I’m very proud to say that I manhandled the Christmas tree all alone and apart from spilling water on the conservatory floor – it was a great manoeuvre to get it out! She’s still standing in the rain enjoying so much water around. Last year’s tree is still in the garden and has turned bright red – it’s a pretty picture up against the fence. We had the odd mysterious rose appearing all through the winter, even on Christmas Day there was a rose in the garden – now that’s magic! And the scent was lovely.

I’m longing for the rain and wet to die down, I always think February is a desperate month, we must hold our patience for the Spring.

I do need to confess that Ann Bradley told me stop saying that Marybel is not ‘Irish Terrier Aristocracy’ – She says “Her sire was a dog called Simon who was one of my best stud dogs!”

New Year Greetings and all the best for 2026.
Much love to you all and the dogs