‘KILL THEM, LUDO! KILL THEM! KILL THEM, LUDO! KILL THEM!’
It was a disconcerting series of shouts to be woken to in the middle of the night.
‘KILL THEM, LUDO! KILL THEM! GO ON, LUDO! QUICKLY! KILL THEM!’
I knew immediately that the voice was our 12-year-old daughter Kitty’s, but I didn’t know what or whom she was instructing our dog Ludo to kill.
Rachel stirred slightly but rolled over and went back to sleep. She used to have an almost supernatural ability to hear even the slightest murmur from the children when they were babies and she would be up and out of bed in seconds. Now they are older and much less dependent on her, Rachel has developed the opposite skill: an almost supernatural ability to tune them out completely.
I got out of bed and walked down the corridor to Kitty’s room. She was sitting on the bed with a duvet over her head, while Ludo raced around the room barking angrily at two hornets that were buzzing at the lightbulb.
Hornets are rarely seen where we live, but this summer has been very different.