This is the dog we named Flora, another of Judith's dogs. She was a dog built for comfort, not necessarily for speed, which is why I describe her as “Vintage”. She was one of a litter born on June 6th, Derby Day - John, Judith's husband, had a keen interest in horse racing, so it was a date of great significance in their calendar. The rather more appositely named Hawkhill Derby Daydream, foundation bitch of the aptly named “Mompesson's Kennels” in Eyam was a litter sister.

Judith had named her Peewit “because she was always going round and round”. We named her Flora after the statue known as “Fair Flora” which stood in the wood behind our house. She came to my mum when she was 18 months old - Judith was looking for a good home for her, saying she was too small for Show, and indeed, she was stocky in comparison with our more elegant Wishful Thinking, a Rolls Royce of the dog world!

In spite of both Flora and Wishful Thinking being mature when we got them, both were very easy to house-train - it's a myth that older dogs can't be trained, or at any rate, I've had more trouble with Young Poppy than I, or my mum, ever had with our “second hand” models. Having said that, all our Springers have been immensely lovable - Flora was no exception, although Mel, my husband claimed she had a “mean streak”. However, by that time she was getting on in years, and possibly becoming like a lot of us as we get older, rather fractious!