GOOD IN PARTS..

Bishop : "I fear you have a bad egg, Mr. Jones."

Curate : "Oh, no, my Lord. I assure you parts of it are excellent."

Last evening I was reminded of this Punch cartoon and the curate`s egg which was Barney`s attempt at the Kennel Club Good Citizen Gold Award (KCGCGA.) Having already passed the Bronze and Silver awards, Barney had been practicing all the routines required for the Gold test and had been studiously revising for it. In company with a few other golden retrievers, he turned up at a secluded venue with his handler and did well in most of the tests - laying down, stopping, sitting quietly without barking, etc. - and hopes were high among an expectant crowd of onlookers.

Then it came to the `heel walking` test, for which Barney was let off the lead with the intention of staying close to his `handler` whilst walking to heel and performing a series of turns. Instead, Barney promptly ran around the orchard, saying `Hello` to everyone and wanting nothing more than to have a good play with his fellow trainees. Typical Barney - a fun dog having a good time.....but not really what the Kennel Club are looking for when their Gold test is under way. So, although his test was `good in parts,` he was correctly declared as being `not ready.` Mind you, he wasn`t the only one, but he might just have to go back to the drawing board and try again.

Not sure we mind too much - it means that we can keep going to the training classes and keep in touch with the friends we and Barney have made along the way. To find a little comfort in yet another hackneyed phrase, it`s an ill wind that blows no good.