‘A walk on the wild side’.

No, I’m not spending Christmas on some palm fringed beach as you might think from the photograph on the left. In fact it was taken on my Sunday morning walk, and this ’blow up’ Santa was the nearest thing I saw to a human being on my way to the sea shore.

It wasn’t only Santa’s reindeer that had red noses, as the weather was bloody freezing.

When I reached the beach there was not a windsurfer or yachtsman in sight. Even the usual dog walkers were nowhere to be seen.

I had the place completely to myself …

I enjoyed a few minutes of solitude and sea air before setting off at a brisk pace towards my Sunday lunch.

I was soon joined by a feline friend who had decided, like me, that he was tired of being alone out in the cold.

My furry companion followed along behind me until I was almost home.

I wonder if I should invite him to lunch ? I thought.

Perhaps he would enjoy some roast beef and Yorkshire pud.

I turned, but he was gone.

Could it be, I wondered, that he preferred …

… hunting inflated reindeer ?