After a decade of city living, your correspondent (a country mouse by birth and inclination) has just about got the hang of things. I don't now flinch every time a bus roars past me and would no sooner strike up a conversation with a stranger on the Tube than I would strip off in the middle of the carriage. But one aspect continues to niggle: lacking outdoor space of my own, I can't, in all conscience, get a dog.
* Subscribe to Country Life magazine and save
So I've joined BorrowMyDoggy.com, which matches time-poor owners with people who want to volunteer for walking duties. Would-be walkers upload a photo, then scroll through pictures of pets nearby and ‘favourite' the ones that catch their eye. Owners can then get in touch if they're interested. For a flat-bound dog-lover like me, it seemed the answer to my prayers. Should I opt for a sprightly West Highland terrier? Or a lurcher who loves having his ears ruffled?
In the end, I favourited dozens. But, so far, nobody has taken me up on my offer of walks on Clapham Common. The whole thing feels a bit like online dating. Was it something I said? Perhaps I picked the wrong photo? I daren't renew my advances- I wouldn't want anyone to feel hounded.
* Follow Country Life magazine on Twitter
-
100 years of the photobooth, the essential piece of party paraphernalia beloved by Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol and BeyoncéOn the centenary of the photobooth, Will Hosie looks back on a hundred years of self-portraits.
-
The dream home that never was for one of Britain's greatest film stars, back on the market for the first time in half a centuryAnna White takes a look at the beautiful Wallers Mead, in the Buckinghamshire village full of links to Hollywood movies from James Bond to Star Wars.
