Catch the pigeon

We've just had another comedy moment with a pigeon. Picture the scene: my office door was open to let in some air and sunshine; I was deeply engrossed in a little gentle editing; all was well.

Without warning, my son Joe came blundering in through the door that connects my room to our living room. Like me, he is not known for his delicate touch, which makes him a great drummer but not exactly stealthy.

www.magnusuk.com

At some point a pigeon had wandered in to my office. It must have walked in because I wasn't concentrating so hard on my screen that I wouldn't have noticed something coming in to land on the slippery runway of my tiled floor. Having walked in, you'd think it would have known that all it had to do to leave was to turn and walk out again.

Joe's noisy arrival startled the pigeon. It took off, did a couple of aerial laps and then crashed into the open door several times before deciding that the best place to take refuge was on the shelf where a growing collection of spent light bulbs, ink cartridges and batteries is awaiting my next trip to the tip. You won't be surprised as the pigeon was to discover that these items are not stable. You know that bit in Scooby-Doo where his feet go round and round in mid-air before he begins to run? Yes, you've got it. That's what happened to the pigeon.

I should mention that Joe, brave soul that he is, had gone straight back into the living room and was watching all this through the glass in the connecting door. Meanwhile I'd picked up an old towel from the 'waiting to go to the charity shop' pile (you can tell how well appointed my office is) and was making soothing cooing noises to try to calm the stupid bird. Eventually I managed to pick it up and release it back into the garden and order was restored.