The life of a goldfish is not an interesting one, even if you happen to be Olivia’s goldfish and more perky than most. But Sushi Sam, as he is called, has now discovered a whole new world.
Deciding what to do with the animals was one of the most difficult things about the Abu Dhabi move. The day I tried to put Wolfie into kennels he (predictably and cleverly) vanished. When Rupert went back recently he was nowhere to be seen. If I know him, he’s wandered off to Mme Fontenon’s up the road where he is always welcome. Max is still at the house and fiercely possesive of his domain as our tenants saw when a stray dog arrived and Max chased him off the terrace. Whoever ends up renting Sainte Cecile will have to look after him, that’s just part of the deal.
Sushi came to the Savoie. Our friends had told us about a cattle trough close to them where another goldfish lives. It is a constant temperature, full of good things to eat and has a nice view over the hills. We deposited Sushi Sam there rather anxiously. The other fish is at least three times as large as him. I was worried the change of water would kill him instantly and he would float slowly to the surface and the children would cry for days.
Sushi swam around for a bit then hid. We left him to it. Later that day we went back to check on him. He and his new best friend, now named Sausage John by the children, were racing up and down the trough. As soon as Sushi spotted us he hid, probably worried we were going to put him back in his goldfish bowl.
He has been there for almost three weeks now and we get daily reports from Norrie and Mary; he seems perkier than ever and we may even find that Sushi Sam is actually Sushi Samantha and she and Sausage John start a family.
We are in Surrey, staying with our friend Jonathan. Today we take Leo to London (the girls are both in Italy) and tomorrow night is the launch party for Rupert’s new book; Take me to the Source – In search of water. We didn’t need to look far for water last night, I haven’t seen so much since I went swimming on Tuesday, but this morning the sun is almost shining, as I’m sure it is on Sushi Sam too.
Copyright: Helena Frith Powell 2008
Deja vu all over again, Helena. My son (now in university) had Flow-be, a goldfish won at a carnival, for almost 10 years.
Such a personality, that little guy…
When we were in the throes of moving to London, we agonized over what to do with him, but Flow-be, always considerate, passed on to that fishbowl-in-the sky before we had to leave him.
When we arrived here, Ian had to write a paper for his french class on a pet. His teacher gave him a so-so grade, telling us: “He picked a really silly pet to write about…fish have no personality…”
She obviously never met Flow-be or Sushi Sam!