Well I don’t know if he was a prince or not but he was certainly too small to be a king… However, I didn’t fancy putting him to the test in the customary way… You see I just wasn’t expecting to meet him. I wasn’t prepared. You could say I was rather shocked even.

At the time of our surprise meeting I was packing up my art paraphernalia (on the move again – to Bill and Lita’s at Tingalpa, Brisbane); I picked up my brush bag and put my hand inside to open the bag… My hand felt something cold and clammy. I jumped. He jumped. I screamed and he croaked. The prince made a dash to the garden hose where he stopped, breathless, to gain his composure and have a little think about what was going on (obviously it wasn’t going to plan). He didn’t like the shrill edge to my voice, or the click of my phone camera, and he jumped behind the outside drinks fridge. Neither did he enjoy being prodded by a long stick, but I wanted to check him out.

I doubt very much that he was a prince (they are usually green and clammy rather than brown, clammy and warty – aren’t they?). I noticed that he eyed me up and down before hopping across the width of the verandah to the edge of the foundations where he found a hole and disappeared. I expect he had wished that a hole would appear to swallow him up, especially after realising that I was no fairy-tale princess!

And last but not least… A very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year to you!