“It was a dark and stormy night, the perfect evening for sitting by the fire and watching a good film. And, as I was recovering from the flu, that is exactly what I did. Which meant that my husband, Tim, did the honours by heading out into the rain with Ruby to attend a Christmas Charity Evening in support of Dogs for the Disabled at Barn Farm Plants, a local garden centre.

The annual event featured mulled wine, mince pies, a festive raffle, a Dogs for the Disabled merchandise stall run by volunteers and, of course, a much-anticipated visit by Father Christmas!

Ruby managed to resist the temptation of the plates of mince pies as she walked around the shop, receiving a lot of attention from the customers and only momentarily being distracted by a movement-activated teddy bear singing carols.

The highlight of the evening was the arrival of Father Christmas, and Ruby happily settled down next to him in the role of Santa’s Little Helper for a few minutes, unperturbed by his bright red outfit, long white beard and succession of loud and jolly Ho-Ho-Ho’s!”