Yes, hound-lovers, after a splendid festive sojourn in front of a shamefully warm hearth, it’s Newshound reporting for New Year duty. At your service…woof woof!

And none too soon, it seems. Just as I was planting a paw outside the door for a welcome (but admittedly a tad nippy) saunter around the garden, than a rasping message on the answerphone suggested I should put the old sniffer to more productive use. “OK,” I intercept, “what you got, boss?”

As per usual, he was calling from some out of the way place with a signal weaker than a cup of HTA tea, so what I actually got was a bit of “z`@!!±¡#¢§§•≠zz” with a touch of “∞5æ…``~~**~~~” and a couple of phizz-pharts. The only intelligible part of the conversation was the final “Keep me posted” (It’s gonna be Second Class, boss, Second Class…).

Nothing for it, then, but to reach for my old faithful ‘go to’ tools for any crisis….my divining rods. Yes, it’s true! Their twitches and turns have bailed me out of any number of tight corners (and on one occasion into a storm water drain when I was trailing a chap called Waters).

To cut a long story short, they lead me to the rail station, where they quiver over ‘Nottingham’ on the timetable and after a couple of changes I end up at Langley Mill half-way to Alfreton in Derbyshire!  (Ooookaaay, an unaccompanied hound on a train, without a wallet? That’s another tale…).

Now what? The sticks insist on a 2km trot up the hill towards Heanor where, lo and behold, sits Shipley Garden Centre.

Having convinced their coffee shop people of my honourable intentions, it all comes tumbling out. “It’s top secret for now, but by the week-end everybody will know about it. We’ve been sold!”

Oh,” I say in my best matter-of-fact-bordering-on-boredom tone, “that’s nice (big yawn). Who’s the lucky buyer?”.

“Someone mentioned Hillview,” whispers my unsuspecting informant.

“Ah,” I reply. “The cuddly chaps from Studley.”

“Really?”

“Sure. You’re not leading me up the garden path, are you?”

So there we have it. If I’m wrong, blame the waitress!

PS: the other  ‘hot trail’ of the week fizzled out before it had hardly started. Town & Country’s Barry Page said we could safely ignore the rumours that the company was about to sell up because it was stocked up ready for a great season ahead. So sorry boss…we can’t run that juicy headline ‘Glove supplier changes hands’ just yet…

Woof woof my friends! Keep those leads coming.