Facebook friend requests from people you actually like are rather awkward: Zella Compton

I quite like these people in the real world, and it occurred to me that getting to know them online is quite a different thing altogether as ugly political differences and less than appealing personality traits are laid bare.

I weighed up the pros and cons of letting other people judge me too.

Finally it struck me that this might be the turning point, and if it’s like that for me, how many others are going through the same thing?

Can you imagine if we rejected social media as is and rededicated our social lives to the real world?

Now there’s a step forward for humanity.

Don't throw a ball and expect my dog not to chase it

I’ve never really used the expression ‘it’s all going to the dogs’ as it’s supposed to be a bad thing, and when I give something to my dog he’s invariably quite chipper about it, especially if it involves tasty morsels to nibble on – nay, wolf down.

But one place where it feels completely appropriate to use the expression is with those big extended arm / ball flinger things.

They look brilliant for lobbing balls long distances and keeping even the most energetic of pooches highly entertained, whatever the length of the owner’s arms, and thus the effect of their lob.

But please if you own one of those, will you look before you let go?

I have had enough with people chucking their balls in the vicinity of my dog, at his feet, and then being surprised when, guess what, he grabs the ball and runs off with it at delighted speed.

Of course he will, it’s a tasty morsel – albeit non-edible – which has dropped from the sky.

He has no concept of right and wrong in these situations, so why the perpetrator of the ball fling then stands there looking so deflated is truly beyond me.

With the ‘that’s my ball’ dazed expression crossing their features.

Yes it is, and I don’t care. As, guess what? You gave it away.

I know my dog and I know what a struggle it is to get a ball back from him once it's in his jaws.

I know I will get it, but I also know it will take me 15 minutes, and at 6am I am out and about walking him as I am on a tight schedule, not a leisurely distraction to while away my morning.

And it’ll take me even longer to retrieve if the ball’s true four-legged owner is left running around behind my dog.

That doesn’t help me bring him to heel with this golden gift in his gob.

So there we have it, if you’re throwing balls at my dog, expect him to take them, and don’t expect me to hang around as you stand there looking heartbroken that you only had one ball.

So please, use your sense, look before you throw it straight into his giant gaping slobbery jaws or it literally will be going to the dog.

New school drugs policy only gives users a higher profile

Seemingly sniffer dogs are going to be taken into some schools across Gosport and Fareham to track down any drug users – but only twice a year – so hey ho, after the second visit you’re good to crack-on.

There have always been, and will always be, a small core group of drug users in every school, whom the rest of the students mainly ignore with wary scepticism and a healthy dose of ‘no thanks’.

Having the dogs into an educational space gives the drug takers a much higher profile and a much bigger label.

What’s the point? Surely if it’s to catch criminal elements it’s much less disruptive to go for a walk down the beach, or in the parks of an evening, and sniff out cannabis smokers without all the hullabaloo?