WINSTON
Barney Smith (Amy and Bill's son)
A private house, Manor Road
21 x 29 cm
Winston and Barney were always going to be best friends. One golden, one blondie. However, we could never have anticipated the role that Winston, our one-year-old Golden Retriever, would play when our son Barney was born in May 2020, just six weeks after we were first all ordered to stay home, save lives and protect the NHS.
We were so looking forward to spending our maternity/paternity leave with our new son and dog by our side, sipping cappuccinos in the Woodstock Coffee Shop, welcoming visitors to our home on Manor Road so that they could enjoy a cuddle with our new addition and braving baby and toddler groups in and around Woodstock, making new friends and bonding over our mutual new experiences. But none of this was meant to be.
When the usual visits from grandparents, friends and health visitors were all banned, we thought that we were on our own discovering and overcoming the trials and tribulations of first-time parenthood – but of course, we needn’t have worried as we had Winston who well and truly stepped up.
Not only did Winston take on the role as ‘protector in chief’ of Barney, he also became ‘head of marketing’ for him. As people took their one-hour walks in Old Woodstock, they would often be met by Winston, whose favourite daytime hangout was on our drive. As Winston would greet passers-by in his customary way, with a friendly woof and paws on top of the gate, they would stop to say hello and share some love with Winston. This would often lead to socially distanced chats with us and imparting of much needed parenting wisdom, encouragement and kindness, sometimes from total strangers.
Lockdown tails…
Having Winston meant that we had to leave the house in those early lockdown days for dog walks, exploring lesser-known parts of Blenheim and Old Woodstock in an attempt to keep everyone safe. The brief chats that we had with fellow dog walkers from either side of a gate, path or hedge were a godsend in an otherwise, very lonely and isolating period.
So, without knowing it or even trying, Winston took to his role as furry bigger brother in the best way he possibly could.
Before Barney arrived, Winston was also the reason we became so integrated within the Woodstock community. We moved to the town in 2018 and didn’t know many people and found it more difficult than we imagined instigating conversations with total strangers as a way of introducing ourselves. As is customary in this country, people would walk past us without saying hello and we were anonymous. However, that all changed when we brought our 12-week-old Andrex puppy home; suddenly everybody wanted to say hello! From that moment on, we were no longer ‘Amy and Bill’, but ‘Winston’s owners’.
As a result of having Winston, we have made so many wonderful Woodstock friends, although he definitely has more Woodstock pals than we do – some with two legs and some with four and many of them also part of this photo exhibition.
Winston is many things to us. He is our protector, promoter, personal trainer, parenting substitute (when needs must), therapist and front-of-house. But, most of all, he is Barney’s best mate.
To end, we are very proud that Winston is the current reigning champion of the ‘Old Woodstock Dog Who Looks Most Like Its Owner’ competition.
Amy and Bill Smith