Meet Oliver and Flo
Every home develops its own rhythm.
Ours is largely determined by Oliver, a standard poodle who believes most days would be improved by a tennis ball, and Flo, a Hermann’s tortoise who takes a rather more considered approach to the timetable.
They could hardly be more different.
Oliver would happily spend the entire day running, meeting people and persuading somebody to throw a ball just once more.
Flo appears to regard unnecessary haste as a character flaw.
Between them, they bring companionship, humour and a useful reminder that there is more than one sensible way to approach life.
Oliver
Oliver is a rescue standard poodle.
At the time of writing, in July 2026, he is nine years and five months old and has been with me since August 2019.
His official colour has the rather grand title of café au lait. It suits him, although I am not convinced Oliver has ever given much thought to how sophisticated it sounds.
His rescue and adoption story deserves an article of its own.
A rescue dog’s life can change completely when they find the right home, but the change works both ways. They become part of your routines, your decisions and your everyday life. Before long, it becomes difficult to remember what the house felt like without them.
Oliver is intelligent, sociable and generally ready to become involved in whatever is happening.
Whether his assistance has been requested is a separate matter.
Above everything else, Oliver loves a tennis ball.
Food is welcome. People are exciting. Walks are taken seriously.
But a tennis ball is something else entirely.
Given the opportunity, he would run after one all day. The fact that he has already retrieved it fifty times does not appear to reduce the importance of the fifty-first throw.
He returns it with the expression of a dog who has completed his part of a perfectly reasonable arrangement and is now waiting for the human involved to stop wasting valuable daylight.
Calling a halt is rarely a joint decision.
Oliver is also extremely sociable. A quiet walk can quickly become a public engagement, particularly when somebody admires him and he realises there may be attention available.
Standard poodles are often described as clever dogs. Oliver certainly is, although cleverness in a dog does not always mean obedience.
Sometimes it simply means they understand exactly what you are asking and have considered an alternative proposal.
Flo, Formerly Known as Flash
Flo has been with me for even longer.
She is a Hermann’s tortoise and arrived as a Christmas present when she was only a few months old. Her Gotcha Day was in December 2014.
She came from a pet shop in Essex, was bred in this country and arrived with the proper certification.
At first, however, Flo was not Flo.
She was Flash.
The name seemed to suit a tortoise, partly because it was optimistic and partly because nobody could prove she would not eventually live up to it.
A few years later, a visit to the vet revealed something we had not previously known.
Flash was a girl.
Flash therefore became Flo.
Fortunately, she appeared to accept the change without complaint.
Flo is far more sociable than people sometimes expect a tortoise to be. When I am doing something in the garden, she often comes over to investigate.
She may not arrive at Oliver’s speed, but she likes to know what is happening.
She also enjoys having her back rubbed, which is another reminder that animals have their own personalities regardless of whether they wag their tails.
Flo loves eating dandelions. On most days, her menu at home includes romaine lettuce and tomato, but dandelions receive a level of enthusiasm usually reserved for something much more exciting.
The arrival of food can produce a noticeable increase in speed.
It is all relative.
Life at Two Speeds
While Oliver treats every open space as a possible tennis court, Flo takes a more measured approach.
There is something reassuring about a tortoise.
They do not pretend that every task is urgent, and they are unlikely to lose sleep because a project remains unfinished.
I could learn from that.
Oliver may cover the garden several times before Flo has decided precisely where she is going.
Flo, however, usually arrives without having chased a ball, greeted three strangers or required somebody to throw anything.
Efficiency can take many forms.
Pets Become Part of the Story
I have always had animals in my life.
They become woven into ordinary days so naturally that it is easy to overlook how much they contribute.
They give structure to routines, provide company and regularly interrupt whatever you believed was important.
A dog needs walking regardless of whether a website section is finished.
A tortoise is unlikely to be impressed by fonts, colour palettes or the fact that a page looks slightly different on a mobile phone.
That perspective is useful.
Oliver and Flo will appear throughout Built to Last. No Warranty., but the website will not treat every ordinary movement as breaking news.
They will be here because they are genuinely part of my life.
There will be walks, photographs, practical lessons, amusing moments and probably a few occasions when Oliver has offered assistance by standing exactly where I need to work.
Flo’s contribution may be less immediate, but she has the advantage of being unlikely to run off with a component.
Two Management Styles
If Oliver and Flo ran a workshop together, they would have very different approaches.
Oliver would start immediately, involve everybody nearby and maintain extremely high levels of enthusiasm.
Flo would inspect the situation, consider the available options and begin when satisfied that rushing offered no practical advantage.
Oliver would organise team morale.
Flo would manage long-term planning.
Neither would know where the 10mm socket had gone.
Together, they represent two sides of life that I probably need in equal measure.
There are times to get moving, follow an idea and throw yourself into something with enthusiasm.
There are also times to slow down, look properly and accept that not everything needs completing before lunch.
More to Come
This is only their introduction.
Oliver will undoubtedly provide future stories involving walks, tennis balls, dog-friendly places and his attempts to participate in whatever I happen to be doing.
His rescue and adoption story will also be told separately. It deserves more than a few paragraphs because rescuing a dog does not simply change one life.
It changes yours too.
Flo will have stories of her own, told at a pace she considers appropriate.
Her first photograph, taken when she was small enough to sit comfortably in a hand, shows just how long she has been part of the family.
I do not expect either of them to read the finished work.
Oliver would prefer the time was used throwing a ball.
Flo has not yet commented on the website, but I am choosing to interpret her silence as approval.
One Last Thing…
Life does not always need to move at the same speed.
Sometimes it needs the enthusiasm of a poodle chasing a tennis ball.
Sometimes it needs a tortoise who knows there will still be time tomorrow.