Two years ago, on the Easter weekend, our usually cryptic python decided to show itself – sunning itself for two days in a grove of trees in our garden.

As the first picture in this series shows, Monty – as the snake was quickly christened – was huge.

“I wonder where it sleeps,” was said aloud at the time; the roof of our nearby rather rundown home being the obvious candidate.

We did not see it again until the following Christmas, when it began appearing each dusk, coiled around a branch of a tree near the house.

The gift of a spy camera for Christmas suddenly came into its own.

We set it up, trained at the tree, programmed to take shots every minute or so, or if the camera detected movement.

The next morning, we knew exactly where Monty retired to after a night’s hunting.

As this sequence of shots shows, Monty likes to sleep right above our bedroom.

For a while there, we didn’t hear from or see Monty.

Then, recently, I found an enormous skin – right above our bedroom.

Yes, yes … we keep the door closed.