Help! I don’t speak emoji 

My friend replied to my text with seven sets of animal paw prints, interspersed with pink hearts and rounded off with a cat face.

This was in reply to me telling her it had been nice to see her when she stayed with us in West Cork.

I squinted at these emojis, trying to make out whether I was looking at ‘What a lovely country house you have’ or ‘What a dump! Cats and dogs everywhere, which is obviously your thing, but I won’t be coming again’.

Earlier that day, another friend replied to my message asking how she was with a burst of gold stars, some prayer hands and a smiley face. Was she all right, or had she dropped dead and started texting me from heaven, using the celestial wifi?

More to the point, will we all speak to each other using only emojis one day? I think it is perfectly possible.