Ally's Eight-Legged Journey

She is finally here!! She arrived at lunchtime today. I knew I was going to be at work, so I asked for her to be shipped to the university to avoid her potentially sitting in a cold porchway for hours until I got home. I was so anxious about her arriving okay that I was checking my emails every 15 minutes in case there was an email to tell me I had a package at reception. Just before 1pm, it finally came. I immediately went to collect the box. I had opted for stealth shipping - there would be no branding or labels on the box informing handlers of its contents, because I didn't want to scare people who might not like to be handling a box with a live spider in it. The first thing I wanted to do once I got her into the warmth of my office was to check she had arrived unharmed. Unfortunately, when I opened the box to check, I found that she was so securely acked that I wouldn't be able to get her out safely until I was ready to put her into her new home, as I couldn't ...