drat!
Ocras thank you for that swift help. I've spread salt buty its a long-haired carpet and the red wine stains went right down through the tuft. What happened was I unwisely put my glass of wine on the desktop, thinking I'd open a few e-mails whilst the evening meal was cooking.
When I moved the mouse to exit an e-mail I knocked over the glass, the wine went all over the computer, table, documents..............and dribbled and splashed over the pale carpet for quite a distance.......little spots, but lots of them. Then hearing the volley of oaths and imprecautions at volume the dog, thinking it was a game, came over and walked around in the goo before a shout and a whack sent her back to her basket....leaving a trail of winey paw-prints across the room.
The perfect end to a perfect day!
Again thanks for your help.