He Immediately Arose, Purred Loudly, Rubbed Against My Hand, And Appeared Delighted With My Notice

That Time We Celebrated Cats

What The Buzz: #BlackCatDay

Firstly, I must apologise for the late posting of this What The Buzz article but I have been muchos busy over the last few weeks with London Comic Con, moving house and other personal errands.  Moving house has proven to be something of an interruption for my social media as I have not reconnected my computer as yet!  So this blog post is a little late, but as they say, better late than never.

Amongst the other more pedestrian twitter trends this week I came across a little gem that was very close to my heart. On Tuesday 27th October 2015, it was Black Cat Day in the UK. 

This is a day promoted by the Cats Protection League (http://www.cats.org.uk/black-cats) and got trending on Twitter very quickly with people more than willing to share their pictures of their adorable moggies.

There has been lots of research into black cats and, in particular, their adoption rates.  It has long been noticed that black cats tend to take up to a third longer to adopt than more colourful kittens in rescue centres.  This to me seems completely bizarre as I have always adopted cats on the basis of their personalities/characters and not on what colour fur they have but clearly it is a trend for other adopters.

Whilst researching for this blog post, I came across some interesting superstitions and myths surrounding black cats.  Most people are aware of the superstition that a black cat crossing your path is bad luck but this tends to be a Continental superstition that has grown in popularity in the UK.  Historically, in Britain, a black cat has always signified luck and in fact many ships had black cats as pets in order to have good luck on the high seas.

Modern culture seems to have developed the idea that black cats are unlucky or the familiars of witches and that could potentially explain the lower adoption rates of these moggies.  But, as Groucho Marx once said, 'A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere'.  Insightful as ever.

This hashtag was very poignant for me as my family currently have two cats in our family (one of which is black and was a rescue cat - a little bit damaged but lovely) but up until two weeks ago there was a third.

Toby channelling his inner 'Toothless'

We recently had to say goodbye to our third moggy, Harry, as he had developed untreatable stomach cancer.  So it was, with heavy hearts and very damp eyes, we sent him to sleep.  Harry was only 6 and was the soppiest cat I have ever known - he would cuddle up with you whenever you sat down and wherever you were.  If you were in the house - he would find you! And there was no way you could say no to a Harry cuddle. 

Harry - such a tart

Definitely big on the cuddles

He would roll upside down and let you rub his spotty belly and just generally love being loved.  He was a very unconditional cat and loved everyone.  There was a special bond between Harry and I in particular which I attribute to me being his sole human for a few weeks when he was a kitten as the rest of the family were away on various holidays.  I don't know why but that seemed to have bonded us for life (however short that may have been).

I was serious about not saying no the a Harry cuddle.  Even if you were only sat down for 5 minutes.

So this blog post is especially important to me to say how much I appreciate my two other cats (Maggie and Toby) and also as a huge shout out to Harry who is still loved, still missed and still very dear.

#AllCatsAppreciationDay

&&Fin.

Talk Well of The Absent Whenever You Have The Opportunity

That Time I Got Way Too Attached To My Wing Mirror Spider

I am the proud owner of a classic 1999 Honda Accord.  The current market value of this car is £130 and it does not always start on the first attempt.

I have also bumped into several pillars whilst driving around implausibly small car parks so the red paintwork bears some battle scars.

Despite all this, I love my car.

And recently I had a fellow Honda enthusiast aboard. His name was Freddie. And he was my wing mirror spider.

Freddie was something of a beast and so I will admit that, initially, our friendship was born out of fear of removing his web and facing his wrath rather than enjoying his presence.  However, that was quickly rectified as I found he made my car journeys more enjoyable. 

There was never a dull car ride with Freddie on board - the first such adventure involved Freddie evicting my previous wing mirror spider in no uncertain terms after a battle to the death was acted out at the traffic lights.  Freddie was not a particularly graceful or merciful winner but it is life and death in the Honda ghetto.

Freddie travelled with me from the South coast all the way to Leicester and we became firm friends after I promised not to destroy his web if he could survive the journey. (I had hoped that travelling on the motorway at 70mph might have done my dirty work for me but alas, it was not to be.)

Freddie was made of harder stuff than I initially gave him credit for.

Not only did Freddie traverse the dangers of the M1 with me, he survived through the growing Autumnal chill, his web was broken after a particularly windy evening and he managed to swing on to the car door before quickly retreating to the safety of the wing mirror.  He became a travelling companion and it is only with a little embarrassment that I confess to talking to him during our rides to and from work.  He was a source of amusement as he started the journey clinging onto the wing mirror only to bravely scuttle out onto his web, suspended between wing mirror and car door, as we began to pick up speed.

More than once I shouted over the pulsating music as he bounced around in the delicate looking strands: "FREDDIE, YOU NUTTER!!"

Until, one fateful evening, I am sad to report that Freddie took one risk too many.

Travelling up the M3 after a particularly hellish day at work, I watched as Freddie's web flailed, the whole construction waving wildly in the breeze. When, suddenly, the web, and Freddie with it, were lost forever.

I remember blinking owlishly for several moments; convinced that Freddie would reappear on the car door.  Sadly, my wing mirror remained vacant and I realised that Freddie would not be returning this day or any other.  This had been his last ride.

Freddie, wherever you are, (spider Hell probably after your vicious attack on the previous tenant of my wing mirror), you are sorely missed.

#neverforget

&& Fin.