ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES

Yes, a big cardboard box arrived on my doorstep yesterday containing my first batch of books plus all the lovely extras……postcards, posters, flyers and bookmarks. Hot off the press and all beautifully shiny and glossy – good to touch and very good to see my manuscript transformed into posh print! Have been busy rounding up my contacts and filling my head with ideas!
I expect you have been wondering about my French cats after seeing handsome Smokey’s picture……Well, we had 2 cats, brother and sister, who miraculously followed in our wake across La Manche (actually not quite accurate as we travelled back to England on the water and the cats went through the tunnel). We were unable due to timing to bring Sooty and Smokey with us, so our very kind buyer arranged to bring them over about 6 weeks later. What a happy day when we were all re-united! The 2 cats took a couple of weeks to adapt and start to find their feet (or paws) in a new land, but with little Sooty leading the way, they gradually settled in and enjoyed exploring the garden and beyond…..Sooty, who was always small and never in the best of health, developed a few problems last autumn and had some trips to the vet. For a while she seemed to recover but then on a chilly Monday at the beginning of February she hobbled into the kitchen and virtually collapsed. All day we nursed her but finally her body gave up. It all happened so quickly at the end and we were really devastated for about a week…….even now the mention of her name brings on wobbly lips and wet eyes. My husband Graham made a little wooden box for her and we placed her carefully within, burying it in the garden just in front of an attractive Kilmarnock willow. In front we planted pretty primroses of different colours which have flowered continuously since. So, that is the sad story of dear little Sooty – who now has a small brass commemorative plaque fixed on her favourite bench in the garden. We all miss Sooty very much and sometimes I imagine that she will suddenly appear when I call. Smokey and Sooty were the best of friends and spent a lot of time together.
We had cats at our farm years ago in Somerset, but they were never really pets although I did try to cuddle and tame them.
I’m attaching a favourite photo of Sooty – yes, you guessed, she was black with a beautiful silky coat, and as you have already seen, Smokey is a lovely grey.

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