Linda
8th March 2008, 11:06 AM
I am posting an introduction on behalf of Lee. So please ignore my name on this!
Hello!
I work as a PA to the Directors for a company which is part of a large plc group. I am a mother and grandmother, having a daughter aged 34 and 2 grandchildren, a girl aged 5 and a little boy who's 14 months. I love reading, fell walking, swimming, going to the gym, theatre, dining out, travel and of course, spending time with my wonderful family.
I first came across one of Derek's books in a second-hand book shop about 2 years ago. I am a great cat lover, having had the joy of sharing my life with these fascinating creatures for well over 30 years, his tales of their life in Minack with the cats made for a very pleasant and humorous read.
Obviously, because I came upon the books only relatively recently, I've never met either Derek or Jeannie, but their life comes alive in the reading and I often think one's imagination has more of a free rein when unrestricted by the actual 'knowing'. I just love the easy flow of the writing, they way as the stories unfold, they wrap you up in their telling. Sublime.
I presently share my home with a character called Taffic: he's an all white tomcat whom my daughter rescued from the side of a motorway where he had been either been abandoned, or arrived at on his independent travels when but a tiny kitten. He was not in the best of health, indeed he was in rather a sorry state with a nasty looking neck wound, but the vet, with the assistance of modern medicine, brought the little chap round and he is now, a good few years on life's road, a rather portly gentleman of mature years.
Taffic (his name is derived from the word 'traffic' with the 'r' taken out for the word 'rescued' - my daughter's choice) is a very loving soul, though without being too personal, not overly bright. However, the world needs a few simple, loving souls, and Taffic certainly falls into that category. His best friend, Opus, alas said his final farewell some
18 months ago. Opus was another tomcat, but this time, all black. He was as loving , gentle and kind as Taffic (I nicknamed them the monochrome duo), but with the added ingredient of intelligence - indeed the chef had a generous hand where he was concerned. Opus was so wise, so knowing and intelligent, I often expected him to pick up the newspaper and have a leisurely read.
Opus arrived on my doorstep unannounced a year before Taffic's rescue.
Transpired he had been abandoned by his previous family when they moved and had been living rough in the neighbourhood. He arrived on a wet, dark night two days after my then last cat, Harley (named after the
motorbike) had had to be put to sleep due to cancer. Why Opus selected my door, and indeed had the grace to allow me the two days to mourn Harley's passing, remains a mystery. But along he came, meowing politely to be let in, whereupon he feed and warmed himself, before departing in the early hours of the morning.
This routine continued for over a week, by which time of course, Opus (so named because of his musical 'meow') knew he was onto a certainty, and so displayed patience and manners until he had selected the bed he would sleep on, the sunny corner of the front room to lie in and also ensured food would be served twice a day with an occasional tit bit in between. With a pleasant garden as his personal domain, and having established that all his needs would be catered for, Opus was determined to stay with me and I, having succumbed to his charming personality, had no intention of not allowing him to do so.
Taffic joined the household a year after Opus and, far from resenting his arrival, Opus accepted his presence with good grace and a few licks of welcome. Opus of course, despite his warm welcome, made it quite plain that he was the top cat, and Taffic was always happy to defer to his older 'brother'. Both shared each other's company for over 10 years until Opus bowed out gracefully to age.
Such wonderful creatures, I love their streak of independence - I think that is the most charming part of their character and Derek, in his writing, captures all the nuances of a cat's behaviour that has over the years, captured the hearts of we, their worshipers and followers.
Lee
:lol:
Hello!
I work as a PA to the Directors for a company which is part of a large plc group. I am a mother and grandmother, having a daughter aged 34 and 2 grandchildren, a girl aged 5 and a little boy who's 14 months. I love reading, fell walking, swimming, going to the gym, theatre, dining out, travel and of course, spending time with my wonderful family.
I first came across one of Derek's books in a second-hand book shop about 2 years ago. I am a great cat lover, having had the joy of sharing my life with these fascinating creatures for well over 30 years, his tales of their life in Minack with the cats made for a very pleasant and humorous read.
Obviously, because I came upon the books only relatively recently, I've never met either Derek or Jeannie, but their life comes alive in the reading and I often think one's imagination has more of a free rein when unrestricted by the actual 'knowing'. I just love the easy flow of the writing, they way as the stories unfold, they wrap you up in their telling. Sublime.
I presently share my home with a character called Taffic: he's an all white tomcat whom my daughter rescued from the side of a motorway where he had been either been abandoned, or arrived at on his independent travels when but a tiny kitten. He was not in the best of health, indeed he was in rather a sorry state with a nasty looking neck wound, but the vet, with the assistance of modern medicine, brought the little chap round and he is now, a good few years on life's road, a rather portly gentleman of mature years.
Taffic (his name is derived from the word 'traffic' with the 'r' taken out for the word 'rescued' - my daughter's choice) is a very loving soul, though without being too personal, not overly bright. However, the world needs a few simple, loving souls, and Taffic certainly falls into that category. His best friend, Opus, alas said his final farewell some
18 months ago. Opus was another tomcat, but this time, all black. He was as loving , gentle and kind as Taffic (I nicknamed them the monochrome duo), but with the added ingredient of intelligence - indeed the chef had a generous hand where he was concerned. Opus was so wise, so knowing and intelligent, I often expected him to pick up the newspaper and have a leisurely read.
Opus arrived on my doorstep unannounced a year before Taffic's rescue.
Transpired he had been abandoned by his previous family when they moved and had been living rough in the neighbourhood. He arrived on a wet, dark night two days after my then last cat, Harley (named after the
motorbike) had had to be put to sleep due to cancer. Why Opus selected my door, and indeed had the grace to allow me the two days to mourn Harley's passing, remains a mystery. But along he came, meowing politely to be let in, whereupon he feed and warmed himself, before departing in the early hours of the morning.
This routine continued for over a week, by which time of course, Opus (so named because of his musical 'meow') knew he was onto a certainty, and so displayed patience and manners until he had selected the bed he would sleep on, the sunny corner of the front room to lie in and also ensured food would be served twice a day with an occasional tit bit in between. With a pleasant garden as his personal domain, and having established that all his needs would be catered for, Opus was determined to stay with me and I, having succumbed to his charming personality, had no intention of not allowing him to do so.
Taffic joined the household a year after Opus and, far from resenting his arrival, Opus accepted his presence with good grace and a few licks of welcome. Opus of course, despite his warm welcome, made it quite plain that he was the top cat, and Taffic was always happy to defer to his older 'brother'. Both shared each other's company for over 10 years until Opus bowed out gracefully to age.
Such wonderful creatures, I love their streak of independence - I think that is the most charming part of their character and Derek, in his writing, captures all the nuances of a cat's behaviour that has over the years, captured the hearts of we, their worshipers and followers.
Lee
:lol: