Thursday 4 September 2014

Archie

I wish to make you an introduction.

I wish to introduce you to Archie, my next door neighbour's cat. I will miss many things about living with Cornelia (my housemate) but one thing I shall especially miss is Kevin's cat.

Archie was adopted from a Cat Rescue as a kitten but he is not insecure for all this and knows is strong cat mind on all matters. He is can be seen purposely striding across the lawns in front of our terrace of houses and is (the real) owner of all the back gardens. There is charming unawareness of time, so that now he may track some movement under a hedge with great concentration and then lie in the road sunning himself and can be seen catching dragon flies for his supper in Conny's garden in the twilight.

He takes great pleasure in winding up our other neighbour's dog by perching on her front window sill and blatantly staring into her lounge while her dog barks until he is breathless with indignation. If we leave our windows open on the ground floor, he may suddenly decide that he would really like to visit, and stick his head and front paws through to investigate only to chased away on account of Conny's cat allergy.

Kevin's parents live on the same street, with their disabled son for whom Kevin is the full time carer. So Archie with no apology lays claim to both houses. Of an evening when it is dark, if he is at Kevin's parent's house he will insist on being carried home in state particularly if it is cold and wet.

For all these idiosyncrasies he is a timid creature, and it is only very recently that he allowed me to stroke him after kneeling down to discuss my day with him in the beckoning twilight. He even gave me an appreciative lick for my trouble.

I will miss you Archie, my cat neighbour. May you enjoy many a summer evening snatching at the dragon flies.