Cats

Have you seen the reviews of the new film of the musical starring Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Ray Winstone and James Corden among other well-known actors? See here for example.

Having been brought up with the original poems by TS Eliot I never ever fell for the musical version although a production staged by our local amateur theatre company last year was very endearing.

In my household where  cats outnumber other species by a long chalk, their everyday behaviour provides as much entertainment as you could wish - leaving aside the entitlement,  destruction and sheer bloody-mindedness of these fur babies (not).

Cleo (or is it Chloe?) top right, when not incarcerated to prevent her attacking her own grandmother,  bags the cosiest position on the living room sofa to await her aged relative's tentative arrival from the barn to which she is obliged to retire between meal times. Cle/Clo's own appetite is so insatiable that we have come to the conclusion that either she suffers from multiple personality disorder or she has, unknown to us, an identical twin who also requires feeding.

Truffle, bottom right, has here inserted herself into a small fruit basket but at other times she stations herself on top of the fridge from which perch she can survey the kitchen worktops and pounce on any edible substances placed on them. (Her definition of edibility is wide-ranging.) She specialises in butter dishes,  there are none she cannot penetrate or, if necessary,  smash.

Fred on the left, after an adventurous earlier life,  is now semi-retired, at least during the winter, and spends more time indoors than out. But like an old sea captain he misses the challenge of the ocean waves fields and hedgerows, gets bored with domesticity and irritable with other members of the household (especially the dog). Normally he goes upstairs after breakfast to sleep the day away on my bed but in the evening his favourite perch is the  arm of a fireside easy chair from which he hangs, leopard-like,  soaking up the heat.

Cats - who needs it when you have them?

(Will have to feature the other two another time)