TARDIS Tuesday and kitties

Hello there! Greetings from my Mum's garden! CBC and I went over there for lunch today.  We had our usual customary walk around her beautiful garden to admire her prowess at growing food and flowers and then we walked to the marina to try out a new cafe called Shell's cafe.  It was really really nice with a good selection of food and nice shady tables with amusing paraphernalia on the walls of the garden.  We then walked back to her house but sadly, the sole of one of my shoes completely came off so we had to make it a shorter walk than intended.  RIP these shoes- I love them so much- so comfortable. I bought them from Primark at least 19 years ago so they have had a good innings- going to see if I can glue it back on though. We played with her kitties, drank an intriguing glass of Black lace elder and rose cordial and then headed home via the garden centre where I felt sorry for a manky-looking Erysimum Bowles plant which I bought for £2 and CBC bought some extra stones for the pond, the main reason we went there.

Onto my TARDIS Tuesday outfit. Last posted in June 2024, I am featuring Sarah Jane Smith's final outfit from her days as Tom Baker's companion in the episode, The Hand of Fear, which the wonderful Ang Almond adapted for me 2 years ago or so! (See here the post where I debuted them with explanations of what adaptations she did)

Images borrowed from:
https://theultimateguidetothefashionofdoctorwho.wordpress.com/2017/10/25/sarah-jane-smith-the-hand-of-fear/

https://bradleybasement.wordpress.com/sci-fi/doctor-who/doctor-who-timelines/the-doctors-timelines-index/the-fourth-doctors-timeline/the-hand-of-fear-tv/

And here's my 2025 iteration of these in Mum's garden!

I wore my same Joe Browns red top which I found in a charity top last year and was pleased as it was the perfect top for this outfit (AND others!). My beautiful dungarees which Ang customised and the aforementioned spotty pumps- not really screen accurate but I saw them in my cupboard as I was dressing and fancied wearing them...

Can you see someone poking out my pocket?

It's Mini-Owl! Sarah Jane holds a stuffed owl with this outfit as she leaves the TARDIS and CBC told me I looked like a Children's TV presenter in this outfit as I dressed and said I needed to fill those pockets so I obliged with Owl...who I knew I could get out easily for photos! We also have Mini Squirrel!

Here in the customary pose! Can you see the sole flapping on my shoe.  That's the one that STILL has its sole!

Had to have a play with darling Bramble

She has a thing about shoes. Has to put her feet into them and then have a rub and sniff around them.

Rowan has a thing about bags...

He had a lovely time playing with my rucksack after investigation.

Until she decided to get involved...

She then attacked the side ties on my dungarees and sunk a claw into my derriere as she attempted to vanquish the dastardly bow!

We had a fun weekend before this with a day spent with CBC's brother and then the Sunday spent with our friend Nath at the beach and out at the pub for dinner after a trip to a garden centre. More on the weekend anon.

Yesterday was largely spent at home.  I peeled, chopped and cooked 5 large containers of apple, blackberries and raspberries for the freezer and then watched Wednesday after an omelette and vegetables.

I ADORE a me-cooked cheese-omelette!!! It's the ONE thing where I prefer to cook it myself!

xx

 

Catisfaction

Remember my post where I asked you what was awry?

Did you spot the cat on top of the cupboard?

Yep, she decided to get all the way up there.

Then she flaunted her tummy on top of the fridge!

Apparently, boy cat is trying to copy her but doesn't know how to get back down so has to be lifted.

His favourite thing, apart from leaping for a scrunchie metallic ball and fetching it is this fur brush that Mum uses on him.  He actually sits up and butts his head into it as he enjoys it so much!

Mind you, I get it- I LOVE having my hair brushed!

He then suffered the indignity of having his claws cut!

Look at that long-suffering face!

 My mum gets so much joy out of these cats and  they are such characters!  She's always had the magic touch with animals!

xx

Cat under the skirt

 For some reason, when I have been to visit my Mum at her home in recent times, I always seem to be wearing a long skirt.

My long skirts seem to be a constant source of joy and fascination for her feline children.

Every single time I sit down, I immediately  have one or two squatters who set up camp under the canopy of the skirt. Which ever skirt it is.

In the early days, they used to try and leap up my legs but now, they just like sitting there.

Every little movement I make results in a little tickle up my leg

They have SUCH characters! They are the absolute best of friends but both unique.

Here's Rowan.  He plays fetch with a small ball and can leap around 2 foot in the air to catch!

Bramble, not pictured, chirrups away and is very intelligent. Her motor begins the moment you pick her up.

I'm so glad Mum has them. They bring her such joy, despite their naughty antics.

CBC loves to go and visit them too and he talks about going to see our fur cousins.

xx

Cats and bees

Back in late August, CBC and I headed off to rural Essex to attend a friend's 50th birthday party.  It was really sweet that they actually asked us to check two dates before they announced the dates because they wanted us to be there.

They have a lovely house and beautiful gardens with a proper set of 'rooms' in the garden.  We all brought food along for the barbecue and accompaniments and stayed till quite late.  It was a really pleasant occasion.

For that party, I decided I wanted to wear a Summer dress that I hadn't worn at all this year or last (hoping and praying it still fitted as it is an 8!).  Luckily because it has a sheered back, it still fits perfectly.

It was bought for me by my Mum as an unexpected present in 2016. She rarely buys me clothes as she thinks I have too many but she saw this beautiful Bee dress from British Retro and bought it as a random present. It came with matching headband and is a full circle skirt in cotton sateen.

I teamed it with a cobweb, linen, lace Monsoon cardigan (charity shopped).

For the 'stuff' I added my bee and daisy necklace from Alex Monroe (40th birthday present from Dad and Stepmum) and wore, for the first time (as I had misplaced them!) these Monsoon embroidered espadrilles (charity shopped)

It was the perfect setting to wear the dress in their paradisiacal gardens.

As CBC took these photos, their cat, Slim Shady came along.  He waited by me. He then sniffed me.  In the 3rd picture below, I noticed him as he patted me with his tail. 

In the 4th, he placed a gentle paw on my calf.  I reached down and he reared up like a dog for his head to be stroked and in the final picture, he leaned over.  He's such a cutie!

They have a beautiful Rabbit ears plant, so I decided to accessorise with a couple of leaves!

Ah, I shall miss it when it grows to cold to wear such garments!

xxx
 

Bramble and Rowan

 My Mum's two kittens continue to bring her great joy as well as destruction!  They are the sweetest pair of rogues- she says that Mungojerrie and Rumbleteaser have nothing on these two but they are also very affectionate.

Rowan, the little boy cat loves to fetch. You throw him a hayball or a scrunched up piece of foil and he will leap after it and bring it to you to throw for him again and again.  They jump in the fridge, they hide under the bed, they climb up to high windowsills and knock of plants, they fall in the bath, they scratch at the door, they drink water out of glasses, they get into bags and boxes, they leap onto her back when she bends down and cling on as she moves.  They try to climb up your skirt and try to swing on your hair when you bend down.  They are hilarious but when they run out of energy, they collapse. Bramble will purr loudly instantly the moment you stroke her or pick her up!

Here are a few pictures from my last visit to Mum.

Here's Rowan asleep on my lap.

Here's Bramble trying to get into a drawer.

And opening the door to the garden room!

And here's Rowan after a game of ball!

What sweetie-pies they are, despite the misdemeanours! 

Floof

 "Behold my Fluff.    Tickle at your peril!"

Travelling on Cat-ay Pacific!

I've shared a few cute items on this blog from a brand called Miss Patina.   They have a darling range of collared items, cute cat and musical themed items and their clothing has really adorable vintage-inspired details.

Recently, on their Instagram, they had a competition asking you to say what a new dress from their new collection reminded you of as we saw it wafting on a hanger in a breeze.
The winners were to win one of their Meowy-joy cat scarves.

My answer was:

It reminds me of those scenes in costume dramas where the maids are hanging out the washing and they shake a garment or sheet and it billows in a most beautiful and free fashion in the breeze and resembles a dove or bird soaring. Against the often drab backgrounds, it is a beautiful sight to behold. It represents freedom and the many possibilities of dreams!

To my delight, I was one of the three winners!

Today, I decided to wear it in an outfit for school.
I wore a spotty white blouse from white stuff with the scarf. On my bottom half, I wore my Miss Patina cat-culottes and my men's black shoes

CBC made lots of comments about me looking like an air-hostess, so here I am aboard Cat-ay Pacific

Yes, I'm sorry about that pun. Can you find me any other feline airlines? I'd love to hear your puns!

xxx

Cat story continued

Several of you have commented and wondered over what happened with the cat?

Well, after my dilemma that Wednesday night a week and a half ago about what to do about the cat...I did try letting her out and she mewed pitifully - it was freezing and raining outside so I let her stay in.

I went upstairs to sleep and she ran upstairs too and jumped on the bed and slept the night in the gap between mine and CBC's feet.  Yeh, I know it's a bit forward of her sleeping on our bed but she was so considerate, not like any other cat who shoves you out the way for more room.  She pooed on the front door mat so we had to clear that up. We fed her the next morning and then let her out hoping perhaps, after one warm night, not the usual shivering under the bush, she might have the energy to go home.  Sadly not, the next day she was back in the morning and the next morning.

Saturday morning, she was crying outside the window from early in the morning. CBC went downstairs and opened the door and she ran upstairs and lay alongside my legs as I was still sleeping. She stayed in and followed me down the stairs.  She saw me putting my coat on and somehow knew it was time for her to go out so she jumped down and trotted along to the door considerately.  Sunday, CBC and I finally had a bit of time to make some flyers to put through neighbours doors. I went over to a neighbour's house 2 along and had a nice chat and they said they'd seen her most evenings asleep walking through their garden on their movement cam at 2am or 3am in the morning which suggested she wasn't sleeping anywhere and occasionally kipping in a pile of netting. She stayed in all day and she slept on our bed on Sunday night as it was pouring with rain and we tried putting her out. 

CBC went away on the Monday to Scarborough and when I cycled home in the pouring rain, she was sheltering in the neighbour's porch against the elements.  I felt sorry for her and called her and she ran to me.  She went upstairs and slept on my bed for hours whilst I was doing work.  She slept on my bed and on the Tuesday morning, I let her out and left the food outside for her to eat.

And that was the last I saw of her.  Tuesday night, she didn't come up the house and subsequently, the next morning, for the first time in 2 weeks, she wasn't sleeping under the bush in the garden.   I didn't see her again. I left a tray of food in the garden which wasn't eaten for 2 days. It disappeared after 3 but I suspect the badger.

And it all felt very unresolved.  I am presuming/hoping that whoever she belonged to had perhaps returned home from holidays and she was now happy and home but I'd have preferred a grateful owner to have come round to claim her so we KNEW that she was safe and loved.

I've felt curiously sad and bereft about her loss since that Tuesday morning NOT knowing for sure where she was and who owned her.

Yes, she probably had a home and we were manipulated by a devious character but that devious character gave us some love and joy for a week or so and I am not sorry for taking care of her whilst we could. She is one of the most polite, sweet and well mannered cats I have encountered (and I owned  a lot of cats in the past!) I just hope that she is well and happy and safe.

Funnily enough, this morning, as it is Half term, I was walking to the station at around 11.30 and as I crossed from our street, right up the other end, onto the pedestrian path to the next street, a beautiful little black and white cat came running up to me and mewing. I stroked her and did a double take as she really looked like our little friend 'Poppy' (her nickname). She was super friendly and rubbed against my feet and mewed but she seemed to have a slight patch of lighter brownish fur on top of her back plus the addition of a yellow collar and bell but other than that, I could have sworn that was Pops!! I was in a dreadful hurry for the train and I had to move on but she followed me down the street for a while.  I wondered...

On my way home, I dawdled in vain and make cat noises when I reached that point but in vain.

And that's the conclusion to our cat story....I think....

xx

Cat story

CBC and I have both longed for a cat for ages.  I, because I grew up with multiple cats. He, because he was never allowed one and always wanted one.  But, we both work long hours and go away a lot and so we have not got one. 

But, for the past 10 days or so, CBC has noticed a black and white cat lurking by the Acanthus and Seedum, sleeping under it most mornings.  CBC named it Sleepy Cat and kept trying to photograph it and he tried to go near it but it seemed to be scared.  Every day, he would stare out the window at sleepy cat and it would dash away when he went out.

Then came Sunday morning.  CBC saw sleepy cat and was really worried about it so he went downstairs, found my best melanine plate and went and put a tin of tuna on a plate.
The cat ran away but when he was back inside, we spied it through the window and it tried to nonchalantly edge towards the Tuna which it then bolted down.
CBC tried to go outside to collect the plate. He said it ran away but meweed like it was saying thank you.  He was sad that he couldn't stroke the cat. 

I decided to go and pick any raspberries in the garden, empty the compost and trim back a few things. As I did it, I suddenly noticed the cat poking its head out the bamboo watching me as I worked.  Eventually, it began mewing at me. I mewed back at it and got onto my haunches.
It mewed for a while and then edged towards my hand. As I tried to stroke it, it bolted away again.
Finally, third time lucky, I stretched my hand out and held it towards the cat and she rubbed against it and round my legs.
And that was it! Friendly rubbing and stroking. CBC was banging away on the piano and didn't see what was going on.  Finally, I looked up to see him staring incredulously towards me and the cat.

He edged closer. The cat backed towards my legs.  CBC took some photos as the cat stared at him.  Finally, I walked the cat towards him and she gave him the same treatment.

CBC went to sit in the swing seat and I encouraged her over to him.

As you can see, she overcame her inhibitions a bit!

 She followed me inside and settled on the sofa with CBC.  She drank several saucers of milk.  When we went out to lunch, we had to put her outside. We felt most guilty as she mewed plaintively by the window.

Returning from lunch later, I went outside to do some more gardening in the rain.  Cat, who we'd alternatively nicknamed Popper (after famous Cellist) and Ptolomew (also a cellist), was back under the Seedum.  We let her into the house again but she made herself a spectacular pest- you know in the way a baby cries and you're not sure what's wrong.  Well, like that!

Eventually, we thought we'd better put her outside which we did after we'd given her a bowl of Go Cat (bought when out for lunch).
It was awful as she meowed loudly for at least an hour.  We asked our next door neighbour if they knew who she belonged to but they didn't know. Although lacking a collar, she seems in good condition. Not fat but not bony.

The next morning, she was in the garden under the Acanthus. As I stood at our top window, she saw me and ran towards me.  We put some food out for her and milk.

That evening, it was absolutely tipping it down with rain and I was fretting about her whilst at work. I turned my phone on as I left work to find messages from CBC saying that he'd heard mewing as he got home but it seemed the neighbour had opened the door and let the cat into their house.  We felt most bereft esp as CBC had phoned a vet to see if he could bring her in to find out if she is chipped to find her owner.

Tuesday morning, she was back by the Bamboo and so we put food out but we didn't return home till late and she was nowhere to be seen.
This evening, I came home to find her and CBC ensconced on the sofa. Most cosily.  The pair of us have spent time with the cat on our lap or under our feet.  Not sure what to do as it is now Midnight and CBC has crept up to bed and left me with the cat who is stretched out by my feet. We don't have a litter tray so I am not sure about leaving her downstairs whilst we sleep just in case she pees somewhere. I feel dead guilty at the thought of booting her out for the night. 

WHAT DO I DO??????

Memories of Bali- kitties and cuisine

Today, I spent the day at the Indonesian Embassy in London.  I was there to attend a reunion of people who had been in receipt of the Darmasiswa Scholarship, a programme run by the Indonesian Government by which people from other countries under the age of 35 are able to go and spend a year in a college/university/institution studying an aspect of Indonesian life- this might be music, dance, batik, carving, Puppetry, photography, language, general art.

I went there 16 years ago to study music.

I was sadly unable to attend yesterday when there were many wonderful workshops and performances from alumni from the programme but I hear it was fabulous.

I went along today and saw some performances, talked about feedback from the programme from different generations, talked about the future, ate wonderful Indonesian food and took part in some workshops. It was lovely to see some people I hadn't seen for ages and to meet some people I had heard about but not met such as the amazing Neil Sorrell, professor at York university.

We had one session where we were talking about feedback from the programe and I was struck by the fact we talked quite a bit about things that didn't work so well. However, I really wish I had stood up and said, despite all that, it was the most interesting experience of my life and despite all the difficulties, I am so glad for it.

They are putting together a book of alumni and we were asked to submit some photos of ourselves then and now if we could.

I was looking in the garage and found a box of my Bali photos from the pre-digital era and thought it might be nice share some of them here that I've never shared since that was life Pre-blog!

This picture brings back so many memories.

Oh, there were so many cats in Bali.  Tiny, scrawny mangy, scabby, pathetic creatures who I felt so sorry for.  In retrospect, I wish I had done more to feed them but I was on an extremely limited budget and meat was comparatively expensive to the largely vegetarian fare I ate most of the time. 

One place where the kitties didn't look too scruffy was a warung I used to eat my lunch in.  A warung was like a cafe/restaurant- this could be in a market place on a wheeled stall or in a fixed building.

These kitties could be found in what we called, 'The internet warung' as it was situated next to the Internet cafe, Nusahindahnet (a play on words on the road name).

I am very much a creature of habit and I adored the food in this warung and ate there practically every day. I never got bored of the same dishes.

How it worked was that you are served a bowl of boiled rice and there are a series of dishes on shelves which you point to and the server adds a little of that dish to your bowl of rice.

You go and sit down and eat it.

I liked this warung for the large selection of dishes they had and the cheap rice.   My daily lunch cost around 4000Rp (at the time the exchange rate was 13,600 Rp to the pound).

They had lots of different vegetable dishes which was not always the case everywhere.   They also had a really tasty shredded beef (you got a tiny little bit), nice little mini-omelette piece, a nice individual prawn in batter and delicious tofu and tempeh dishes.

Plus, I always ordered Ice tea, which you have to order WITHOUT sugar or they make it WITH sugar- they didn't charge me for my 'Es Teh Tawar' because it was the sugar that cost!

The girls in there were really friendly and I loved the little kitties who used to run around on the floor and would sneak them a bit of my shredded beef.

This photo was taken on my last day when I was going to say goodbye to the girls in the Warung and eat my last meal- I wanted to have my photo taken with my sweet little kitty companions!

It was amazing to eat Indonesian food today and it brought back memories of how happy I was in terms of diet during my year in Indonesia.  I never took meals there for granted and daily couldn't believe I got to eat so much delicious food.

And this photo, reminds me of the simplicity of my life there and I think, fixed my palate for life.  South East Asian food all the way for me!

x

Buffy the Dog Slayer

Last Bank Holiday Monday, I headed over to my Sister's house for the day.  Mainly to see her, but also mainly to meet her gorgeous new kitten.

 This is Buffy who is the cutest little Tabby kitten.  She is incredibly good-natured and a very clean kitten.

 In addition, she is, like the ubiquitous kitten, incredibly easy to play with and distract.

Also, she is incredibly photogenic.

 My sister laughed and said this is my equivalent of being broody, the way I cooed over her and was utterly enchanted and transfixed by her darling ways.

She was very fond of playing with CBC and his shoe laces.

After a while, she grew very tired, since she hadn't had any nap.

My Mum, who is the cat equivalent of the Horse-whisperer, got her on her lap and managed to lull her to sleep.

 She was totally zonked out and didn't seem to mind her limbs being put into this hilarious position!

 Eventually, we were due to leave for our cycle ride as a family and my sister carefully lifted up her miniscule body to place her back in her basket- she reminded us of a cartoon cat character who has been steamrollered and remains flat!

 A paw stretched out involuntarily- this was no deliberate action.

 My heart is utterly enchanted by this sweetheart.

She slept as we left and awoke as we returned a few hours later, looking still utterly irresistible.

Be sure that I will find a way to see her again soon!

xx