a12 - This & That

Izadora Begging

... On the kitchen counter (forbidden territory) beside me
She squats, still as a sphinx;
Little oval feet precisely placed,
Blue-ringed tail curled just so, against her side,
Deep purrs shimmer her blue spots and stripes
In the artificial neon light.

Large pricked bat-ears, shell pink inside;
Slanted eyes, wickedly green with greed;
Wide forehead etched with the tell-tale tabby 'M'
Narrowing to a well-bred nose whose leather is also palely pink -
And a firmly-determined little chin;
Her fine array of whiskers, grey and white,
Bristle in anticipation from their black beauty spots;
Agape, her small triangular mouth, pink-hued,
Needle-sharp teeth flash, rough red tongue a-flutter:
A pleading yowl rises to pathetic caterwaul
Of flat-eared pseudo hunger.

I ignore her.

Tentatively, she lifts a shapely forelimb
And, by dint of crossing her eyes,
Watches both me and the tempting repast.
We've been through this before (a hundred times?) but she persists:
Eyes narrowed, slowly, squinting in desire and desperation,
She spreads her dainty fingers,
Extend rose-thorn claws; then, quick as a flash,
Snatches a piece of food.

I sometimes think (were she large enough)
She would rip out my throat for food
And lap my blood greedily for dessert;
Her slit eyes say it behind their lying affectation of love.

Now, in an oddly human way, she lifts her paw to her mouth
And, eyes closed in ecstasy, gobbles her plunder,
Chewing open-mouthed, almost choking on purrs.
Wickedly satisfied for now at least,
She licks each finger and claw with solemn relish.

Then she squats down once more, smugly eyeing my dinner
With feline anticipation.

Glynis Bransby

Quotable Quotes

Like a graceful vase, a cat, even when motionless, seems to flow (George F. Will)
If stretching were wealth, the cat would be rich (African Proverb)
A cat's a cat and that's that (American Folk Saying)
A cat is always on the wrong side of the door (Anon)
A cat is an example of sophistication minus civilization (Anon)
… they emulate the noble mood of giant sphinxes stretched in depths of solitude (Charles Baudelaire)
The cat is a dilettante in fur (Theophile Gautier)
Dogs believe they are human. Cats believe they are God (Anon)
Even the fattest cat looks graceful (Anon)
A home is where the cat hair sticks to everything but the cat (Anon)
A house is not a home without a cat (Anon)
Dogs have masters. Cats have slaves (Anon)
Cats never strike a pose that isn't photogenic (Anon)
It's a cat's world. I merely open the cans (Anon)
With a dog you give a command. With a cat you make a request (Anon)
Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened (Anatole France)
Every life should have nine cats (Anon)
Dogs have masters; cats have staff (Anon)
It would help so much when I yell at her, if she looked more like a brute (Anon)
It's very hard to be polite if you're a cat (Anon)
In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods … cats have never forgotten this (Anon)
If you yell at a cat, you're the one who is making a fool of yourself (Anon)
My cat's not spoiled … I'm just well trained! (Anon)
The good thing about a dark skirt is that's the best thing for removing cat hairs from the sofa (Anon)
There's no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast (Anon)
To a dog you're family, to a cat you're staff (Anon)
I've learned I can cat-proof my house but I can't cat-proof my heart (Anon)

(With acknowledgement to the "Cat Lovers Desk Calendar 2006")

Special Websites

www.lawrencebransby.co.uk

www.hareti.co.uk

Neither of the above have anything to do with cats but, among other things, horses, motor bikes and travel!

(Above: My daughter on her Lesotho ride)

We had hectares of plantations on our doorstep in our small village of Ixopo in southern KwaZulu Natal, As little children my husband would take both our children on his off-road motor bike, my son behind him and my daughter in front of him, and they would explore the winding roads of the plantations for hours. My son progressed to his own little bike when he was about seven and has had one ever since, but my daughter was already passionate about horses so continued to motorbike two-up with her father.
The mountain Kingdom of Lesotho was just over 100 km from us and we spent many happy holidays exploring that beautiful country. Once a year my husband would take a group of school children (& many of their fathers & general hangers on & me as chief cook & bottle washer) up Sani Pass in the Southern Drakensberg to the Mountaineers' chalet just within Lesotho. The next day they would set off to ride up the highest mountain in Southern Africa, Thaba Ntlenyana, the highest peak in Southern Africa at 3,482m with my daughter riding with her father.

(Below: with the foal, Melody)

(Above (L): One of the most slippery roads the two boys travelled on during their Trans Africa trip - in norther Kenya; (R) one of the many on-the-spot,make-do-with-the-spares-you've-got-to-hand, roadside reairs by my son, the "mechanic")

My son, of course loved his motorbike and as well as the annual jaunt to Thaba Ntlenyana, when he finished junior school, he and his father rode around Lesotho, camping where they wanted at night. When we left South Africa in 1997, my husband and son emigrated trans Africa by motorbike. They used two rather old, second hand XT 500's. My husband wrote a diary about this trip which you will find on both boys' websites. Settling here in the UK my son bought himself various motorbikes. Here he is with the latest one. And ... what do you do when you buy a new bike? Pull it apart to see how it works, of course ...

Using his second hand Classic BMW 500 that he had brought in the container with all our other stuff when we left South Africa, my husband went off during one of his summer holidays to Russia. His bike objected rather at the distance and constantly needed the loving care of mechanics in the various countries he passed through. He did make Russia but being terrified the bike would die on him completely he turned round and came home. The bike happily then came all the way back never missing a beat! It was as if she knew that she was homeward bound, and having got her own way went without a hitch.

Having bought a new Kawaski KLE 500 motorbike, my husband set off the following year to retry his desire to reach Russia. This he did and returned home without a mechanical hitch. This year he took himself off to tour Eastern Europe and had an excellent time.

On all three of these trips he wrote comprehensive diaries that appear on his website.