Fathers Day weekend

[floppybootstomp]

16th & 17th June was Fathers Day weekend and twin daughter Sophie and her boyfriend Dan invited me down to stay with them in Bath. Got off to a shaky start unable to get a train from Paddington cos Great Western Rail messed up but did arrive in Bath Saturday lunchtime.

Spent Saturday afternoon doing the touristy thing and visited the Spa, Britain's only hot spring, apparently. Then popped into the Abbey and had a nose around. Later in the day twin daughter Lucy drove over from Cardiff and we set out for the pub. But on the way Lucy threw up so that rather put the kibosh on that idea.

So just stayed in, drank wine and waffled. The next day we all went to Lyme Regis which I enjoyed but it was so cold my hands turned purple. Maybe that's an age thing, dunno. Here's some snaps:

 

[floppybootstomp]

 

[floppybootstomp]

 

[Becky]

What great photos! Looks like you all had a great time, so I'm glad you got there in the end after the train chaos It does look chilly at Lyme Regis, so I'm not surprised you felt the chill. I love it there, great for fossils

 

[Taffycat]

Jolly nice photos @floppybootstomp, The Spa and Abbey look amazing and must have been so interesting to explore.

What a lovely cat! He (she?) looks gorgeous. I am impressed by his good manners, because our two would be very keen to "help" and carry out some "quality control" if we ate a snack close to either of them.

 

[Abarbarian]

Neat pics again. Love the ceiling in the church. Always nice to have a good day out with family.

 

[V_R]

Great photos Flops, Bath looks like a good place to take a visit one day.

 

[floppybootstomp]

Thanks for comments folks

TC: The cat's name is Eddie, he's a neutered tom and is around six years old. My daughter and BF adopted him from a cats home after he'd lived with owners for around five years, been cast out then lived feral for a year. How the home knew all that I don't know but that's what they said.

He came with a bit of an attitude and a urine infection. Both are almost cleared up now after a month or so he's becoming more confident, less nervous, more affectionate and has reached the end of the meds and special food he had to take. He'll be having a checkup with the vet shortly so here's hoping all is good.

 

[Taffycat]

Eddie is a fortunate lad to be adopted by your daughter and BF, @floppybootstomp. The older cats are so often overlooked by potential adopters, yet given a chance, they make the most loving and loyal pets.

Last year, after the loss of two of our much-loved cats, who succumbed to age and illness, we needed to find a new companion for our remaining cat Ollie.

A small, fairly local rescue shelter was being disbanded, due to the death of its owner, so the feline residents (about 30 of them) were going to be cared for and re-homed by another well-established, no-kill shelter, that our vet who cares for any medical needs/issues, including spaying/neutering.

As soon as the vet and his wife laid eyes on one of the "feline refugees" they both immediately thought of us. (They have got to know us pretty well, over the years.) Anyway, they gave us a call, and when we saw the large, 90% white (with a few black bits) lad, we knew that he would be coming home with us.

He had apparently been living at the (closing) shelter for a few years, so at first, he was extremely nervous. However, when he spotted the presence of another cat, he showed - what I can only describe as - delight. "Yay! Another of my people live here!" He visibly relaxed a little and the meeting between the two cats went very well. No aggression, or hissing, just affectionate sniffs and nuzzles.

It took a while for Ambrose to overcome his general nervousness, he would take cover and hide if there were any strange noises (such as the front door being pounded-upon by those awfully nice cold-caller guys.) But from the first, he loved to get onto our laps, and would also cuddle-up to Ollie, the two becoming firm companions.

A year on, Ambrose has flourished. He is no longer thin and rangy-looking, and his coat is soft and very white, having lost the slight grey-hue. He is one of the most patient cats we have known. He has never used his claws to scratch us - or Ollie. He doesn't bite or hiss (even when we needed to apply some eye ointment, to treat a small problem.) He is probably aged around 6 or 7, but he and Ollie play like a pair of over-sized kittens, both with each other, and with their various toys.

I hope Eddie will soon feel fully settled, and that he and his new family will enjoy lots of happy times together.