Seymour

A friend of mine, Alex, from back in Sydney arrive on Saturday. She handed in her PhD last week and started a job at the Churchill Hospital, just 10 minutes away from where I work in Oxford. Alex is staying with us until she finds her own place closer to work. OK, I get it, Didcot lacks the glamour of Oxford.

Sunday was fun. Seymour and Nibbler went out early in the morning, and only she came back for breakfast. He wasn't back by afternoon nap time, so we went for a walk to look for him. Couldn't see any sign of him, either in the bush behind us, the alotments around the corner or the roads nearby (thank God for the last one). When he hadn't come back by 11pm, I went for a walk, equiped with some turkey, a toy with a bell in it and the blanket they often sleep on. I'm sure I looked a treat, but that's what various websites recommended. After about 1 1/2 hours, I had found the wrong cat, which followed me a fair way. I thought she wanted the food, but when I offered it to her it was ignored. I guess she just wanted attention, or liked the scent from our cats on the blanket. After losing her, I was wandering in some grassland near home, when I foung my first ever hedgehog. Quite cute really. By this time I was feeling a little more optimistic, as there were cats all over the place, and none splattered on the road, so I hoped it was just a matter of time. Kat called me as I continued my adventure to say Seymour had come in the back window. I headed home, seeing my second hedgehog on the way, and was much relieved by the young man's return. He had grey dust/cobwebs on him, plus had broken/split his front claws, so we guess he was stuck somewhere. Maybe a shed where he scratched at the door all day to try and get out. He seems none the worse for wear.

Oh yeah, Spurs missed out on the Champions League, in part due to losing on the final day of the season after 10 players got food poisoning. It will be interesting to see what the police investigation turns up this week.

We still have jobs, the house is well, but it's all about the cat really.

Adam.