Christmas has come and gone and now New Year is upon us, a thoughtful start.

My Father in Law with Harvey as a kitten

Well just a short post to wish everyone a fantastic New Year. I sit typing on a chilly but perfectly crisp day, the blue sky clear and the hard frost crunching under foot. The layer of ice on the pond and the canal being frozen indicates how cold it has been but a touch of snow would be nice.

Finally a day with minimal eating.....my OH adores cooking and he makes the most fantastic food although he is a bit of a tyrant, a Gordon Ramsey in the kitchen, it is his way or the highway so to speak. We have continued to eat well however there is lots now in the fridge just to finish up and no more large volumes of washing up for me!!!!!!!

Luna

The house is finally looking like a semblance of itself although we still look rather over stocked on furniture, Xmas trees forcing a rearrangement. The tree is surviving well, no interest by five cats in the tree or ornaments, I must have the oddest cats!!!!! and with watering the base we have a tree still looking good.

Bertie

Harvey

Monty

Reuben

The cats have found the frost too much especially the grass which they seem to treat incredibly suspiciously. Bertie has found launching himself up the maple gives him a good view into the neighbours gardens, I just try not to look at him coming down!! He is our slightest cat, the one who broke his leg this year and probably the one everyone feels protective to. Monty on the other hand is truly looking massive and the ground does shake when he pounds in, looking down across his shoulders I've measured his bones to be 5 inches(13 cm) across. He is just one big beautiful unit, a rugby player in a former life! Luna has now become most beautiful, her coat hangs from her as if she has been groomed daily but I barely touch her and her tail makes up half of her size, a plume to be proud of. Harvey and Reuben are most loyal in the most different of ways, Reuben detests attention but loves to be by you always, he will never be more than  a couple of metres away whilst Harvey runs to me and push in for love but I do have to say he is almost a one person cat.

On the saddest of notes, January 2nd will find us having a day of thoughtfulness as it is my Father in laws funeral, a man of great gentleness, a man I never heard a bad word from in all the 30 years I knew him. He didn't like fuss and the funeral will show no frills just those who knew him being respectful, so here is to you dear gentleman......you loved your walks, the birds, the family and the cats, especially one!!

The Supreme - delayed post

A beautiful Mainecoon

We have a large exhibition centre near Birmingham, called the  NEC, it generally holds massive concerts or nationally large exhibitions. This year having not been once, I know I will now have to go again in 5 days. Once a year the 'GCCF Cat Supreme' is held at the NEC, this is similar to the much more well known Crufts for dogs. I went last year and enjoyed seeing the various unusual breeds, as well as all the merchandise which is there specifically tailored for cats which you find hard access to in the run of the mill pet stores.

Daughter with a Stormtrooper

To add a bit more fun they had Comic Com on at the same time in the adjacent hall so whilst we walked around you suddenly came across Darth Vader or a Marvel character!!! Weird.......but fun.

Comic Com

I did feel it was all a bit surreal as normally pens for the cats are only allowed to have plain white bedding etc in them, however as judging in the Supreme is different, all the pens are dressed up in a theme which this year was 'Winter Wonderland.' So what with Comic Com Characters and fake icicles coming out of our ears at the Supreme it was all a bit strange.

Petaluna - Selkirk Rex, Longhaired Curly

Burmese

Going around I found Luna and Bertie's breeder who was showing three cats and a kitten, as usual her cats are so relaxed that the kitten she had just melted my daughters heart as she looked up at her whilst ignoring all the rumble of sounds around.

They also have breeder club benches which have some cats on each demonstrating the breed and explaining pros and cons to each. I think we fell in love with the Burmese, small but laid back with a velveteen coat, the Maine Coon just so solid and steady as a cat bred to go on ships to kill rats, and the gorgeous but slightly cooky looking Devon Rex, not to everyones taste but really human orientated, small and quite crazy!!!

After a day of walking around and aching feet we left with catnip toys, a popup cube, and some "plague rats" probably the smelliest thing invented, a canvas made rat filled with stinky valerian root, sold sealed in plastic bags and to be kept there until used for a toy as they are loved by cats but not the household, pphewww.

Winter Wonderland Theme

Owner showing a Persian

That time again - cat photos from the last few warm days of autumn.

The colour on the trees has been stunning this year, our lovely Maple has only just finished with a gorgeous display of deep red foliage. On a day with bright sunshine and bright blue skies, a little warmth behind the sun and barely a breathe of wind it becomes a necessity to go out and take photos.

A quick wave of a feathered flying toy and suddenly I am surrounded by cats and I can take a myriad of photos.

Gidleigh Park - To celebrate 30 years

Perfect Chaise longue

Emperor bed

When it was our 25th Wedding Anniversary we celebrated with our first Michelin star meal at Purnells in Birmingham, Purnells and stayed at the Hotel du Vin, Hotel du Vin .This was an absolutely fantastic experience, with exciting food and lovely ambiance and a perfect hotel with a friendly feel within a short walking distance. So excited from this experience we said we would treat ourselves in the near future to another Michelin star restaurant however the months passed and we didn't treat ourselves. However I happened to mention that in early November we would be in our 30th year of meeting each other, so any excuse for a treat we booked up Gidleigh Park Hotel and Restaurant. This year it had come out tops in a Times Best 100.

The best part for me, the bathroom, aghhh

For such a treat I even bought a new dress and on Saturday we journeyed down. Of course OH being him made me bring my walking boots so on the way we could have a bird watch!!!!!! Finally after a hike and a few more driven miles under our belt we arrived at 2.00pm to get the most out of our treat. The last few miles to the hotel were interesting, the roads are narrow and high sided through a rain of autumnal orange and red falling leaves. The hotel then appeared in all its black and white beauty. We knew we were in for a treat.

The Pantry

The front door is hidden to the side and opens up to a cosy panelled reception area with soft sofas, huge bouquets of flowers and welcoming staff. I have to say at this point the staff throughout at our Gidleigh Park were truly exceptional, all were polite and friendly with an easy manner without fawning. All we needed to do was introduce ourselves and our bag had disappeared immediately and we were guided and chatted to around the hotel. Before we got to our room we were shown the 'Pantry,' I loved this was an area which had home made biscuits, tea and coffee on tap, access to yogurts and milk. At least three times we would help ourselves to a pot of tea and a few biscuits. Finally after some meandering around a couple of staircases we arrived at our room.

Our room

Our guide took us through everything showing us little wardrobes which even had waterproofs for the walk around the grounds. The beauty of our room was its cosiness, not stark or over designed. The quality just oozed, the typical things were there but other things weren't. No kettles to boil as we have the Pantry! we also had bonuses, a carafe of Madeira in the room!!! as we got shown round the heated underfloor marble made me just yearn to use all the unctuous bathroom facilities, the heated bathroom resting bed!! the modern high sided bath, the beautiful shower, and the opposite facing sinks. As we walked around the view from our three windows was astonishing, the grounds slip down   a terraced slope to the three streams that combined under three bridges into a gentle cascade of a river.

After we had fully stretched our legs around the grounds I definitely chose to make full use of that bath, this being the only special request the OH had put in when booking. More than an hour later I finally reappeared having used the heated bed also. The new dress was put on and finally after much preening we were ready to reappear for our meal. As ever the staff where courteous and so attentive as we arrived in the lovely panelled lounge, and finally we arrived at the decision to have the 'Signature' menu from this 2 star Michelin Restaurant. We did try and take photos of each course but as our conversation ran away with us so we forgot a couple of courses and took photos half way through, oops!!!!! The wine we chose was utterly fabulous from a wine list containing so many bins that it was like a small book!!! We loved the arrival of each course and especially when we tried to decipher what the waiters were telling us it was as most seemed to be French or Italian but fully accented. The surroundings, the meal and the whole ambiance was beautiful.

Fully, quite fully, we were replete from our beautiful meal. Retiring, we rerouted to our favourite 'Pantry' for a tray of tea, and on entering our room OH imbibed a gorgeous glass of the Madeira! The room had been sorted with curtains and blinds closed, the bed turned down and the lighting beautiful and subtle. We finally collapsed into the Emperor sized soft downy bed, so large that you did seem to get lost!












The wind and rain battled through the night however when we woke up we found a bright clear sky and sun burning through into the room. We could of had our Newspaper and a morning tray of tea brought up however being the early birds that we are we skipped the paper and missed the tray being brought up by being the first to breakfast. This was only after another full on soak in that gorgeous bath. Placing ourselves near the leaded windows  the sunlight beamed through and lit our table up beautifully. This time I did risk an Eggs Benedict. So many times I've had horribly pre made hollandaise and over cooked poached eggs however as you would expect the eggs with a rich golden yolk burst after a slight resistance and tumbled over the Benedict.

Photos I didn't know what to do with!!!!!