Goodbye, Phyllis, sad death of our doyenne cat

About two years ago, we agreed to accept two elderly cats from John and Barbara , who were returning o the UK but couldn't take the cats, as they were going into sheltered accommodation. Although they were very fond of the cats, who were eighteen years old at the time, they couldn't find a host family, ad had asked the vet to put them down rather than send them to a home. You can imagine their relief hen we saw their appeal  and volunteered to offer them a home. They were hugely grateful and showered us with equipment for the elderly cats , even offering to pay for vet bills. We collected the cats and shut them in the lounge until they were used to their new address. Attoo passed on after about a year but Phyllis lasted up to yesterday , eating well and being an affectionate lap-cat pulling herself onto our laps by her front paws as her back feet were too weak. She plodded about like an old lady and we suspected that she had the feline equivalent of Alzheimer's. She purred when stroked, came when called, what more could be asked?
  She was almost twenty years old when her luck ran out. She was not keen on her food one day, and this morning when I put out her food she just looked at it. She felt cold when I lifted her up and fell on her side in her box. I realised she had passed on. It was scarcely unexpected, but sad nevertheless...
  We wrapped her in a pillow case and asked our gardening ladies to dig her a grave. One even shed a tear on hearing the news.
   She will be sadly missed, been a part of our life for a couple of years.....

   Bye for now, got to go to Niort for a MRI

Christmas at Lille

       As was our normal routine, we decided to spend Christmas with our friends Cecile and Patrick at Watignies, close to Lille in northern France. Although my health was a little shaky, we decided to go for it and make the trip. We took two days to cover the distance, spending the night near Charles de Gaule airport at a Formula One hotel at St Witz.
   Cecile and Patrick welcomed us warmly at their home near the centre of Watignies. It is a most luxurious modern house created from Patrick's father's veg garden, approached via a tunnel from the centre of the town,which seems to lead to the rear yard of a cafe. You wriggle your car down this unpromising entry, turn sharp right in front of a small terrace of houses, including the house of P's father, turn sharp left and you find yourself in a sort of oasis-garden in the middle of the town, facing Cecile and Patrick 's large home, which originally had a granny annex for Cecile's mother, sadly deceased a year ago.
  We were given the guest room on the first floor. C and p's daughter and friend were also staying but as Dimitry is allergic to cats, they stayed in the caravan parked in the garden and all cats were prohibited from entering the house, which didn't please them! However the couple proved invaluable in assisting Cecile in cooking meals. However, we were 32 people at dinner on Christmas Day and Eric Sacleux, and Patrick were responsible for preparing and serving the sumptuous repas. Our contribution was five goat's cheeses on leaves much appreciated at Lille. An iced Christmas cake was also baked and taken up with us.
    We took the dogs with us, but our friend Agnes was kind enough to look after the cats, poultry and sheep, as well as keeping an eye on the house. In spite of our qualms before going, we were made so welcome and had such a great time that we returned home very much happier than when we left.
    Bye for now, I'll try to blog more regularly in future.