Octavia is going to a party tonight. There may be thirty people. I am finding this difficult to imagine. Yesterday I gave a talk to a room, admittedly a large one, where there were around 150 people. two years ago this would not have seemed unusual. Maybe it’s how the pandemic has changed our attitudes and expectations in subtle ways which is going to affect how we behave in the coming months.
Astonishingly a member of the government has resigned after being caught on camera kissing someone. The someone is married to someone else. The kissing also breached socially distanced rules. Matt Hancock has been our Health Secretary. He has had links to deals that reek of cronyism, indeed the kissee was a friend he appointed who had benefitted from these deals, as did her brother. He of course did not resign for such things. Corruption and lies in our present government are such every day occurrences we have learned to accept them as the norm.
Boris Johnson, our unesteemed Prime Minister, is the Liar in Chief. He is also the Adulterer in Chief, so Matt Hancock may have been following his example, believing that casual acts of adultery were not only acceptable but part of the job description. Unfortunately for Hancock he is thoroughly disliked at the Department of Health, and someone appears to have leaked the CCTV footage to The Sun newspaper. I use newspaper in the loosest sense of the word. It is red top, a tabloid to avoid if what you really want is to learn what the news is, as are all the red tops.
I was relieved to learn from a German friend of B&J that we had been spared the photograph of Johnson in his bathers, frolicking in the sea at Cornwall in front of the other G7 attendees. Our European neighbours were not so lucky. The photograph was shared in their newspapers. Johnson fully clothed is pretty disagreeable sight, unclothed is something I prefer not even to imagine.
My top priority this week was finally to go to das Boot and start the cleaning regime. I see the weather is against me with rain forecast. I’ll check again tomorrow, but then see if I can swap a job with a colleague next week and get away then when it looks more promising. Maybe I can get a haircut this week instead.
MasterB is shedding mightily and bringing up fur balls more frequently than has ever happened before. Or maybe he has brought them up outside and I have been blissfully ignorant. He doesn’t much like being groomed, unlike Cat who would lead me to his brush several times a day. Also unlike Hartley who adores being brushed. J is now his favourite person. She brushes him for minutes at a time, gives him treats, plays with him. It has reached the point where he is not allowing Romeo to approach her. As far as Hartley is concerned J belongs to him and he’s not sharing. She was sitting reading her book in the garden last week. Hartley sat beside her. He evidently hasn’t realised she has a new feline love in her life: Basil is a pretty grey and white fluff ball who has displaced Romeo from the house he was hoping to make his home and decided B&J’s garden is his territory.
Cat politics are fascinating, and unlike human ones, honest.
Stay safe. Keep well.
Isobel (and Cat)'s Blog 
Congratulations on venturing into enclosed places full of people. It is very strange indeed and we were far more comfortable during the exterior portions of our recent adventure in normal travel conditions. Its the feral cat in us, I suspect. I love the thought of back room cat strategizing on the occupation of J’s lap.
Hartley is now very possessive of J. He has definitely made up his mind that Romeo is no longer allowed any claim on her attention, and is not welcome to join us if we are sitting outside.
I agree. I love watching and interacting with my cats.
Watching and unravelling cat politics has become one of the more surprising pleasures of my life.