Before we set out on our holidays I put the suitcases out to
air – here is our Pushkin reclining in what he fashioned into temporary
quarters. He has an unerring ability to avail
himself of maximum comfort.
On our return to Greece, we learned
that there had been continual and then, latterly, torrential rain. These two
shots show what our ‘road’ was like on our return, days afterwards when the ground
had still not been able to absorb any more water. When you see the claggy mess on our tyres, you
can imagine how hard it is for me to negotiate on foot!
It’s always good to get home after
an absence, but with heavy hearts we learned that Pushkin had been missing for some
days. Now he had always had what seemed like an Aboriginal urge to go walk-about,
exploring the local terrain, but he had never had such an extended absence
before. After ten days had passed we began to fear the worst and had to accept
that his safe return would be unlikely. We had learned that the surge of floodwater
had swept away a neighbour’s car in its force - what hope had a cat of surviving
in such conditions?
Imagine then how I felt last night when I
heard a wailing outside - turning down the TV volume I suspected my wishful
thinking had overpowered all logic - but no - the wail increased to a
caterwauling that could only have been Pushkin-produced. I opened the door to our
mog, swept him into my arms and gave him the biggest cuddle of his life! H was
speechless when he saw Pushkie who was now clamouring
for food. He bears no scars, but is uncharacteristically
timorous, starting at any sudden sound, and almost insatiably hungry. We
certainly know that he was well out of his comfort zone and still feels very
insecure - he cries if we leave him on his own. We will probably never learn of
his adventure but we are just so grateful and happy to have that prodigal puss
back! Here he is after enjoying his breakfast on his first day back home.
Our first holiday destination was Exeter to visit Pam, a
flat-mate of long-time-gone in Thessaloniki. Her adopted city is outstandingly
beautiful: here is the Cathedral, dedicated to St Peter, and dating back to 1050,
although the imposing Gothic spires we see now are mainly from around 1400.
Below we see evidence of Elizabethan architecture in these
beautiful buildings looking on to Cathedral Green, where students and tourists
sat out enjoying the brilliant sunshine. And H found what claims to be possibly
the narrowest street in the world: Parliament Street which measures only 25
inches at its narrowest, increasing to 45 inches. You can just see that slim
gap behind him - can anyone top that ??
Walking along the banks of the
River Exe, we see the recently refurbished area where warehouses tell of the booming
woollen cloth trade here at its peak at the end of the 17th century.
The local museum exhibits and information testify to the significant city that
Exeter was throughout history; its name suggests that the city was of Celtic
origin, while excavations have shown there was a Roman military fortress there
around AD 55. Now it is the university
that gives it an international tenor.
We take a short drive down to Topsham
where the Earls of Devon had weirs built to prevent boats from travelling any
further than here, so that they could exact tolls for transporting goods to
Exeter. So it was that the Exeter Canal
was built to bypass these weirs; completed in 1566, it is one of the oldest artificial
waterways in Britain.
We take long walks, enjoying the peace and quiet, with ducks
and swans keeping us company in this beautiful backdrop.
Of course, you work up a really healthy appetite with all
this fresh air- here we are relaxing and catching up on our news, enjoying some
pizza and pasta.
And just as we began
with a cat so we end with Pam, our gracious hostess, and her feline friend,
Jojo. Now you may see that Jojo is
suffering from the Tomcat equivalent of ‘red-eye’ in this
shot, but I was reluctant to photo-shop it out – the turquoise shade matches the
shade of Pam’s clothes and jewellery too well!
