An introduction to Secret Squeak

A while back I introduced you to Francesca’s cat Squeak (see The Night Visitor), the self-appointed owner of the bed. However, Squeak doesn’t just commandeer the blankets at night; she can often be found spreading her sleepy paws over the sheets in the daytime hours when nobody’s at home. Unfortunately, Squeak gets bored between sleeps…

Single doubt

There’s a veiled expectation when asking someone to tell you the first single they bought, as if the answer would define them as a person, or cast a revealing light on their future musical tastes. Yet, for most people I know (including myself), the first single you bought represents nothing more than a kneejerk response…

Push

The limited cook

Good meals do not begin with the instruction ‘pierce film lid’. I suppose I’ve been a slave to the ready meal for about twenty years now – well, it’s the easy option for lazy evenings and marginally healthier than a takeaway. Some ready meals need nothing more than a perfunctory 90-second blast in the microwave,…

The application form

Searching for a job requires the ancient discipline of filling in forms. This almost always involves hunting around for contact details of all your previous places of work and the postcode of your secondary school. Still, digging out the old National Record of Achievement (the misguided 90’s academic CV whose impracticality has earned it its…

The Night Visitor

Francesca’s cat Squeak is enigmatic – and a bit of a tease. Boasting a silky black coat and bushy, squirrel-like tail (this is Squeak, not Fran), she fearfully runs away from anyone approaching her, stops, then looks back over her furry shoulder as if to say “Aren’t you going to chase me?”. I’ve come to…

This way and that

Living on the main thoroughfare between a police station and the nearest motorway, I tend to hear more than my fair share of police sirens and flashing lights – if we’re being specific, the cops tend to put them on just outside my house as it’s the first moment in their journey they encounter static…

Feeding time

Walking the Ouse Valley Way with a bag o’ bread, hoping to feed the ducks that reside in the lakes and reservoirs. Unfortunately the only ducks I found were circling various islands, far beyond the range of my throwing arm. I know this because I gave it a go in an attempt to draw the…

Buzz

Working in the country, you get used to insects and creepy-crawlies making their way into your work space, particularly in hot weather when the windows are open. So, it was unsurprising when a hornet found itself in our office but I didn’t realise this until after the girls had suddenly shrieked and ran out, closing…

Urban romance

The couple sheltering from the rain under my archway were probably enjoying a magical romantic moment – until I unwittingly blundered outside to check the credit on my gas meter. I suppose for them the clichés of time standing still were in full effect. I’ve experienced this phenomena before but usually during such activities as…