The Cat Crept Into The Crypt...

From the Catmeister

As this blog heads for the magic figure of 10,000 pageviews, I thought it might be a good idea once again to thank my loyal readers (some really do exist!) for faithfully visiting the blog site to read my latest outpouring of cynicism, sarcasm and good, old-fashioned bile. In the 16 months or so that I've been doing this, I've come to love the Cat; he's my virtual pet. I've gained many valuable insights into his ways by observing the moggies we've had at home over the years. The great thing about cats is that they're incorrigibly cool; they come and go as they please, and if they don't feel like human company or attention, then they simply don't look for it. They're their own creatures, and they have their own agendas, without reference to anyone else. I like that.

The frequency of the postings isn't consistent; for this I apologise; the output of blog postings in any given week is dependent on various factors, the least of which is the abundance (or absence) of any new external point of stimulation for the Cat reflex, which is mainly triggered by some new moronic development in the fantasy world of politics and other debased forms of culture. I could risk repeatedly regurgitating the same old themes, but I'd soon get bored with that, and I'm sure you would as well. Output also depends on my own personal circumstances, too. This last few months have been challenging, especially for my wife, who has had to deal with her remaining parent's decline in health and subsequent death.

I could have chosen my own home turf in the East Midlands for the historical backdrop of the blog, but I preferred to choose Caedmon and Whitby because I admire what little I know of the man, and love the place (although I haven't been there for years), and I'm also fascinated by its place in the history of the Christian Church in the British Isles. The Venerable Bede's 'History Of The English Church and People' has been very useful in providing the background. Like Holy Island, Jarrow and Iona, Whitby (Streonaeshalch) holds a significant place in the development of the Church in this country, especially so because it was the setting for a significant synod in 664 AD, which settled existing conflicts - cultural and theological - between the existing Celtic church and the newly-arrived Catholic import from Rome, which came to Canterbury through Augustine.

My influences are varied. I've been particularly inspired by the 'Way Of The World' column in the Daily Telegraph that the late Auberon Waugh used to write; many a time I would laugh out loud at his acerbic offerings, which were superbly illustrated by the late William Rushton; there are things Waugh wrote 20+ years ago that wouldn't be published today, for fear of setting in motion the Great Diversity Machine of Death. I have to mention Private Eye, which has always been impartial in its swipes against the Establishment and its lackeys. As a youngster I was an avid reader, and I owe a great deal of my love for the richness of English vocabulary to - believe it or not -  Leslie Charteris, whose Simon Templar ('The Saint') novels were as linguistically educational as they were exciting and entertaining. I could also go on to mention Voltaire's 'Candide,' and the works of Stephen Leacock, but I have to stop somewhere. If there are any deficiencies in my style, spelling or punctuation, please forgive me. I'm usually quite punctilious about these things, but a hastily-dashed off missive in a lunch-break will always result in lapses and oversights.

Thank you for your continued support; if there are any issues you think are worthy of a Cat's eye view, please drop me a line through the email address above. I'd be highly delighted to hear from you - especially if you share my high regard for the machinations of the political elite.. ;o)

The Cat will return from the Crypt soon - Deus Volente.

DAF