Jellicoe

 

Jellicoe

Our brave little cat died last Thursday morning.

Kittenish!

In his almost fourteen years of life, he won the hearts of all who met him, not just family and friends but also the professionals who dealt with him. He adored people and rewarded their attention with rich purrs and headbutts. Though armed with needle-sharp teeth and claws he never bit or scratched, even when undergoing undignified treatment requiring him to be restrained. He simply purred.

Enjoying Gilbert's warmth

When he wasn’t sitting on a human lap he was tucked up with dogs, grooming them.

The literary cat

Four and a half years ago he was diagnosed with diabetes. This condition can be difficult to manage in cats and Jellicoe’s case was particularly tricky, resulting in him having several stays in veterinary hospital. Every time he had a crisis we thought he was not going to survive and every time he proved us, and his vets, wrong. He was known to our vets as ‘One Of A Kind.’

This time it was not to be. His heart and kidneys had started to fail and treatment for one exacerbated the other and so we sadly let him go painlessly and peacefully to sleep.

Making sure Gilbert doesn't go anywhere!

It should feel strange without him, and we certainly miss his protestations that it must surely be time for a meal, but somehow it seems as though he’s still here with us. He was such a character and met and charmed two new people just the day before he died.

 Now perhaps it’s time for Herschel to emerge from Jellicoe’s shadow and enjoy his moment in the spotlight, just as Jellicoe did when their brother Isambard died.

The brothers, Jellicoe, Isambard (foreground) and Herschel.

Herschel has always been responsive, but is it our imagination that he is chatting more than ever? He is becoming accustomed to a new routine, with just two meals a day rather than the four we had to provide for Jellicoe.

A basket of kittens

Barry has often remarked that Herschel, Isambard, and Jellicoe were the best birthday presents he has ever had. They have certainly provided years of memorable entertainment and companionship.

Sometimes

 

Sometimes

                 ‘Sometimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits.’

In the evening, after the heat of the day has abated, Herschel trots into the garden and sits on an old wooden chair and gazes at the world. He seems half-asleep, but woe betide any little creature that catches his eye.

As soon as we call ‘Cats, cats, cats!’ he strolls in leisurely fashion along the garden path and then sits on the step outside the open patio door, waiting to be enticed in with ‘Treats?’

Meanwhile, Jellicoe sits on the bridge over the pond and is usually very quick to abandon his post and return indoors. Last evening, however, although he was discussing it with us, he refused to budge until he was offered some freshly cooked chicken and then he was in like a bolt from a gun.

‘Sometimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits’ has been attributed to Winnie-the-Pooh and it suits his personality, but it was not coined by A.A. Milne. 

William Gunning King (1859-1940), the British cartoonist, had a similar caption on a cartoon in Punch on 24th October 1906. The cartoon showed an old countryman and a vicar's wife. She asked him how he passed the time now he couldn't get about and the man replied with, 'Well, mum, sometimes I sits and thinks and then again I just sits.'

‘Punch, or The London Charivari’ was a British magazine of humour and political satire, which was published weekly almost continuously from 1841 to 2002. The Mr Punch puppet from Punch and Judy, was chosen as the magazine’s mascot.

William Gunning King was a painter and illustrator and was described as ‘a vigorous illustrator of rural life.’ He was commissioned to produce a painting to be used as an advertisement for ‘Bibby’s Animal Feed Company’ in Liverpool (now Bibby Agriculture).

Cattle feed advertisement for J. Bibby and Sons

 The company management claimed, ‘Nobody had a better eye for a cow than Gunning King,’ but Gunning King also painted other farm animals and rural farming scenes.

In a period of thirty years, to earn a living, he painted about 300 pictures for Bibby’s, who were one of Gunning King’s many patrons.

In 1905 he began submitting work to Punch. The following cartoon from 11^th November 1914, has the captions:

Cyclist to shopkeeper: “Many recruits gone from this village?”

Shopkeeper to cyclist: “No, Sir.”

Cyclist to shopkeeper: “Oh, why’s that?”

Shopkeeper to cyclist: “Well, Sir, after going carefully into the matter, we, in this neighbourhood, decided to remain absolutely neutral.”

 (That reminded me of the ‘nuclear-free zone’ in London in the 1980s.)

The First World War (The Great War) started on 28^th July 1914 and continued until 11^th November 1918.

Sleeping cats on a hot afternoon

 

Sleeping cats on a hot afternoon

Herschel snores very loudly

Leonardo da Vinci said, ‘The smallest feline is a masterpiece,’ while Oscar Wilde wrote ‘Cats are put on earth to remind us that not everything has a purpose.’ 

There was a young lady of Niger

Who smiled as she rode on a tiger;

They returned from the ride

With the lady inside,

And the smile on the face of the tiger.

                                        William Cosmo Monkhouse (1840-1901) 

Our cats are limp with heat, stretching full length on cool surfaces, dreaming and twitching in their sleep.

A butterfly fluttered into the sitting room on Saturday morning. It flew aimlessly round the room, failing to find the patio door by which it had entered. Eventually, it flew too close to the floor, where Jellicoe was sitting. He promptly captured it. There was nothing left to identify, so it can only be assumed that it made a small snack for an alert cat.

 

A bird in the . . .

 . . . conservatory is worth seeing.

 On Sunday evening a confused, new member of the garden avian community flew indoors. There are many plants on the windowsills and floor, enough to fool an inexperienced fledgling into thinking it’s found a rare jungle.

Herschel alerted Barry to the incomer, and he and Jellicoe were summarily hustled into the kitchen. As Barry searched for the elusive chick, wondering if his eyes had been playing tricks on him, Herschel suddenly signalled. Sure enough, a small bird was fluttering in one of the plant trays. It looked as if it was having a dip, though I suspect it was too tense to consider relaxing in a tepid bath, and was literally in a flap!

We made sure the external door was open and the internal door locked and left the little bird to its own devices, hoping it would find its way out without too much stress. Meanwhile, the cats were forbidden the freedom of the conservatory.

We discovered another, larger bird on the conservatory roof. A woodpigeon had met its end there. It looks just as if it is resting. In a sense, I suppose it is. It was an odd place for it to be, far from the gutter or the apex, with no place to perch.

 We rarely find dead birds and it’s sad to see something that was once so vibrant now still and lifeless.

 

 

Improving

 

Improving

He has a faintly piratical look now, but with a white patch, rather than a black.

It’s been two and half months since Jellicoe’s operation. His eye is improving all the time. He’ll never look the same again, but his personality remains unchanged.

In every other respect, he’s back to normal, doing everything he’s accustomed to. It’s good to see.

As he was, with symmetrical facial markings

Jiggery pokery

 

Jiggery pokery

Whereas Labradors will do anything for food, wherever it is presented to them, cats can be unpredictable. Jellicoe and Herschel are fed in separate rooms, because Herschel eats more quickly than Jellicoe, and then wants to eat his brother’s fare. In addition, each of them shows a preference for the other’s food, to the extent of walking away from their own bowls, and pretending indifference. Left to their own devices – that is, shut into their rooms - they will return to their dishes and finish their meals.

There has been a change in the last couple of days, with neither of them showing much interest in their own food. I have changed over the bowls and the cats, and that seems to have worked. It appears that they are fooled into thinking they are getting each other’s dishes, simply because they are each eating in the other’s ‘room.’

It is a little worrying, because Jellicoe is usually ravenous, but he has been a little spoilt recently with freshly cooked chicken, so he’s always looking around in the expectation of that particular treat.

We shall keep an eye on him. I’m sure he does it to keep us on our toes!

Driven!

 

Driven!

Jellicoe models his recovery cone

With his head securely surrounded by a blue recovery cone of washable material, Jellicoe is prevented from scratching or grooming. The hood is fastened with draw cords around his neck, and protects the site of the oesophageal tube insertion while it heals, as well as his eye. He did manage to remove the cone one day, and immediately scratched his neck and made it bleed, but we were able to replace it instantly, and no lasting harm was done.

Every day brings another small improvement in Jellicoe’s recovery. On Sunday, he headbutted me, something he had not done since his operation. It is a sign of affection and bonding, and I hadn’t realised how much I had missed it.

He is not a cat who overgrooms. Some cats wash for hours after eating, or being touched by humans, but Jellicoe and Herschel do only what is necessary and no more to keep their fur in good condition.

However, the urge to groom is extremely strong, and he licks his paw, as he would normally, to scrub his face, and works hard to complete his ablutions, ‘washing’ the exterior of his hood. It looks very endearing, but I wonder if he is frustrated by not being able to complete the task effectively. The rasping of his tongue on the material is persistent and quite loud. Eventually, he stops, and then attempts to satisfy an itch, again being able only to scratch his collar.

Gilbert quickly overcame his consternation at the sight of the wavering blue object making its way around the house, and realised it was only his little friend in strange head gear. The cone accentuates the lateral movement of the head common to all cats, wild or domestic, as Jellicoe saunters across a room.

The eye is not completely healed, but looks much less sore. Jellicoe does not appreciate eye drops being applied, but the cat heroin he is still having once a day soon sends him off to sweet dreamland.

In a few days’ time he will return to the Aura, for his condition to be assessed. Hopefully, he will not need any further surgery.

Veterinary medicine and surgery are extraordinarily advanced. There are significant overlaps and coordination between the two disciplines. For example, research into Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) has contributed to AIDs research for almost forty years, leading to the development of antivirals for the treatment of HIV.

Advances have also been made in the study and control of zoonoses. The ‘One Medicine’ concept advocates studying diseases across species, to the benefit of increasing knowledge in human and animal pathology.

Guess!

 

Guess!

‘I think I’ll get two,’ he said, apropos of nothing.

There are times when I listen carefully to any following remarks in the hope that I can disentangle what he means. Now, frequently short of patience, I am more inclined to ask, ‘What are you talking about?’

Following a butterfly mind as it flits from topic to topic, subjects often only loosely associated with each other, can be exhausting. It’s not sufficient that I note what he’s carrying so that I can tell him later where he’s left his keys, wallet, pen, notebook, coat, tablet, or any number of other items of greater or lesser importance that migrate from room to room, and occasionally to the car. No, I have to work out which of the many subjects he’s researching to understand where his mind has taken him. It could be anything from camera lenses to history to specialised wire to reading glasses.

This time, it was insulin for Jellicoe. We like to ensure that we have plenty in reserve in case we drop a bottle, which then breaks – this has happened only once, but could happen again. Each time he goes to the animal hospital, Barry takes insulin, syringes, needles, and a supply of diabetic food in case Jellicoe has to stay there. So, he decided to get two bottles of insulin from the chemist, but, as it turns out, there was only one available, and he has to go back tomorrow. Let’s hope we don’t drop any bottles tonight.

It’s a grand life if you don’t weaken! 

A note from Jellicoe

 

A note from Jellicoe

Hello everyone. Thank you so much for all your good wishes - you’re truly kind. I feel as though I’ve got friends all over the world.

I have had an interesting couple of weeks. I’ve met some really nice vets and nurses who made a great fuss of me, even though they shaved off so much of my fur and sliced lumps out of me.

I spent a few nights away from home, which was strange, and quite lonely, because I’m used to cuddling up with the dogs and The THINKER and The MAID. I wasn’t feeling very well, though, so it was as well that I was sleeping on my own in a nice secure kennel. I even had to spend some time in an oxygen tent because I was having difficulty breathing, and everyone was worried about me.

Soon, I was well enough to go home, but I couldn’t see out of my eye- the one below where the lump and the lymph node were taken out – as it was very swollen. I really looked a terrible mess. The THINKER and the MAID took photographs of me, but they haven’t shown them to anyone because they’re not nice. 

I had a tube in my neck, which seemed odd. I had to have that because the nice vets had taken some tissue from my mouth to build up my eye-lid, so my mouth was sore. I was wearing a soft collar round my neck to keep the tube in place, and a collar of shame to stop me scratching and licking where I shouldn’t. The THINKER and the MAID had to feed me through the tube, and it took forever, especially the first time.

After a few days, I went back to the hospital to have the tube removed. The nice vets and nurses were very pleased with me. It was so good to be able to eat properly again. I had lost quite a lot of weight, so I had to and see Selene-the-Vet. She was rather shocked when she saw me as I wasn’t my usual handsome self. My glucose curve had to be checked and now I’m back to my normal insulin dose.

I still don’t look very lovely, but the swellings are all going down and I can see out of my eye now. I look more like a cat than a battered old football, and my fur is growing back quickly. Next week I have to go back to have my stitches out.

The MAID and The THINKER discussed whether they had done the right thing in letting me have an operation, but agreed that the alternative, of letting the cancer take its course, would have been far worse. They took the advice of Selene-the-Vet first of all, and then the recommendation of the nice vets at the hospital.

I’m just glad to be home, where I belong.

(The MAID speaks: you can learn more about why we’re called The MAID and The THINKER in this blog post.)

 

Collective

Rather than reply individually to your very kind comments, for which I thank you all very much, I thought I’d give you a generalised update on Jellicoe’s Jolly Japes.

Last Thursday, he had an operation to remove a tumour above his left eye. At the same time, an associated lymph node was removed. Tissue was taken from his mouth to reconstruct his eyelid. (In humans, a graft would be taken from any suitable part of the body since we’re not generally covered in fur/hair.)

After four nights away, he came home on Monday. He was very pleased to be back in his old stamping ground and was enthusiastically sniffed by his house mates (not the human ones!) Gilbert is rather worried by the blue cone that moves about the house but is coming to terms with it being a temporary addition to his friend, Jellicoe.

As he could not eat normally, an oesophageal tube was placed in his neck, and it is through this that all food and medication is delivered via syringe.

Not being experts, we worry at every little twitch or hiccough, but he seems to be surviving, despite our attentions. We are less ham-fisted as time and feedings pass, and should be proficient by the end of the week, when, hopefully, the feeding tube will be removed, and our new expertise will no longer be required. He’s sleeping a lot, which is to be expected, since he’s been coshed with drugs, but is interested in food, though he’s not allowed to attempt to eat at the moment. He is more alert, when not asleep (!) and every small improvement is welcomed.

At present, he looks as though he’s been involved in a bar brawl and has definitely come off worst. To be honest, he looks a mess, but will improve as the swellings reduce. We still keep telling him he’s a beautiful boy, but he really isn’t, apart from temperamentally.

To think that some humans put themselves through surgery to improve what Nature bestowed on them! It’s just not worth it. 

 

Jellicoe comes home

Jellicoe is home after a few days in the Aura animal hospital in Guildford.

         He has to have five feeds a day, taking half an hour each, plus medication.                                                            

It’s a good thing we haven’t anything else to do in the next few days!                          

  

A visit to the hospital

 

A visit to the hospital

Jellicoe and Herschel

When Jellicoe visited the vet recently for a regular check-up, it transpired that he, too, has a heart murmur, like his brother. Additionally, a biopsy of the cyst that had reappeared on his head indicated that it was malignant and he would have to go to an animal hospital for treatment.

This morning Barry took him to Aura, the animal hospital in Guildford. As we were not sure whether the consultation would lead to an immediate surgical procedure, Jellicoe was only allowed a token breakfast, a quarter of his usual ration, because, as a diabetic cat, he must have insulin injections regularly. He was not happy and kept miaouing and following me for more food.

The outcome was that he has to return tomorrow for an echocardiogram before an operation next week. This is to ensure that he is fit enough for surgery, just as happens with human surgical procedures.

Many pet insurers have raised their cover to £25,000, but ours tops out at £12,000. Veterinary medicine is now so sophisticated that £12,000 is soon swallowed up in tests.

We are looking at alternative providers. Roxy and the cats are probably too old to transfer, although Jellicoe is the only one with pre-conditions, but Gilbert is still a young lad.

Peacekeeper

 

Peacekeeper

The brothers were having a spat. Jellicoe started it, as he often does. When he lost interest, Herschel began a new offensive and fur started to fly. Normally, they stop when I tell them, ‘No squabbling!’ but today they ignored me.

 Then Roxy stepped between them with a sharp ’grump’ and they nonchalantly turned away, their body language clearly indicating that they weren’t doing anything of great import and why was she making a fuss, anyway?

All the quadrupeds then had treats, dried chicken for the felines and carrots for the canines.

Roxy could teach the powers that be a thing or two about exercising law and order, with no damage to body or mind. She is gentle and kindly but will not stand any nonsense. She is the matriarch.

Humdinger

 

Humdinger

Sometimes my fingers take on an independent life and type something quite other than I intended. For example, while looking up ‘humdinger’ I inadvertently typed, humdinbgerf. It was quite a pleasing word, I felt, and Bing agreed, saying, That’s quite a word you’ve invented there — humdinbgerf has a fun, bouncy rhythm to it. It feels like it could mean anything from a mythical creature to the sound your brain makes when it’s overloaded.

I typed again and this time created hjumdinger, to which Bing responded with, hjumdinger has a totally different vibe from your earlier invention — it feels sharper, almost like a word that announces itself.

It could easily be:

·         a quirky gadget (“Pass me the hjumdinger, the screws are tiny”)

·         a celebratory exclamation (“Well that’s a real hjumdinger of a win”)

·         or even a creature that lives in the corner of a fantasy tavern, judging everyone silently

In addition to mistyping, there’s the accidental striking of the CAPS KEY AND THE CHAOS THAT CREATES.

Occasionally, one of the cats, usually Jellicoe, walks across the keyboard, exercising his inner creativity. This becomes more pronounced the closer it gets to one of his mealtimes.

 

Herschel

 

                                                                                                                            Herschel

Herschel soaks up the warmth.

Does my life revolve around animals? Yes, four-legged and two-legged. On Monday last week, it was Herschel’s turn to spend a day with the vets. He arrived at 8:45 and had four teeth extracted. By half past three in the afternoon he was home again, and very pleased to be in his normal surroundings. He rubbed all round the dogs, purring loudly. We were told that he had been a very good boy and let the veterinary staff do all they had to do without fuss.

Two days later he was due to have a routine check to make sure everything was healing properly, but in the morning he was not very interested in his breakfast and was only persuaded to eat it with the addition of some chicken broth. He licked up the liquid very readily, but still left the meat, so his appointment was brought forward. The vet could find nothing wrong but felt he must be in pain, so prescribed some pain-killers for him. She gave him one before he came home and he was a very happy boy. We thought he might be a bit high on the drug as he was charging around the house, and we wondered if he would ever settle down to sleep that night.

The prescription was for a minute amount of liquid to be squirted into his throat, where it would be absorbed through the mucous membrane. Cats don’t take kindly to having things sprayed anywhere near them, let alone into their mouths. To add insult to the process, the medicine obviously tasted foul. Even worse was the fact that it had to be administered three times a day.

Herschel is a very forgiving cat. He struggles to get away when he senses what is about to happen. but never scratches or bites. A quick scruffing and the job is soon done, the pain is alleviated and peace is restored. He is now eating normally again. Long may it last!

Yesterday, when Charlie (10) and Jack (7) were with us for the day, both Herschel and Jellicoe received an extraordinary amount of attention. To Charlie’s delight, Herschel went to sleep on his lap and remained there for a long time. This served a double purpose. Sleep is good for healing and recovery, and Charlie was where we could see him and not able to slope off to nick more trifle!

The ‘phone rang . . .

 

The ‘phone rang . . .

. . . but Barry couldn’t find it, He could have answered it on his watch, but that’s not very satisfactory. He found his ‘phone in the shower room. He’d taken it in there to clean his teeth, or, I should say, while he cleaned his teeth. He uses it to time the tooth-cleaning ritual. Technophile? Never!

Anyway, it was our grandson calling to say he’d just dropped his wife off at the railway station and was travelling on to see us. He would be with us shortly. We just had time to tidy the major muddles and put clean covers on the chairs before he arrived, one little girl in his arms and her older sister following.

The first thing Melia did was to remove her shoes. She’s such a competent little girl. Little children’s shoes just melt my heart.

Hailey sat on my lap and gazed at me, as if trying to memorise my face. It’s a toss-up with babies if they’re going to cry or smile. She smiled and then she giggled. Well, I’m enough to make a cat laugh!

Melia is an observant and helpful big sister, giving Hailey a toy to play with if she seemed to need something.

Roxy was delighted to see Callum. He’s her favourite person in the entire world and she stayed very close to him all the time he was with us.

Gilbert had seen the little girls before, but he was so careful, particularly with the baby, sniffing her cautiously, so worried about doing the wrong thing.

 Arthur had not experienced small humans until today, and he was excited to discover how tasty they smelt. Hailey enjoyed having her toes and fingers gently licked.

Herschel and Jellicoe were indifferent, as is their wont.

Young children are so photogenic. They know when they are being filmed or photographed but are unselfconscious, natural subjects.

All too soon, it was time for them to go home. Hailey fell asleep as soon as she settled in her car seat. She had missed her afternoon nap, but wasn’t grizzly, as some often are when tired. Callum had the unenviable task of preventing Melia falling asleep on the journey home. I hope he managed it!

It was an unexpected visit and so lovely to see them.

 The bonus was that they were able to take their Christmas presents home with them, plus a couple of other things. It wasn’t quite a garage clear-out, but a few things have gone to new homes. The most important was a small upstairs dog crate for the puppy they’re collecting on Friday. Their young dog died unexpectedly three months ago, and their older dog has been missing her. There will be much excitement!

Off to the vet

 

Off to the vet

Arthur cuddles his mistress

Jellicoe, our delicate diabetic cat, likes to keep us on our toes. Normally ravenous, any change in his approach to food is a hint that something is amiss. Last week he began to show signs of a diminishing interest in his elevenses. There were no other indications. Breakfast had been consumed with sufficient enthusiasm, but we have learnt not to ignore subtle changes. Cats can become ill very quickly - Jellicoe has proved that more than once

A visit to Selene-the-vet showed that he had an infection, so an antibiotic injection was administered, his ears were thoroughly cleaned, and his claws were clipped. The claws were nothing to do with his health, but more concerned with his method of attracting notice to his need for breakfast. After a twelve-hour fast, he is more than ready for a meal. He draws attention to his hunger with sharp-needled taps and gentle nips on any adjacent adult.

Having settled his requirements, we thought his brother Herschel really ought to have his teeth checked. He hasn’t shown any signs of discomfort, and his breath is as acceptable as any healthy cat’s, but he is thirteen now, so an appointment was made for Monday.

 He accepted his temporary imprisonment in the cat carrier nonchalantly, sniffing carefully because Jellicoe had recently been transported in it. The result was that he needs a couple of extractions. The vets will pre-authorise it with the insurance company and then Herschel will spend a day with them in the near future. It’s always worrying when pets have to have surgical interventions, particularly as they grow older. However, it’s better to do it before problems arise.

Roxy relaxes elegantly with Herschel

In the afternoon, Roxy had her annual medical. She’s nearly eleven years old, but behaves as though she’s eleven months old. She had a clean bill of health, and is just the right weight, though she’d love the opportunity to overeat and pile on the pounds.

We could have sung ‘In and out the dusty bluebells’ as first one animal was seen and then another and in between whiles, there was a refreshing walk in the rain.

 

A visitor

 

A visitor

Arthur is visiting us for a few days while his mistress is otherwise occupied. She cannot leave him alone overnight. Roxy and Gilbert were delighted to see their little friend again. Herschel and Jellicoe attained the heights and looked down until they remembered that Arthur is no threat to them whatsoever, and anyway, they’re cats, and lords of the manor.

On going into the bathroom, Susannah was startled to find syringes laid out neatly on the counter top. This was not a sight with which she was familiar in her family home.

However, she quickly realised that they are ink jet syringes, used for refilling printer cartridges. What a relief!

Keeping watch

 

Keeping watch

                                            Jellicoe and Gilbert

Gilbert often sits at the open patio door, gazing into the garden, sniffing the air, watching the birds. Note how his ears are pinned back, listening for any sounds of food preparation.

Jellicoe loves Gilbert and joins him at every opportunity. Together they are guarding the house and the humans against all comers.

Earlier, they were watching the big television screen, our window on the world, which acts like a moving panorama. It may show a canal journey, a drone view of Switzerland, Japanese rail travel, a myriad other things, or, as at present, nothing at all.

Onto the screen, courtesy of Steve Reed, came a jaunty young fox, to which Gilbert took great and noisy exception. He is not prone to barking, but something about a fox where it should not be really set his hackles up and raised his voice to full volume.

As he yelled at the television, so Roxy leapt from her bed and joined her voice to his. She had no idea why she was barking and was looking into the garden, hoping for a glimpse of whatever had upset her big friend. Herschel and Jellicoe ignored the hullabaloo, as cats are wont to do.

Eventually, with a mixture of admonishments and praise – ‘Stop it, that’s enough,’ and ‘Well done, good dogs,’ – peace was restored, and all the four legged animals resumed their slumbers.

In other news, we have succumbed to the chill and lit our first fire of the autumn. Herschel assumed his customary position, with his back to the warmth. The seasonal task of checking levels in the coal bunker will  recommence soon.

I half expect to see the silhouettes of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel, chapter 3) walking across the burning coals.