The Mystery

 

The Mystery

If we want to freshen the air in the house, we open all the windows and have a good breeze running through. I also have reed diffusers in the porch and the cloakroom with a citrus scent. These give a subtle, unobtrusive, fresh, warm smell.

On Friday, the day before Bethan and Robert were due to visit us, I noticed an unpleasant smell in the sitting room. I had recently bought a different diffuser. It was so strong that the aroma caught in the back of my throat and gave me a headache. I moved it to the porch, where it continued to choke me when I went to the front door.

I tried a different one, which smelt fresher, but again, it eventually irritated my throat.

We wondered if there had been a chemical reaction somehow, though with what we couldn’t imagine. Eventually, I put the diffusers in the garden, but the nauseating smell remained indoors. Meanwhile, Barry took the dogs out for a walk, leaving me to continue last minute tasks.

I thought the revolting smell might be coming in from outside, and wondered if maybe it was the drains, so I shut the patio doors. The smell remained. I opened the doors again to allow some fresh air in. The smell seemed to gain in intensity, and I could not pinpoint the source.

When Bethan ‘phoned to say they were on their way, I thought that I must warn her of the awful smell. That way they could change their plans if they decided they didn’t want to share the odour with us. I would have understood completely, and rather fancied being somewhere else entirely myself.

However, they continued their journey and arrived just after midday. They noticed the smell – how could they not? – but said it was not as disgusting as I had suggested.

We had a very pleasant day together, but the smell lingered, and I was sure it was increasing. Just before Bethan and Robert left to return home, they traced the smell to a cupboard housing electronic equipment. Opening its doors released an almost overpowering malodorous stench.

As soon as the front door had closed behind them, Barry put on his head torch and started searching. There was nothing in the cupboard that shouldn’t be there, but on the floor behind it, among the wires, was the decomposing body of a mouse. It was swiftly removed and consigned to the bin and the smell dissipated almost immediately.

I believe we have Jellicoe to thank for this unexpected and undesirable gift. When he catches mice, he likes to bring them into the house. They are not always extinct. Obviously, he had brought one in while we were not in the room and it had had enough strength to escape, only to die behind the cupboard, poor little thing.

We are relieved that the drains are not problematic and that the floorboards will not have to be lifted. We will continue to do what we did the other day, and that is, to shut the patio door if we are not in the sitting room, to prevent Jellicoe bringing his prizes indoors.

Indeed, a couple of days ago, he was yelling at the door to be let in. As I opened the door, I noticed a lifeless mouse on the patio. Once they are dead, Jellicoe is no longer interested in them. Fortunately, he does not eat them. It’s better than being overrun with mice, anyway.

Cat and mouse

Not your usual cat and mouse game!

Winston’s July blog

This is one of my July 2009 portraits

Winston here . . . p'rrrrr, p'rrrrr . . .
Well, it's busy here again don'tcha know. Gillian and the children came with their dogs for a couple of days.

On one of the days Gillian cuddled Monty while Marnie clipped his claws. Mrs Human sometimes clips them but says she hasn't got enough hands and Mr H says he'll help but then doesn't coz he gets wrapped up in other things. Then Marnie did mine and she was surprised coz I struggled and Monty didn't and I'm really a much more laid-back cat than him. Anyway, we don't click on the floor quite so much now.

Me and Monty are always pleased to see different visitors. We specially like Foxy coz she's ever so soft. She's almost the same colour as me but the humans say she's fox-red colour. I'm not – I'm hot chocolate. Anyway we look good together, her and me. I rubbed all round her face when she first arrived and she looked a bit confused. Then I heard Gillian telling Mr and Mrs H – they're her parents don'tcha know – anyway she told them that Mouse doesn't let Foxy do that to her. Me and Monty've never met Mouse. She lives in Dorset in Gillian and Paul's house and she's an old cat. Yes, that's right – she's a cat called Mouse.

I don't know – these humans, what would you do with them? Mouse had a sister called Buttons but she was killed on the road when she was very young. I'm glad me and Monty don't go out – well, only sometimes for a quick sniff round the garden. So – two cats, one called after something humans put on their clothes to stop them falling off and one named for a small wild animal us cats normally hunt. As if that's not enough they called one of their dogs Tia, short for Tia Maria – that's a drink – and the other one's dubbed Foxy after another bigger wild animal. I s'pose foxes do look a bit like dogs – we see them sometimes walking across the garden.

When Gillian and the children went home they left Tia and Foxy here. Apparently they're staying for about two weeks for their holiday. Monty's ever so pleased coz he really likes dogs and Foxy don't mind him padding her. She don't mind what he does – she just likes the attention.

Even with these extra mouths to feed it's pretty quiet. Mr H isn't feeling very well – something to do with pigs he thought but Mrs H says he's just under the weather. Funny that, last time I saw him he was under the duvet. Mrs H says he's caught Gillian's cold. Hope the hot sun in France is making her feel better.

I see it's nearly supper-time. Every time Mrs H has moved for the last hour all the dogs have leapt up and followed her, even Tia who's upstairs keeping Mr H company. She and Foxy aren't allowed on the beds in their house don'tcha know but as Mr and Mrs H said, they're on holiday too. It's a bit busy up there at night though and noisy too if they're snoring. Ooh supper – yum!

This is Monty and Jenna in July 2009 and for once Monty's kept his claws to himself

TTFN