Posts filed under 'Cat Stories'
“PURR…POWER”, Theatre Arts & The New Country Wife
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© ITN 2009
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According to work by scientists reported on ITN today, cats control people through their purr, particularly where their food is concerned. However, this also applies to their creative projects and Rocco (the Cat) has reminded me of a couple of things I need to do. Incidentally, he looks very like the handsome cat in the above photograph.
Firstly, he has asked me to report calls from actors union, Equity, for cats to return to the London theatres in their traditional role as catchers of mice and rats, as headlined in this week’s edition of The Stage.
Secondly, Rocco has suggested that I consider developing a play (possibly for theatre, but perhaps for radio in the first instance) based on the synopsis of a drama I wrote last year at our other Janet Rocco Blog, with the working title of “The Right Hon Lord Shag of Solihull”, about a gentleman with a fortune originally made in the carpet business.
With regard to the latter project, I’m now minded to call this drama “The New Country Wife”, after the 17th century Restoration Comedy “The Country Wife”*, and, yes, it will of course deal with the subjects of Sex, Politics and Money in the later Noughties, or as it’s heroine, Samantha Shag calls them : the Naughties.
Rocco will be acting as agent for this venture, so if any one would like to sponsor our New Restoration comedy, please could they email janet.rocco@tiscali.co.uk Many Thanks !
Background to The New Country Wife and a Preview can be found @ http://janetrocco.blogspot.com
More information about Restoration Comedy and The Country Wife @
Add comment July 14, 2009
Feline Station Masters needed for Worcester’s Railways ?
Could feline station masters hold the keys to the regeneration of Worcester’s two railway stations and provide a much needed boost to the city’s visitor economy ?
Cat boosts economy of Japanese city
In the face of global economic gloom, a cat has provided a spectacular boost to the finances of a small Japanese city.
AFP reports that a study credits nine-year-old tortoiseshell Tama as the key figure in the millions of dollars banked by the city of Kinokawa in western Japan.
The famous feline is the official master of the unmanned Kishi railway station on the provincial Kishigawa line in Kinokawa. But it isn’t her ability to help travellers or stamp tickets that has bought the cash rolling in.
Tama’s regular appearances at the station wearing the formal black cap of the Wakayama Electric Railway have caused tourists to flock to Kinokawa in droves. Her appointment makes cultural sense in Japan, a nation where cats are considered good luck and are believed to boost ailing businesses.
According to a recently published study, 55,000 more people have used the Kishigawa Line than would normally be expected. As a result, Tama is being credited with a contribution to the local economy calculated to have reached as much as 1.1 billion yen (almost £6 million). The publicity generated by the celebrity cat – including a recent television appearance – is estimated as being worth 280 million yen (approx £1.5 million) alone.
Despite her national fame, it seems Tama is keeping her paws firmly on the ground. Although her hard work was recognised with a promotion to “super station master“, she remains content being paid in cat food.
Add comment October 6, 2008
Tributes for Metro Mog
To some he was known as Ginger. Others called him Dave or Atkinson. Some even knew him as Fonzworthy III.
Now the death of a charismatic stray moggy who won the affection of an entire street has sparked a flood of ‘Diana-like’ tributes.
Residents who once fed and fussed over him have laid poems, flowers and photographs at the spot where the ginger tom liked to stretch out to cat-nap.
‘He touched our lives in so many ways,’ said 40-year-old Keith Davis, of Holloway, Bath. ‘Although he was streetwise, he was wonderfully affectionate.
‘Collectively, we looked after him and he’ll be missed terribly.’
One tribute addressed to Dave read: ‘We’ve enjoyed your company immensely over the years and will miss and remember you.’ Tony Brown, 66, knew the cat as Atkinson. ‘When he died, we thought we ought to put a notice up because he was so well known,’ he said.
Add comment September 18, 2008
