Author Archives: shadthecat

Shad’s big cousins on the Isle of Wight

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Regular readers will know that John and I have visited the Isle of Wight Zoo before and enjoyed taking some fab pictures of the big cats that live there.  Remember Casper the white lion and Zena the one-eyed white tiger?  Don’t get me started about the unethical practice that surrounds the breeding of white tigers!  Anyway, the Zoo on Sandown’s chalky coast is well known for its lemurs and rescued big cats, some of which come from circus and entertainment backgrounds, having been rejected by the industry once they served their purpose.
This trip was a Really Wild Photography Workshop that is offered by the Zoo and hosted by professional wildlife photographer Karen-Jane Dudley.  Karen-Jane was excited to see a domestic cat like me in the group and said the big cats would be very curious to see me.  We exchanged tips on the art of wildlife photography and she told me some stories from her experiences in South Africa where she travels every year to capture beautiful images of the animals, like the zebras, leopards and birds of prey.

The workshop included lunch (I had fish pie, one of my favourites) and ‘behind the scenes’ access to a number of specially designed photography stations so that we could view the cats close-up.  As I peered through one of the lens ports, my feline senses tingled as the stunningly striped Aysha came trotting through the water towards me.  She was very inquisitive when she picked up my scent and looked enquiringly at me with her bold black and orange eyes before deciding that the water was far more interesting and splashing off in another direction.   Aysha is a playful 16 year old currently enjoying her retirement at the Zoo along with her brother Diamond, a laid-back boy like me.

 

Lions are one of the most iconic animals in the world and they are quite sociable in comparison to many of the other big cats that roam the plains of Africa.  I tried to get a few shots of Casper but he was being quite standoffish that day so I turned my attention to Charlie Brown, a tawny lion with a gentle spirit who gazed idly towards me before turning his attention to a noise coming from across the way.  It was Aysha huffing and chuffing with joy as she scampered towards a jet of water flowing from a hosepipe.  The keepers were in the enclosure playing with the tigers who seemed to love the sound and feel of the water being splattered around.  Then it was feeding time and the keepers placed whole pieces of meat tied to various items such as a barrel or a log into the enclosure, making mealtime a bit more of a challenge for these hungry hunters and helping to keep them stimulated.

 

We also had a special treat when we got the opportunity to actually go inside one of the enclosures.  Not with the tigers though!  Probably not a good idea!  But with the ring-tailed lemurs, a good-natured bunch of primates that come from Southern Madagascar and spend most of their time in trees.  It was quite funny being in the pen and looking out at the on-lookers looking in!  One of the visitors was overheard saying that the lemurs must be a type of monkey and Michelle (one of the alpha females of the group) was not amused.  Apparently lemurs are prosimians, a sub-group of primates that include tarsiers and bushbabies.  They lack the dexterity of monkeys and apes but they do have specially adapted eyes that enhance their night vision.  They certainly considered themselves to be more evolved, but I’m not so sure.  Don’t tell Michelle!

Shad and his mates

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Here are some pictures of two very cute kittens that are currently residing in one of the Cat Protection’s pens in West Sussex.  Some of you may know that John takes photos of the cats for his friend who is a fosterer.  These two poppets came into care from a lady who had lots of cats that were breeding willy-nilly and had never received any veterinary treatment.  Unfortunately this type of situation has a terrible impact on the lives of the cats and the litters born to the females in the household, so these two cuties arrived in the pen with fleas, anaemia, cat flu and conjunctivitis.  Apparently many humans think cats that are related don’t mate but this is not true.  Nature has taught us cats not to be too fussy and it only takes an un-neutered male and female a few seconds alone to make the babies!  You’ll be pleased to hear that Teddy and Tinks are now flea-free, infection-free and feeling much healthier and happier.

 

The pretty black and white girl is a 2 year old domestic short hair called Jasmine who was surrendered by her owner because she was unhappy and refusing to come indoors, probably due to the noise levels in the house and the unruly children that were causing her stress.  She is friendly, gentle and playful, although a bit shy until she gets to know you.  She has a potential new owner coming to visit her next weekend so let’s hope she is lucky enough to find her forever home soon.

 

While John and I were in the garden, my mate Ginger came along to check out my photography equipment.  It was good to see my old buddy Ginge and he was very curious about my cameras.  So I started telling him about the importance of using light as a medium and how I store my digital image files, but he cheeky rascal fell asleep on my bag.

 

Ginger
Ginger

I also caught up with my good pal Muffin, the haughty black 5 year old who kept looking through my new binoculars last time I came to visit.  Muffin told me some bad news about my old chum Monty, a blue British Short Hair who was in the pen last year for about 10 weeks.  He was difficult to re-home because he has irritable bowel syndrome and can poop for England!  Fortunately, a nice lady saw past his dodgy tummy and fell for his charming and debonair personality.  Poor Monty was hit by a car a week ago and suffered some serious injuries.  To make matters worse, his owner who loves him very much did not have him insured.  Surgery, stitches, bandages, pain-killers, antibiotics and £2,600 later, he is now home but still not out of the woods.  His recovery will be slow and uncomfortable and his dedicated owner is caring for him while he is on cage-rest as well as working extra hours and taking in foreign students to pay off her credit card bills.  I’m sure you’ll join me in wishing Monty every bit of luck and I hope he pulls through.

 

Monty
Monty

 

Shad does the Steyning Steam Rally

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I might be an enlightened cat living in a modern world, but my soul is traditional which might be why I enjoy seeing humans use time-honoured practical skills to build and nurture things of beauty, such as six-foot scratch posts, steam engines and home-made raspberry jam.  My old-fashioned curiosity was satisfied at the fourth annual Wiston Steam Rally last weekend which was held in Steyning in the middle of the charming West Sussex countryside.

 

There were a variety of stalls and craft tents selling local products as well as a fairground, although John wouldn’t have noticed the entertainment because he spent most of the time with his head up a coal-bunker!  Regular readers may know that he is a real steam enthusiast and was happy to be strolling around in the open air surrounded by like-minded people.  There was no room for obsessive compulsive disorder amongst the steam engine aficionados who were busy working on a machine with one oil-covered hand while munching sandwiches with the other!

 

There were apparently over 600 exhibits including steam engines, vintage and classic cars, lorries, military vehicles, tractors, bikes and motorbikes.  Can you see the colourful object that depicts 3 ladies carrying union jacks, 2 attractive blonde heads adorned with wings, angelic cherubs playing musical instruments and a flamingo?  It’s actually a magnificently sculpted organ and if you look carefully you can see the pipes showing through the gaps in the craftsmanship.  Wood-cutting techniques were also being demonstrated and it is worth noting that the woodmanship was being carried out with proper consideration to ecological woodland management.

 

My little paws were feeling the strain as we headed towards the exit so a kind black dog let me hitch a ride with him on a miniature tractor while John walked beside me.  My trip in the trailer was a bit bumpy and there was a faint whiff of farmyard substances about the dog, but it was good fun and made people laugh.  By the time we got to the car for the journey home, I settled happily down for my pre-supper nap, a smile on my face and a purr in my heart.

 

Shad gets dizzy at the Festival of Speed

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My head must have been spinning all day thanks to the huge collection of super-fast and super-classy cars and bikes that went zooming past John and I last weekend at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.  The Festival is an excuse to celebrate some of the world’s most beautiful and powerful cars in the grounds of Goodwood House in West Sussex.  John and I joined thousands of other visitors to the event as we made our way to the stands where we had a fabulous view of the cars roaring up the track (known in Goodwood circles as ‘the hill’).  The cars raced against time to the finish line in various classes which included vintage, rally and touring cars, with my favourites being the grand prix vehicles and the prototypes.  John said there must have been millions of pounds worth of cars there including Bentleys, Maserati’s, McLarens, Porsche, Ferrari’s, Lotus and Jaguar.

 

Amongst the crowds were a few famous figures in the racing world such as Lewis Hamilton who gave an interview outside the front of Goodwood House at the base of an ambitious sculpture designed to commemorate the span of Mercedes-Benz 120 years in motorsport.  This giant white monument reaches over the house and features a car on each arc, one is last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix winner driven by Lewis Hamilton and the other is the very first 1934 model silver racer.

 

We saw racing legend Stirling Moss (winner of the 1955 British Grand Prix) drive a classic silver post-war Mercedes which cruised serenely past the stands, bringing to life an era reflected by the 3 white vintage Mercedes and their drivers clad in old-fashioned helmets, white race suits and goggles.  In complete contrast, Austrian racing driver Patrick Friesacher took showing off to a whole new level when he wheel-span like his life depended on it in front of the crowd, pouring coloured smoke from his back tyres.  Then World Rally Champion Daniel Sordo decided to tear up the tarmac performing back-to-back donuts in a Hyundai i20.

 

We saw Damon Hill (winner of the 1993 Hungarian Grand Prix the first of 22 victories) hurtling up the hill in his Williams Renault FW18 and John managed to get an autograph from Sir Jackie Stewart (winner of 3 World Championships).  We also got a picture of Giacomo Agostini, Italian world champion motorcyle roadracer who has a record 122 Grand Prix wins and 15 worldd championship titles leading some people to credit him as the greatest motorcycle racer of all time.

 

Some of the contemporary prototype cars were so silent and smooth that you barely knew they were there, but the engines on most of the racing cars and bikes were so loud that it made my lobes vibrate and I had to stick my paws in my ears to muffle the noise.  Like when the Typhoon flew by – a military fighter plane designed to be agile and maneuverable in combat with other aircraft.  Towards the end of the day, as another plane (a Hunter) soared overhead, we made our way back to the car park and were smiled at by two lovely ladies dressed in American 1940’s costume sitting on the wing of a WWII plane.

Shad does a wedding at the Inglenook

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The Inglenook Hotel in Nyetimber (near Chichester) is a family-run 16th century Grade II listed building and boasts good food, a welcoming atmosphere and a stunning patio and gardens.  The bride and groom had organised a beautiful wedding ceremony at the venue along with a reception and hired Shadow Photography to capture the occasion on camera.  John packed the gear into the boot and I bounded on to the front seat of the car, eager to start work on this warm sunny day.  Then John appeared with my travel basket which I’m supposed to stay in for safety reasons so I hopped in and we made our way to the Inglenook.

Shadow-Photography

The happy couple were so friendly and the mood throughout the day was relaxed and enjoyable, probably because the groom kept making faces and messing around making everyone laugh!  At one point, he stuck his tongue out just as I was about to take a shot, and he seemed to find shaking paws with me highly amusing.  For reasons of dignity and self-respect, I usually don’t perform tricks like lifting my paws or rolling-over, after all I am a professional.  But decorum goes out the window when there’s a prawn vol-au-vent involved and unfortunately the groom discovered my weakness.  By the end of the day I was completely shattered, having been a photographer, entertainer, food-taster and cat extraordinaire for the day!

Shad does the Bognor summer Carnival

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A pirate on a jet-ski flying a skull and crossbones is not a sight you see every day.  But if like me you were on Bognor sea front this afternoon, you would have seen pirates of all ages, shapes and sizes wandering around as part of this fun community event.  The most impressive pirate had to be the Jack Sparrow look-a-like who pulled off a convincing camp gait Johnny Depp style – walking in a melodramatic and unbalanced fashion coupled with vigorous gesticulating of the hands!

 

Neighbourhood clubs and charities turned up to raise their profiles as well as a few pennies, such as the local RNLI who were out on the water demonstrating their unique life-saving skills.  There was a warm and wonderful family atmosphere, not to mention the heady aroma of fish and chips wafting across the promenade.  A few meows and a few morsels of fish later, I was a contented cat.

More Events here – http://www.bognor-tc.com/events.php

Check out Bognor Beach Live Here

Shad goes down memory lane

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John loves his history and has many books around the house about history ranging from UK to Military and of course photography.

As John is a museum junkie, he loves to take me along to exhibitions and shows depicting recent as well as ancient technology.  I especially enjoyed seeing how revered the cat was during the ancient Egyptian period.

This past weekend we decided to stay local to home and visit two events.

70th D-Day Commemorations saw us at Bognor War in The Air….. several displays and airborne flypasts in remembrance of those 10,000 that fell on the first day of the landings and the men and women who supported not only in the air but also on the ground.

 

Tangmere Military Aviation Museum Vintage Car Show

Myself and John have visited Tangmere on a few occasions and love the Aircraft and displays they have on show about the history of the local airfield.

This Sunday they had one of their special days and vintage car and army vehicle owners turned up to show off their lovingly restored machines.

Shad does the Field Gun Run

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Do you know how much a field gun weighs?  It’s around 1250 lbs, which works out to about 567kg or more than 100 Shad the Cats.  For those of you who are wondering, a field gun is a moveable piece of artillery that fires a heavy shell from a long barrel and is often used in the field to support front-line troops.  Once a year, the Royal Navy Field Gun Competition is held at HMS Collingwood’s open day in Fareham near Portsmouth (Hampshire) and John took me to see this spectacular event.  He carried me through the car park and people kept stopping to stroke me.  I tried to oblige with some head-dips, chin-lifts and friendly meows but when we heard the rhythmic sound of a military band suggesting the action was about to start, we had to press on.

 

The Field Gun Run features 22 crews from across the UK and Gibraltar competing for the coveted Brickwoods Trophy and is supported by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, as well as the British Army and Royal Air Force.  It’s a tribute to the Royal Navy’s involvement in the relief of Ladysmith in Southern Africa during the Boer War in 1900.  Guns from HMS Powerful were hauled to Ladysmith by the ship’s naval brigade to defend the town against attack.  Special carriages and mountings for these guns had been improvised by Captain Percy Scott of the cruiser HMS Terrible and dispatched in HMS Powerful in Durban.  Later, Commander Scott played a key role in conceiving the idea of Field Gun competitions, with the first taking place at the Royal Tournament of 1907.  Today, 22 teams compete in this spectacle of strength, discipline and teamwork.

 

The competition was fast and furious, with each 18-man team gritting their teeth and pouring with sweat as they demonstrated sheer determination to run, dismantle, reassemble and fire the gun in the shortest possible time.  It must have taken weeks of physical training to develop the stamina essential for this challenge and the super fit crews did themselves and their services proud, maintaining the spirit of the Royal Navy’s contribution to the liberation of Ladysmith.  The same could be said for the Tiger Motorcycle display team – a group of children aged 5 to 16 years who captured everyone’s imagination with their tricks, stunts and jumps.

 

Witnessing such energy and endurance made me feel highly motivated to set myself a personal challenge, but after much deliberation, the best I could come up with was chasing my peacock feather toy around the lounge for more than 3 minutes.  That does seem a little lame compared to the trials and achievements of all those represented at HMS Collingwood’s open day so I decided to put aside my new-found vivacity and concentrate instead on cleaning up my fur after being petted by the sticky mits of excited children earlier on.  My next challenge would be racing John to the door and climbing the food trolley to select that evening’s tasty treat!

 

Shad’s 100th blog

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A whole year has gone by since I first started blogging about my escapades and I would like to thank you for your interest and support.  The dolphin sea adventure that I told you about last time was my 100th blog and I couldn’t let that go by without marking it with a few thoughts and a selection of photos that include some of my favourites as well as some of the most popular ones currently being viewed on John’s Flickr account.

www.shadow-photography.com

Me at 3 yrs
Winnie

So that’s 100 blogs in 365 days.  Not bad for a cat who spends at least 2 hours a day licking and 14 hours a day sleeping, and who doesn’t even have opposable thumbs!  I am well looked after by John, I run my own photography business, and I get to spend time with nature and other animals, being part of something bigger than the stresses and strains of everyday life.

www.shadow-photography.com

There are still many things I would like to achieve and I suspect that I will accomplish some and not others.  But the point is, to keep trying, no matter how many obstacles hit your path.  Just like the motivational speaking cat on a certain mobile phone network’s latest advertising campaign, flip it and switch, all the negativity ditch it!  I’ve enjoyed sharing my experiences with you and I hope that I have made you smile along the way.  Here’s to 100 more!!

Bognor Pier

www.shadow-photography.com

Shad’s adventure at sea

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With the wind in my fur and the rhythmic splashing of the water hitting the sides of the boat, I felt like nothing else mattered except the wild spirit of the open seas and the marine-life that lived within it.  I couldn’t believe that an ordinary black moggy like me was about to head out to sea and witness nature, in its own environment, and on water too.  How brave am I?!

Lundy Island

I was sitting in a rigid-hulled inflatable boat with orange sides and wooden benches to seat 12 people, courtesy of a great bunch of guys at Bristol Channel Charters in Ilfracombe, Devon.  As we chuntered out of the harbour to the wide-open sea, John held on to me and the skipper pulled back the throttle, much to the delight of the passengers who whooped and cheered as we zoomed along at 20 knots  towards Lundy Island.  John shouted “I feel the need”, and someone else cried, “The need for speed”.  (Famous quote from an iconic Tom Cruise movie made in 1986 for those of you too young to remember).

 

The shimmering sapphire sea twinkled all around and there was not a cloud in the pale blue sky as the shoreline disappeared behind us and an outline of the island emerged in the distance.  Suddenly the engines stopped which could only mean one thing – something interesting had been spotted.  We floated for a couple of minutes before the crew pointed to one of the best sights I’ve ever seen, dolphins hopping in and out of the water.  What a privilege to see these magnificent, inquisitive creatures playing and interacting with us, so friendly and trusting.  The boat engines started again and as we moved slowly towards them, they swam alongside us, weaving back and forth across the bow, leaping and diving.  This is known as porpoising – spectacular jumps alternated with swimming just under the surface of the water in a high-speed surface piercing motion.

 

We continued our journey towards the island which is only a mile across by 2 or 3 miles long and surrounded by high jagged rocky ridges.  According to the crew, there is a population of around 25 on the island, as well as a few thrill-seeking visitors that come to climb the sheer cliffs.  We took a tour of the island and as we cruised past the west side, the skipper said that there was nothing but ocean between us and America.  It brought to mind images of the first settlers that sailed across the Atlantic, possibly wondering they might fall of the edge of the world!  The seals favoured the eastern and southern aspects of the island which were dotted with rocky pillars and ledges perfect for the seals to bask in the sun, much like this seal splayed on its side like a mermaid.   Some of the seals were so well camouflaged that it was hard to spot them until they moved.  They were quite curious but kept their distance, poking their marbled grey labrador-like heads up out of the water to watch us, like some kind of sea-faring meerkats!

 

A friend of mine told me that his elderly owner went to Lundy Island way back in the 1940’s and saw a rich variety of bird-life there.  Unfortunately many of these birds have disappeared, but we were lucky enough to spot a handful of puffins in the water sporting their distinctive orange beaks.  There were also razorbills,oyster-catchers and guillemots, as well as kittiwakes, a small silvery gull with black wing tips and a yellow beak.

 

As we began the 12 mile or so boat trip back inland, I wondered how these animals survive in the wild and couldn’t help but admire their tenacity and resolve.  It makes me think how lucky I am to get my dinner out of a packet from the supermarket while nature’s wild inhabitants work so hard to be self-sufficient and make the most of the limited resources their environment provides.  But despite all the effort of surviving in the face of dangers such as predators or human threats, those dolphins had the time and the inclination to play with us and show us their beauty and agility.  I was most definitely impressed.