Weekend News roundup

The Observer had a strange headline this last Sunday – something about Tony Blair knew the Americans had no occupation plans for Iraq before we went in. I thought everyone knew that already? – the only new bit of this story seems to be that Tony’s old friend Peter Mandelson was now claiming this. Et tu Brute, etc etc etc. I suppose Peter has to prepare for a post-Tony future. But this is probably too little too late to appeal to Gordon Brown.

The big news this weekend was the great flood of Britain. I have to confess to unwitting callousness – I was annoyed on Friday to be caught by a few random raindrops on my way back to the office from lunch. Then I saw on TV news later that night about the utter deluge everywhere else. Oops. On Saturday, The Times said that this was in fact a well-known meteorological phenomenon called the ‘return of the westerlies’ which happens every June and is in fact a mini-monsoon season. I’d never heard of this before! Silly to schedule stuff like Wimbledon, Ascot, etc etc for June when the likelihood of rain is quite high.

I’ve made a new friend – I haven’t yet learned her name. She came up to me on my way home on Friday and on Saturday showed a great deal on interest in the sausages I was grilling for dinner – definitely casing the joint to get through the windows.

I went outside to chat. She was very friendly – I don’t know much about cats but I got definite ‘make love to me now’ vibes. Quite large – maybe pregnant?? – very silky black fur and quite as friendly as a dog. Exquisite little designer collar, bell and heart-shaped ID disc, which she refused to let me read. Really, a Clapham cat shouldn’t be quite so comfortable with strangers, even if they are grilling sausages.

As I tickled her tummy she started sneezing, which made me wonder – are cats allergic to people who are allergic to cats??