Charlie the Wheelchair Cat

We've spent the afternoon at an open day of a Cat Sanctuary in St Annes that we have supported for a while.

David and Jeannie first told us about it and we did a charity gig a while ago where the proceeds went to help them.

Their star resident is Charlie the Wheelchair cat. Charlie has a condition very similar to cerebral palsy in humans and cannot balance on his legs at all. His front legs are still quite strong though and the sanctuary have fitted him with a cat wheelchair on which he tears about the garden with his tail held high and happily comes when called to be petted and to love you back.

He does get the shakes a bit, but is such a wonderfully inspiring cat as he is determined to get on with things despite his handicap and no one who sees him can doubt that he enjoys life. This afternoon we saw Charlie and all his fellow rescued cats, including a tiny bundle-of-fun 4-week old kitten called Basil, who has taken to Charlie in a big way and sleeps with him and follows him about - or even rides on him when he's in his wheelchair!

Fran was lucky at the tombola - more or less walking away with all the booze... and we bought a few bits in the auction too!

Cancer Charity Gig

Last night David and I played at Larbreck Hall Caravan Park. Bob had a prior engagement with The Old School Band but we gave them a good night of music and they got up and filled the dance floor!

We have played there several years - the first one at Larbreck was for the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002 - and we usually do an outdoor gig. The weather looked a little suspect yesterday so we were inside a huge barn and with a few pallets, boarded over for a stage and a couple of caravans as a backdrop, we added a few lights and it made for a good atmosphere!

Since Dad died in 2004, Mum (pictured with the band's organiser and fixit, Jeannie) has organised an annual charity event in benefit of MacMillan Cancer Support. The afternoon is spent on the lawn at the side of her caravan, with piles of jumble, bric-a-brac and competitions - a whisky wall, a photo caption competition, raffles, tombola, etc.

Fran spent most of the weekend, making mix and baking scones for cream teas or just for selling. At least 6 dozen went through the oven!

The residents and holiday makers on the caravan site and various family members raised over £500 for the charity. During the gig we auctioned a couple of bottles of whisky and a large dinner service that someone had donated and until Mum does her reckoning today I'm not sure just what the final total will be.

It was strange to think that our next gig will be a spot at the reception of Gill's wedding next week! When we played "Constantly" which is destined to be the married couple's first dance together, both Fran and sister-in-law Joyce had tears streaming down their cheeks! As David said, "I didn't think we were that bad..."