The Birman Summer Garden Party
The Summer Garden Party was held in Swindon this years in the grounds of Kingsdown Farm House the home of Pat and Martin Williams.
It was an idyllic afternoon, not too hot but perfect for the occasion.
Many of the visitors had brought their families and picnicked on the lawns before visiting the horses and baby foal, the baby chickens and of course the cats.
There were delicious fresh filled baguettes for the hungry and a selection of drinks and nibbles.
A cake stall laden with home made goodies had one saying an instant goodbye to any thought of dieting, while Jane Sparkes and the Birman Merchandise stall, did good business.
There were a number of games to play and a wide selection of stalls. Jane Carter and Jacky Pell spent most of the day selling whilst Bruce Pell organised the car parking competition
One of the main events of the afternoon was an auction of donated goods, these included a new television, a luxury cat climbing station, teak garden furniture, show drapes, a wonderful embroidered cat picture which I would have loved myself and many more.
There was fierce bidding for some of the items but one or two guests managed to pick up a bargain.
A young cat enthusiast puts his bid in at the Birman Garden Party’s auction.
The auctioneer was actor Merv Haroveen who also ran the Wellie Wangling competition.
Climax of the afternoon was the release of the balloons donated by the Swindon Evening Advertiser, at the start of the Great Balloon Race. It was a windless afternoon and the balloons soared up and up until they disappeared completely into the blue sky.
Organisers Pat Williams and Lisa Barstow and their families are to be congratulated on a very enjoyable and well-organised afternoon.
As do all their hard working stallholders, sandwich makers and cake bakers.
The Raffle winners were Dennis Hayward from Sheffield, who won the luxury holiday and Mrs O’Neill from Coventry, who won the Dyson.
Paul Wood won the Wellie Wangling, and Jane Carter, the Guess The Foal’s Age.
All the profits from the Raffle and Garden Party will go to the Birman Rescue and Welfare Fund, which is completely dependant on donations and fundraising.
So a big thank you to everyone who bought or sold raffle tickets, gave donations of supported the event in any other way.
Our next fundraising event is the Norfolk Garden Party, followed by the Annual Dinner in November at which we will be celebrating VE Day plus 60 years - dress to be smart casual or 1940’s chic. Anne Madden
Sweet William
2 February 1984 - 30 November 1996
William was our first show cat, and he had a perfect temperament for it. We had decided to get a pedigree companion for our neurotic rescued moggy, and when I showed my husband a picture of a British Blue in a library book, he wanted one straight away.
Unfortunately we had no idea where to start looking, and it was February, which is not a good time for British kittens. We saw some reds advertised in a newspaper, and went to see them. As there were two left in the litter, we had both!
This was the start of my involvement with red tabbies. Then we managed to buy a cat magazine and saw some blues advertised, so we enquired about them. We arranged to have one of the boys, but as the breeder, Mrs Marie Sealy, was in Wales, we didn’t see the kitten until we collected him from a show. We were so lucky - all three of our babies were superb, and we soon became hooked on showing and later breeding - the start of the Lovejoy dynasty! William always did very well at shows, spoiling us with all his wins, and that was in the days when there were lots of neuters on the bench, not like today when there are often only a dozen or so British neuters in most area shows. He won his first Gr Pr Certificate in a class of about ten!
Gr Pr Rieond Sweet William (British Blue) admires his awards from his last appearance at the Herts & Middx Show in the late 1980s.
William was a perfect gentleman, even at the end of a long show day. At home he loved company, and followed us around the house and garden. He usually waited for my husband to come home from work, often going to the end of the road at the correct time in the evening. His favourite spot was on a shoulder ,and would sit on Ken’s while he shaved in the morning - it was a wonder he never had his whiskers removed in the process! We would have loved to breed from him, but couldn’t bear the thought of putting him outside in a pen, so he was neutered, but I took my red girl to his litter brother, Gr Ch Rieond Just Dandy, and eventually kept a blue cream. All my present kittens are ultimately derived from that foundation and those three kittens are fondly remembered today.
Betty Newbury
Our ‘Miracle Baby’
I am one of the owners of the 'Miracle Babies' that OUR CATS featured in the ‘To the Rescue’ series last year. The story followed the progress of four tiny rescued Siamese kittens, which were hand-reared. We took charge of one of the kittens last October (or rather she took charge of us!) and we call her Pepper.
Pepper in the garden
This little cat continues to grow and develop. She's gorgeous and has a hilarious personality - she is extremely affectionate (to both myself and my husband equally) and very comical, as per Siamese! She's still quite naughty and active but is gradually growing calmer and actually sleeps now for parts of the day in one of her many beds and baskets!
Wendy Burke
Caramel & Apricot Federation’s
“S.A.F.T.A.’S”
(SHOW AVOIDANCE FELINE TECHNIQUE AWARDS)
It has happened to the best of us!
The beautifully groomed and prepared show cat is tucked into bed ready for the great day, and in the morning you rise at the crack of dawn to face... DISASTER!!
From the cat who played with a leaky biro (how do you get ink from a cats’ coat? They don’t make a Stain Devil for that one!!) to the pampered kitten who divebombed an iron and frazzled his whiskers...
OUR CATS ARE LEARNING HOW TO SWAP GOING TO A SHOW FOR A LONGER LIE-IN!!
We have heard so many stories, that the Club has decided to run a Competition.
Tell us how your cat got out of going to vetting-in!!
Just e-mail your story to
competition@caramelapricotfederation.org
If preferred, names may be withheld on request to protect the infamous, however, they must be added to the e-mail details so that you are eligible for the PRIZE awarded to the best tale, and your cat can claim to be a S.A.F.T.A. winner!!
See www.caramelapricotfederation.org
