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‘Aha, I’ve got an idea.’ I explained it. It didn’t sound like my strongest one when I said it out loud but, again, it was all I had.

‘It might work but it’s a long shot,’ Snowball said.

‘Honestly, you have no faith in me. I will make it work. It’s the best idea I’ve got anyway.’

‘Alfie, it’s the only one you’ve got,’ Snowball pointed out.

Ready to put my plan into action, I jumped up onto the hall table and meowed loudly, hoping that Claire would come to see what was going on. But when she finally came into the hall she was on the phone and she shushed me, walked into the living room and closed the door. I knew from experience that getting the attention of humans, when you wanted to show them something they needed to see, wasn’t always easy. I pushed it with my paw onto the floor and decided to stay with it, one paw on the bottom of the leaflet until she reappeared and noticed. But when she came out of the living room, she barely gave me a second glance before she dashed out of the house, saying she was late for Harold. So, was I going to wait there with the leaflet until she came back? No, I was not. I needed a new idea.

I was lying in my basket in the kitchen when George appeared. I told him of my plan.

‘I love the idea of the Christmas show but do you think if you shove the flyer in front of her she’ll get it?’

‘’Course, Claire’s clever.’ I began to have doubts, but still, I had nothing better.

‘Well, you said that Aleksy and Connie are coming over after tea to come up with ideas, wouldn’t it be better if you got them all to see it?’ George said. ‘Then it’s more likely that one of them might understand.’

‘Clever, just like your dad. Yes, of course, if they all see it someone will definitely get it. But how? I’ll have to pounce as soon as they come in.’

‘Or you could find a way to get the leaflet to them – you know, when they sit around the kitchen table,’ George suggested. He was examining his paws. I got the feeling that he was trying to teach this old cat new tricks.

‘But how? Pushing it all the way from here to the kitchen with my paw will be quite exhausting.’ I had done this before, but it wasn’t easy. You see we cats did have our limitations. ‘And how would I even pick it up?’ My mind was whirring, trying to figure out the logistics.

‘Can’t you try carrying it in your mouth the way Pickles carries his ball, or Dustbin carries a mouse?’

I considered it. I had once carried some of Polly’s best flowers in my mouth when trying to woo Snowball. That hadn’t gone well, but I had managed and for a lot further than the hall to the kitchen. It wasn’t the worst idea, I decided, but then …

‘How will I pick it up from the floor?’ I asked George. I felt as if I should have all the answers but I didn’t. My kitten, it seemed, did.

‘Slide your paw under it like this.’ He demonstrated. His paw lifted up a bit of the piece of paper, and he bent down and picked it up in his mouth.

‘I’d have figured it out eventually,’ I muttered.

‘’Course you would have, Dad,’ he said. ‘But I do have youth on my side.’

I tried not to take offence. I also tried to copy what he’d done, but it wasn’t anywhere near as easy as he made it look. I was getting frustrated and George was trying not to laugh at me. First the flyer kept sliding away from me, and then when I did manage to elevate it slightly I couldn’t grip with my mouth. I even managed to bang my head on thefloor, which hurt.

‘I just can’t seem to do it,’ I said.

‘Dad, you never give up. Look, I’ll talk you through it.’

After a bit more (annoying) coaching from George, I used my tongue and ta dah! I did it. The leaflet was a little bit soggy from all my attempts, and my head was a bit sore, but I felt confident that when the time came I would be able to do this again.

‘Teamwork,’ I said to George. Although I wasn’t sure that it was, actually. More of an old cat struggling to learn new tricks. But if it worked, it would be worth it, I kept having to tell myself that.

‘Teamwork, Dad,’ he replied. ‘And now I’m going to see if I can get a snack. Trying to teach you has made me very hungry. And after I’ve eaten, I’m going to see Harold.’ I lay down on top of the leaflet. I was exhausted, too tired to try to get to my basket, so I just shut my eyes.

I heard the door open, which woke me, and I sat up to see Claire come in alone.

‘Hi Alfie,’ she said. ‘Polly and Matt are taking the kids out for tea tonight, to give me a bit of a break, and also as a treat for them.’ She smiled. I could see sometimes that Claire got tired, and as she worked at home, she didn’t have much time to herself. Claire might be the only onewho didn’t have an official ‘job’ but she worked harder than anyone, as far as I could see.

‘Meow.’ You deserve it.

‘And Connie and Aleksy will be over soon to talk about their fundraiser. I hope they’ve come up with some ideas, because I have to admit I haven’t really got any. Goodness, there’s so much to do, but I really don’t want to let them down.’

‘Meow.’ Don’t worry, I had it all in paw.