67f695396320fe1a34a41489ddea0fac

Iwas surprised when George came in via the cat flap just as I was about to leave for my visit to Dustbin.

‘I thought you were with Hana,’ I said.

‘She kept falling asleep, so I said I’d let her rest. Theo’s still keeping them awake most of the night but Sylvie’s taken him out this morning so Hana can catch up on some much-needed sleep. Connie now has ear plugs so she doesn’t hear him. It’s the only way she can make it through theschool day, and of course she’s got the show to work on so she can’t afford to be so tired. Who knew something so small could be so troublesome?’

I thought of George as a kitten. I knew, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.

‘Apart from Pickles, of course,’ he added.

I decided not to argue.

‘Do you want to visit Dustbin with me?’ I asked.

‘Might as well,’ he said. ‘Nothing better to do.’

Sometimes George could sound a little like a teenager still. We set off and it was quite windy. There were also more hazards on the street, probably because the weather was so awful and people couldn’t see where they were going. At one point I was pushed right to the end of the kerb, nearly falling into the road.

‘George,’ I hissed. ‘Let’s jump on garden walls, it might be safer.’ We chose the harder, less direct, but definitely safer route. By the time we reached the restaurant we were tired – our fur both cold and warm, if that’s possible – and also a little relieved. Sometimes cat travel can be dangerous; I can’t count the number of times my tail’s been stepped on, or my paws for that matter. But, of course we love our freedom, so it’s a small price to pay.

Dustbin greeted us, and then Ally emerged from behind one of the big bins.

‘We haven’t seen you for a while, the show’s been keeping us busy, and I didn’t want you to think I’d forgotten about you,’ I said.

‘We’ve seen all the comings and goings, so I know it’s been hectic, but we’ve missed you,’ Ally replied.

‘The show definitely seems to be one of your better ideas, everyone seems so happy about it,’ Dustbin added. I preened.

‘Please don’t start him off,’ George said with a groan. We all laughed a bit.

‘Tommy seems to be slightly better,’ I said, deciding not to be accused of boasting this time.

‘Yeah, he and Charlie have been working hard on ideas, from what we can see,’ Dustbin said. I loved that he was my eyes and ears on the family here. It made me feel as if I wasn’t missing out, even though I didn’t see them every day. Although I was seeing much more of them at the moment, with the show. ‘But, I think that Charlie needs to take credit for keeping him on track. He’s a different kid when Charlie’s around. When he’s just with the family he turns all surly and rude again.’

‘And …’ Ally stopped to laugh. ‘Tommy has a crush on the girl who is playing the main angel or something. He talks about her a lot to Charlie, but only out here. When Aleksy asked him about it he went all huffy again.’

‘Ah, teenage love, I remember it well,’ George said. I glanced at him in confusion. Since when was he such a grown-up?

‘Yeah, well, the main thing is that he’s starting to do better,’ Dustbin explained.

‘It’s music to my ears,’ I said. ‘So, anything new with you?’

‘Just really busy here,’ Dustbin said. ‘The restaurant is always full, which is great, but of course it means we have more pests to keep at bay.’

As we chatted and caught up, I was surprised to see Aleksy walking towards us. Shouldn’t he be at school?

‘Meow,’ I said, rubbing his legs.

‘Don’t worry, Alfie, I’m not skipping school, I’ve got to go to the dentist. I’m just going to meet Dad at the restaurant as he’s taking me.’

Ah, I didn’t know much about dentists, but I was glad he wasn’t doing anything he shouldn’t be. I didn’t need any more troublesome teens in my life.

‘I’m going to take one of the new posters to the dentist to see if they’ll put it up. And don’t forget we have a meeting at the hall tonight after school, to look at where we are with sets, so if you want to come along?’

‘Meow.’ Try keeping me away.

As he walked off, fussing us all before he went, Dustbin grinned.

‘They all treat you as if you’re a human.’

‘I know, and sometimes I feel as if I am, although of course us cats are cleverer than humans. Listen to my latest idea,’ I said, and I filled him in on the idea of getting the Sunday Lunch Club to the show on Christmas Day. The more I thought and talked about it the better it sounded.

‘Most people are tired on Christmas evening though,’ Ally pointed out. ‘All that food and drink, and the cooking and clearing up.’

‘I know and I had thought of that,’ I replied. ‘But if we did it early, like after lunch, it would be such a lovely way to end the show and Christmas Day too. It also means that the Sunday Lunch Club will already be with those who are in the show so transport won’t be a problem. Most of them could walk, it’s not that far.’

‘Yeah, I can see that,’ Dustbin said. ‘Hey, Ally, if they do it what about us sneaking in to watch?’ He raised his whiskers.