Felix The Railway Cat

It wasn’t a nice time for anyone at the station, but it was Angie who took Billy’s loss hardest of all. She couldn’t help the depth of her grief, which was unexpected and unprepared for: the hot tears that pricked suddenly at her eyes, the way her voice might abruptly start to wobble. Yet, as a team leader, her colleagues looked to her for answers – and she had to give them. Regardless of what had happened, Angie’s job was to run things; that was what she was employed to do. When she left her office, she had to be ready with the solution to any problem thrown at her.

But inside her office … That was where she could let it out, if she needed to – and she did need to; she was only human, and sometimes emotions need to be shared. Yet being the boss, there was no colleague she could share these feelings with … No colleague but one.

‘The grumpy old bugger’s gone, Felix,’ she told the cat. ‘What are we going to do now?’

If she needed to, she could turn her chair towards the wall, to face away from the door with its glass window, so that nobody could see – except Felix. Felix was always there, and always listened, and always seemed to understand. Angie used to say to her what she was feeling, and Felix would look at her with so much compassion in those big green eyes of hers, and she would hop up onto Angie’s lap, too, so that Angie could stroke her: long, loving, reassuring strokes that were as much for Angie’s benefit as the cat’s. Somehow, after a cuddle and a chat with Felix, Angie found she could pull herself together again. She could take a deep breath and go out once more onto the platforms, back on autopilot, back on remote, with a cheery smile and a can-do attitude, super-powered by a bit of hidden strength given to her by the station cat.

As for that station cat, she had to learn to live without Billy. But he had left her a legacy that became a favourite haunt. Every day, she would wander over to Billy’s garden. If it was a happy day, she might meander through the catmint. If she was feeling playful, she might use the plants as camouflage for hunting pesky pigeons. But she had some days, too, when she wanted to be quiet, and then she would simply sit in the long grass, thinking her cat thoughts and watching the world go by. And if anyone dared approach her at that time when she really wasn’t in the mood, she would fix them with a look that said, ‘Go away!’

And only the foolish would ignore the glowering glare of the station’s own Mrs Grumpy.

Billy’s passing had a massive impact on the team of Huddersfield station – and beyond. When Gareth Hope learned of the news, he felt a real sense of loss. After all, Billy had a lot to answer for in Gareth’s own life. Without Billy’s fatherly intervention in his career, Gareth knew all too well that there was a very strong chance he’d still have been sitting at Huddersfield station at that very minute – with a cat upon his knee.

Yet he found that Billy hadn’t entirely left him, for his words of wisdom still rattled around in his head from time to time: advice to last a lifetime. Billy would never be forgotten.

And Angie wanted to make certain of it. As 2015 drew on, she and the rest of the team decided that they wanted to commemorate Billy’s incredible contribution to the station. There was no way they could allow somebody like Billy to pass on without marking it in some permanent, respectful way.

Whatever memorial they decided on, Angie was adamant that it had to be situated by Billy’s garden, because that had been such a passion of his when he was alive. When she thought of him, she pictured him over there in his overalls, grumpily digging up dirt. The team elected to erect a memorial bench – and it was paid for by the company, who were more than happy to honour this most special employee.

The bench was due to arrive that summer. But Angie didn’t want the bench to be delivered and be used right away. It was Billy’s bench, in Billy’s garden, and she wanted to do something significant to mark its arrival at the station where Billy had performed his life’s work. She started to put a plan into action …

When the bench finally came, they found it had been damaged in transit. Maintenance man Dave Chin was called out to redo all the joints, which had been twisted. But he said it was a pleasure doing it. If they hadn’t been done, and done properly, Billy would have shouted at them; that they knew. Mr Grumpy was still making his presence and his wishes felt, having been such an unforgettable character in life.