Chariot of the Stars?

After seeing my dream picture yesterday and still being unable to shake off the strange atmosphere that accompanied both the dream and the waking, I asked Jenny to help me select one of her pictures.  I call these Jenny’s Magic Photographs. Jenny calls them something else.

We mixed and moved all the picture cards face down until we ended up with just one: THE CHARIOT.

This curious two-wheeled vehicle has some surprising secrets up its sleeve. Firstly, don’t be fooled by the stars on the lovely curtains; this is no Chariot of the Stars. These and the star on the driver’s hat simply mean that he is the proud owner of the latest satellite navigation system. The flying sun logo probably means the Chariot is solar powered.  This is a short-range leisure vehicle if ever there was one.

He has evidently just found a parking space close to the Thames, which can be seen flowing by in the background. However, the Westminster parking wardens are known to wield a pen mightier than the sword, so the two Sphinxes keep a sharp eye out for them.

The Sphinx on the right is the Great Thames Sphinx, apparently wheeled there from Egypt at the same time as the Thames itself was built.  The Sphinx on the left is an Egyptian cousin who has been keeping a low profile in London lately. However, something in the distance has caught their attention.

Has the vehicle just been spotted by a group of Trainee Police Officers who were on their way to the Thames for their lunchtime swim?

The driver certainly appears to be searching his memory for a punchy one-liner in case he is caught off guard by a trick question.

As you can see, there is more to this picture than at first meets the eye and I’m sure we’ll be returning to it at a future date. But the way this card has turned up at just this moment, remains an extraordinary coincidence.

Banging the Big Stick

A question from "Zippy": "What sort of work would I be most suited to?”

My first thought is to say, “How would I know? What do you want to do?” But I have a feeling there’s more to Zippy’s question than meets the eye.

Do cats work? Yes, but cat work is different to person work. A cat works so no one notices that it’s work. When a person works they make sure everyone knows about it.

So for this we will look in Jenny’s box of Magic Photographs for an answer.

This is an old photograph of a man who has wandered too far from home.

He carries a lamp but there’s no light in it. The photographer has cleverly positioned himself so that the star appears to be inside the lamp. The star is not in the lamp, it is in the sky. So why has the man let his lamp go out?

Things went wrong for him. He had been advised to try working from home and he just sat there and didn’t have anything to do.

Ever since, he has been wandering around, looking at the ground and picking things up and putting them down again.

Every now and then he bangs the big stick on the ground. Maybe an ant keeps climbing up the stick.

He has just noticed that when his head is bowed he is the same height as the stick. This has made him smile.

I hope that answers your question, Zippy.

(Jenny has just pointed out to me that she used to bang on the floor when the people downstairs were noisy. But I don't see what that's got to do with the question. Anyhow we've moved since then.)

The Dark Tower

The Tower

Another mystery that is all too easily explained by looking only at the obvious. And yet, sometimes it is the obvious that holds the meaning and because we are looking for what is hidden we can miss the full significance of what is actually there.

Things are being shaken up here.

The three dark windows mirror the three figures of the previous picture, only now the huge "devil"-like creature has had its crown thrown off and is on fire.

The two falling figures are of course the two people of the first picture, only now they wear robes and one wears a crown, and although they may appear to have risen in culture and power, they now have far less dignity and presence than their former selves.

It appears that the creature had been given the power to guard and protect the source of life itself.

So what in the world has happened?

The eyes of a cat see things that are just around the corner, things that are just out of sight, things that are about to happen. Things that have already happened don't get in the way of what we see.

Fire and lightning and yet a dark sky and dark windows. What kind of fire has no light? This only happens in dreams. The lightning, as though from a higher place, is actually the hand of the creature himself, knowing instinctively when the time to free the new creation has come.

This "tower" has been a lighthouse on the rocky promontory of the world and its light went out. Or was it turned out purposely? It can certainly also be seen as a symbol of the volcanic apparitions of the days that have just passed.

There is so much more to discover in this picture. Gaze into its dark waters and wait to see what floats up.

The Devil, The Tower and The Lovers

Keeping in mind the extraordinary events of the past week, I show you here the Magic Photographs exactly as they were randomly chosen yesterday.

I realize that many people, having turned over this particular selection, might want to start over again, imagining that there must have been some terrible mistake.

This is not a mistake.

I will come back to look at each picture individually, but first there is just one thing I would like to mention. The names that have been given to these pictures are, to me, obviously there to deter the less than serious and to gain the attention of the courageous.

And if there is anything we cats can be proud of it is our renown for courage.

So, with a brave heart and ignoring for the moment the absurd names that have become attached to these mysterious goings on, please spend a moment or two just looking at what lies before you .

And my apologies for stepping into the photograph at the very moment Jenny held her little camera to her open eye. These things happen.

The Magic Photographs

This is not a picture of me and Jenny.

Because of the exciting events of the last week I have been distracted from what, after all, is the main purpose of my being here. So when Jenny spread her Magic Photographs across the table I knew exactly what I had to do.

With my outstretched paw I touched three of the photographs and, one by one, we turned them over. Imagine our surprise when we saw what I had chosen!

So there were the three pictures in a row and the only reason I do not show them to you right away is in order to give you a chance to decide whether to look at them or not.

You see, not all people understand things the way a cat understands and I don't want anyone to be unnecessarily frightened.