This section is nothing to do with the artist (although I could go on for days about him but this is not a site for serious subjects), but about my cat. I never used to be a cat person, to be honest couldn't really see the point of having a cat although my Mum did have a cat called Winkie (who died before I was old enough to be embarrassed by the name). Hogarth came into my life by accident. Yes- alcohol was involved. I was pretty merry when a friend told me she was going to be in between houses for a while and needed someone to look after her cat Sooty until the council sorted them out with something more permanent so in a fit of generosity I said I would look after her.

A few days later the friend told me she would drop round Sooty 'andthefourkittens' that evening. 'The what?' I asked. Apparently Sooty had just given birth. But they were no trouble. So they arrived - three black bundles of fur and a huge tabby bundle of fur, all just about opening their eyes. Because I couldn't call them nothing the Tabby became Hogarth after my favourite artist; I knew someone who wanted a kitten so they selected the long haired black and named him Reefer, I named the other two Dave (having read that all cats are called Dave) and Michael (for a reason that I can't really remember now - but Micheal was re-housed and is now called Einstein despite being female).

Quick note to single females - most men love kittens. I was always walked home from the pub and had loads of drop in visitors just so they could sit there and watch the little bundles of fur. And I must admit once I got into the swing of things (I had to have severe words with Sooty over her lack of mothering skills as I felt that one of us should know what we were doing) I would have spent all day watching them discover the world. I had bad moments like when I put on the washing machine then couldn't find them all; and it was sweet when they climbed up my jeans, but not so sweet when they thought they could still climb up my legs when I was wearing shorts.

And I shall never forget when Dave and Michael first made it up the stairs - I was in the bath at the time and I was horrified to see two little black faces peep round the bathroom door - my kittens had seen me naked!!!!!!! I will also never forget the day I took the four of them for their injections. Michael was obviously a bit nervous about the journey in the car so to cut a long story short the vet (bless him) removed each excrement covered kitten one by one - dunked them in a bowl of disinfectant and injected them. All done he then sent someone off to wash the cat basket for me whilst I was still waiting for the floor to swallow me and denying that they were anything to do with me (hell! I didn't even know how old the mother was, let alone who the father was).

I was heartbroken when they started to go - first Sooty, then Reefer and then Michael. And there I was left with Hogarth and Dave. Not only did they look completely different they had such different personalities. Dave was the extrovert, Hoges was the quiet thinker. Dave couldn't kill anything because he had to introduce himself first, Hoges was more methodical. If a spider was climbing up the wall Dave would try to approach it from the floor even if it were too high; Hoges would - almost wearily climb on something- put her big hairy paw on it and kill it so it would fall at Dave's feet. Dave was a snugly cat; he sat on laps and was the sort of cat you could drape round your shoulders when you answered the door.

Hoges liked to sleep on the record player and hated being lifted up - at one point I thought she had something wrong because of the fuss she made when she was picked up. When I was single, Saturday night was our 'girls night'. I would come back from the pub where I would normally meet Hoges at the Buddleia tree at the font and then she would follow me in and sleep on my lap for a while - it was the only night she would be there and Dave wouldn't. She liked that Buddleia tree - one morning when I was going to work I saw her in amongst the roots - 'bye darling, Mummy is off to work' I said and then looked up to see a neighbour looking at me in a strange way - it was only later when I realised he must have thought I was saying goodbye to a tree.

Dave was run over - and 10 years on I still miss him. But what was odd was Hoges seemed to take on a lot of Dave afterwards. She went a lot darker, instead of being a silver tabby she is now predominantly black, and she developed a liking for sitting on my lap on days other that Saturday. But I am glad she kept enough of her cautiousness to stop her being too adventurous. These days she is just a big hairy killing machine but the two of us have been through a lot.

When I left my husband the only thing I needed was Hogarth - everything else I could live without. She seemed to enjoy the move here and became more confident. She will now appear at the patio parties just to be 'oo'ed and 'aah' ed over (and try to persuade Janet that Trevor really needs a cat).There are also a large stock of birds and mice for her to kill and leave on the patio - thank goodness for Magpies who seem to clear up after her. But it hasn't all been plain sailing.