Hector's House

Guten Tag. I'm Hector - the senior citizen here at the home of Haricot Blanc, le blogging French cat.

While she's away on holiday with the comfy laps and the lop-eared nutters, I've taken the chance to slip in and introduce myself.

To start with I'm not the PRESENCE, as mentioned by my much younger buddy Hiro in an earlier piece.

No, I'm the much- travelled doyen of the household.

Born in Germany (hence the reason I broke into my mother tongue right at the beginning) and brought up there for the first three years of my life, I moved to Italy with HMDT before ending up here in France..

In fact we've been together now for more years than I can remember and I'm the only four-legged male here among a bevvy of feline beauties.

I met HB for the first time just before she left for her break, and it sure brought back memories of my distant youth.

Not that I'm old or anything, but taking a look at my passport informs me that I've just turned 14.

As far as I'm concerned I'm in the "prime of my life", although the excesses of youth have perhaps taken their toll a little.

In my younger days I was quite the little tearaway, regularly getting into scraps and happily spending days (and nights) combing the countryside and generally making clear who was boss.

But those days are behind me now. I've not many of my teeth left, a slightly raggedy left ear from an altercation, and on top of that I still dearly miss my old pal Hoagy.

He left us three years ago at the ripe old age of 19.

I get on really well with Hiro mainly because she reminds me so much of him - same colour, same enormous purr and same gentle character.

And she was in fact the one who suggested I pop in to introduce myself and helped me upload a couple of photos. I'm not really into all this new-fangled technology myself, preferring to leave it to youngsters.

If my initial encounter with HB is anything to go by then I have to say she certainly seems energetic and full of bounce, but that's always the way with the young 'uns isn't it?

A curious nose-to-nose greeting was followed by a sudden change of gear as she ricocheted around the hall and disappeared up the stairs in a fury of activity.

She didn't appear to be frightened in the slightest, just terribly over-excited at meeting.

We'll get along just fine as long as she doesn't insist on too much rough and tumble and realises that when I'm settled on the sofa between the comfy laps, I really don't like to be disturbed.

As for the PRESENCE. Well like Hiro, I don't want ot give too much of the game away, and I certainly wouldn't dream of influencing HB but let me just say that she (the PRESENCE) is definitely bipolar material.

All right, I feel a doze coming on. It's baking hot outside, so I'm going to try to find some shade for a quiet nap.

I hope to be able to share some wise words with HB when she returns, but for the moment I'll leave her (and you) with a couple of recent snaps of myself.

Bis später.

Hector.