Dear Aunty Frances,

Mum thought it was time I wrote a letter to let you know how I am progressing in my new abode. I can't say I was impressed to begin with and I made my feelings known on leaving you, my mum, sisters and the furry warmth of my feline family and all that was familiar to me. I yowled all the way to Hertfordshire in spite of reassurances from Mum and Dad who was doing his best to negotiate the London traffic with my help. It was all very strange and even more so when we reached our destination I was taken to the master bedroom where I was shown my bed, food and a litter tray none of which I was interested in at first and thought it best to make myself small behind my bed where I felt safe and could observe without being seen or so I thought. I could smell other cats although there were none to be seen and the smell was nothing like my own family. Mum kept coming in to see I was ok and I must say in spite of my reservations I slowly begun to find my curiosity getting the better of me. When night time came mum placed me in my pen with all my feline comforts she thought I would be safer overnight as there were far too many things for me to get stuck behind or under. Dad had already had to move the large chest in the bedroom when I showed him how clever and small I could make myself by sliding underneath it, no mean feat I can tell you!

Sleeping in my pen lasted all of two nights Mum whose a big softy finally persuaded Dad with lots of vocal input from me that we would all get a better nights sleep if I was allowed to sleep with them. This was wonderful although I'm not sure what Dad thought about my diving under the covers and being tickled by my whiskers. We all settled down eventually though and my favorite time is when I snuggle up around Mum's neck or in the crook of her arm and purr us all to sleep.

Mum has called me 'Amrit' because it means divine nectar and is said to bring a great blessing. She says this is very appropriate for me as I am full of love and have brought much happiness into her and Dad's life. She tells me tales of how when she was younger (many years ago!) she knew a 'proper' Siamese like myself and had longed and searched for many years to find one having almost given up until she discovered that it was still possible to find the type of Siamese she always loved. So I have a lot to live up to and I do try to remember this when I am in one of my more mischievous moods. Although I must say there is plenty to amuse me now I have been introduced to the other cats in the house. Mum breeds Asians and thankfully I have been accepted after some initial grumbling into the family group. My best friend is Arjurna who is a blue shaded silver Burmilla. I am ten days younger than him and we have some really good games together. One of our favourites is to chase Bertie, our ten year old Cavalier's tail. He is very tolerant and says he has seen it all before. He is really one of us and I forget sometimes that he's a dog and doesn't jump on tables, chairs and curtains like I do.

I love sitting on the window sill to watch the birds and anything else that is going on. One of the best vantage points is from the dining room window the only difficulty as I discovered one day to my cost is negotiating the collection of blue glass bottles at one end of the sill. I usually managed this with little difficulty other than the occasional small bottle that would fall over undamaged. This time I was not so lucky and somehow managed to knock most of the bottles off of the shelf with a crash! Mum who works from home immediately came down to see what all the noise was about to find yours truly gazing down into one of our radiator beds which was full of blue glass! I thought I was going to be in big trouble but fortunately Mum seemed more concerned about me and thankful that none of the other cats was asleep in the bed at the time.! Considering the mess I'd made mum said on the plus side (she's quite philosophical regarding us cats) no-one was hurt and there is also now less to dust!

Like my companions I have developed a liking for water. This is usually an observers occupation and I especially like to watch my humans taking their early morning bath. (Showering is not so much fun as there is more chance of my getting wet! ) I like to get as close as I can and I really cannot understand why neither Mum nor Dad will allow me to sit on them whilst they are performing their ablutions. I know I could balance very well on those parts that don't quite go under the water. Sometimes though my judgement is not so good. One morning I thought I would stand at the head of the bath and watch the water disappear becoming very absorbed in this activity I thought I would take a closer look only to find myself sliding down the bath and into the few inches of remaining water! Thankfully I am never left unsupervised during water occupations and dad was there to pull me out. If he hadn't told mum she would never have known as I was perfectly dry on the top of my body it would only have been the sopping wet trail I left from my soggy undercarriage that would have given me away.

Every day is a big adventure for me but one of the biggest so far has been our trip up to Cumbria. This took place whilst Mum and Dad had some much needed renovations done to the house. Dad decided it would be better if all of us cats were out of harms way this of course meant taking Mum along too which is just as well as I don't think we would have managed on our own. It was all very strange at first. Bertie our dog knew his way around as he had stayed in the cottage before but it was all very new to us felines. Arjurna and I soon had things under our paws though and we all enjoyed the new abode and the views across the hills and mountains. Best of all I liked the log burning stove. I had enjoyed the open fire at home in the winter but this was a little different. I soon discovered I could actually get all around the stove and although I knew it was perfectly safe as there were no holes to get stuck in Mum always removed me from my favourite place behind the stove where it was really nice and warm. In spite of the stove being well protected by a fire guard I was determined to investigate this nice warm space further. One day I decided instead of going around the stove that it would be quicker to go across the top. Not a good idea! It was so hot that I had to fly across the surface. Mum tried to stop me but I was too quick for her. Thankfully my paws were not singed as my journey across the top of the stove was extremely swift speeded somewhat by the extreme heat. I was quite pleased with myself and really couldn't see why Mum was so fussed and for days afterwards kept examining my paws to make sure all was well.

There was plenty of new mischief for Arjurna and I to get up to one of our enjoyable pastimes is chasing sunbeams (or moonbeams on a good clear night!). Arjurna spends much of his time looking heavenward like some kind of inspired prophet making comments on just how much he would like to catch these ethereal beams of light if they would only stay still long enough and he could walk on the ceiling!

My favourite place of all though is around Mum's neck somewhere I have always liked to be but have only just truly mastered the art of especially whilst on the move. From this vantage point I can monitor all the goings on and add the odd helping paw. Although I'm not sure that mum always sees it that way!

We are all house cats and when we are at home we have a very comfortable house in the garden where we can take the air and play away from the busy road outside our house. In the wilds of Cumbria we of course had to be content with viewing the world mostly from the window until one day mum bought Arjurna and myself a cat harness. This seemed a little odd at first but we soon realised the benefits and it wasn't long before we were touring the garden and making sure the sheep and lambs that were in the field beyond were behaving. I would have loved to join in their games but they were a little too big for me. So I contented myself with keeping mum company and enjoying the beautiful sunsets that could be seen from our vantage point on the hill.

Soon it was time to return home but mum has promised us that seeing as we were all so good that we can in future enjoy holidays together. Usually a very nice lady called Gill comes in and sees to us if for any reason Mum and Dad aren't around but it will be nice to enjoy another adventure. And I'm certain I can think of some more interesting things to do!

Life back at home though isn't too bad although the place seems very different to when we left it we soon settled into a routine. There has been a lot of sorting out to do and my humans have been very busy but thankfully not too busy to spend time with me. I also like to help and observe all the activity. One day however whilst mum was busy turning out cupboards and trying to get rid of the eternal builders dust I decided to slip off upstairs to see if there was anything I could do there. Mum and I have ongoing conversations so wherever I am in the house I can locate her whereabouts and make sure she is not getting into mischief without me. Usually all the doors to the upper rooms are closed unless mum is around to supervise us cats. (Why I can't possibly imagine as if we are not to be trusted!) However on this occasion the door to the bathroom had been left slightly ajar obviously by someone who did not know the house rules. On entering I discovered that not only was the door open but the window too was open a tiny crack. I decided to investigate further I could still hear mum downstairs and continued to reply every so often. It must be alright I thought as mum knows where I am. I managed with a little effort to nose my way through the window until I found myself on the narrow sill just outside. It was a bit wet as it had been raining but in spite of this there was a good view which I was just beginning to enjoy when I lost my footing on the wet sill. Before I knew where I was I was flying through air and landed with an almighty thump on the path below!

Mum in the meantime had been hearing my calls and thought I had got shut in the cupboard which was against the wall in the sitting room little knowing that I was on the other side of the wall outside. She swiftly realised after going upstairs what had happened and saw me on the path below. Before I knew what was happening I was scooped up and brought indoors. I don't know who was the most shocked me or mum. I was given a thorough examination but apart from being badly shaken I was unscathed. I don't know if the same can be said for mum though! By that evening after a nap and a hearty dinner of my favourite chicken I was fully recovered and ready for more fun. Although I don't think I will trying flying again not without a parachute anyway!

Love and purrs

Amrit