BECOMING BOSUN'S MATE

What do you give a cool cat who has everything – even down to his own on-board catflap for those late nights? Helen Tidy shows us from scratch

- Helen Tidy

Last year I had a tremendous time making things for my favourite dog, Boots. This was so successful that I decided to have a crack at making things for cats. There was just the one problem. Andy is severely allergic to cats, so much so he cannot venture into anyone’s home with a feline.

I can parade around with cats as much as I fancy, so long as I have a washing machine on standby for a swift change of clothes prior to meeting up with him. And this is not always practical when boating.

Undeterred, I still decided it was worth a go. After all, what are a few allergies between friends? We were cruising down the Thames and knew we would be meeting up with our friends Karen and Bret and their gorgeous Dutch Barge, Edith. We first met a few years ago at the Ware Festival where we were selling jam and Karen was selling her book Isn’t It Cold in Winter? and we’ve kept in touch ever since. Principle shipmate is their lovely cat Bosun, a half Persian, half 57 varieties mix, who has his very own catflap entrance to enable him to board Edith independently. Like most cats, Bosun is a law unto himself. There was no way to know in advance whether he’d like any of the things I was making, and even if he did, there was no guarantee he’d perform for the camera. But it was too good an opportunity to miss. Particularly as our friends are especially good at al fresco entertaining meaning that Andy could avoid cat allergens with ease. With a flurry of texts flying back and forth the week before our appointed meeting, we established that the weather would be fine, and we would barbecue outdoors at Beale Park with a gazebo erected in case of a change in the weather. Of course, come the day, it was absolutely tipping down, proper stair rod rain, but we pressed on regardless.