…while you’re busy making other plans, as John Lennon famously said.   This week life has not turned out as planned.

If you’ve been visiting Planet Penny for a while you’ll know about Clovis, the French Cat.  He belongs to my son Thomas, and has staying with my mum while his own family have been settling after transferring from France.

Clovis is quite a character, and has led an eventful life.  As a tiny kitten he chose his family by climbing into the car in a remote place where no unattended kitten should have been, and after unsuccessful attempts to locate the owner,  he was welcomed into the family.   I’ve always been a bit of favourite of his, as the only person mad enough  to arrive to stay with a large and exciting bag, full of balls of wool and knitting.   On one visit it took less than 10 minutes with an unattended knitting bag for him to create a wonderful art installation. Yarn was wrapped round the legs of every chair in the room and up a flight of stairs where there were more chairs, and out of the cat flap and all around the garden furniture!

He’s madly affectionate, but won’t be held or picked up, just trampling madly over your lap purring furiously.  He’s frightened of everything in the garden, hurling himself through the catflap to avoid marauding butterflies and vicious baby rabbits.

He lived for a while in Rouen, France, pretty near the city centre and close to one of the main arterial route through the city and came though unscathed.  So why was it that now, living in a sleepy little cul-de-sac in rural Norfolk, he gets hit by a car?  Well, not hit exactly, one back leg run over, and horribly broken.

So the last few days have been all about visiting the vet, and xrays and a big operation.

He is now back with my mum, in a large crate…

and wearing a fetching blue bandage.

I’ve been my mother’s carer for a while, but now I’m Clovis’s too, spending a lot of time sitting on the floor with my arm through the door of the crate tickling his ears and making soothing noises.  Fortunately so far he hasn’t been too frustrated by his incarceration, but he must be very bored.  I’ve suggested a film this afternoon.  He does watch television a lot when it’s something he’s interested in,  ‘Kung-Fu Panda’ being a particular favourite! (I just hope he’s not taking notes!)

So that’s why this hasn’t been the week I’d planned, or the blog post I’d intended, but I hope you’ll bear with me.

I’ll be back soon x