A STREET CAT NAMED BOB
In February this year I posted here about a shopping experience, when I was persuaded
by a young woman in a wheelchair to buy a particular book. It was called A
Street Cat Named Bob and I promised to tell you about it when I finished
reading. So here goes.
UK folk may have seen videos and
interviews about the cat and owner/author of the book, James Bowen, but if they
haven’t read the book I hope this will encourage them to do so.
James Bowen was a busker first and
then became a vendor of the Big Issue. His life had been extremely unsettled
and many things drove him to homelessness and drug abuse. At the time of
writing he was on a drug dependency programme. But his life changed when an
injured ginger tom, thought to be a feral cat, appeared near his flat. James
took him in and began to look after him and in return the animal gave the guy
something to live for. In effect, they looked after each other. When James was
busking near London tube stations, Bob would go with him. He would sit on his
shoulder as they travelled or walk beside him on a makeshift lead. Since the
world is made up of animal lovers, commuters and foreign visitors loved Bob and
generously dropped coins into James guitar case. Some brought treats for Bob
and one lady knitted scarves to keep him warm. The increase in donations meant
that James was able to feed them both.
There were some ups and downs but
the cat remained close and James strove to kick the drug habit completely. They
were buddies, each helping the other. One day a group of Spanish teenagers told
James they had seen Bob on YouTube. That was news to James although a lot of
folk had taken photographs of him and Bob so it was reasonable to expect that
they did something with them.
An American lady, an agent by the
name of Mary Pachnos, asked James to consider writing a book but it was the
Spanish teenagers who made him realise that he and Bob were local celebrities. Since
then James has been interviewed by the press and appeared with Bob on BBC’s The
One Show.
The book was an insight into the
life of Big Issue seller and I am firmly resolved to buy one in future instead
of simply walking by.
I’d like to end this post with and
final paragraph from the list of acknowledgements at the back of the book:
Last,
and most definitely not least, of course, I have to thank the little fellow who
came into my life in 2007 and who – from the moment I befriended him – has
proven to be such a positive, life-changing force in my life. Everyone deserves
a friend like Bob. I have been very fortunate indeed to have found one.
James
Bowen
London,
January 2012.
Below are some links to James and his book:
