The British cat who voted with his paws

[Divernan]

(The story of a cat who was happy for many years at No. Ten Downing Street, but couldn't take Cherie Blair.He was named in honor of Sir Humphrey Appleby, the Machiavellian civil servant in the sitcom, "Yes, Minister.")

www.guardian.co.uk

"Please paws in memory of Humphrey the first moggy". (UK slang for cat)
By Oliver King / UK politics 12:28pm

The news that the former Downing Street mouser has now joined the cattery in the sky is a chance not just to remember Humphey's illustrious career but also his unacknowledged political skills.We are talking about a cat whose civil service file was over an inch thick, and on whose behalf the Cabinet Office actually issued quotes in 1995. I'm not making this up.
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In 1995 he was accused (falsely! his press cheerleaders pointed out) of killing two young robins in the Downing Street garden. Although John Major issued a swift denial - "it is quite certain that Humphrey is not a serial killer", he told an anxious nation - it was clear the cat had made enemies. Unkind officials began whispering to journalists that Humphrey "couldn't catch duck a l'orange even if it was put in front of him". Miaow!
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Humphrey then came up against his most bitter enemy, Cherie. . . .
Stories about Humphrey's "ill-health" started to appear (a forerunner of the tactics used a few years later against Mo Mowlam) and then came the announcement of retirement.
(End of quotes)
See the whole article for more details, such as Humphrey's encounter with Bill Clinton's Cadillac, etc.

[GCP]

1. As an Ex-pat I Have to say, this is what I love about the UK

Can you imagine anything as funny coming out of the WH? I love the fact that they called him Sir Humphrey Appleby - any fans of Yes Minister and Yes PM will get it - a civil servant, much like a cat, will do exactly as he wishes and screw anybody else!

[CrazyOrangeCat]

2. The majority of the people in the UK are educated and . . .

. . . understand wit, sarcasm, and absurdities. There are those of us here in the US that would LOVE to live in a country where the gov't has a sense of humor . . .



('Scuse me, there are Puritans on the front porch that I must chase off with a sharp stick.)

[roguevalley]

3. I love Humphries. Have the book and the tapes. Cherie. Scourge to

all living things. Married to a dweeb of the first order.

[northofdenali]

4. Here he is, one beautiful moggy -

Thank you, Guardian for a wonderful story and you, Divernan, for a terrific post. I am a cat fanatic, being owned by only 5 at this time, and I needed the smile badly after the rest of the nasty news today.

:hug:

RIP, Humphrey, you won't be easily forgotten. Hope you got a few claws into Cheerio Blair....

[Divernan]

5. You're welcome. Too bad this sweet story fell off the front page

of DU so quickly. I must go play with my two cats now, and be glad they're only 3 yrs. old.