CAT AND MOUSEY

CAT & MOUSEY PEACE AND A PENSION - You retire to the seaside somewhere in Brittany... think Chipping Sodbury-Sur-Mer - but not quite so rowdy... You live a small, quiet life... in a small, quiet town... in a small, quiet apartment... You value rest and repose - relaxing, uneventful days... gentle, comforting routines... early, untroubled nights... You keep yourself to yourself - a few undemanding friends perhaps... a visitor or two - just occasionally, from the past... You spend your pension prudently - on yourself... you spend most of your time reading... eventually you might spend something on a companionable dog... Your life at last is flowing in a pleasant, predictable trickle... clear... unruffled... un-disturbed... THEN - Out of nowhere... Out of your worst nightmares... Out of England... A GUEST ARRIVES - An awful ex-colleague ? Another ex-pat ? An ex-wife ? NO - MUCH WORSE - it's a bossy, bad-tempered tabby... a one-eyed alley-cat with attitude... a curse you call - MOGGY THATCHER ! *** (David Norris, alone responsible for all that follows, still thinks retirement is preferable to teaching – even though you don't get the holidays...)  190 words