Fluffy Things

I thought I’d attract a flurry of oohs and aahs by writing about fluffy things.


Over the weekend my younger daughter gave us the above kitten to look after for a while. This kitten is not a kitten as you or I would imagine a kitten; it’s a mutant 5 fingered life-form with opposable thumbs – it’s an evolved kitten, a Superkitten. Its paws are designed for using tool such as screwdrivers, torque wrenches, fish filleting knives and can openers.

If you don’t believe me then look at the photos below. I swear they are not doctored.



It’s something called polydactylism and here’s an entire website of photos of polydactyl cats. The benefit is that we can go away for a weekend and leave the cat with tins of food and a tin opener, although we’ll have to hide the laptops or else she’ll be e-mailing all her friends.

Protesters in Liverpool have been staging a demonstration against Boots the chemist chain selling homeopathic remedies. Their plan is to simultaneously take a massive and potentially fatal overdose (if homeopathy is to be given any credence) of homeopathic remedies.

When you think about it, an ordinary glass of water has, during its existence as H2O, been in contact with literally thousands of other chemicals. Therefore, homeopathically speaking, it must be a miracle cure for every disease known to man. If you understand the faulty premise on which homeopathy is based, then you’ll appreciate the irony.

Remember Dr Andrew Wakefield, the guy who started the MMR scare? One of the medical delegates at the seminar Hay was at last week commented that he and the media did the medical world a great favour by scaring people off the measles vaccine. They proved that not taking the measles vaccine to the extent that herd immunity was lost (less than 83%-94% being vaccinated) would result in measles epidemics – and it did. If researchers had wanted to conduct a trial to test the hypothesis the ethics committee simply would not have allowed it. Wakefield and the press managed it though and it was the best ever controlled trial.

I’m preparing for the annual Old Sodbury Hideous Haemorrhoid Competition, which is to be held in the village hall next weekend. The competition is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year.