London Underground's most famous cat, Bob, has a book which is available to buy from today. I still can't quite believe I'm saying this, because firstly, cats can't actually write and secondly, it's a story that's so strange you'd think it was fictional. Regular readers of the blog will know that Bob is a ginger tom cat who used to sit with his owner, Big Issue seller, James outside of Angel Tube.
Islington commuters and locals regularly saw James walking up & down Upper Street with Bob sitting on his shoulder.
The inseperable pair were a fixture outside Angel station or often seen travelling on buses in Islington. Bob was even given his own Oyster card by TfL.
It wasn't long before they became an "internet sensation" and we learnt how by caring for, busking and travelling around with Bob, James life had been transformed. My posts on their exploits were some of the most popular posts of the year on my blog. The huge online cat community Catster covered their tale. Bob was featured in The Big Issue (see picture above) and there was much excitement when we learnt they hadsecured a book deal. So finally A Street Cat Named Bob is now available in book shops and as of today on Amazon and if the signing & reviews are anything to go by, is set to be a best seller. Today's Evening Standard has an interview with James and the writer says of Bob "he has entranced London like no feline since the days of Dick Whittington".
On Tuesday 13th March 2012, there was a book signing at preview at Waterstones on Islington Green. I was pretty gobsmacked to see the size of the huge queue going out of the door. The signing started at 6pm and when I arrived at 6.30pm I was told that all the books had been sold, but I could still take pictures if I liked.
I went inside and Bob was looking as cool as a cucumber loving the attention and James was clearly overwhelmed by the huge turnout but had a kind word to say to everyone as he signed the books, asking which name he shold put and adding a big heart to each signature. The Waterstones and Hodder & Stoughton (the books publishers) cleverly had a little cat footprint to stamp on the book alongside James's signature too.
I've never been to a book launch before were so many people had at least two copies of a book. A number at three and there was clearly a huge amount of love & affection for the pair. Hodder & Stoughton have produced a lovely video of the pair briefly telling their story.
It's a heartwarming story and one that is popular not just in London, but thanks to sites like Catster andMadmikesamerica, has a global appeal too. He's even big on Russian TV!
There's a few more pictures of Bob & James Book Launch in my Flickr set and you can keep up to date of all their news since the launch by following @StreetCatBob on Twitter. Now , I wonder how long it was take to train my cat to sit on my shoulder & travel on the Tube!
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Hello ,
Now is the time to book your tickets for the Damien Hirst exhibition at Tate Modern. See key works, from his vitrines to seminal paintings using butterflies and flies, as well as the spot and spin paintings - opens 4 April at Tate Modern. > Pre-book tickets online now | |
 | LAIBACH COMES TO TATE MODERN | | |
|  | Neue Slowenische Kunst This one-day event examines the work of the Slovenian art collective Neue Slowenische Kunst, whose work spans painting, theatre, music and design. There will be a series of talks examining the group’s history, followed by a live concert by their music wing, Laibach. Saturday 14 April > Find out more | |
| KUSAMA EVENT & FILM | |||||
|  EVENT: Infinite Kusama Music from 'Actress', live art, 16mm film graffiti....and Kusama inspired nail art at Tate Modern, Saturday 24 March, be there! > Tell me more | |  CONFERENCE: Worlds Together In a three-day participative conference, international experts will share with delegates the past, present and future of arts in education, from Shakespeare to the digital realm. | |  FILM PROGRAMME: Shuji Terayama In an era when Japan’s underground was reaching a fever pitch, Shuji Terayama was a crucial player in a complex network of creative expression | |
| ONLINE EXCLUSIVE | | |
| BMW TATE LIVE: PERFORMANCE ROOM French choreographer and dancer Jérôme Bel inaugurates the BMW Tate Live Performance Room with a new work. Bel’s work explores the relationship between choreography and popular culture; and dancer and spectator. You will only be able to view the performance live online at 20.00 GMT, Thursday 22 March. Also, please get your questions ready for Jérôme Bel by commenting throughfacebook.com/tategallery, or our Twitter hashtag is #BMWTateLive. > Find out more > Click here to save this date |  |
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The Dining Room of Queen Mary's Doll House, Windsor Castle
Perambulator
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On a much smaller scale, and in a much more laid back quirky atmosphere, two sexy as hell burlesque dancers and one incredible (gush!) harpist took to the stage to both serenade and hilariousley tease us as we made merry. The food was fine, though I don't think it's the main attraction, simple, good portions, and quite tasty, but the main thing here is definitely entertainment & atmosphere.
– Raja D, Yelp, Aug 2011
