Sunday, June 09, 2013
Cat on patrol
Having blogged previously about the adventures of Larry, I was fascinated by this account in the Independent about his neighbour and rival, Freya, who lives with George Osborne in No. 11 Downing Street.
The paper says that Freya tends to be prone to disappearing for days at a time. They say that the Chancellor had bought the tabby as a present for his two children in 2009 when the Osbornes were living in Notting Hill, west London. But within a few months she went missing. Three years on and the family had moved to Downing Street, when Mr Osborne’s wife, Frances, got a surprise call telling her that Freya had been found.
Freya had apparently been living as a stray in a garden a few streets away and was being “looked after” by a “neighbour”. It was only after a visit to a vet revealed a microchip beneath her skin bearing Ms Osborne’s phone number that her owners were identified. That was just the start:
She was re-united with the Osbornes but since her arrival in Downing Street her behaviour has aroused suspicion that she might have another kind of chip implanted in her.
Unlike David Cameron’s cat Larry who rarely moves from his favoured spot under a Downing Street hot air vent, Freya is quite a piece of work.
Over the past few months she has been found in the most secure area of the Foreign Office, inside the room in No 10 where the Cabinet meets and trying to seek entry into the Treasury. She was even caught by Mr Osborne inside his red box.
And like any good agent she also likes to spend time in the bar.
On many an evening she can be found in Westminster’s favoured political watering hole, the Red Lion – despite having to cross four lanes of traffic to get there. Apparently at the end of the evening the barmaids regularly have to carry her back home.
She has even made it as far as Trafalgar Square – once being caught back stage at the Trafalgar Studio Theatre nearly half a kilometre away. On one occasion she was spotted in the command centre of a secret “war gaming” exercise involving the Navy.
As the Treasury spokesperson said “She’s a Treasury cat. It’s her job to get everywhere.”
The paper says that Freya tends to be prone to disappearing for days at a time. They say that the Chancellor had bought the tabby as a present for his two children in 2009 when the Osbornes were living in Notting Hill, west London. But within a few months she went missing. Three years on and the family had moved to Downing Street, when Mr Osborne’s wife, Frances, got a surprise call telling her that Freya had been found. Freya had apparently been living as a stray in a garden a few streets away and was being “looked after” by a “neighbour”. It was only after a visit to a vet revealed a microchip beneath her skin bearing Ms Osborne’s phone number that her owners were identified. That was just the start:
She was re-united with the Osbornes but since her arrival in Downing Street her behaviour has aroused suspicion that she might have another kind of chip implanted in her.
Unlike David Cameron’s cat Larry who rarely moves from his favoured spot under a Downing Street hot air vent, Freya is quite a piece of work.
Over the past few months she has been found in the most secure area of the Foreign Office, inside the room in No 10 where the Cabinet meets and trying to seek entry into the Treasury. She was even caught by Mr Osborne inside his red box.
And like any good agent she also likes to spend time in the bar.
On many an evening she can be found in Westminster’s favoured political watering hole, the Red Lion – despite having to cross four lanes of traffic to get there. Apparently at the end of the evening the barmaids regularly have to carry her back home.
She has even made it as far as Trafalgar Square – once being caught back stage at the Trafalgar Studio Theatre nearly half a kilometre away. On one occasion she was spotted in the command centre of a secret “war gaming” exercise involving the Navy.
As the Treasury spokesperson said “She’s a Treasury cat. It’s her job to get everywhere.”
