Humphrey the Downing Street Cat

So farewell then to Humphrey.

It is a pity he did not live long enough to see the Blairs leave Downing Street. But it is starting to look as though they may not survive him for long. And I was always one of the school that believed that Blair would stay in power as long as possible and do down Gordon Brown once more if he possibly could.

The best memorial to him is by Oliver King on the Guardian site. It includes the famous snap of Cherie Blair holding Humphrey in the photo opportunity arranged by Alistair Campbell. This was arranged to keep cat lovers in New Labour's "big tent" after the Downing Street mouser was pensioned off because Cherie did not like him.

Except that I am convinced that you would find subtle differences in colouring if you compared that picture of "Humphrey" with earlier ones of him. I have not had time to do this myself, but I am convinced this "Humphrey" was a hastily found replacement after the real one was done away with.

As my old friend Whittington said: "The word in the alley is that he is buried somewhere under the Millennium Dome."