Thought for today:
"Hands up all you out there who think cats are cleverer than dogs? The ancient Egyptians, believing cats to be sacred would most certainly have come down on their side. This debate between lovers of cats and dogs has gone on for hundreds of years now.
A dog thinks: ‘Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me and take good care of me. They must be Gods!’
A cat thinks: ‘Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me and take good care of me. I must be a God!'
There is no doubt that a cat is a more independent creature than a dog and is less dependent on the person who looks after them. Please note that cats do not have owners; hence I refrain from using that phrase if possible wherever cats are concerned. Many cats just turn up on our doorstep and if we take them into our house, we take them into our lives.
Now let me declare from the outset that I've been a dog person since the age of six and have owned a good number of dogs over the years. I have never housed a cat though and will also admit to having greatly disliked them before the year 1999. That was the year when something very strange happened to me; the year when cats advanced from being intensely disliked to being greatly admired by me. They now share a place alongside dogs and horses in my blessed trinity of favourite animals.
Before 1999, I would constantly shoo cats from my garden whenever I saw one and have even been known to throw the odd object of fright in their direction to speed along their passage. Today however, I would feel privileged if a cat chose to enter my garden. This transformation was a gradual, yet momentous movement in my affections towards the feline species and my cat conversion occurred over a six year period when I was writing my most prominent literary works to date; a lengthy trilogy entitled 'The Kilkenny Cat': Books 1, 2 and 3.
Towards the end of the last century, England had witnessed constant riots, the fiercest being in the North of England between the black and white population; particularly in Rochdale and Bradford during the 90s. For a while, the North had descended into near anarchy and riots between people of different cultures were starting to break out regularly.
I wanted to write about 'The Northern Riots' and I used the geographical settings I knew best to form a suitable background to the three books. These places were West Yorkshire, where I had lived since the age of 5 years, Ireland where I was born and Jamaica where I had commenced a literary work project with 32 schools in Falmouth (Jamaica's old slave capital). This work was done in conjunction with the Jamaican Minister for Education, Youth and Culture at the start of the New Millennium.
Jamaica is a country that had known nothing but riots for the best part of the last century and during 1999, it even ranked as the murder capital of the world. I was determined to help its poorest schools in Falmouth acquire much needed educational materials through acquiring the profits from my book sales, along with highlighting the nature of discrimination that occurs between black on white, white on black, black on black and white on white throughout Ireland, Jamaica and England.
The way I chose to do this was to research, write, publish and transport five thousand of my 'Kilkenny Cat Trilogy' books to Falmouth, Jamaica, where they would be sold on behalf of the poorest schools. I also matched up 32 Jamaican schools with 32 Yorkshire schools and started a trans Atlantic pen-pal project with the specific aim of increasing understanding between different cultures and reducing racism between black and white pupils. It took me six years to research, write, publish and ship thousands of copies of the book trilogy out to Falmouth. The schools sold the books and bought basic educational materials with the proceeds. They even honoured me for my help by placing 'The Kilkenny Cat Trilogy' on their educational curriculum in Falmouth, along with another book of mine written about Falmouth, Jamaica, entitled, 'Bucket Bill'. That was a book which the late Nelson Mandela had phoned me to say he enjoyed and considered 'a wonderful story.'
When I started writing 'The Kilkenny Cat' (which is an allegorical story about the theme of discrimination, and where all the travelling cat characters represent humans), I knew absolutely nothing about cats. Six years later, I'd become an expert on cats. During this literary journey, I learned that just like our relationships with human beings, cats are very similar. We are more prone to distrust and not like them when we do not know much about them or their ways. Know them however, find out how they tick and what motivates them and your feelings for them gradually transform. You move from dislike to like, to admire, and then to love.
During this conversion of my feelings for cats, I even came to learn that not all men who have cats are 'gay' and neither should all female owners of cats be regarded as 'suspicious spinsters!' For anyone buying this trilogy, please note that while the three books are interdependent, one book makes a story and all three books form an epic. During one's reading of the trilogy, one moves from dislike to like, to admiration, to love. In short, you take the same journey that I did in transforming my initial dislike of cats to one of admiration.
A few years prior to writing 'The Kilkenny Cat Trilogy,' I also spent three years researching dogs and finished up writing 'Tales of Bernard.' This was a book that Christopher Timothy, who played the film and tv character, James Herriot, publicly read in four Yorkshire schools and loved. The late Alf Wight (the author of 'All creatures Great and Small), also praised the book. Alf sent me one of his autographed books a matter of mere hours before he died and by the time the post man had delivered his autographed book next day, the radio and television news was informing the country of Alf Wight's death. In 'Tales of Bernard', the characters are mostly stray pedigree dogs who are a gang of homeless bullies; on the surface bad in character, but deep down, good at heart.That book also took me three years of researching breeds of pedigree dogs.
Consequently, both 'The Kilkenny Cat Trilogy' and 'Tales of Bernard' hold a special place in my affections that I could not adequately describe as they are closely associated with creatures I came to befriend and love.
'The Kilkenny Cat' has some violent scenes in it and is suitable for readers of teenage years to 90 years old. Regard it as my most prominent literary work to date. 'Tales of Bernard' is a cross-over book which is suitable for both 9 year olds and 90 year olds. Without seeming to blow my own trumpet, for anyone who likes my writing, both books are a 'must' for cat and dog lovers. Any of my facebook friends who buys a copy which they read and don't like, I will personally refund their money or give them the pick from any of my 66 book publications. As with all of my publications past, present and in perpetuity, all profits from their sales will be given to charitable causes in some material form as was the £200,000 profits from the sales of my books between 1990 and 2003." William Forde: July 1st, 2016.
https://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?keyWords=The+Kilkenny+Cat+Trilogy&type=
http://www.lulu.com/shop/william-forde/tales-of-bernard/paperback/product-21857409.html
"Hands up all you out there who think cats are cleverer than dogs? The ancient Egyptians, believing cats to be sacred would most certainly have come down on their side. This debate between lovers of cats and dogs has gone on for hundreds of years now.
A dog thinks: ‘Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me and take good care of me. They must be Gods!’
A cat thinks: ‘Hey, these people I live with feed me, love me, provide me with a nice warm, dry house, pet me and take good care of me. I must be a God!'
There is no doubt that a cat is a more independent creature than a dog and is less dependent on the person who looks after them. Please note that cats do not have owners; hence I refrain from using that phrase if possible wherever cats are concerned. Many cats just turn up on our doorstep and if we take them into our house, we take them into our lives.
Now let me declare from the outset that I've been a dog person since the age of six and have owned a good number of dogs over the years. I have never housed a cat though and will also admit to having greatly disliked them before the year 1999. That was the year when something very strange happened to me; the year when cats advanced from being intensely disliked to being greatly admired by me. They now share a place alongside dogs and horses in my blessed trinity of favourite animals.
Before 1999, I would constantly shoo cats from my garden whenever I saw one and have even been known to throw the odd object of fright in their direction to speed along their passage. Today however, I would feel privileged if a cat chose to enter my garden. This transformation was a gradual, yet momentous movement in my affections towards the feline species and my cat conversion occurred over a six year period when I was writing my most prominent literary works to date; a lengthy trilogy entitled 'The Kilkenny Cat': Books 1, 2 and 3.
Towards the end of the last century, England had witnessed constant riots, the fiercest being in the North of England between the black and white population; particularly in Rochdale and Bradford during the 90s. For a while, the North had descended into near anarchy and riots between people of different cultures were starting to break out regularly.
I wanted to write about 'The Northern Riots' and I used the geographical settings I knew best to form a suitable background to the three books. These places were West Yorkshire, where I had lived since the age of 5 years, Ireland where I was born and Jamaica where I had commenced a literary work project with 32 schools in Falmouth (Jamaica's old slave capital). This work was done in conjunction with the Jamaican Minister for Education, Youth and Culture at the start of the New Millennium.
Jamaica is a country that had known nothing but riots for the best part of the last century and during 1999, it even ranked as the murder capital of the world. I was determined to help its poorest schools in Falmouth acquire much needed educational materials through acquiring the profits from my book sales, along with highlighting the nature of discrimination that occurs between black on white, white on black, black on black and white on white throughout Ireland, Jamaica and England.
The way I chose to do this was to research, write, publish and transport five thousand of my 'Kilkenny Cat Trilogy' books to Falmouth, Jamaica, where they would be sold on behalf of the poorest schools. I also matched up 32 Jamaican schools with 32 Yorkshire schools and started a trans Atlantic pen-pal project with the specific aim of increasing understanding between different cultures and reducing racism between black and white pupils. It took me six years to research, write, publish and ship thousands of copies of the book trilogy out to Falmouth. The schools sold the books and bought basic educational materials with the proceeds. They even honoured me for my help by placing 'The Kilkenny Cat Trilogy' on their educational curriculum in Falmouth, along with another book of mine written about Falmouth, Jamaica, entitled, 'Bucket Bill'. That was a book which the late Nelson Mandela had phoned me to say he enjoyed and considered 'a wonderful story.'
When I started writing 'The Kilkenny Cat' (which is an allegorical story about the theme of discrimination, and where all the travelling cat characters represent humans), I knew absolutely nothing about cats. Six years later, I'd become an expert on cats. During this literary journey, I learned that just like our relationships with human beings, cats are very similar. We are more prone to distrust and not like them when we do not know much about them or their ways. Know them however, find out how they tick and what motivates them and your feelings for them gradually transform. You move from dislike to like, to admire, and then to love.
During this conversion of my feelings for cats, I even came to learn that not all men who have cats are 'gay' and neither should all female owners of cats be regarded as 'suspicious spinsters!' For anyone buying this trilogy, please note that while the three books are interdependent, one book makes a story and all three books form an epic. During one's reading of the trilogy, one moves from dislike to like, to admiration, to love. In short, you take the same journey that I did in transforming my initial dislike of cats to one of admiration.
A few years prior to writing 'The Kilkenny Cat Trilogy,' I also spent three years researching dogs and finished up writing 'Tales of Bernard.' This was a book that Christopher Timothy, who played the film and tv character, James Herriot, publicly read in four Yorkshire schools and loved. The late Alf Wight (the author of 'All creatures Great and Small), also praised the book. Alf sent me one of his autographed books a matter of mere hours before he died and by the time the post man had delivered his autographed book next day, the radio and television news was informing the country of Alf Wight's death. In 'Tales of Bernard', the characters are mostly stray pedigree dogs who are a gang of homeless bullies; on the surface bad in character, but deep down, good at heart.That book also took me three years of researching breeds of pedigree dogs.
Consequently, both 'The Kilkenny Cat Trilogy' and 'Tales of Bernard' hold a special place in my affections that I could not adequately describe as they are closely associated with creatures I came to befriend and love.
'The Kilkenny Cat' has some violent scenes in it and is suitable for readers of teenage years to 90 years old. Regard it as my most prominent literary work to date. 'Tales of Bernard' is a cross-over book which is suitable for both 9 year olds and 90 year olds. Without seeming to blow my own trumpet, for anyone who likes my writing, both books are a 'must' for cat and dog lovers. Any of my facebook friends who buys a copy which they read and don't like, I will personally refund their money or give them the pick from any of my 66 book publications. As with all of my publications past, present and in perpetuity, all profits from their sales will be given to charitable causes in some material form as was the £200,000 profits from the sales of my books between 1990 and 2003." William Forde: July 1st, 2016.
https://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?keyWords=The+Kilkenny+Cat+Trilogy&type=
http://www.lulu.com/shop/william-forde/tales-of-bernard/paperback/product-21857409.html
