Hey, kittehs, looking for a way to spend your summer vacation? Maybe the Fabulous Fleetwood can give you some pointers.
Fleetwood, an orange tabby, travels the UK in a camper-van with his people. At the end of most days, they stop in at pubs, and Fleetwood comes along with them (with the pub’s permission). Fleetwood loves the music, and hangs out in his tiger-striped catbed, watching the action with a bemused expression and contented purr. And he seems to be popular with the patrons: in the 87+ pubs he’s visited, he’s never had to buy a pint.
His owner, Bruce Hogg, writes:
“My wife and I both have an interest in music, and most of our travels have a strong musical context (music festivals, pub music sessions, etc.). It was clear that Fleetwood enjoyed his pub visits, and it was equally obvious that he loved being in the camper van (you know pretty quickly whether a cat wants to do something or not), so we generally take him to the various pubs we visit. Even stranger is the fact that he seems to love listening to music, to judge by the deep, contented purring to be heard when he’s in there beside the players!
Of course, we always enquire at a ‘new’ pub whether he will be allowed in or not; we’ve found through experience that the question, ‘Do you allow animals in on leads?’ works best. If the answer is ‘yes’, then we point out that it’s a cat; if the answer is ‘no’, we just accept it. If the answer is, ‘We dont allow dogs in,’ we point out he’s not a dog; which more often than not has gained him entry. Though many pubs have rules about dogs, very few have a rule about cats!
In his four years so far and up to September 2007 he has been in 52 licensed premises* which may say more about us than about him! You can find a record of his visits at Fleetwood’s Travels.
You can see more photos of Fleetwood here, and Fleetwood’s complete story (including how he got his name) here.
No word on whether or not Fleetwood acts as the Designated Driver.
* by September 2009, the count was up to 87.
