Opening role for ex-war reporter

Broadcaster, writer and former BBC war correspondent Kate Adie visited Southwell on Saturday for an assignment involving her sister’s cat.

Kate was asked to open an extension at the Orchard Boarding Cattery because her sister, Mrs Dianora Bond, who lives in Southwell, uses the cattery for her pet, Byron.

Cattery owner Mrs Margaret Wendels said about 50 people attended.

Guests were given gift bags containing items including a chocolate cat.

Mrs Wendels said Kate held Byron and gave a speech.

Mrs Wendels said: “Kate said she had never opened a cattery before but she did tell us about a time she was in a war zone somewhere and she was asked by some soldiers to open something and it turned out to be their toilets.”

Mrs Wendels said Kate went on to say that when you went into a country where the fabric of society had broken down, one of the ways to tell that was by the state of the animals on the street, and one of the signs that we were a civilised society was that we were a society that cared for animals.

The new extension replaces a wooden one and has ten pens, two isolation pens, and toilets.