their feet and having 9 lives is a piece of luck that we can relate to.
York Glass is the home of York Lucky Cats where we celebrate the York story, statues of cats have been placed on
buildings in York for around two centuries, although statues since removed or rotted are thought to date back from
medieval times.
The original cat statues were placed on buildings to frighten away rats and mice which carry the plague and illness.
They were also thought to ward of wandering evil spirits and generally to bestow good luck and good health on citizens
who needed the feline friends to ensure a good nights sleep in old and tempting chewy timber framed buildings!
and cat lover Tom Adams. Resin statues of cats, made by local sculpture Jonathan Nedwick, became signature
pieces on building's Adams design in the city as well as private homes out of the centre of York.
One of the first John Nedwick cats Tom Adams installed was on April 1st, 1982 on the front of a building in one of
York's main shopping thoroughfares Coney Street.
There are cats dotted all over the city of you know where. To look.
Cats aren't just in York but in other towns around the world, for other reasons.
The cat house of Riga - Feilne Feud
Riga is the capital of Latvia, Riga is home to the Cat House, known as such because of the two sculptures
of cats high on its roof, it's ine of the city's landmarks and is a testament to the desire of one man to have vengeance on his enemies.
Many many years ago if you lived in Riga and were in business then you just had to be a member of the Great Guild.
Until you were invited in to its hallowed halls you simply had not made it, one Latvian business man was incensed
when he was not admitted to the Guild and hatched a peculiar, personal and unique form of revenge.
He happened to own the building across the way from the Guild, so he ordered two sculptures of black cats made and placed them on the roof of his building, not only that but he ordered that they should be turned away from the Guild, backside up.
Today it may not seem much of a retort, visual or otherwise, back then, a pair of black cats showing their posteriors
to the parish principals was a public gesture of defiance, distaste and damnification.
The "feline feud" was serious, you can imagine the reactions of the members of the Guild. A lengthy legal battle
ensued with the Guild's affronted and choleric committee fighting a losing battle with the owner of the f-you felines, it was only when they agreed that he could become a member of the Guild that he relented and had the cats turned face on towards it.
Whether he accepted and became a member is lost to history as is his name.
CAT
3-1-20
123
6
