Southwark Cathedral and Hodge Presents Stories of Cats - Day of Talks

Home to Hodge our rambunctious cat, Southwark Cathedral are delighted to be hosting this day all about our feline friends

Purr-fect for all cat lovers this day will include contributions from a number of cat lovers from historians to behaviorist's and poets.

Join us as we celebrate all things feline on what will be an ameowzing day!

Please note that this event is in-person only taking place in the Cathedral library and spaces are limited.

Speakers confirmed so far are:

10.30am

Oliver Soden in conversation with the Dean of Southwark - Jeoffrey: The Poets Cat

11.30am

Dr Jo Lewis - What's my Cat Thinking

12.30pm

Dreamies time!

1.30pm

Celia Haddon - Strays, Ferals and Unowned Cats

2.30pm

Speaker TBC

3.30pm

Anita Kelsey - Claws - Confessions of a Professional Cat Groomer: Confessions of a Cat Groomer

4.30pm

Home and catnap time!

Hodge the Cathedral Cat

In September 2020, Doorkins Magnificat who had lived at Southwark Cathedral since 2008 passed away peacefully at her retirement home. Sometime before her passing, Southwark Cathedral were in touch with Catcuddles Sanctuary to explore the possibility of providing a 'loving home' for another cat that they may have been providing care for and looking to re-home.

Hodge was rescued in the summer of 2020, after being discovered on a street in Woolwich, South East London with a horrific growth on his face, a condition that his previous owners had neglected to seek veterinary treatment for.

Thankfully, he was surrendered into the care of Catcuddles so that he could begin urgent treatment at their North London cat clinic, and narrowly avoided the need for surgery to remove the growth. He has since made a full recovery.

Hodge is an extremely rambunctious, adventurous, and friendly cat. His official adoption date by the Cathedral is the 6 December, which in the Anglican tradition is considered the feast day of Saint Nicholas, a date for exchanging gifts. And what a gift he has been!

As was the case with Doorkins, when Hodge’s story began, no-one could have predicted that he would one day call such a beautiful, culturally and historically important building his home. His life has been transformed, from one of neglect and uncertainty to a life full of love and security, with the capacity to touch others, just as his predecessor did.

Our speakers...

Oliver Soden is a writer and broadcaster, and the author of "Michael Tippett: The Biography", the first book-length biography of one of the twentieth-century's greatest composers.

Published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson in April 2019, the biography was hailed by Philip Pullman as a "delight to read", and by the Spectator as "an exceptional piece of work". Book of the Year in the Spectator, Times Literary Supplement and Observer, it won both a Somerset Maugham Award and the Royal Philharmonic Society's Prize for Storytelling, and was shortlisted for the Elizabeth Longford Prize for historical biography - a unique trio of recognition from literary, musical, and historical judging panels. The book was read (by the author) for BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week, with Sir Derek Jacobi playing Tippett.

Oliver was educated at Lancing College in Sussex, and at Clare College, Cambridge, where he took a double first in English. For his research on Michael Tippett he was awarded a Fellowship in the Humanities from the University of Texas at Austin. His essays and reviews have appeared in a wide variety of publications, including the Guardian, Literary Review, Gramophone, and BBC Music Magazine, and he is the editor of an edition of John Barton's ten-play epic "Tantalus". He has appeared as a guest on the Six O'Clock News (BBC Radio 4), Proms Plus, Twenty Minutes, Music Matters, Composer of the Week, and Live in Concert (BBC Radio 3).

Dr Jo Lewis is an award-winning Veterinary Surgeon and director of The Cat Vet. With a lifelong love of cats, Jo has more than 20 years experience and is an active member of the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM). She set up The Cat Vet to promote the health and wellbeing of cats by taking routine veterinary care to the place where cats feel most at ease - their own home.

Celia Haddon is a bestselling anthologist whose books have sold well over 1,000,000 copies worldwide. She was the Daily Telegraph's pet agony aunt and is a reputed lover and worshipper of cats, having lived with them and loved them since she was a child. She has compiled a number of anthologies in their honour. She is also compiler of the best-selling One Hundred Ways series and a qualified cat behaviourist.

Anita Kelsey is an author and cat behaviourist. She holds a first class honours degree in Feline Behaviour and Psychology (work-based BA Hons) and runs a vet-referred service dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of behaviour problems in cats.

She is also a cat groomer with master level certification and is known for her work with aggressive or phobic cats during the grooming process. Anita is an advocate for holistic gentle handling during grooming with a strong emphasis on educating clients. She is a full member of The Canine & Feline Behaviour Association. Anita is also a columnist for Your Cat Magazine and is on their experts panel giving advice on behaviour and grooming.

Claws, Confessions Of A Cat Groomer was Anita's debut book with her second book Let's Talk About Cats was released in November 2020.