Walking out on to platform one, however, Felix started to tense up. Things were very different out there and the pest controller, used to patrolling her patch, sniffed warily. In front of her beloved bike racks was now a long table covered over with a cloth, on which the Waterstones team had stacked up several piles of books – all ready for a ‘signing session’ after the interview. Alongside it, colourful star-shaped helium balloons in red, gold and blue danced busily in the early-morning breeze, attracting many commuters, who came over to see what on earth was going on.
Also out on the platform, and waiting for them, was the brown-haired presenter with his fluffy grey mic. Andrew and Felix walked over for a quick chat before the show went live. He explained that he needed to film some establishing shots with them before the live interview – such as Andrew and Felix walking together down the platform – and that he also wanted to have a quick rehearsal of the interview before the cameras rolled for real. Andrew nodded, nerves growing.
Felix, on the other hand, lay comfortably in Andrew’s arms, her tail flicking thoughtfully and her keen green eyes drinking everything in. In particular, she was fascinated by the fluffy mic that the presenter held tightly. In some ways, given its luscious thick grey pelt, it looked rather like a moggy itself – albeit, disturbingly, one without any features. This meant it couldn’t stare back at Felix, and the station cat was intrigued by that. It seemed to give her the upper paw. She watched it with the same undivided attention that she had once given to the fat tabby cat at Jean’s – and she was determined not to be outwitted again.
Andrew and the presenter continued to conduct their last-minute checks, having a ‘dry run’ of the interview before the real thing. Consequently, the fluffy microphone was soon thrust towards Andrew and Felix as the cameras recorded, but did not broadcast the exchange.
The presenter asked a question and Andrew opened his mouth to answer, his eyes fixed on the interviewer. Felix, however, was not listening to her former colleague. Instead, she narrowed her eyes as the cat-like mic came swiftly towards her. It was an attack, in Felix’s mind, an invasion of her space, and with a triumphant, gloating purr from the very back of her throat, she grabbed at it. As Andrew looked on in horror, she batted it briskly, first with one paw and then with the other, until she had pinned that expensive mic between her claws with determined efficiency. Even afterwards, she continued to crow about her catch with joyful pride – and the microphone, naturally, recorded every exultant purr. As the professional piece of kit had the same audio clarity that one might expect in a top-notch recording studio, she sounded rather as though she was an expert jazz crooner, singing sultrily about the one who didn’t get away.
And that microphone truly didn’t get away. Once he had got over the immediate shock, Andrew – and the presenter – chuckled heartily, but they quickly realised that Felix wasn’t joking. As the presenter tried to pull his microphone away from Felix, she pulled back with all her might, digging in deeper with her super-strong claws. He pulled and she pulled, and she pulled and he pulled, in a terrific tug-of-war that Felix was absolutely determined to win. And she did … She held on so tightly that, in the end, she disconnected that microphone from its amp! The presenter was left holding the disconnected wire, while Felix took home the main prize of her fluffy foe. She looked as proud as punch.
Well, what a to-do! And although, eventually, Andrew successfully persuaded Felix and the mic to part ways, the incident couldn’t help but pile on the pressure for the live broadcast. For what if Felix cut the sound when they were live to the nation? What would happen then?
Andrew’s mouth felt dry as dust. Encased in his smart navy suit jacket, his shoulders tensed up, even as he held the cat. He cuddled Felix as tightly as he dared, stroking her to calm himself as much as her. It wasn’t really helping …
The presenter turned towards him with focused intent, as the orange digits on the platform display boards moved inexorably onwards, bringing them ever closer to the appointed hour.
‘We’ll be live in just a moment,’ he said.
Then the cameraman spoke up too, already putting his hand out behind the camera, his fingers silently counting down the seconds. ‘Going live in five, four …’ His fingers continued the countdown, even as Andrew heard the digits in his head. I hope this works, he thought desperately. I really hope Felix behaves …
Three, two, one.
A glowing red light on the camera switched ON.
10. A Sprinkling of Stardust
‘Felix has become an internet sensation after starting work at Huddersfield train station!’ Kate Garraway announced on the sofa in London. ‘Nick Dixon got to meet her …’
And with that short and sweet introduction, they were suddenly live on air from Huddersfield station to the nation.
‘Andrew, what’s the appeal of Felix?’ the presenter pressed him.
Andrew began to answer, speaking as clearly as he could. ‘I just think she is a working cat … She keeps everyone at Huddersfield happy – the staff, the colleagues, everyone at TransPennine Express …’
As he spoke, he felt Felix begin to dig her claws into his arm, as though she was reminding him that he had to present her in the best possible light. Ouch! thought Andrew – but he couldn’t let the pain show. He remembered all too well the mantra that the TV execs had drilled into him beforehand: whatever you do, do not swear … It was advice not easily followed when Felix chose to make her move!
The pressure of her sharp claws made him want to grimace, but he somehow followed Felix’s not-so-subtle instructions, concluding, through his gritted teeth, ‘She just brings a smile to everyone’s face!’
With that, Andrew’s part in the proceedings was over. He and Felix stayed onscreen as Nick spoke next to a representative from Prostate Cancer UK. Andrew kept on stroking the station cat, but Felix did nothing to pull focus from the lady, who said what a difference she hoped the money raised would make. All royalties from the book would be going to support those men and their families who had been affected by this terrible disease, she said.
Throughout the entire segment, which was about four minutes long, Felix was as good as gold, sitting professionally in Andrew’s arms until the broadcast had safely returned to London and the presenter told them that was a wrap. It was almost as if she knew how important this was and she waited patiently for the cameras to stop rolling, not even wriggling once to try to get away. After all the nerves and preparation, everything had run like clockwork.
It was the same with all the publicity Felix had to do – and she did lots. The glamourpuss graced the covers of The Lady magazine and Big Issue North, the latter to resounding success when ‘her’ edition of the magazine sold so well that it was reprinted no less than three times to keep up with demand. Big Issue North was launched in response to growing numbers of homeless people in the north of England; it still works today to give a helping hand to those in poverty, with its sellers earning fifty per cent of the cover price of every magazine they sell. So it was particularly special that Felix could help the homeless and poverty-stricken in this way, not least because homelessness often affects the railway network in particular, stations being one of the places the homeless can migrate towards as they provide a temporary shelter when all other avenues have closed. Mark Allan estimated that through that charity drive alone, Felix helped to raise around £12,500.