Andy, perhaps sensing Felix’s wariness, jiggled her gently in his arms, trying to calm her. Jeff, too, continued to stroke her. Felix accepted it – until, uninvited, Jeff cheekily tickled Felix on her snow-white belly as she sat up in Andy’s arms.
Her reaction was instantaneous. Her jaws stretched wide, as though she was a panther on the hunt, and she swivelled her head sharply towards Jeff. Without warning, she went for him, apparently intent on taking a chunk out of his finger!
‘It’s all right!’ Jeff declared, laughing despite his shock, as he backed away from her. Now he was the wary one. ‘I’ve got four others!’ he joked.
To calm her, a team member quickly gave Felix a treat. This, however, could only be a temporary measure – and, as it turned out, in more ways than one. That summer, to Felix’s great displeasure, treats were designated off the menu … for good.
One afternoon that July, Angie Hunte took her not-so-little-any-more girl to the vet’s. As Felix stepped on to the scales, the vet’s eyes widened in alarm. ‘Ooh!’ she exclaimed. ‘You’re a very heavy lady, aren’t you, Felix?’ The vet gently felt her way through all the fluff on Felix’s body to touch her rounded belly. ‘Ooh! We all know what that is, don’t we? It seems it is full of Dreamies, Felix …’ She tutted her disapproval, and told Angie that a diet was required. This was beginning to become a recurring theme in Felix’s trips to the vet …
Though Felix was not too obese in human terms – she was roughly half a kilo overweight at that time – for a cat that is still significant. When Angie communicated the news back at the station, the team knew they needed to take action. Everyone wanted to do all they could to get their fluffy friend back down to a healthy weight, so they decided that the team members now had to be included in the treat ban. No more football games on the concourse or treat-catching tricks for Felix! It was the end of an era, in a way, but Felix’s health was far more important. They would just have to have treat-free adventures in future, that was all. Knowing Felix, that really would not be too challenging.
Yet the team knew that their own ban on treats was not enough. For even with the ban in place, Felix’s struggles with her weight were likely to continue, both because of the free-roaming nature of her job and because of her insatiable appetite! The two elements made a recipe for disaster. Whenever she went on the platforms, Felix would be on the lookout for food. And given her celebrity status, she often didn’t need to beg – snacks would be served up to her practically on a silver platter. The vast majority of her treats still came from her fans, who understandably couldn’t resist the expert pleading in her big green eyes. Felix was her own worst enemy in that way, using all her skills of persuasion to get what she wanted, whether it was good for her or not. In addition, it was a pleasure for Felix’s fans to meet her, and they wanted to treat her in return. Surely just one won’t hurt, they all reasoned. And had they been the only ones thinking that, it wouldn’t have hurt a bit. But Felix was by now meeting dozens of fans every week, sometimes dozens a day. And some were not so restrained; Angela Dunn had seen some people emptying entire packets of cat treats out on to the platform when they thought she wasn’t looking. Felix, of course, was always quick to hoover them all up. If anything, it was a wonder that she wasn’t more overweight, but her regular patrols thankfully kept her active.
The team knew, therefore, that they also needed to remind Felix’s many visitors about their responsibilities to care for her too. Shortly after Felix’s return from the vet’s, team leader Dan carefully wrote out a sign to display on the concourse. Due to its importance, it was written on the traditional station whiteboard that was placed each day in a high-visibility area to inform customers of significant information. Beneath the classic i-for-information logo and the heading ‘Important Customer Information’, Dan handwrote the following message:
Please don’t feed Felix!
Our own little celeb-kitty loves all of the people who come to see her, and she’s also rather fond of the treats people bring for her.
However, in order to keep our senior pest controller fit and healthy, the vet has recommended a bit of a diet for the floofy one!
If you have brought something along with you today, and you don’t want it to go to waste, speak to a member of staff, who can help Felix share it with some less fortunate kittens.
Thank you for helping to keep Felix healthy.
The Huddersfield Station Team
An image of the sign was immediately posted on Facebook in order to spread the word. Mark Allan decided to add a comedy caption from Felix, one which no doubt reflected her real feelings on the matter.
‘Dan,’ the caption read, ‘I need to talk to you about this sign …’
Well, the witticism made it Felix’s most popular Facebook post to date – though it was undoubtedly Felix’s least favourite adventure!
Her fans were quick to defend her. ‘I remember the cat who used to live on Paddington station back in the eighties,’ wrote one Facebook friend. ‘Usually seen fast asleep in a comfy basket in the ladies’ loos. It was amazingly fat and huge. Ginger, if I remember right. Felix looks positively dainty in comparison.’ Another chorused, ‘It’s not fat, it’s floof!’
Others took the chance to be cheeky. ‘I mean, maybe if Felix did some work now and again, she would burn some calories,’ quipped Craig Forrest. To which Charlotte Stockwell retorted wittily, ‘That was a bit catty. She works very hard …’
Angie Hunte hoped that the message would do the job. She hadn’t liked hearing the vet’s latest warning about Felix’s weight and she was worried for the cat’s long-term health. Her health had to be the most important thing – and if that meant not giving her a treat, then all the mewing in the world had to be ignored.
Felix wouldn’t like it, Angie knew, but it was for the best.
13. Happy Days
‘Have you heard …?’ was the refrain that began echoing around Huddersfield station in July 2017. ‘Have you heard the good news?’
Incredibly, Huddersfield had been nominated for Station of the Year at the TransPennine Express Star Awards 2017 – and the team were over the moon.
The award winners were to be announced at a posh do in a hotel function room in Manchester that month. Many of the team wanted to attend, but with the station running 24/7 and only limited capacity, not everyone could go. In the end, the station manager Andy Croughan was joined by team leaders Angie Hunte, Geoff, Dan and Jacqui, as well as Sara and Karl, Andy Yarwood and Dale Woodward. (Felix, taking one for the team, decided she would work through the event, while they all went off and had fun. After the termination of her gravy train of treats, she wasn’t really in the mood for celebration.)
Since it was a formal occasion, Sara and Angie both opted to wear little black dresses, while the men dressed smartly in jackets and waistcoats. It was rather like they’d traded places with Felix, who always looked such a glamourpuss at work, while they had to wear their workaday uniforms. Jacqui wore a stunning white trouser suit; they all gave Felix a run for her money in the fashion stakes that night.
While they looked their best on the outside, inside they felt anxious. It was a very nervous Huddersfield team who took to their round table in the hotel conference room, craning their necks back to look at the balloon decorations in the TPE corporate colour scheme of purple, blue and white. A spot-lit stage dominated the large room; this was where the awards would be presented. Andy Croughan sipped his wine anxiously, wondering if his team would triumph this time.