During our recent trip to Great Yarmouth we popped into Darling Darlings Cat Lounge, on Marine Parade, for a cappuccino.
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The place is super-kitsch and opened in 2017; its mission to provide trained therapy cats, as it's known that spending time with our domestic feline friends is a great way to reduce stress and anxiety. As cats of any kind are my favourite animal I just could not resist coming in here, and it didn't disappoint.
Here is the till area...
The vintage/ retro decor has thingumajigs which span from the 1950s to the 1990s, and there are plenty of pussycat-themed items splashed around.
This photo was taken whilst me 'n' the SuperDean were seated at our table...
To the right of this photo is the main door, which is a locked grille, very wisely situated so that the pussies cannot run out onto the road and end up as flat cats.
That's what happened to our little ginger and white cat when I was a kid. After that my mother refused to have another cat, as we lived on a main road and she didn't want the heartbreak again.
The back end, down by the kitchen is a 1980s time capsule lounge, playing fantastic songs from that area. We only had our coffees and a sausage roll to eat, although the cakes on display did look tasty...
Dance Yourself Dizzy, a 1980 hit for Liquid Gold was thundering through the speakers as I passed through, en route to the human litter trays at the back.It was one of my favourite records from that era and took me right back...😁
Leopard print abounded, and thankfully I wasn't wearing any on this day, otherwise the pussies might not have interacted with me!😉
I love, love, LOVE this chair!
*WANT*
I did keep referring to this place as The Pussy Lounge, which is something entirely different...😉
The oldest is Coconut, who is a British Blue of seven with lovely yellow amber eyes. He is a tripod, having only three legs- one of his hind legs had to be amputated after it was caught in an illegal trap in someone's garden.
I have to say, I only saw him seated- he was Dean's favourite puss and, in true cat character, he was busy resting...
Funnily enough, Kim, the British Blue who lived next to us when I was a kid survived the main road (maybe because she was a large cat who didn't care to roam too far away from the fridge- at Christmas time she would meow at its door constantly, as she knew there was a turkey inside...😁) The day we moved in my mum said, 'Oh look- they've got a lovely grey cat next door.' Then she placed our open fish tank, with Cleo the goldfish on the ground, and we went away to collect more stuff from the old house. When we came back the fish was nowhere to be seen, and Kim was sat atop her wall, licking her paws. She was a hungry puss, who once caught a seagull!
Teddy, the beautiful green-eyed tabby is five and he was my favourite. He has hydrocephalus and epilepsy, so is on medication for life. He is also visually impaired. Photography is allowed but not with a flash, as that can trigger seizures in both humans and animals alike.
Here he is, in his egg chair. He did bother to wake up and give me some attention, but he snores when he's asleep (a bit like me...)
He- along with his siblings- was destined to be used as dog bait until he was rescued (I just don't get the mentality of some people...😒)
He was the first cat to be trained as a therapy cat, and has made visits to schools, care homes and private houses.
Stanley is the grey and white fur bundle between the white railings and is two-years-old, and his mum was feral. He is quite a tiny cat and has a wheat and gluten allergy.
He is in what, in cat terms, is his adolescent period. He spent most of the time we were there just staring out at the food being prepared in the kitchen. Another typical moggy!
Maverick and Ernie, the hairless pussies, are both Sphynx cats. Their baldness is a naturally occurring genetic mutation and here (or should that be hair?!) they are, huddled on their favourite chair.
Ernie is the youngest, at ten months old, and here he is enjoying the cat run. His breed is also known as the Canadian Hairless, and he's the more commonly known type of Sphynx...
Maverick is the Donskoy variation of a Sphynx (also knows as a Russian Hairless), and he's the white fella at the top. On this day he wasn't as playful as his hairless mate.
Both cats were beautifully soft when you stroked them...💓
Cartoon cat plushies also live here, and Garfield is sitting behind the keyboard. I think my favourite cartoon cat is probably Top Cat, although I reserve a special ball of love for Tom...
A duck and a pigeon at the Venetian Waterways, taken another day. I love the way the azure dye in the water gives the place an authentic, elegant ambience...
I have blogged about the regeneration of the waterways before. This post shows them during 2018, as a work in progress:-
The duck decided to pose for me...
A swan and a pen with the water in the background. You can hire pedalos on this boating lake if you want. We didn't- imagine paying to hire a boat and then having to pedal it yourself- on yer bike! Give me something with an engine!
Swans mate for life. This was the last day of our holiday and possibly the most relaxing. We also took a carriage ride down the seafront 💓 (a first for me) and the weather was really nice.
Looking back whilst standing on the final (and I think highest) bridge on the way out.
I have included some details and photos of the redeveloped waterways here, in my largest Great Yarmouth blog:-
I took this as photo of Vauxhall Bridge as we walked into town one day. It's right near the railway station and dates back to 1850, being rebuilt in 1887.
Looking the other way, down the River Yare...
We stayed at Vauxhall Holiday Park for the first time. It is beautifully tended, and here is the cute fountain which sits by the entrance gates.
We popped into the town centre (our holiday park was walking distance from the town centre, so therefore easily accessible for those like us who don't drive) one evening. We had hoped to catch the illuminations, but were a tad too early.
You can make out some of the different colours going down the seafront, though...
On the way to Great Yarmouth we were lucky enough to end up on a train that took the Berney Arms route. It is a request stop, and the train stopped long enough for me to take photos...
Berney Arms consists of a windmill and a pub. The pub closed in 2015, and reopened in 2020 as a bistro...
Here's a cropped view.
The area is part of The Broads, and is close to Breydon Water...
The area is only accessible by foot, bike, rail or boat, and here's a different angle as we passed around it.
We have seen it before, when we visited Burgh Castle a few years back. Here is my blog link:-
Great Yarmouth (and Darling Darlings Cat Lounge) I will return.
Until then...
Meow!
The Miss Elaineous
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