TEA WITH MR. TIMOTHY

It's a little old fashioned, it's very nostalgic, and it's a well-tempered balance of violent years interspersed with gentle, quiet, sheltering moments. The book is short and consists of flashes, mainly into the happier interludes, during the years from the mid-thirties to the latter part of the War. Mr. Timothy is the name of a fastidious, well-loved cat who lived with Miss Pilgrim, an elderly lady with a subtle talent for making things turn out right. Ginger was just a street urchin the first time he was invited to have tea with Mr. Timothy, and that was after he saved the cat's life. Tea became a regular function with them, and sometimes, when she was on holiday, they would be joined by Jo, Miss Pilgrim's niece. With Miss Pilgrim's encouragement, Ginger works his way up from junk collecting to learning carpentry, to taking night courses and to becoming a trained draughtsman. Jo moves to Australia, all of Ginger's old friends, except for Miss Pilgrim, move away, and when the War starts, Ginger goes to fight and to dream about Jo. Even when a cat saves Ginger from being killed, the story is told with constraint and with a genuine sense of affection. And readers needn't be ashamed of a moist eye when Jo and Ginger are reunited at the rubble of Miss Pilgrim's just-bombed house and find Mr.(?) Timothy's kitten. Teenagers weary of the usual in romance stories should find this their cuppa'.