Our siamese cat

Vivian Lee

Ava Gardner

Fred Astair

Elizabeth Taylor

Today’s post is in memory of a much beloved family pet – a beautiful blue-point Siamese cat called Singe.

My memories of childhood pets gone by…

I grew up with an assortment of child-friendly animals but when I look back at the various pets my sisters and I were allowed to keep I can categorically say that there is no way I would be as cool as my parents were about hosting a menagerie. Not all our pets were loved equally I must confess, and there was something of a hierarchy. At the very top were the discerning Siamese cats that were more like members of our family than mere pets. Then there were the two female mice that through something akin to immaculate conception gave birth to a total of 24 babies within six hours of leaving the pet shop. Let’s not forget the pair of albino rats that were allowed to walk around the house and attempt to torment the cats, the fish ponds with resident spawning frogs, the wonderfully docile bantam hens and their handsome rooster (much to the delight of our neighbours), the rabbits, hermit crabs (active mostly at night while everyone is fast asleep), the somewhat aggressive budgerigar Sunny, and last but not least our guinea pigs Chico and Basil.

I may have had to endure the odd flea-bite and scratch but I also got a pretty straightforward lesson in life and death from a young age. One moment comes clearly to mind. While playing with my Barbie doll and one rather fat mouse that was acting as Barbie’s chauffeur, our cat came up behind me and calmly plucked the unsuspecting mouse out of the pink convertible right before my very eyes. That was a bad day for me but mostly for the mouse.

Flair for the unusual

Unusual is the word that Mr Meyer used to describe his apartment in Piccadilly, London after I had been offered a tour of the downstairs rooms. Unusual, because it was the physical embodiment of his late wife Fleur Cowles, who was by all accounts extra-ordinary. Set in one of London’s most sought after locations, the interior of the house was well…it was very unusual. It was peculiar, unique, giddy, a fusion of grand, personal and kitsch. It was both tacky and elegant. Above all it was filled to the brim with a vibrant personality. 

Fleur was quite a woman and there is much written about her life, art, work and friendships. In fact she wrote a book about it titled She made friends and kept them. Fleur was a socialite with many deep connections. One photograph to catch my eye while I frantically tried to take in every inch of the apartment was of Fleur as a young woman sitting in a hotel room having a picnic with Cary Grant. Apparently it was raining that day so they decided to continue their picnic indoors. I suppose would too if I had Mr Grant at my disposal. 

However, it is her role as editor and creator of the influential but short-lived magazine Flair, that she is perhaps most regarded. In 1950 Fleur’s dream of producing a magazine unlike any other was realised. Flair was a sophisticated publication that encompassed art, fashion, lifestyle, design, travel and literature, which was appealing to both men and women. It was characterized with special features that while bespoke and wonderful to behold resulted in significant costs. This and a lack of advertising revenue swiftly brought about its termination only one year later.

Speaking about Flair, Fleur Cowles said:

“There was no point in creating yet another magazine frozen to the format of competitors who specialized either in literature, fashion, travel, art, decor or entertainment. Why not put all of these in one magazine? This I decided to do. We intended Flair to be the most beautiful monthly publication anywhere, a new dimension in magazine publishing for the five classic fields that concern human activity; art, literature, entertainment, travel and fashion. In doing so, we introduced to the magazine such names as Jean Cocteau, Tennessee Williams, W.H. Auden, Christopher Sykes, Barbra Ward, Saul Steinberg, Lucian Freud and Simone de Beauvoir."

This entry is a little salute to a life lived with flair.