Name that cat - results and a new competition!
Hugh Sykes (for it is he) writes from Baghdad:
Remember Mrs Slocombe?
The competition to name the BBC Baghdad cat has come up with "Tigris" - which is quite neat!
And Amanda was right. She WAS pregnant. (Tigris, not Amanda, he hastens to add)
So as a result, we now have another competition - unconstrained by ITACU* (don't ask, but it was in a memo from the D-G today) - a name-that-kitten competition!
Phone lines are open. Calls will be charged at 10,000 Iraqi dinars per minute (This is beyond your jurisdiction, Mr. D-G.....)
Just call 0901OhNeverMind.
Tigris and TBC:
Tigris and TBC in (almost) perfect step:
Altogether now: "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh"
*in case you were really desperate to know what ITACU is, here's part of the memo from our leader:
"Today we are announcing the launch of ITACU - the Interactive Technical Advice and Contracts Unit. Consultation with the Unit will now become a mandatory part of the process for running competitions, votes and awards - a requirement which will be reflected in BBC compliance forms"
Listen to PM
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~36~RS~)
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Ali.
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In the interest of cross border dialog: "Dicle"
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If it's a girl - Hasna. If it's a boy - Jamal
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Euphrates? Or is that the dad??
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Boy or girl?
Well, for what it's worth, I name this kitten Bastet.
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Oh, and Tigris will always be Mrs. Slocombe to me. It's the pink hair that does it ;o)
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Have the BBC learnt nothing from the Blue Peter name the pet debacle.
I would call it sniper. This will give an excellent reaction if you shout its name in a crowded area.
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Sootling.
From a Miyasaki film.
Because the sootlings are very cute.
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Well it's dark, slim, and inscrutable.It's shadowing its boss, and almost in step... I'd like to call it after someone whose initials are, conveniently, PM. But I can't say any more or I might get modded.
Lovely photos, Hugh. And thank you for keeping us up to date with the BBC World-service news of cats.
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If it is any help, Mrs Slocombe called her pussy Tiddles.
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At long last, fresh pussy!
(DiY, off to the Beach naughty step)
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@11: Trust you to lower the tone!
Then again, has anyone checked out the Sumerian mythological explanation for how the river Tigris came to be? Hint: it's on the very bottom of the Wikipedia page.
I'll say no more, lest the mods get interested...
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Mittfh so the dad is Enki?
That could be a good name for the cat if its a he cat.
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It's an Ali cat ...
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Actually, Itacu is rather a good name.
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Well if you regard Enki as the father of Tigris, you should be looking at the grandson of Enki, who was Nabu (or Nebo in the Bible). Who would be quite appropriate for a BBC cat, as the Babylonian god that was patron of the scribes.
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Question for Hugh:
How many kittens were there? And aren't you just a wee bit tempted to bring one back?
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aaarhhh. When I was a kid and wouldn't eat my dinner, my mum used to say she was going to send it to "...those starving children in Biafra." Now I'm going to print out a picture of Tigris and child, and when my fat, fussy-ar**d cats look in disdain at their food, I can tell them where I'm going to send their cat kibble!
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Aggers (16) Thnaks for the mythyology lesson and I agree with you. Nabu.
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17, Big Sister:
Just the one.
I dropped a small blob of Best Baghdad ice cream yesterday and he/she was very grateful.
They get bones, etc, after our BBC Baghdad supper most days.
But Mum (Tigris, sorry) is VERY NAUGHTY and sometimes sneaks into the BBC Baghdad kitchen and no one is the wiser until.....she tips over the dustbin with a loud crash.
Baghdad ice cream is very good by the way - especially pistachio/vanilla flavour from al Fakhma, which means the Sealion.
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Bones? Not good for Tigris or Junior - Stick to the ice cream!
Al Fakhma. New word, thank you! As Junior likes the ice cream, should s/he be named after it, do you think?
Presumably this was Tigris' first litter, if there was only one kitten. But it is a very cute kitten (and should be shielded from Tigris' bad ways).
Thanks for your reply, PMHugh, and keep safe.
Khahar Bozorg
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Moshie - reminds me of a kitten in a book of the same name!
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Dear Hugh I have only just seen these lovely pictures. Thank you. More to go in my gallery.
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It's a fat cat, is she related to anyone on the board of Floyds TSP?
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Cute kitten Hugh! I would suggest it's probably a 'she' as she's tortoiseshell which is an 'X' linked gene, so they're either 'XX's' or 'XXY's' (ie girls, or not true boys!)
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Gosh, GM, so our male tortoiseshell (Smokey Joe) was actually - not a true boy! He certainly thought he was, and behaved like one.
I knew that most ginger cats were male, but have met a couple of females, and I guess Mrs. Slocombe is almost ginger, isn't she?
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Big Sister @ 26, I have been told that shortly after the War someone who owned a ginger queen could sell her tortoiseshell male kittens (she tended to one or two per litter, often a male tortoiseshell) for 5/- each because breeders at that time thought the male tortoiseshell might be able to breed and create a new line for them.
None ever turned out to be a breeding tom, though they were apparently male in all respects except their lack of fertility.
Good little earner at a time of austerity, though!
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Big Sis & Mr Fish - after discussion with my colleagues & some sleuthing it appears that I am only partially right. The genetics of cat colours are especially complex, and some male apparent torties (mosaics) may be created which are not capable of passing on the tortie gene.
If you're interested, there's a very informative article here:
http://www.messybeast.com/tricolours.htm
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GM: Thanks for that.
It is fascinating - and complex!
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I think the kitten should be called Sebastian or Amouranda. Both sound lovely I think.
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I've heard of a delayed reaction ... but seven weeks????
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