The restoration of the church was not the only exciting thing to happen to St Paul's in 2021. In June, we welcomed Eliza and Mrs Higgins to their new home. They quickly took over and the church became their domain - us humans are simply permitted to be in it.
Eliza loves visitors and will happily say hello. She loves a good stroke. She can often be found sleeping in a sunny patch above the doorframes in the narthex.
Mrs Higgins is very shy and would often run away from visitors. In 2023 we made the difficult decision to rehome her, as public life simply wasn't for her. Mrs Higgins now lives happily with a member of the St Paul's community, we receive regular updates from her and are pleased to report that she's happier than ever.
A preferred spot of Eliza's - the office photocopier Eliza out in the garden Mrs Higgins liked to sleep in the office bookshelf Anywhere will do for a snooze A very young Mrs Higgins on her second day in her new home Eliza is unimpressed at being cooped up inside Nothing is safe from Eliza Eliza and Mrs Higgins as kittens on their first (accompanied) trip into the garden Eliza and Mrs Higgins on the altar Sleeping on the pews
Inigo and Jones
You may remember our old church cats, Inigo and Jones. Sadly, Inigo died in 2016 and Jones in 2020. They came to us when a congregation member died and left his four cats behind. Two of the cats were adopted by other members of the congregation and the remaining two, Inigo and Jones, came to St Paul's. They were very popular with visitors and are remembered fondly for their antics including falling asleep on a bride's train and sauntering up the aisle during a funeral, preparing to jump on the coffin.