I'm a stranger her myself

Throughout the 1990s, Deric Longden has shared his life with Aileen Armitage and four cats: Thermal, Tigger, Frink and shabby old Arthur. And the cats have found that sharing a life with Aileen can be a very painful business. She hardly ever trips over them these days, but they are always in danger of being mistaken for a cardigan, or being inadvertently locked away in the cellar.
Ever since thermal came in from the cold to enter his life, Deric has seen his world increasingly taken over by cats. What with planning their menus, entertaining their friends, listening to their worries and observing their adventures, he has little time left over for his professional life as a writer. But there are rich rewards. What with Arthur’s love affair with a wire brush and Tigger’s dramatic encounter with a washing-machine, there’s enough going on in the Longden household to give Colette and Richard Haggard nightmares.
In one way or another, the cats that Deric and Aileen share their lives with are an endless source of interest, laughter- and sadness too. For Deric has come to learn, the creature that rejoices the heart can also make it ache.
Few writers can have found so much enjoyment in the company of cats, and none has written better about their charm, and the fascinating range of their personalities. ‘Enough to Make a Cat Laugh’ will enchant cat-lovers everywhere and give Longden-lovers an unforgettable treat.

Deric Longden had never thought of himself a cat lover, but from the moment he saw the tiny kitten sitting on an upturned bucket down in the garden he was hooked. Strictly speaking, the little cat belonged to the neighbours, but somehow when it began to rain it seemed only natural to bring him inside, and once there he slipped so easily into Deric’s and Aileen’s lives that there was an unspoken agreement that he had found his real home. Little did he know that he had entered the Longden world, in which ordinary life is always just a little out-of-the-ordinary.
Aileen being Aileen, it was probably inevitable that sooner or later the kitten would be trapped in the refrigerator for longer than was good for him.  And Deric being Deric, the obvious was to thaw him back to life was to make a little coat for him out of an old thermal vest. Thus the cat who came in from the cold got his name- ‘Thermal’ – and joined the wonderful cast of characters in the ongoing Longden saga.
‘The Cat Who Came in from the Cold’ combines Deric Longden’s unique style of gentle humour with al the comic solemnity and cuddly charm of an irresistible kitten.

50 amusing short stories for cat lovers by Emmy and BAFTA-winning author Deric Longden. Broadcaster and speaker, he has written many widely-acclaimed books The Cat Who Came in From the Cold, I’m a Stranger Here Myself, Enough to Make a Cat Laugh, A Play On Words and Paws In the Proceedings. Each demonstrate his unique blend of humour, observation and his fun and adventures with his various adoptive cats. Tailpieces is a special personal collection of his favourite short stories and articles on cats.

Diana’s Story, published in 1989, some years after his wife Diana's death, was a bestseller. The book hit the Sunday Times best seller list straight away and won the NCR book award. It was followed by Lost for Words. They were adapted for television, the first under the title Wide-Eyed and Legless, and an adaptation of Lost for Words. Both were nominated for multiple BAFTAs and Lost For Words, screened in January 1999 and repeated in 2012 after the death of Pete Postlethwaite, attracted an audience of more than 12 million viewers and won the Emmy for best foreign drama and a BAFTA for Thora Hird as best actress.