A few weeks ago an e-mail came into my inbox from a couple of our previous guests (who are also friends of mine)– Gareth and Lucie.
The photos attached showed a young cat who was clearly intrigued by experiencing snow for the first time, which is perhaps not surprising considering that the cat – known as ‘Julia Roberts’ for reasons which have never been made clear! –is actually a Bajan cat and would not normally have expected to encounter snow in her island existence!
It was November 2012, when Lucie and Gareth returned to Gingerbread at Merlin Bay with a group of family and friends for a week enjoying some sun, relaxation and good food!
Julia, as she became known, showed up early in their stay, and recognizing them as animal lovers, took full advantage of all the affection (and tidbits!) that they provided. On their final day I stopped off to say my farewells and found that they had taken a taxi to the RSPCA just outside Bridgetown and that Julia was in quarantine awaiting shipping back to the UK!
So began a 6-week wait during which Lucie and Gareth made arrangements with Virgin Atlantic Cargo (handily they both work for the airline!) to fly Julia to the UK.
I made a trip to the Ministry of Agriculture to get some vital stamps regarding her vaccinations and chip number on her Pet Passport and purchased an airline approved Pet Container for her journey. On the 17th December, Julia continued the journey that began at Merlin Bay to her new home in Sandy Lane (ironically!), Crawley Down, West Sussex.
VS 030 left on time at 18.30 and Gareth and Lucie were able to collect her from the Animal Control unit by 8.30 am the next day. She quickly made herself at home, and as you can see does not appear to be missing sand and sunshine at all!
Of course, if you are fed up with the snow, we’d be delighted to welcome you to Merlin Bay or one of the many fabulous properties that make up the Blue Sky Luxury portfolio! Cats (and dogs) not included –but if you do fall in love with a four legged friend, we can probably also claim to be Pet Passport Experts and help you out too!
