Purry nice! Kishi train station in Japan has a cat stationmaster, Nitama

Oh my catness!

Kawaii  ♥

Kishi train station in Wakayama, Japan,
has a cat stationmaster called Nitama.

A purry nice job for a purry nice cat.

NB.    The photo is not mine:  it's a screenshot of a photo from an article by Hugh Morris.

To see the complete photos, and to read the article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/japan/articles/New-cat-stationmaster-appointed-at-Japanese-train-station/

The Lion by Joseph Kessel -- book , movie , Pamela Franklin , and a marvellous bookshop in West Hollywood

I'd like to recommend a novel called  The Lion
(the French title is Le Lion)  by Joseph Kessel.

Peter Green translated the novel into English,
and, in 1962, it was made into a movie
with William Holden, Trevor Howard,
and Capucine.

The young girl (the main human character)
is named Patricia, in the book.
In the film, however, she is called Tina,
and her role is played by Pamela Franklin.

The novel is set in East Africa, in Kenya.

Patricia is a young girl living in the African wilderness,
and she has a special friendship with King,
a magnificent lion she regards as all her own, since
she raised King from the time he was a cub.

Sort of like Peter Pan, Patricia is living in her own
faraway-from-everything Paradise.
She doesn't want to grow up.
(And who would want to grow up,
if they were living Patricia's
Heidi-in-Africa blissful life?.......)

But, the world -- reality -- some would call it fate --
intrudes, as it always does, and what follows
is heart-rending, unforgettable.
It will make you weep, and it will haunt you.

And, somehow, it made me think of that poem
by W B Yeats, "The Stolen Child":

Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping
 than you can understand. 

As mentioned earlier, the role of the young girl 

in the movie (she's in the photo above with the lion)

was given to Pamela Franklin.

♥ At the end of this post, I'll give a link

for the full movie on youtube.

Don't worry about the Portuguese title

because the movie is in English.

Pamela Franklin later married fellow actor Harvey Jason.
Together with Louis, one of their sons, her husband
co-owns a very interesting and wonderful bookshop called
♥ Mystery Pier Books, Inc.
in West Hollywood,
California, USA.

♥ The link to their bookstore can be found
at the end of this blog post, and it contains
the address and telephone number.
So, do visit whenever
you're in that part of the US.

Meanwhile, try to get a copy of  "The Lion"
by Joseph Kessel, and read it as soon as you can,
and you can also watch the movie on youtube
(see the links below).

Plus, here is a novel which is also set in Kenya,
and is connected to lions.
It is a poignant, shimmering story of
mystery, suspense, murder, reincarnation,
and the eternal power of love...

♥ Link to the above e-book on Amazon Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008ZPVTCK

♥  Further, to read a sample for free --

i.e.    8  chapters

of the novel

"I met you in that past life A"

you can click on the link below: ♥

http://serene-journey-to-happiness.blogspot.sg/2013/06/read-them-here-for-free-first-8.html

Enjoy!    ♥

Links  re.  "The Lion"  by Joseph Kessel:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_(novel)  (contains spoilers!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pamela_Franklin

♥ http://www.mysterypierbooks.com/  (the bookstore is co-owned by Pamela Franklin's family)

http://www.allmovie.com/movie/v99711  (for the poster & photos of the movie)

♥ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLKxk18RID0

(The above link is for the "The Lion" 1962 movie.

Name of the youtube movie:

O LEÃO ( 1962) Willian Holden, Capucine e Trevor Howard espetaculares

(Even though the above title is in Portuguese,
the movie is in English)

Name of the youtube channel:
ArlindoDuplo

♥

J H Patterson, the man-eaters of Tsavo, and a unique mystery novel

John Henry Patterson   (10 November 1867 - 18 June 1947) 

was a contemporary of  James Edward  “Jim” Corbett 

 (25 July 1875 - 19 April 1955).

Link for the above photo:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_Henry_Patterson.jpg

Further link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henry_Patterson_(author)

Both Patterson and Corbett were British soldiers, both were hunters, 

and both are connected to Kenya.



Link giving an article on Jim Corbett,
including information on the part of his life
which was spent in Kenya:

http://journeytoaah.blogspot.com/2016/01/jim-corbett-man-eaters-of-kumaon-from.html

Jim Corbett killed several man-eating tigers and leopards

in India, and later wrote a number of books, including

"Man-Eaters of Kumaon".

J H Patterson authored several books as well, 

the most well-known being 

“The Man-Eaters of Tsavo”.  

By the way,  to know  how to pronounce

the word  "Tsavo",  click the link below

to hear an audio pronunciation:

http://www.howjsay.com/index.php?word=tsavo&submit=Submit

(www.howjsay.com is a good, reputable
audio pronunciation dictionary,

and it is available free online)

In 1898, Patterson was sent to a part of East Africa

 -- present-day Kenya -- to oversee the construction 

of a railway bridge in Tsavo.  

His book recounts his experiences with

the nightmarish man-eating lions 

that were preying on the railway workers 

and local people in that area of Kenya. 

Eventually, after several perilous attempts, 

Patterson managed to kill the two man-eaters.   

Here is a photo of his book:

Link for the above photo:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Man-eaters_of_Tsavo_book_cover.jpg

Incidentally, the  "Man-eaters of Tsavo"  book
can be read for free online, for instance at the
Project Gutenberg site:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3810/3810-h/3810-h.htm

Not long afterwards, Patterson for a while

became a Game Warden, overseeing

the wildlife reserves in East Africa.

Further, here is  a novel  which is connected to Tsavo

and the well-known pair of man-eating lions in 1898.

The book is unique -- I believe it is the one and only 

reincarnation novel in the world 

which is based on the real-life man-eaters of Tsavo.

It tells a story of murder, mystery, romance, and

reincarnation...

♥ Link to the above e-book on Amazon Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008ZPVTCK

♥  Further, to read a sample for free --

i.e.    8 chapters

of the novel

"I met you in that past life A"

you can click on the link below: ♥

http://serene-journey-to-happiness.blogspot.sg/2013/06/read-them-here-for-free-first-8.html

Enjoy!    ♥

Jim Corbett -- Man-eaters of Kumaon -- from hunter to wildlife conservationist -- from India to Kenya

James Edward  "Jim"  Corbett  (25 July 1875 - 19 April 1955) 
was a hunter who later became a wildlife conservationist.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jim_Corbett.jpg

Having hunted man-eating tigers and leopards in India, he later authored

“Man-eaters of Kumaon” 

and other books in which he wrote about his hunts and experiences.  

Incidentally, it may be possible to read  “Man-eaters of Kumaon”  for free online.  

Try searching for it on the internet.

Eventually, Jim Corbett the hunter became Jim Corbett the conservationist 

of wildlife and forests.

He was influential in establishing a national park in India to protect 

the endangered Bengal tiger, and the park was later renamed in his honour.  

Located in beautiful Nainital district of Uttarakhand, India, 

Jim Corbett National Park is also a part of Project Tiger.

Tigress walking on the gypsy track in Bijrani zone.

Photo by Soumyajit Nandy.

Photo link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bengal-Tiger_Corbett_Uttarakhand_Dec-2013.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Corbett_National_Park

Other links:

http://www.jimcorbettnational-park.com/jim-corbett-tour-packages.html

http://www.corbettnationalparkindia.in/blog/advantages-of-jeep-safari-and-elephant-safari

Speaking of the above area, Corbett was born in the town of Nainital in India on the 25th of July 1875.  (Zodiac sign: Leo).

The side view of Gurney House where Jim Corbett used to stay (Nainital, India)

Photo by Schwiki

Photo link:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gurney_House-the_home_of_Jim_Corbett.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurney_House

In 1947, however, he moved to Kenya in East Africa.

He went to live in the Kenyan town of Nyeri, which is near Mount Kenya 

and near Treetops Hotel in Aberdare National Park.

“Treetops became famous around the world 

when Princess Elizabeth, as she then was, 

stayed there at the time of the death of her father,  

King George VI, which occurred on the night

 of 5/6 February 1952, while she was at Treetops.“

“Jim Corbett, her bodyguard at the time, 

wrote the now famous lines in the visitors' log book:

For the first time in the history of the world, 

a young girl climbed into a tree one day a Princess

and after having what she described as her most thrilling experience

she climbed down from the tree next day a Queen —God bless her.“

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treetops_Hotel

Jim Corbett continued to live in Kenya, in Nyeri, 

and it is in that town that he passed away 

on the 19th of April 1955, at the age of 79.   

His last resting place is Nyeri.

Incidentally,  Nyeri is also connected to Lord Baden-Powell 

(1857-1941), founder of the Scout Movement. 

"In 1939, Baden-Powell and Olave moved to a cottage he had commissioned in Nyeri, Kenya, near Mount Kenya,... 

The Paxtu cottage is integrated into the Outspan Hotel buildings and serves as a small Scouting museum.

Baden-Powell died on 8 January 1941 and is buried at St. Peter's Cemetery in Nyeri." 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Baden-Powell,_1st_Baron_Baden-Powell

As mentioned earlier in this post, Jim Corbett moved to Nyeri, Kenya, in 1947 -- a few years after Baden-Powell had passed away.

And, as per a Wikipedia article on Nyeri, 

(see the last paragraph of the “Tourism” “In Town” part), 

Jim Corbett  "also spent his final years in Paxtu, the B-P's cottage."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyeri

Further,

"In 1994 and 2002, the long-neglected graves of Corbett and his sister (both in Kenya) were repaired and restored by Jerry A. Jaleel, founder and director of the Jim Corbett Foundation."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Corbett

In addition, during his time in Kenya, I wonder whether Jim Corbett, 

author of “Man-eaters of Kumaon”, went to visit a certain area of Tsavo

 -- that particular part of the Kenyan wilderness 

which became well-known in 1898... 

because of two man-eating lions

 -- the man-eaters of Tsavo... 

Do you know the cats in this video?

Here's a lovely video about cats.

Some of the cats are famous -- very well known indeed.

Plus, the video contains a short quiz about these cats.

The answers to the trivia quiz questions are shown at the end of the video.

Here's the link to the above video on youtube, just in case!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40XfBHsTfSg

♥

Trivia question re. a cat in a poem

There's an ancient Irish poem written by a monk about his cat.

What is the name of the cat?

a)  Donndubhán
b)  Dúbhshláine
c)  Pangur Bán
d)  Corraidhín

NB.  The answer to the above cat and poetry trivia question can be found here:

click here - it will take you to a Wikipedia site which has the answer

The Wikipedia site also has links which will show you the translated poem.

It's a lovely, heartfelt poem which you should definitely read.

Scroll down the Wikipedia site until you come to
"External links", and then click on the word " translation".

There's a translation by Robin Flower,
and another one by W. H. Auden.
Why not read both?

And as for the meaning of the ancient Irish names in the answers above,
here's the link:

http://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/ancient-irish