Today is one of those days that all pet owners dread. The one-way visit to the vets for a beloved pet.

Sadly today was Zap’s day.

Zap has been a part of the family for about 16  years. She and her two brothers (all from the same litter) were the part-moggie, part-persian kittens of a ‘friendly stray’ at my parents house, and I’m pleased to say that Mr Lonetester and I gave them all a great home.

Having got Zap and her brothers (we couldn’t choose, so picked all three), at just under 4 weeks old, we got to watch them grow from teeny-tiny bouncy kittens into big fluffballs.

Saying last goodbye’s is never a easy decision to make, but we know it was the right one as she wasn’t well. And after purring till the end, she left peacefully, and is now over the rainbow bridge with Gizmo and Mickey. 

We are a fur-family and do have other cats in our household, but as all cat lovers will know, every cat has it’s very own personality, so the fact that Zap isn’t there, isn’t simply replaced by those that are. She’d taken to sleeping in a particular windowsill, and now it’s empty. It’s going take a while to look at that windowsill again without tears welling up.

Here’s a few pics of her I’d like to share and remember her by …

Zap, a few months old

Zap with her brothers at the back

Zap and baby brother Toffee

nom time

bed time!

such a pretty face

photo at the vets today

bye bye Zap

As a family historian I believe that every name truly has a story. But it is true that some have more story than others.

Today I would like to introduce you to “Postman’s Park” which is in London, England. This is a place that I visited while I was in England back in 2014. And I admit that it wasn’t a place I knew of the prior to my visit, but to say it’s sobering is an understatement. It gave me the same feeling that you get when you visit a war memorial. Yes, you know that feeling.

Anyway Wikipedia describes the park as …

“Postman’s Park is a park in central London, a short distance north of St Paul’s Cathedral. Bordered by Little Britain, Aldersgate Street, St. Martin’s Le Grand, King Edward Street, and the site of the site of the former headquarters of the General Post Office (GPO)”

But what makes this park special?

“Postman’s Park apart from being a beautiful park which contains headstones, also contains 54 memorial tablets (or plaques) that commemorate 62 individuals (men, women and children), each of whom lost their life while attempting to save another. It is a park that has memorials for heroic self-sacrifice.”

The park idea started back in 1887 when Victorian artist George Frederic Watts wrote a letter to The Times newspaper entitled ‘Another Jubilee Suggestion’. In this letter, he put forward a plan to celebrate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee by erecting a monument to commemorate ‘heroism in every-day life’. It took until 1900, but this idea was eventually realised and his Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice came to be.

The memorials are printed on tiles, and mounted on a wall. And each one of those plaques most certainly has a story. Reading those stories was sad. But without without the Postman’s Park memorial plaques, how many of these stories would go unknown? Probably too many.

As sad as it was, if you get the chance to visit Postman’s Park, do so. It is one of those places you won’t forget.

Postman’s Park is really beautiful

garden at Postman’s Park, London

so of the numerous headstones in the garden at Postman’s Park, London

explanation of Postman’s Park

a few of the plaques on the memorial wall at Postman’s Park

memorial plaque for Edmund Emery at Postman’s Park

memorial plaque for Henry Bristow at Postman’s Park

For more information about Postman’s Park:
– Wikipedia
– Postman’s Park website