Holmes the cat

Holmes the cat is a grey tabby of twelve with amber eyes. He lives with Mr Penrose on Church Row and spends the working day on the office windowsill.

The office is above Harper’s Bookshop and the windowsill faces south over the harbour. He lies in the square of sunlight with his tail over the edge, between the desk and the view. He is there before Mr Penrose arrives, by a route that has not been determined. Arrivals are not acknowledged.

At Church Row he has the second armchair by the fire. He is in the warmest spot before anyone else has sat down.

The harbour wall is the older habit. He sat on it for hours, or on the lobster pots stacked on the quay, watching the fishing boats. He was called Whiskers then, lived at Mrs Tilling’s cottage below the allotments, and was in for his tea at five.

He eats fish: scraps, a kipper, tuna, sardines, and the cheaper sort of cat food, fish-flavoured, with a tabby on the label. He will take a saucer of milk. He is not known to eat anything else.

He is a creature of habit: the same places, at the same times, every day. Alice Penrose chose his name. His photograph is on the Penrose Investigations website. He looks very serious.

Where you will find him

• On the windowsill of the office above Harper’s Bookshop, in the square of sunlight, during working hours.
• In the second armchair at Church Row, in the evening. This is a private residence.
• On the low table at Harper’s Bookshop, among the paperbacks, now and then.
• On the harbour wall, or on the lobster pots stacked on the quay. He has gone to the harbour since he was a kitten. Tom Bennett at the chandlery used to keep a bit of fish back for him.