Full Steam Ahead, Felix

Acknowledgements

As with Felix’s first book, Full Steam Ahead, Felix would have been impossible to write without the fantastic contribution of the team at Huddersfield station. I’d like to thank Angela Dunn in particular, who gave up hours of her own time to escort me and Felix to the vet’s and the groomer’s, and who patiently answered every question under the sun about the ins and outs of Felix’s life. Similarly, Angie Hunte, storyteller extraordinaire, made an invaluable contribution to this book. Ladies, as ever, it’s been a pleasure.

Thanks are also due to all those at the station and at TPE who gave interviews, including Sara, Dan, Amanda, Chrissie, David, Jacqui, Reece, Liz, Geoff, Paul Ralphson, Carl Haigh, Geraldine Smith, Chris Bamford, Jack Kempf, Andrew McClements, Jean Randall, Dale Woodward, Dave Chin and not forgetting the station manager, Andy Croughan. Thanks too to Felix’s vet and to her groomer, Louise, for allowing me to accompany Felix to her appointments.

As Felix’s fame has spread, so too has that circle of people who have stories to share about her. Thank you to Adam Taylor, Peter, David, Alwen and the Friends of Huddersfield Station; to Jez Walsh and Bob Morse from the Men’s Shed; to Amanda and Sarah from the Huddersfield branch of Waterstones; and to Christine Spicer, Rob Martin, Susie Beever, Julie Swift, John Cran, Pam Burgess, Gloria Lewis and Helen and Eva Lear for all generously granting me interviews about their interactions with Felix.

For Felix’s second book, many members of the public got in touch to share their own Felix stories, including but not limited to: Stuart Gelder, Elaine Carter, Daniel Goodrich, Gisela Kratochwil, Kathryn Haynes, Jennifer Adele Berry, Emma Gee, Rosemary Dayborn, Janis Phillips, Margaret Willerton, Alyson Meadowcroft, Tracey Kennedy, Barbara Blackie, Stephen Hack, Janet Goldsmith, Jan Norman, Judy Stock and John Rooney. It was a true pleasure hearing from you all about the difference Felix has made to your lives and the adventures she has had with you. Thank you to everyone who submitted stories, even though we did not have room to include or acknowledge them all.

Special thanks are due to Mark Allan for the help he kindly gave in sharing Facebook posts, photos and statistics, and for his own interview too.

I’d also like to thank Fi Crosby, Amy McWalters, Zennor Compton, Jennie Roman and all the team at Penguin for supporting Felix’s second book of adventures.

For background research, I am indebted to the Manchester and Salford RSPCA, the Huddersfield Examiner, the British Transport Police, Vets4Pets.com, Cats.org.uk, Consciouscat.net, VCAHospitals.com, PetBucket.com, CureToday.com, Cuteness.com, the BBC News website and Felix’s Facebook page. I also consulted Huddersfield Through Time by Paul Chrystal (Amberley Publishing, 2016) and Huddersfield: Home Town Memories by Melvyn Briggs and John Watson (The Derby Books Publishing Company Ltd, 2011).

Finally, I couldn’t have written this book without the enduring support and encouragement of my husband, Duncan Moore, to whom I remain forever grateful.

Last but by no means least, thank you to Felix, the Huddersfield station cat, and to little Bolt, her brand-new apprentice – whose arrival towards the end of the writing of this book made for quite the literary challenge, but a rather lovely one at that!