Awakened to the sound of birdsong

It's been a real battle of wills trying to get him out of his pit at 4am and I don't seem to be getting anywhere.

Surely that type of snoozing can wait until a respectable hour of the afternoon? I haven't resorted to sticking my tail under his nose while he's asleep although that manoeuvre has been known to have the same effect as Ken Dodd's tickling stick!

Everything's so much more invigorating before a new day begins; there's always something to rustle, the floor to be leapt at from 4ft high furniture, vertical blinds to run in and out of and of course; sporadic sprints from one room to the next.

I've actually been locked out of his room a couple of times now for my efforts which I'm beginning to sense are not entirely appreciated - particularly when distinct meows are met with an increasingly boorish SSSHHHH for whatever unfathomable reason.

I would have thought an incurable Durannie might be inclined to 'Reach up for the Sunrise' or at least let me have 'My own Way' but if he'd rather await the crude chimes of that sluggish alarm clock then so be it!