Magic Cats

My Mum bought me a cat the other day. We were in Lys, a very small village just down the road and we were doing a tour of all the artisans. There is the lady who makes woven tapestries and runs courses, the guy who makes the weirdest shoes in the world, the man who makes sculptures for driftwood and silver, the man who makes both wrought iron and cast bronze sculptures and the potter. Not to mention the lovely little church with frescos on the wall, the swimming museum and one of the cleanest lavoirs around here. That is an awful lot to pack into a village that is probably smaller than Chazelle, but it makes for a very interesting visit.

While we were at the potter’s, I saw this really cute little cat in amongst a lot of mice and a piece of pottery that can only best be described as something you would not be surprised to see in a gynaecologist’s office. All that combined with the little notice saying “SALIÈRES … MAGIQUES” and I was hooked. You must admit that the cat is rather cute, but how many cute little ornaments does one need in a lifetime? Well this chap is a salt cellar and a magic one at that !

The rather weird looking, cut-through, piece of pottery explains how it works. You turn your cat upside down and he has a hole at the bottom of a conical chute. You pour salt into the chute and it fills the body of the cat. You then return your cat to the upright position and the salt settles in the body. If you want you use the salt you hold the cat hole downwards and you shake it up and down and salt jumps out of the body, through the hole and on to your plate. Now that’s magic!

Fifi is not so sure about this cat shaking business. I found her hiding in a barrel, poor little thing.











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