David Biggs's dead tree

THE main feature of my garden is an unashamedly dead tree. I have considered from time to time having it chopped down, but always decided against it. The tree (which I think was once a manitoka, or some such) has no leaves, so it does not cut out the sunlight or obscure the view.

It provides an attractive tracery of stark branches against an ever-changing sky. Apart from the aesthetic aspect, it acts as a jungle gym for my cats and a useful perch for the birds, who like to sit on the uppermost twigs and thumb their beaks at the cats below.

It’s a constant source of entertainment to me. I regard it as one of the world’s landmarks. Although it may serve no real useful purpose, it marks my home as a special place in the scheme of things, rather like the Statue of Liberty for New Yorkers, the Eiffel Tower for Parisians or the statue of Just Nuisance for the people of Simon’s Town.

I hear the Cape Town City Council has decided not to go ahead with the completion of the unfinished fly-over freeways originally intended to ease the traffic flow into and out of the City.

They will remain – like the other great landmarks of the world – as a reminder that not everything needs to have a purpose in life.

Visitors to the City will be able to stare at those unfinished stumps of concrete and steel and say to themselves, in whatever language they speak: “Ja well, no fine.”

I have a sneaking suspicion that one of the things that distinguishes humans from other animals is the desire to create things that have no useful purpose whatsoever.

Beavers build dams of tree branches, swallows create nests of mud, dung beetles roll perfect spheres of manure and bees build intricate honeycombs of delicate wax. Each is part of their plan for survival.

Humans paint amazing pictures, carve detailed sculpture out of marble, embroider tapestries, write epic poetry and compose soul-searing sonatas for orchestras, none of which is necessary for our survival.

I suspect this is part of the reason some of us share our lives with cats. Cats do not provide protection, like dogs, or eggs, like chickens, or wool, like sheep.

I have heard it said (and I believe it) that a cat is nature’s way of telling us that not everything in life has to have a purpose.

Maybe they’re up here in the scheme of things with the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower. And my dead tree.

Last Laugh

An old lady lived in a little cottage on her own with her pet cat, Charlie. One day she was digging in her little garden when her spade hit something hard and she dug up a strangely shaped bottle. She managed to pull out the ancient cork and to her surprise, a genie popped out. He thanked her for releasing him and told her should have one wish. Stroking her cat, she said: “I wish you would turn Charlie into a handsome prince.”

There was a puff of smoke and there, where Charlie had been, was handsome man. He smiled at the little lady and said: “Now aren’t you sorry you took me to the vet when I was a kitten.”