Animal Rescue

Dedicated animal expert Marion Garnett, founder of the Ealing Animal Charities Fair, continues her column

Sitting in a beautiful country lane writing this, an adult and child have just cycled by.

As they passed, the child could be clearly heard saying “I’m never doing this ride again, never in my whole, whole life”. Keeping children happy in the holidays can be an uphill struggle but there’s a brand new event taking place in London this weekend that could help parents out.

The first London Wildlife Festival brings together a whole host of activities for people of all ages interested in wildlife and conservation.

There will be the opportunity to go on a wildlife safari and learn about wildlife gardening for families. You will be able to find out about crafts such as wildlife photography, birdwatching, pottery, floristry, landscape drawing and creative writing.

The Festival also includes cutting-edge talks on marine life and conservation as well as art exhibitions, live music and literary events, all inspired by nature. The Festival is London’s largest ever event dedicated entirely to nature and the wildlife of the UK. It takes place at Walthamstow Wetlands (about 15 minutes tube journey from Central London) on August 10-11 with additional evening talks on August 9. For details and tickets, see londonwildlifefest.com.

If that is too far for you to go, the National Animal Welfare Trust is organising two competitions you can enter from home. Firstly, they are asking people to design the programme cover for their Open Day which takes place on September 7. The closing date for entries is August 22. Secondly, they are organising a children’s colouring competition. For details of both these competitions, see nawt.org.uk.

If two months old Scrabble, Othello and Risk entered a competition for cuteness, it would be impossible to decide the winner. This tiny trio arrived at the animal rehoming centre, Mayhew, as unweaned kittens with their mother who had been living as a stray.

Once they were weaned, the kittens were vaccinated, neutered and given flea and worm treatment before being ready for adoption. Because socialisation of kittens at this early age is so important, in order to facilitate them growing up into happy confident cats, Mayhew have ensured that, since their arrival, staff have interacted with the kittens several times a day. It’s important that during socialisation new experiences are positive.

The kittens are looking for a family with older children who have time to spend with them to continue their socialisation. If this could be you, see themayhew.org or meet them at Mayhew, Trenmar Gardens, Kensal Green.