THE BIG QUESTIONS
Our old moggy was a stray who adopted us a few years ago, so we don’t know what his age is exactly. How long can cats live? – P
Cats usually live for around 12-18 years but indoor cats can be well into their 20s nowadays.
The longest lived was Creme Puff, a cat owned by Jake Perry, of Austin, Texas, who lived to the grand old age of 38.
Perry fed her on dry cat food and, every second day, some red wine to help her circulation.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I went to the bar of my local boozer. On a shelf was a can of Sweetheart Stout with the picture of a model on it that I remember from the ’80s. How long has she been there? - G
Since 1958! The model is Venetia Stevenson, who was born in London in 1938 to film director Robert Stevenson (King Solomon’s Mines) and actress Anna Lee (How Green Was My Valley).
The family moved to Hollywood a year later, and Venetia grew up to have a career in modelling and acting.
She married twice, to actor/dancer Russ Tamblyn and Don Everly of The Everly Brothers. For a while, she was mother-in-law to Axl Rose, lead singer with Guns N’ Roses.
I’ve just watched the 1969 movie Ring Of Bright Water. Where in Scotland was it filmed? – I
The movie, starring Ben Travers and Virginia Mckenna, was shot on location, mainly around the village of Ellenabeich on Seil Island.
Other locations included Easdale on Seil, the pier at Oban, and the Glenfinnan Viaduct.
The exciting section where Travers, as Gavin Maxwell, hunts a basking shark, was filmed in the Firth of Lorn.