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There's a cat who was abandoned by a former resident of the block, and some of us have been trying to find a permanent home for him. Got one good prospect, maybe another; he needs to be somewhere without a competing cat. He's learned a thing or two about chickens during his "foster" care, always handy for a cat to remember.
The political maneuverings in Eliot's novel Romola are becoming so complicated I have to reread some passages to be sure I've gotten it right. It's based on actual historical events, but the male protagonist she's got juggling the intrigues of several different factions seems to have unusually keen abilities, particularly in regards to his personal survival. Uncanny how echos of this sort of activity roll down the corridors of time.