On the way to Mrs J, we were stopped by an irresistible ginger cat who demanded attention and cuddles. We released ourselves from under her spell to make it to Mrs J on time where more cats awaited!

The last cat Mrs J had, passed away 15 months ago, but she had plenty of cat pictures, figurines and plushies. Mrs J claimed she liked her dogs as much as the cats, but at this age, she has only kept tortoises as pets. The tortoises also outlived all other pets, staying with the lady for 50 years! That's longer than Mrs J lived in Maidenhead.

Mrs J settled in her current home with her sister following the company she worked for. Both sisters followed their father's footsteps and became quantity surveyors. As children, they moved around the South of the UK with their dad, from the South Coast to Essex to various places in London. Of all her homes, Mrs J enjoyed the one at Dolphin Square the most. The square, designed by the company her father worked for, was a nice place to mingle with a posh crowd. Maidenhead is not that exciting according to Mrs J.

When she was young, Mrs J visited two countries overseas: Italy and Austria. She enjoyed both trips, however, she claimed that Venice had a peculiar, almost creepy vibe, and the mountain hike in the Austrian Alps was quite a dreadful experience. While the climb up the mountain was challenging, it was pleasant. On the other hand, the way down in a chair lift, with Mrs J's legs dangling without any support over the abyss, was terrifying!

An hour of chatting with Mrs J was not only an opportunity for us to meet a new interesting person, but also the time when we dodged most of the rain that started in the afternoon after a sunny morning in Maidenhead. When we left, we caught only a drizzle on our run to our last person to visit that day.