Meeting James Bowen & Bob the Cat!

A few days ago I was very fortunate to meet one of my favourite authors James Bowen and his gorgeous ginger tom cat Bob. I first heard about them whilst watching the British Animal Honours in early 2013, their story was incredible and I almost immediately purchased a copy of their book "A Street Cat Named Bob". From the very first page I was hooked - I couldn't put the book down! Before long a sequel "The World According to Bob" was released, which I enjoyed just as much as I had with the first. Recently, a new book in the series "A Gift from Bob" was released.
The series of books tells the story of James' life as a recovering drug addict, busker and big issue seller. One day James returns home to his flat in London and finds a little tom cat sitting outside a neighbour's door, the cat appeared to have an abscess on his leg. Realising that the cat had no home, James took the little cat in and nursed him back to health. Ever since Bob and James have been inseparable. Their bond is a special one; it is truly amazing to read their heart warming and inspiring story about their journey together over the years since they first met in 2007.
Having spent so much time in London over the years I could visage everywhere that James mentions in the book. My mum remembers walking through Covent Garden a few years ago and noticing James and Bob in the distance. Unfortunately, we didn't get the opportunity to speak to them as I had just had surgery and wasn't feeling so good- I think we were in a rush to get back to the hotel or hospital so that I could rest. But as you could probably imagine; it was so lovely to finally meet them both at their signing in Glasgow.
We arrived just over an hour before the signing was due to begin - we had previously heard that their signings are extremely busy and the Glasgow one was definitely no exception! Fortunately, we had arrived early enough to avoid queuing outside in cold winter's day that it had turned out to be. There apparently was a long line of people spanning right up the street all waiting to meet James and Bob. The queue inside was also quite long and had a few twist and turns throughout the store. Waiting in the queue was however, a pleasant experience, we met and chatted with some of the loveliest people. I always enjoy attending events such as signings and concerts as I've met some really nice people over the years.
The Waterstones' staff were extremely helpful and kept everyone up to date with everything that was happening. The staff even had a big box of Cadbury's heroes which was passed round the queue to keep everyone going as they waited. A big issue seller was also invited into the store to sell copies of the magazine to those who were waiting. It was lovely to see the such tremendous support towards the seller. The big issue vendor was such a nice man and it was wonderful to hear his enthusiasm and excitement towards how far James and Bob have come over the years.
An announcement was made by staff that people with mobility issues (such as wheelchair users like myself), children and elderly people would be able to stand at the side near the signing table so that we could be taken first to have our books signed. I am so grateful that this happened as it made things so much easier for me. Of course I would have been more than happy to wait in the queue however, this helped avoid extra pain/exhaustion that I could have potentially experienced due to waiting in a long queue. Sometimes the smallest of things can be a challenge but I must commend how well this was organised!
James arrived at half past 12 with Bob perched on his shoulders, just like I had seen in videos of them on both YouTube and television. They got setup at the table, had a few photographs taken and made sure Bob was comfortable sitting in his chair. Then I was called up to the table to have my books signed!
It was such an exciting moment for me-I'd been hoping that they would soon visit Scotland and at last they were here!
 Bob has to be one of the most gorgeous cats I've ever seen, he has big green eye that inquisitively watched as he took in his new surroundings. He was wearing one of his scarfs that people they'd met over years had kindly knitted for him. In this instance the scarf he was wearing had white and purple stripes and I'm pretty sure it had 'Bob' knitted on it too.
James kindly signed my copy of his new book "A Gift From Bob". He even printed Bob's paw print on the book (as you can see in the picture above) using a stamp-how cool was that?!
The queue being so busy meant that time was limited meeting each person, so it was a pretty quick in and back out again. However, it was definitely worth it and was so wonderful to see so many people turn up to the signing! I'm delighted I got to meet them both and hope that James and Bob come back up to Scotland for future signings!