Watson has grown too large for his reliable kitten trick of flinging himself straight up in the air to land somewhere on ny upper torso, but that has not stopped him. At least once a day, he announces his intentions and spends a good few minutes working up his nerve while he edges me into position. On a good day, he finds a stop-over on the table or the stairs and steps onto my shoulder like a gentleman, but occasionally he goes for broke and leaps from the floor, in full confidence that I will catch him and boost him into position. I had better, if I don’t want my shirt ripped to shreds.

This performance never fails to get a laugh from Himself.