Dear Sue,
Greetings from Hong Kong in the Year of the Ox.
Both Simba and Honey are doing well and as I write this Simba is trying to get me to allow him to lay down on my chest - we have reached a compromise! I am managing to continue to type with him purring in front of me.
The big news is that we taken on a new Russian Blue kitten, Bella and she arrived from Australia on 23 Jan 09.  She took just a few short days to be integrated into the family and yesterday, we saw Bella sleeping with both Honey and Simba.
I must add that Simba took to Bella after one day and they were and are often seen chasing one another and as the pictures reveal, sleeping together. We just have to watch and intervene if Simba gets a little too boisterous, as he is 13-14lbs in weight now! He is built solidly and he loves to eat but we are watching what he eats as we don't want him to become Garfield!
Since Honey and Simba's arrival, Goldie has now become a play participant rather than a spectator and I suspect all credit goes to Honey particularly as she loves to play.
Honey is often seen going to her toy-box, selecting a toy and taking it out to play with, Now we are hoping she'll put her toys back when she has finished with them. If she wants to play with me, she'll look up at me, reach out to me with one of her paws and mew - if I ignore her she'll gently nip my ankle and continue to do so until I relent and pander to her wishes.
Simba has a routine to climb up onto Rita's shoulder when she is sat at the computer - he wants her to lay back to allow him to sit, and knead her shoulder before purring contentedly to sleep.
You will be very proud of Simba - he is absolutely unafraid of strangers and very friendly. As I have said, he seems in our mind to be rather heavy 13-14 lbs now - is that normal in your mind.
Honey's weight is now 8.5 lbs and she is now just been discovered to be licking Bella - surely a good sign. Honey is a real character though and we love then all dearly.
The coats of both Simba and Honey are getting darker at the moment - maybe it is the result of too much sun-bathing at the window! I hope you like the pics and will send some more in due course. Kung Hei Fat Choi in the Year of the Ox
Best wishes, Graham and Rita 28/1/09

Dear Sue, All is well in Hong Kong with Simba and Honey and our new Russian Blue, Bella, is now fully integrated into our family.
Simba is a solid cat but is strong, and energetic when he feels like it although he still has a passion for food. When he has his funny five minutes he is often encouraged by Bella who tears after him in hot pursuit. It is fortunate now that when he has his frantic five minutes it is done at a more sociable hour rather than previously at about 4:30am.
Honey is as elegant as ever making Simba look even bigger that I think he may be. She is often seen chasing Bella from one end of the flat to the other and then Simba chasing Bella the other direction - they really have a wonderful time. It normally ends with Honey climbing up the dining room window grating, which were fixed expressly for this purpose (see picture)… well not really. They were fixed to prevent them from launching themselves from the 17^th floor and they work! Honey gets stuck there , looks around is if to say, "how the hell did I get here?" . she then clambers down slowly, jumping to the dining table.
Honey as also taken to nipping our ankles when wanting something and for the first time, she chose to do that at night, whist I was sleeping! She had climbed in under the covers and gave me two little nips - love bites. I did not object or flinch and it was not repeated - I think we both fell asleep after that - I, with a smile.
Simba seems to have made it a habit of climbing onto us whilst we are on the computer. He'd meouw a little squeak and climb over the keyboard onto our shoulder, knead it until we lean back and then his back legs come onto our chest and he settles down on our shoulder, purring and kneading … and he's doing it now.
Both Simba and Honey have fared well during the winter months - during the daytime, the sun streams into the flat and our window sills are wide. Their beds are there and they spend most of their time sleeping in the warm sun. At night, they sometimes are found on our bed and particularly cold nights, Simba, Honey and Bella all climb under the covers with us.
We are still enormously happy with them and their characters are all simply wonderfully different.  So there you have it. We hope you are all well with the new litter, that you have a good Year of the Ox.
Regards, Graham and Rita 22/2/09