Don't laugh, but according to the University of Hertfordshire's current study into whether pets have similar personalities to their owners, one in three of the pet lovers surveyed so far are convinced their cats have a sense of humour.

Don't laugh, but according to the University of Hertfordshire's current study into whether pets have similar personalities to their owners, one in three of the pet lovers surveyed so far are convinced their cats have a sense of humour. I am too.

Enjoying a joke is definitely something our cat Larry and I share in common besides a tendency to want to curl up on the settee that is. Although I have to say that jumping out at people and animals from hidey-holes doesn't appeal as much to me as it does to him.

I swear he sniggers every time he dives in front of me just as I'm about to go down the stairs or through a door. And as for poor canines, well…he only had to spot our old dog, Gemma, drooling over the smartie she'd found, and he was there in a flash displaying nifty paw work, second only to Pele's footie skills. Larry's face was a picture as he watched it skim across the floor.

His mischievous streak doesn't end there. As far as he's concerned any empty receptacle or open cupboard is an invitation for him to get inside.

I did more than a double take I can tell you when I glanced towards our guinea pig hutch one summer's day and saw him gazing nonchalantly at me through the wire netting. It was several heart-stopping moments later before I remembered the guineas were actually safe in their run in the garden.

Yep, our cat's a comedian alright. I just wish I wasn't his favourite fall guy.

Where have your cats got to? Drop me a line at Your Letters, The Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or email eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.

Patience they say is a virtue. If only I had some. It wasn't too bad when I was young. I looked forward to events such as birthdays, Christmas, and growing up with eager anticipation. Nobody warns you however that the minute you reach that longed for phase known as adulthood everything changes. Well, it did in my case.

Those once magically innocent sensations of excitement were suddenly replaced by waves of frustration, and it hasn't got any better over the years. I didn't realise quite how little patience I have until the work started on our extension.

The builders themselves did a fantastic job completing on schedule back in September. It's just waiting for all the things needed to fit it out that's caused my feelings of exasperation to rocket to a previously unheard of level.

Curtains, blinds, carpet, rug, lighting, furniture, you name it and I can almost guarantee hubby and I either have been, or still are, waiting for it. Whatever happened to the days when you could - and I have - catch a bus home from town contentedly clutching such items as a roll of lino?

Nowadays, shopping for large household goods usually results in an accumulation of order forms and half-hearted promises of expected delivery dates. It's not exactly my idea of retail therapy!

As I sat on our old sofa the other evening wondering when power would be restored after most of our road and those around us had been plunged into darkness, the words of the classic Kinks hit, 'Tired of Waiting', sprang into my head. Which set me off thinking - well, there was no TV to watch - of other song titles that sum up the roller coaster ride of emotions I've been experiencing over the last few months. Here's my top ten:-

· Right Here Waiting (Richard Marx) start off really optimistic

· Sitting, Waiting, Wishing (Jack Johnson) still reasonably cheerful

· I Am Waiting (The Rolling Stones) a little frustrated now

· I'm Still Waiting (Bob Marley) patience beginning to wear thin

· Crying, Waiting, Hoping (Buddy Holly) desperation's set in

· Waiting For That Day (George Michael) just a delivery date would do

· Waiting In Vain (Bob Marley) my world's collapsed - they're

out of stock

· I'm So Tired Of It All (Hank Williams) total disillusionment

· Weary Blues From Waiting (Hank, again) when will it all end?

· What You Waiting For? (Gwen Stefani) sometimes I need reminding - the

list's been endless!

Then of course there's the anthem for all people left at the mercy of call centre operators

when you ring to find out what's happened to your order, 'You Keep Me hanging On', by The Supremes.

How many departments does it take to answer a phone call? At least three in most cases it seems from our experience before they tell you they're going to have to call you back.

But I'm very glad to say there does at last appear to be light at the end of the tunnel for hubby and I, if the delivery dates we've now been given are to be believed. Come Christmas, hopefully, our room should be complete. I can't wait!

Isn't it funny how opinions can change over the years? Take the Viennese waltz for instance.

Most of us, I'm sure, think of it as a graceful and elegant dance. When it first arrived in this country back in the early 19th century however it was apparently considered 'outrageously suggestive' and 'just plain wild'.

Lord Byron, who was no shrinking violet by any stretch of the imagination, was it seems so appalled by the 'lewd grasp' and the sight of young girls leaping about in the air in their muslin dresses that he went on to write a poem warning of its dangers! Somehow I don't think he'd appreciate 'Strictly Come Dancing'!