Putting the "Larry with Boris Johnson in 2019" photo under the heading of "Relationships with other animals" is hilarious, intentional or not.
moffkalast · 2h ago
Boris the animal?
It's just Boris!
tomalpha · 4h ago
Wonderfully, the official government webpage[1] lists his duties as:
Larry spends his days greeting guests to the house, inspecting security defences and testing antique furniture for napping quality. His day-to-day responsibilities also include contemplating a solution to the mouse occupancy of the house. Larry says this is still ‘in tactical planning stage’.
This compilation video of him chasing a Fox, killing a pidgeon, and fighting with (recently retired) admiralty cat Palmerston is worth a watch (1min 21 sec)
> ... opinion poll from Ipsos showed that Larry had a higher favourability rating (44%) and net favourability rating (40%) than both Sunak (22% and –36%) and Starmer (34% and –7%).
Larry might be the only one who can beat Farage at this point.
codeulike · 4h ago
If you're in the UK you know exactly who this is without having to click the link
rwmj · 4h ago
I was hoping that I wasn't getting my news from HN for a moment there.
ccppurcell · 3h ago
I wonder which bridge it will be
maz1b · 4h ago
I always find it incredibly sweet and endearing whenever humans write / document things like this. It's almost like a definition or example of what humanity means.. creatures with brainpower - a organ that's the most complex (and power efficient!) thing in the known universe.
3pt14159 · 1h ago
I can't believe how long this Wikipedia article is and complete with sources! Like, it's just a cat! I'm surprised the notoriety police haven't swooped in.
jkaplowitz · 1h ago
It’s been written about by so many reputable sources that it clearly meets Wikipedia’s peculiar definition of notoriety, whether or not it meets other more normal definitions.
Served under:
Ramsay MacDonald,
Stanley Baldwin,
Neville Chamberlain,
Winston Churchill, and
Clement Attlee
rswail · 4h ago
His twitter account is well known for its cat-like snark.
l3x4ur1n · 4h ago
Is there really such a mice problem at Downing street that people catch mice during dinner?
dcminter · 3h ago
Bear in mind that it's of Georgian construction and Grade 1 listed (so not just a façade), so there is presumably plenty of wood and plaster in its construction with corresponding voids. With humans comes food morsels. Some of the rooms offer doors onto the garden. Mice seem inevitable in those circumstances.
ccppurcell · 3h ago
There's a mouse problem in the whole city. But then there's a mouse/rat problem in more or less any city of similar population density.
fennecfoxy · 56m ago
It's kind of unavoidable with those sorts of buildings. Amsterdam (and similar places) get it even worse - all those waterways with buildings of a similar age mean that it's a haven for mice.
cjs_ac · 3h ago
Yes, Number 10 Downing Street is three eighteenth-century houses joined together. When cleaning dirt from the industrial revolution off the building's facade, it was discovered that the bricks underneath were actually yellow, but it was soon painted black because people were so used to seeing it that way on TV.
More generally, Britain and its former empire are and always were governed strictly on a least-effort, least-cost basis. There is a lot of wealth and splendour in this country, but it's privately owned; the public realm is rather run down.
smidgeon · 3h ago
British politicians are notorious sloppy eaters, lots of crumbs to be had.
bell-cot · 1h ago
> Within a month of his arrival at Downing Street, anonymous sources described Larry as having "a distinct lack of killer instinct."[11] Later that year, it was revealed that Larry spent more time sleeping than hunting for mice, and shared the company of a female cat, Maisie.[12] At one point in 2011, mice were so endemic in Downing Street that the Prime Minister, David Cameron, resorted to throwing a fork at one during a Cabinet dinner.[12]
Not to speak well of Britain's current leadership, nor ill of the theory behind it - but they need to split the Chief Mouser office into a symbolic head of state, and an actual working leader. Perhaps "His Meowjesty", and a "Prime Mouser"?
For extra fun - pay for their upkeep via "gifts" from members of the press, who hope to receive juicy leaks and preferential access (both only relating to the cats) in return.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_(cat)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphrey_(cat)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilberforce_(cat)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peta_(cat)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_III_(cat)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_II_(cat)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_(cat)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Mouser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_(chief_mouser)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rufus_of_England
It's just Boris!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnypWoeopNg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmerston_(cat)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Mouser_to_the_Cabinet_Of...
Larry might be the only one who can beat Farage at this point.
Six! The troublesome times this cat has witnessed from close by...
Served under: Ramsay MacDonald, Stanley Baldwin, Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill, and Clement Attlee
More generally, Britain and its former empire are and always were governed strictly on a least-effort, least-cost basis. There is a lot of wealth and splendour in this country, but it's privately owned; the public realm is rather run down.
Not to speak well of Britain's current leadership, nor ill of the theory behind it - but they need to split the Chief Mouser office into a symbolic head of state, and an actual working leader. Perhaps "His Meowjesty", and a "Prime Mouser"?
For extra fun - pay for their upkeep via "gifts" from members of the press, who hope to receive juicy leaks and preferential access (both only relating to the cats) in return.