Lambeth walk london stories from Timeout

1.30am, Lambeth Walk: Vinay Patel

I’d never owned a pet until I suddenly acquired three cats in July of last year. Their old owner, a neighbour, had died and as I already ‘knew’ these cats from their roaming on my estate, I offered to look after them.

Two integrated seamlessly. There was, however, a hold-out. Biggie. Named after the rapper, Biggie was notorious in his own way: a muscular, bitey bastard of a feline, determined to stay unmoored.

So it was one night when London was hit by a torrential thunderstorm. With two cats safely inside, I stood in my doorway, eyes straining against the downpour, searching for their elusive brother. A howl! There he was, hiding under a car. Flimsy umbrella in hand, I attempted rescue. He backed away from my grasp. Trudging back inside, absolutely drenched, I was tempted to leave him. But his cries were wrenching. I had to do something. This is how I ended up putting on swimming trunks and scrambling under a stranger’s car in the early hours of a Saturday morning. A passing drunk encountered me in my triumphant moment – this delirious, half-naked man waving a terrified cat in the rain.

https://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/dusk-till-dawn-writers-share-their-experiences-of-london-at-night