In praise of the humble cat flap

... which lets us keep the door in the kitchen at the top of the cellar stairs firmly closed. It keeps the chilly drafts downstairs in the winter, and in spring it stops the bumblebees from flying upstairs.

I have no idea why there are bumblebees in the basement. Last spring I had an exterminator check it out, and despite banging on the foundation with a stick from the inside he was unable to rouse even a single bee, although he stepped over the tiny carcasses of three that had found their way in from somewhere and perished from unknown causes.

Seriously, what is UP with that?