“The Panther In My Kitchen” by Brian Blessed
Brian Blessed has a lifelong love of animals and over the years has rescued cats and dogs, horses and ponies, and even a very ungrateful fighting cock. Over the years Brian has encountered more exotic animals too, from Kali the black panther who had free run of his kitchen and the gentle boa constrictor Bo Bo who went for walks with him in Richmond Park.
Written with all of Brian’s ebullience, The Panther in My Kitchen is a laugh-out-loud, life-affirming book about the joy animals bring and why we should care for them.
What else can I say about this book, other than it’s exactly what you would expect from something written by Brian Blessed? Just sit back and let yourself enjoy page after page of anecdotes that don’t seem like they could happen to any other person.
I picked up this book on a whim, not entirely sure what to expect. In hindsight, I really should have. If you have any idea of who Blessed is you know what you are getting into. I’ve not read any of his books before this one, but the style is 100% him. You can hear his personal, unique style on every page. If you can look me in the eye and tell me you were able to read a single line from this book and not hear the author’s voice in your head, then I’d like to know how you can look me in the eye and lie like that!
I’ve not yet read Blessed’s actual autobiography, but I’m left with the impression that this is a collection of pieces that he was forced to remove from that. I can imagine an editor telling him the original book was overlong, and he needed to cut all the extraneous animal stories. I can picture Blessed boisterously disagreeing, then sulkily agreeing, only to decide to put them all into a separate book just because he can.
I kind of feel you need to know a little about who Brian Blessed is to fully get this book. Otherwise, most of the stories don’t really feel they can be real. It feels like a different world. One where a young actor can live in a small flat with half a dozen cats and dogs and get away with it. Where a friend will bring a panther to his house, just because. But if you have an idea of who Blessed is - and if you’ve grown up in the UK then you almost certainly do - then everything will seem believable simply because of who it's happening to.
I can’t not recommend this book. It’s both wholesome and unbelievable. Something to give you a little reminder of the passion and love someone can have for life, with no anger towards anyone who doesn’t truly deserve it. Blessed comes across as a character from another era. A Victorian explorer and conservationist born one hundred years too late. His passion for animals truly shines through, and it feels as if he’s in the room with you telling you all these stories in person after dinner.
