James Bowen: Best- selling true story of busker who got his life back on track thanks to stray cat to become a film. A bright afternoon in London’s Covent Garden and the cobbled streets are choc- a- bloc.

Office workers rush to and from lunch, tourists mill around, and shoppers pop in and out of the smart boutiques. In the middle of them all sits a cat wearing a jaunty Union Jack neckerchief. Surrounded by a crowd of 3. Bob, a tubby ginger tom, smiles beatifically. Next to him, his owner James Bowen stands with his battered acoustic guitar, belting out a series of Oasis songs. Every now and then, he stops playing and bends down to Bob.

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Come on, Bob, high- five!’ he says. Bob twitches his whiskers, raises a. James’s outstretched hand. The crowd coos. A smart- looking. Bob’s. feet. It’s not every day that you see a cat.

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Central London, apparently unfazed by the blaring. Bob is no ordinary cat. Bob, you see, is a star.

He has his. own Twitter account (with 1. Facebook page, even.

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Street Cats, who send him photos, scrapbooks and. Oh yes, he also has his own bestseller.

Hollywood agent about taking his story to the. Well, it’s Bob’s owner, James, who is leading the. Best- seller: James Bowen's book about stray cat Bob (pictured together) who he adopted has sold more than 2. Marley & Me. James’s book, A Street Cat Named Bob, a. So far, the book has made James around £3. Mary Panchos, the literary agent who.

James and Bob selling The Big Issue, previously acted as the. UK agent for Marley & Me, a book about a mischievous dog who forms a.

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The film version, starring Owen. Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, made almost $1. Tripled his earnings: After Bob refused to leave Mr Bowen alone, he decided to take him busking and before long he was making almost three times his usual earnings as the pair attracted more and more fans'Owe everything to Bob': Mr Bowen, who was recovering from drug addiction, said Bob helped him turn his life around after he refused to leave him alone, even travelling on public transport before Mr Bowen decided to keep him.

Fortune then, as well as fame, beckons. Bob and his friend. I owe everything to Bob,’ says James.

We’ve. been on quite a journey together.’ Hi five: The relationship between James and Ginger Bob could be made into a Hollywood film. It all began five- and- a- half years. Thursday evening in March, when James found Bob, starving. Tottenham, North London.‘He was hiding in my building — he had. He had a great big wound.

Struggling to wean himself off drugs. James was initially reluctant to take in the poor creature. I assumed. he belonged to someone. I asked around, but there was no one.’After three days, James cleaned his. RSPCA for a course of antibiotics, which cost. At the time, James was busking and earning just £2.

It was. pretty much the last money I had, but I didn’t feel it was too much to. I’ve always loved cats,’ says James. Dependent on methadone and living in a. James’s life had veered badly off course just a.

When he was just three, his parents. Surrey to Australia with his mother. Penelope, a saleswoman. There, they moved between Melbourne and various. Western Australia, at one stage moving back to the UK for six. Australia. ‘My mum was a product of the Eighties —. She’d start these.

People love seeing him': The pair turn heads on the street as Bob happily sits on Mr Bowen's shoulders‘I had to change schools constantly. I was never really stable.

I was bullied a lot, too. I felt. no one really understood me.’His mother remarried and James’s. He moved back to England, to London.

I lived with my half- sister Simone for a while. The problem was I didn’t get on with her husband, so they asked me to leave.’ After a few weeks in squats and.

James found himself on the streets. It wasn’t. long before he tried heroin.‘When you’re sleeping rough, you are.

They offer you some, saying. And. before you know it, you’re thinking “Why not? I’ve got nothing else.”’James descended into a drug addiction so severe that he almost died on several occasions. Watch The Unbearable Lightness Of Being Torent Free more. After three years on the streets, he. By the time he found Bob, he was in the.

NHS recovery. programme. Box office hit: Mr Bowen's book (left) topped. The Sunday Times hardback non- fiction list within weeks and is set to be. Hollywood pet sensation since Marley & Me (right)Still, he was daunted by the daily. I didn’t plan to keep him — I thought he was a. So after three weeks, I tried to set him free.’ Bob had other ideas, though.

James. recalls: ‘I’d take him outside, but he just wouldn’t run off. I would. leave for a day’s busking and he’d follow me up the road. Then, one day. he followed me all the way on to the number 7. He climbed on right. So James began taking Bob busking with. I got him a lead, but he likes to climb up on my shoulders. He. just picked it up naturally.

He’s a genius, really.’The pair make quite a sight — the 6ft. James walking down the road with a ginger moggy draped around his. While James sings, Bob curls up on a blanket. Continue busking: Mr Bowen said he and Bob (pictured) will continue busking in Covent Garden‘Before I’d even tuned up my guitar on. James. He took home almost three times his usual amount. Soon passers- by were bringing Bob. Someone gave him a purple scarf.

Then everyone wanted to give him one. He must have more than 2. It’s amazing.’For the pair’s first Christmas.

Bob a miniature stocking stuffed with. James bought a cheap plastic tree to put it under. On Christmas morning, Bob was sitting underneath it,’ says James. He knew it was his!’Twice, James thought he had lost Bob. Once, busking at Piccadilly Circus, the cat ran off after being startled. Another time, he fled a rottweiler in. Islington. ‘I was terrified that I had lost him, and felt bad that I.

Fortunately, Bob reappeared after a few hours. All the while, Bob’s fame was growing, with videos taken by fans appearing on You. Tube. Even so, when James was approached by the literary agent Mary Pachnos, he was surprised.‘She said she had been walking past us. I was interested in telling my story. Soon, we had publishers on board and six months later we had a book. It. came out on my birthday. The best present of my life!’The hardback edition spent six months.

Spin- offs including a sequel and a children’s. The children’s book will leave out the. James’s drug- taking past and focus instead on. Bob, while the sequel will be based on the life lessons. James says Bob has taught him.

Marley & Me: Literary agent Mary Pachnos, who brokered the deal for the story about a naughty Labrador who forms a bond with his human family starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston (pictured), approached Mr Bowen on the street. Today, James says he’s drug- free and. In a Sunday newspaper this. I’ll never go back to drugs. I’ve learnt too much. For this, he thanks Bob: ‘It’s all.

For the first time, I felt like I had family. It gave me. the determination to make my life more comfortable, to make his life. He has certainly done that. James’s. first royalty cheque for £3. Bob and paying for a flight to see his mum in.

Australia over Christmas. Showtime Full Sausage Party Online Free. It’s an important trip for James. Bob will stay at home in London and be.

As for long- term plans, James hopes to get a mortgage, buy his own home and live a normal life, perhaps working for charity. Watch The Crash Online Mic on this page. So what of Hollywood? People say I could be played by Johnny Depp — but he’s too old, isn’t he?’ says James with a grin. And Bob? ‘Oh, I don’t know. He’s the most famous cat there is!’For now, though, James and Bob are back to busking, though only twice a week.‘I still love busking, and so does Bob.

We’ll always do it. I could never say I was his owner. We’re partners.’  A Street Cat Named Bob (Hodder, £7.