My name is Gwen Hemsley. My rattery is called Laika and is registered with the NFRS and is based in Ashington, Northumberland. I show my rats and attend as many shows as I can throughout the year. I have had rats since January 2001. We purchased 'Jasmin' a miss marked hooded doe when our hamster died. When I attended my first show and saw an English blue. It was beautiful. The hunt was on to find a rat to keep Jasmin company, but at the time there were no kittens available. Thanks to Estelle Sandford who put me in touch with Sandra and Graham Mobbs, a little black doe was about to become a third ratty in the Hemsley household. I still had not found a blue and the hunt continued. After long discussions regarding blues i decided to contact Sandra and Graham as the little black's sister was available. Alison Campbell, a complete stranger at the time was going to collect kittens and kindly said she would bring them home for me. We emailed each other for days on the run up to the big day. The day came and a lovely black and blue doe arrived. I named them Midnight and Comet. Alison is now a really good friend and I travel to many shows with her.