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The Arrival of LOUKat


You are probably wondering what the heck a LOUKat is! I will try to explain the story behind LOUKat. I love meerkats. I didn’t really know much about them until I saw a series about them a few years ago. I can’t even remember which series it was but it stuck with me. I love their sense of community and how they watch out for each other. Meerkat groups or clans often number about 20 or so but they also have larger groups which can surpass 50. Here are a couple of my favourite short clips from the BBC website so you can see why I love them so much – Sentry Duty and Strength in Numbers.

I think they are such amazing animals. We even have a couple of meerkats from Compare the Meerkat (Compare The Market); Aleksandr and Bogdan from Meerkovo, Moscow. There is also a Baby Oleg Diary which will make you smile. Meerkats are so cute that you just can’t help but warm to these little creatures whether in real life or as (ahem) can I say plushies? (My deepest apologies to Aleksandr!)

What do meerkats have to do with LeanOnUs?

The other week while I was chatting to our LOU counsellor (who wishes to remain anonymous - NOT) the subject of meerkats came up. It’s funny how conversations go. It kinda evolved from a ‘catch up’ into a mini ‘brainstorming session’. As you can imagine I (almost) breathe, eat and sleep the LOU community and am always trying to think up new ideas for LOU. More often than not there is some project or other in the pipeline but it’s usually on the back-burner of my mind until I get a push, nudge or shove.

So, there I was chatting with our counsellor about all things LOU – websites, Twitter, hashtags, networking etc, etc – you know how it goes? – and during the conversation the words “#LOU”, “mascot” and “meerkat” were mentioned. Well, that was the push I needed. After we hung up, it didn’t take me long to go start hunting around my LOU version of eBay Bargains, Fivesquids, and this is what we got!

We really hope that you all like LOUKat, as you will be seeing him around quite a bit. As you know, we cover so many serious subjects here at LeanOnUs and I think it’s nice to lighten things up a little. As I already mentioned, we have many ongoing projects; some come to completion very quickly, some take months and others have gone on for over two years now. It’s kind of amazing really when I sit and look back. I think we tend to overlook or appreciate things as we are so busy rushing through life. It’s only when we take ‘time out’ that we can reflect. Anyway, so, as soon as Bob mentioned “#LOU, “mascot” and meerkat” within a few sentences of each other, that was it – I was off!

So please, if you have any suggestion, ideas or feedback about our community get in touch with me. Don’t ever feel that I am too busy for you. I may get behind on emails, suggested projects, replies on Twitter or Facebook. There may be 20 things happening at the same time, and it does get quite hectic, but feel free to give me a nudge and don’t ever feel that you are interrupting me. If I can help, I will. You will just have to bear with me if I get a little behind! This is a community and I rely upon feedback/suggestions from our community members and others. I couldn’t do all this without your help and support!

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