Legend of the Flying Cat

The legend of the Flying Cat or as we say in our country: "Lu Tchèt dèl Vêye du Vèrvîs".
The story takes place in 1941, Monsieur Saroléa, an apothecary from Verviers and inventor, had a crazy idea: to make a cat fly... In order to carry out his project, he decided to tie the cat to gas-inflated pig bladders so that it could take off. To put the odds on his side, he lightened the cat by purging it.
Then, the animal was carried to the top of the tower of the church of Saint-Remacle, in the presence of the magistrates of the time. Once at the top of the tower, the cat was released, but instead of taking flight, it began an impressive free fall. Luckily for him, the crowd had turned out in droves to watch the show and they cushioned his landing. Once on the ground, the cat ran away at full speed and the inhabitants never saw it again...
Following this event, an expression was created: "i fait vol l'tchet" which means to want to carry out a crazy project.
In 1951, in order to celebrate their attachment to the Principality of Liège, the people of Verviers decided to repeat the experience, but this time the cat was plucked and the bladders were balloons. He flew to the town of Outrelouxhe (near Huy) where he landed.
Other releases took place on different occasions and the cat did not crash...

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