2020 has been a dire year for many but wise and witty words from the Twitter account of Stourbridge Junction's station cat George have proven the purr-fect antidote to the doom and gloom of these strange coronavirus times.

Daily pictures of the little ginger and white cat, who belongs to the station's supervisor Ian Tomlinson, accompanied by amusing musings and hope-filled messages have helped to lift the spirits of railway passengers and social media followers alike.

George, who has been a permanent fixture at the station since his previous owner emigrated, already had his own Facebook and Twitter accounts but with more and more people connecting via social media during the pandemic the little puss's profile has sky-rocketed this year.

In fact, he's now a nationally famous feline after a concerted effort by the great and the good of the West Midlands to try to help him win the rail industry’s annual celebration of train stations across the UK, the World Cup of Stations, on Twitter.

Sadly – he was narrowly beaten by Glasgow Queen Street station which managed to poll just 0.3 per cent more of the vote in the final minutes of the social media contest in October.

But the support shown for George was overwhelming - overtaking that shown for Huddersfield's famous railway cat Felix...showing just how much the community and cat lovers across the country and beyond have taken him to their hearts.

His Twitter posts now regularly attract hundreds or thousands of likes a day and his growing social media profile has helped the station to share important railway safety messages and calls for kindness and understanding in these dark times.

They've also raised smiles aplenty - with many Twitter followers praising the wit and sense of humour shown in his posts.

A spokesman for George said of the station's furry ambassador/senior mouse catcher: "Hopefully he’s brought a little bit of ginger happiness to lots of people's lives along with some positivity and awareness for the railway environment and what makes a railway run.

"Life is incredibly difficult for many people at the moment and if George can raise a smile just for a second and take people's minds off their worries then he's done his best."

George's popularity has also inspired the launch of his very own calendar...a calendar featuring hismeownself, as he would say.

The A4 calendar for 2021 has been created by a Kidderminster artist known as Nellie Doodles and a donation from each one sold before December 31 will go to The Samaritans – a cause supported by many at the station.

Interest in the calendar proved immense and nearly 500 have been sold – prompting ideas for further George related merchandise.

Stourbridge community music group Gig Caritas has also teamed up with George and Nellie Doodles to auction off some George-inspired artwork to help raise further charity funds for The Samaritans, which offers advice and support to people struggling to cope.

The auction is running until December 28 on the Gig Caritas Facebook page.

A few words from George hismeownself (sort of):

How has 2020 been for you?

Just grand thank you, less hoomans coming through the station to adore me which is why I set up Twitter so I can still show meownself to them and keep them happy and spread a little bit of sunshine.

What is your favourite food?

Tuna, salmon, chicken, lamb...

What will you be doing on Christmas Day?

I will be packing my case and going home with my dad to eat Christmas dinner and sit in front of the fire on his lap.

What do you hope for in 2021?

For a cure for Covid-19 and for less families to be torn apart by this virus and a resemblance of normality to return and of course for people to be more tolerant and kinder to one another.