Thila Filla Philly - The CIty of Brotherly Love

When you're a Small Bear, being taken to a city that has an unspellable, unpronounceable name is cruel, but that's just what the hired help did. Wheech, off we went early on the Monday morning.  First we went on a bus, and then we went on the Underground and the we went on the Heafrow Express to the Nairyport to catch our Nairyplane.  It tools AGES and we hadn't even taken off!

Eventually, whoosh, off we went and some hours later we arrived in Fillerrdelfier (It's Philadelphia) Don't be silly, how can PH be F? (Trust me it just is.) Is that you saying, "Because I say so?" ("Yes.") Meanie, typical grown up, when you can't explain something you just say, "Because I say so." (Guilty as charged Mr Bear, but I can't change it. Philadelphia is pronounced Filadelfia, and there's nothing we can do about it.") Well that's not fair, not, not, not.  (Do I hear the drumming of little heels on the desk?) Yes, don't care. So there. (Sorry folks, he's now got a petted lip and he's sitting with his arms folded in a huff.) Am not. (Well, come on bear, we want to get on with the story don't we? You can't disappoint your public.)  I aspose. (That's much better - even a wee smile?) Nope, that's too much to ask.

Oh yes, Philadelphia. It's HUGE, but not as huge as Londing. If you think I have problems spelling the name, LT, when she was little, couldn't say "F," so for a wee while Alan, Ann and LT lived in Thiladelthia. Isn't that cute? Don't practice saying that Sebastian (or any other bear) until you've swallowed all your cookie crumbs, 'cos otherwise you'll spray them everywhere.  (Back to the story please.) Oh, alright then but it is a nice side story isn't it? (Yes it certainly is, though we'll have to see how Jack responds to this post.)


We were there for boring office meetings, but I did get out to see people.  There's a nice lady called Finona (Fiona) That's what I said, do stop interrupting.   There's a nice lady called FIONA in the office and she has done a clever painting of Machali one of the tigers we saw in India, and I went over and had a look at it.  Everyone in the office thought I'd be scared, but I wasn't - I've been much closer to the real tiger and she's just a big pussy cat really.  (Well, you were pretty close, but we made sure you didn't get too close or you'd have ended up as a tiger snack.)

ANYWAY,   I was so relaxed I sat down with my back to her and I didn't look over my should more than once or twice.  Don't you like Fiona's painting?  I think it's pure dead brilliant myself.

After a couple of boring days in the office, talking about having visions and missions we went out for the evening to Longwood Gardens.  He's been there before but it was before I was even a bit of fluff in my maker's eye, whatever that means.












Longwood is great big botanic gardens south of Philly (as the locals call it - see I did learn something.) and we had a great time.  Once we were inside I saw a couple of Chinese Lions and they were very fierce looking, but I wasn't scared at all.  I just sat on the knee of the first one and waved nonchalantly (That's a big word for a small bear!) at the world. The lion grumbled a bit and did look to see who was there but he didn't eat me.












Then I went over to see his friend and I sat on his HEAD and waved insouciantly at the passing crowd. (Cor, bear even more wonderful language.) I'm a writer, I DO language don't you realise that? (Of course, sorry.)









Next he sat me down on a bush.  I thought it would be all prickly, but it wasn't.  It was in the topiary garding and he got quite tocited about that, because in the winter when he's been there that part is closed.  It's just grass and bits of bushes, but, if that amusing him, who am I to complain?  I sat there patiently and made sure my best profile was on display.

It was very warm (Hot I'd say, but who's asking me?). Exactly, who is?  Well, maybe it was quite hot, so we wandered on and came to a lovely founting with water splashing into it.  I perched on the rim for my picture, and I nearly fell in, that's me waving, not drowning. (Coo, literary allusions too. I must go and read my Stevie Smith again.)

Then we went to the lake near the bell tower, with its nice reflections and its waterfall.  We got quite close to the waterfall and it was a bit cooler there, and again I practised waving, but nobody waved back.











Alan got very excited when he saw that the water lily pond was open to visitors. It's in a place that's closed in winter so it was new to him. He got his telephoto lens out and took lots of pictures.

There was a funny man standing in the pool talking to everyone about the plants and showing them the prickly underside of the lily pads and everything.  He was so happy to talk about his plants and his enthusiasm was quite infectious.  He must have been an old man because his trousers were up to his armpits. (No bear, he wasn't an old man, though wasn't young either.  He was wearing waders so that he could walk around in the water without getting wet.) Oh, that is clever.  Anyway, we got to smell one water lily that is white and beautiful and smells of pineapple one day and is pink not so lovely and not smelly the next.  On the first day it traps beetles and then the next day they get out again, and somehow that way the plant gets fertilised.  It was too much for my bounce fill brain I think.  (On the first day the beetles bring pollen with them from another flower and then they get trapped and fed on nectar. While they are trapped the pollen they bring get rubbed on the female parts of the plant.  Then next day when they manage to escape, they have to pass the stamens and get covered in more pollen that they take to the next plant. Clever but complicated isn't it?) Isn't nature interesting?  This picture isn't that lily it's a normal  one

After we had a hot dog and (cold) fries it started to get dark,
so off we went into the gloom because he said there were interesting things to see, and for once in his life he was right.

One of the things we saw was this fire hydrant.  It is nice and shiny and I wanted to turn it on, but spoilsport Alan said we'd get thrown out if we did, so I just sat on it instead.  While he was framing me for posteriority someone said, "Oh look someone's left a bear behind." How insulting can you get?  My behind is covered in fur, it's not bare at all. Anyway how could they see, 'cos I was sitting on it?  (No, they thought you'd been mislaid by someone, but I put them right and said you were a well travelled bear and not a lost one.)  That's alright then, it was kind of them to notice.

Not far away was the house in the trees and it was all lit up.  I was worried it might hold a wicked witch, but it didn't, it just had some nice big lights and some occasional twinkly lights in the air.  I wondered what they were because we saw a lot of them.  Alan explained that they were fireflies, and they were very pretty as they blinked on and off. We walked into the woods and there were lots  and lots of lights there that changed colour all the time and we walked around looking at them with lots of other people - but not many bears.  There were a few but most of the poor things seemed to be tied down to baby carriages.  There were  a few being carried by the people they owned, and I waved and said hello to them.

The last two pictures are very pretty. The first one is by one of the lakes and the lights on the far bank were changing colour all the time. A nice man let Alan use his tripod to get a photo, and Alan took some video too and that's very pretty but he hasn't had time to process it for here - lazy boy.

In this last photo we went into one of the lovely greenhouses and saw these lovely lights that also changed colour.  Can you see the deflections (That's reflections bear) Whatever, reflections, deflections I can't know everything at my age.  Anyway the lights were shining off the ceiling and that was pretty too.

All the best for now. He went to Ipswich in the week and I didn't go, but next week it's the Bearlympics and I'll get to see Jack again as we cheer on the rowers.

Back soon,

Hugs,

Jock

The singing people

Now, where was I when the hired help ran out of steam?  Ah yes, Vienna about to get on a nairyplane to Londing.  My, it was a rush getting across Londing, whizz whizz, the nairyplane was late taking off 'cos the radar in the Munich area was down - whatever that means (That's a hard one bear, but people on the ground use radar to see all the planes, and if they can't see them it's not safe.)  Clear as mud. Well the driver on the plane said that meant we couldn't fly till they changed the fuse, so we arrived quite late in Londing and even later at Auntie Ros's flat.  Then Ann was even later coming in from Amsterdam and she rush rush rushed out to dinner with Ros, Terry and Alan, leaving me to play in the flat.

Next morning Katy and Jack arrived - hooray - and then he went out with Katy and left me behind.  They soon got back and we were able to play.

Here he is with Katy's camera.  He tried to pick it up, but it nearly fell and crusheded him.






We had a great time and we hardly had time to it sit down.  First we had a good old gossip about the Clan - well we did while we climbed over everything.  Finally Alan sat us down and took our picture.  I thought I was an ickle bear until I met Jack.  He really is very ickle isn't he?







On Sunday I stayed with Ros while Alan and Terry went for a walk in the rain and got WET. I'm glad I didn't go along 'cos I don't like wet.  Ann and Katy went on a 'xciting trip with Jack to the Royal Albeart Hall in another part of Londing, where they sang and sang all day, just like Christopher Robin.

Then in the evening was the grand concert - can you see them, they are way down on the left in blue - well Jack isn't of course, in blue that is, just good fur brown.  They sang in the world premier of a choral work by Karl Jenkins.  It was interesting but it had no real words, just beartend ones. The new work is called The Gods of Olympus and it was part of the Cultural Olympiad. In the second half they sang The Armed Man and that's well known.

It was a fine evening, and then Jack and I met up again and decided it was time to go out on the balcony, even though it was raining.  We could just see the river down below us, but there were no tall ships there this time and that disappointed Jack.

All good things come to an end and we had to go to bed 'cos I was getting up early to go to Philldelfier.  But that's another story for another day.

Hugs,

Jock

I've been everywhere!

The other title for this is "Which way is up."  Talk about busy - you have no idea.  All this travelling is fun, but it's tiring. (Excuse me - all you have to do is snuggle down and get carried. I do all the humphing around.) Poor you indeed!  It's what you're there for, so just get on with the story.

Was it only two weeks ago?  It seems like forever for a young bear.  First we went to Germany, the day after Alan had been to Londing for the day - and LEFT ME BEHIND - meany. (Get over it.)  Well anyway, we flew to Londing again and then off to Munich.  This is me in Terminal 5 at Heafrow near Londing. We stopped there on the way to Munich 'cos though we flew to Munich we flew back from Vienna - it's all very confusing for a bouncefill brain I can tell you.

We had a nice flight though there wasn't much to eat, so our tummies were rumbling when we got there and we had to rush for a train.  The first train into Munich was so late that we missed our train to the place we were staying called Treuchtlingen.  Alan spoke to a very helpful lady who  changed us onto another two trains which we just about got.  Here I am after we arrived at the place we had to change trains, and that's my train behind.  It's very smart isn't it and it's called an ICE train, though it wasn't at all cold.  We were near the front and you could see out past the driver man along the track, and that was most exciting.


 The place we changed trains was called Nuremberg, and it's supposed to be very lovely but also quite spooky, but we didn't have time to look because we had to catch the next train.  This was a regional express and it was very nice.  I had a comfortable perch on top of my travelling bag - he thinks it's his camera bag, but I just beartend that it is, it's really my bag and I let him put his cameras in there so I can guard them.

I got quite a good view out of the window, but though there was some nice country to look at, a lot of the time it was towns and stuff.

We got to Treuchtlingen and our tummies were still rumbling so we went and had some food and that helped.

Next day he did a CRAZY 570 mile round trip by car for just one meeting! He was too tired to take my photo, and that's understandable.  

The following morning we went to Herbert's house. Herbert is a very nice man who helps Alan in Germany.  We met his wife, a lady called Michaela, who has lots of bears but we didn't get a photo of them.  She is a very nice lady too and we got something to drink and I got a little snack.  Don't worry, I didn't eat it all, but I gave it a good try and the jam filling was great for later slurps as it got well into my fur when I was eating.  (That's why the camera bag is sticky then - you'll have to be more careful.)  Yeah, yeah, yeah, stop moaning.  A bear has to subsist you know.  We also met their new kitten called Lucky.  It was a nice kitten, but they grow up into cats and I'm not so sure about them.

After we had our snack Alan and Herbert had a meeting in Munich and then we drove all the way to Vienna.  Are you tired yet? We haven't even got half way!  

On the way to Vienna we stopped for lunch at a lovely lake called the Chiemsee.  The weather was hot and sunny so we went for a stroll and I got my photos taken down by the waterside.  It the first one you can see a lady having a paddle and nearly getting her clothes wet.  There were other people swimming, but we had no time to stop and join in, 'cos we still had a long way to go, first driving around Salzburg and then Melk and finally into Vienna very late indeed.

Because it was so late we didn't see much of Vienna, and though we'd hoped to spend some time there the new morning Alan's meeting was very long - which was very good - but afterwards we just went straight to the airport.  Here I am in the lounge and that's our nairyplane waiting for us to get on.

We had a good flight, though again our tummies were very rumbly by the time we reached Londing. Then we went to see Auntie Ros and Uncle Terry.  Ann arrived too from Amsterdam and the next day Katy and Jack arrived, but I'll tell you all about our excitement to-morrow.

Hugs,

Jock

Snot fair

I beg your pardon bear? Well it isn't. You promised me Germany and all you took me to was Londing. Ah, you mean "It's not fair." Yes, that's what I said, don't argue. But your title is a bit rude. Don't care, so there.

Getting back to the subject, we were meant to be going to Germany, but somehow or other we didn't go. The meetings were cancelled - don't get me started. We're going next week instead. Well I'm not holding my little breath.

ANYWAY, as I was saying. We got all packed up and ready to go, when the plug got pulled.  But that was alright in a way 'cos it was Ann's birthday and we thought we'd be away for it. Instead we had a wee party on the night with carrot cake and boy does that icing get into your fur.  Still, you can lick your paws for DAYS afterwards.

So on Wednesday were set off in the train. See, we got a very posh table with a light on it, and he was able to pig out on the free snacks and drinks and things. Tell tale tit. I had a small cake and a cup of tea. Well, and a glass of wine. See, I told you, he's a great big oinker.  'Scuse me, who had left over icing to keep them going?  Oinker, oinker, oinker. Takes one to know one.

Well, we arrived in Londing and took the tube and a taxi to Auntie Ros and Uncle Terry's house and it was really nice.  They have a balcony and I was able to go out and watch the river.  Do you like my flag?  It was for the celbearation of the Queen's 60th jubilee.  All the boats came down the river and passed right by their window, but that was  before we got there so I missed it, and the great big party.  We went to Ireland that day, sorry.  I waved the flag anyway 'cos that was fun.

In the next photo I'm sitting on the flag, because I very nearly got blowed away, and sitting on the flag was safer, and in the last photo of me this week I got to sit on the table and admire the view.  The spiky thing in the background is call the Shard Thames Tower, but it doesn't look too big to me in this picture, but if you look at the other one you can see that it sticks up quite a way.  In fact Alan says it's the tallest building in Western Europe, so I suppose it is quite big.

 If you want to see what Londing looks like from the top of the tower you can look here It's 360 degree panorama from the top and you can zoom in and whizz around, and get very dizzy if you do it too quickly. Alan's just been looking at it and now my eyes are every which way.  You can see the 'Lympic stadium, the Gherkin (The Swiss Re Tower), and the Londing Eye, and the river, and the Houses of Parlimint and Bearkingham Palace and everything. Oh it's exciting.  Makes up for not going to Germany I aspose.

Home this week, then Germany and Austria next week and Londing again and then Phillydelfia.  See you soon.

Jock.

Top of the Mornin' to yez all

From the title can you guess where I've been this week? You got it - Blackpool Airport.  No, really I was in Ireland.  It's just a hop and a skip away 'cos we can get the plane from the airport at the other end of the beach from where we live. It was a funny plane too with whirly things on the wings just like you can buy in the shops here on wooden sticks - only much bigger and not such fun colours.

We arrived in Dublin and then went off to a wee town called Maynooth and then out to our hotel - Carton House.  I was a bit worried that it would just be a posh cardboard box, and, given all the rain we've had, I wan't really looking forward to staying there.  He said not to be silly, and when we arrived, for once, he was right.  We had a lovely big room with great big windows with a view out to the gardens.  Just to be sure, I tested his bed for him and it was nice and soft.  I bounced up and down on it and turned a few summersaults for good measure.


When we'd had our dinner we went out for a walk and I got my photo taken in front of the old house - can you see me?

Have a look below and you can see me better.  It's always the same - he takes ages to take a photo and when he does there has to be three and sometimes the results aren't worth having.  But when I'm the subject they eventually look good, after all, with star quality in the model, things are bound to turn out for the best.

I thought I'd emulate Sebastian who's been collecting trees, 'cept I'm just collecting big things to sit on.  I thought I'd try trees too.  This one was very big and quite high up, so I got a good view.  Only one thing - Sebastian, how do you get prickles out of your bot?  I found that it wash't as comfy there as it looked and I squirmed around a bit because of the bark and stuff.

Well that was mostly fun and then we walked down the hill to see what we could see.  There we met some folks from Celbridge Camera Club who were out for the evening. I'm happy to say it was dry and the light was quite nice and we had a good chat with two lots of people.  The midges, midgies, mejazus or whatever you want to call them were out in force, but they left us alone mostly.  I gave them a stern talking to but they paid no heed.  Down by the pool I found this rubber ring but nasty old Alan wouldn't let me take it into the water, which is just plain mean. (It's only for emergencies and you weren't drowning, though you might have been if you'd jumped in.) You're still an old meanie. MEANIE, MEANIE, MEANIE. (Thank you, I love you too.)  

After I got over my disappointment (sulks you mean!) I went and sat on the bridge to add to my collection.  This time I got a cold bot - and Ann says if you sit on a cold thing you might get piles, whatever they are. S'all right though, 'cos I didn't sit there for long, there was much more exploring to do.

First I climbed an oak tree and sat on a big branch (It was a twig.) It may only have been a twig to you you big lummox but to me it felt like a branch (Listen, bounce fill brain you don't need to get so worked up.)

Ha, well after I bounced on my BRANCH I went and sat on a great big cedar tree.  I didn't get a cold bot and the bark was fairly comfortable.  Can you see me in the first picture?  I'm right next to the main trunk, sticking my tongue out at him for calling my BRANCH a twig.

 When he came closer I purtended to be nice to him and waved for his picture.

Then we were ready to move on and we found a nice garden with a sundial in it.  There wasn't any sun by then as it was getting a bit dark, but it did give me somewhere to stand in front of the big old house.

I was still smarting a bit about that BRANCH so I thumbed my nose and blew a raspberry at him when he wasn't looking, quickly turning it into a wave when he turned round.  He's a bit deaf so he didn't hear anything either.

(Have you finished yet?) Nope, but I'll forgive you this time.

All this time he was still being a bit of a sea lion, barking away and also playing the nephalent too, but as the week went on he did get a bit better.

When he was out at his conference I did get out to play, but some people kept firing hard white balls at me. They hit them with big sticks straight at me. They shouted, "Fore," very loudly, but that was a downright lie, 'cos each time there was only one.

I even tried to hide in some metal cup things, but that was no good as they kept firing the balls in there too.  A couple of times I nearly got stabbed by some big sticks that were in the middle of the cups too.  (You were on one of the golf courses, as I explained.)  Well, golf, smolph it's cruel to wee bears.

It rained a lot too, so I just went back inside and jumped on his bed again. (So that explains the muddy paw prints and the bits of grass on the bed. The cleaners weren't very happy I can tell you.  And I still think you were naughty taking that golf ball.) What do expect a bear to do if he gets hit on the noggin by a ball? I hid it behind my back so the man wouldn't see.  He said it was the first time he'd lost a ball on the green, but it serves him right.

Next week we're off to Londing again and then Germany the week after. I think he shouldn't go to Germany too often 'cos he just gets germans and they make him bark and trumpet.

Bye for now and have a great weekend.  I'm looking forward to Jack's stories of Londing 'cos LT says he got tucked into lots of interesting places.

Jock

Barking Nephalents

I have disturbing news.  I seem to be living with something that is somewhere between a tuman, a fearsome doggy and a nephalant.  It's quite disturbing for a wee bear.


Alan was snuffling for a bit, but for the last five or six days he's been behaving a bit like a doggy and barking all the time.  He bends over and makes the most spectacular noise - a wheeze then a frightening bark.  Then he sits up and clamps a big spotted hankie over his nose and pretends to be a nephalent - trumpety-trumpet.  I can't understand it, but he's getting to be a bit more like himself though he has to take yellow and red capsules with things called bioticals or something in them - oops there he goes again.  Should I run away or stay? All this acting like other animals means he isn't paying to much attention to me.


Continuing the travelling
Since we got back from India, I have seen a few more places, though mainly from hotel rooms.


We'd been back a week when, whee off we went again.  To Londing a great big place for bears and tumans too.  Alan was out busy every day so I got to stay in his room.  I did get to play and by piling things up on the desk and scrambling up I got to see a school playground way down below me. School looks like fun.  There was a pertend ship, with a cabin and a porthole. Next to it there was a crocodile - not a real one but painted on the ground in pretty colours, and there were coloured dots to jump on and everything.   Sometimes it was even more exciting up there because to the right, tho you can't see it, is a big tall norspital with a flat roof and every now and again a cheliopter would land on it.  It was bright yellow and seemed to have people inside lying down and being carried into the norspital.  Alan says they were patience or something and very sick.


It was an exciting week even if he didn't take me out anywhere.

Home again on Friday and then on Sunday we went to Ipswich - not a very interesting place and all I could see out the widow was more buildings and wet roofs 

so I just sat on his pillow and tried to make as big a dent as I could.

Back home we went and the at the end of the week it was back to Londing.  I wanted to see that playground and norspital, but all there was to see out the window was a building site so I just sat on the desk and sulked.

 Things started to look up the following week, because we went to Germany to a place called Cologne, another big place for wee bears. We stayed in a very grand hotel - called The Grand Hotel, Schloss Bensberg.  When he told me the name I could hardly get my teeth around the schloss bit - but it just means castle.  Here I am sitting on the windowsill outside Alan's room.  You can just make out the top of the plashy fountain that was in the grounds.  For once I wasn't in danger of falling out and there was no risk of a hot bot moment.




The next picture is of me sitting on a sculpture in the grounds with the castle behind - very grand isn't it.  So grand is it that we even got a yummy chocolate each night, and the conference organisers had left a bigger bar in the room too and we scoffed the lot!

On our way home we went into the city and I got the chance to see the cathedral.  It was a sunny day and there were lots of people in the square and round about, so I kept myself self out of reach of sticky fingers.

We were no sooner home than whee off we went to Scotland to see Ann's Mum Nancy and also visit LT.  We all went out on Saturday so that 87 year old Nancy could take a class on her iPad. Clever and adventurous isn't she?

When she'd done that we went to a beautiful park in Glasgow called Pollock Park, which is where I saw this great big lion, well it wasn't so much lion as hunkering, ha, ha.  You can blame the script writer for that terrible joke.

Anyway it was nice sitting in the sun enjoying the warmth and meeting new people.  This time I got a mildly warm bot and it was quite pleasant.

It was the next day that he began to behave oddly.  He even worked from home for a couple of days, while practising to be a nephalent, and then whoosh off we went to Londing again, though this time not to a hotel.  

Instead we stayed at my Auntie Ros's and Uncle Terry's place.  They live in a very nice flat overlooking the Thames.  This week there's a big party on the river  for the Queen,'cos she's been Queen for 60 years, and lots of ships have come to see her.  When Alan, Ros and Terry came back from dinner, this is what they could see across the river.  It's a French ship called the Belem, but we couldn't really see much in the dark.

The flat is just down river from Tower Bridge and it has been specially lit up for the party.  The colours change from red to white to blue and it's all very pretty.  Alan took this after he had been sent to the doctor by Auntie Ros.  She said he was proper poorly. (So did the doctor.  He said "If you have any breathing difficulties go straight to hospital.") Oh my.

On Friday morning the sun shone and, though he was still being part doggy, part nephalent, Alan got this nice picture of the Belem.  Can you see the men up the mast?

Well that was that and off we went home.  This is the only photo of me on the trip and that's on the train on the way home.  It's a bit fuzzy, but I'll forgive him as he wasn't well and he was using his iPhone.

 

To-morrow it's off to Ireland and then next week London and the following week Germany, so it's all go at the moment.

Jock