Bruvva

Hello everyone I am sorry I haven't blogged for a while its been hard with my person's new job as my last blog post explained.  Now I have news, a big surprise so I wanted to share it with my friends.

You all know me and most of you are aware of my bruvva Yaya who came to live with us a year ago, but look how many baboon there are in our house now.

Yes, there are five of us now three baboons and two mandrills Kolo, Roco and Yaya at the back and Arne and Archie at the front.  However, look at this next picture.

You may have noticed that one of the new baboons looks rather like me, although he is a smaller version, he is my new brother Roco.  He came all the way fro Texas which just confirms what I knew in my heart all along, I am a Texan.  He is my new younger brother, we rescued him from eBay where he was looking for a new home.  We couldn't believe it when we saw him looking so like me.  He is less than half my size but he does look rather like me doesn't he.

We gave him an Arsenal shirt like Yaya's straight away and now he is having to learn all about that.  Of course he is also a Longhorn's fan like me and Yaya although I don't think Yaya is Texan I think he is from one of the northern states of the US.

Yesterday when my person arrived home from work they found a package wriggling about outside the door so we knwo what that was.  When we opened it we knew this was my new brother, he is darker than me but I used to be dark like that too so he may fade a bit like I have.  He will be able to help me cos I am really far too big to go out and friends who have met me lately have seen that my skin on my face is cracking a bit and getting delicate so I cannot go out if it is at all damp, but he can and he will be easier to carry around than I am.  It will also free me up to do my new job of advising Mr Wenger on the running of Arsenal.



Well so now we are a troup of five young baboons who play together and have fun.  We all have our jobs to do, we do some household chores and I help to run Arsenal.  We also help our people after they have had a hard day at work and the little mandrill, Arne, sometimes goes to work with people if they are going to have a hard day.

We are very happy and we feel that our family is large enough now.  Obviously if more baboons need to be rescued we would do that and we would always make room for the baboon like me who works in the shop when he needs a home, but we are quite a handful now aren't we!

So a new bruvva in the Martin household I hope he will like it here, we are welcoming him with all of our favourite foods, fish and chips yesterday,  homemade pizza today and macaroni and cheese tomorrow.  Not the healthiest of weekends but its important to welcome a baboon with food he will like.  Of course we also have to buy extra bananas now as well.

From December 2003 to September 2010, when Yaya arrived, I was the only baboon here, look at us now!

Changes

Most of you probably know that my person has been at home with us for the last year with no proper job.  It was hard in a way but we did enjoy spending time together watching DVDs, going for walks, having days out with friends  and having lots of fun.  Now there are only a few days left before my person starts a new job so that is going to mean changes at home.

This was one of the many lovely days out that we had at the monkey sanctuary with @henryandfriends and @bear_berkeley but there were many more and I am sure we will have days out again.  But now we will have to organise things differently.

I will have to watch DVDs on my own, thank goodness my person taught me how to lie on the sofa.

I will be able to read my books, I have some great books written by my friends @henryandfriends, @eldritchdragon and @tales_from_the_burrow.

and I will be able to play with my toys, here is my favourite robotic dinosaur!

I enjoy sitting outside in the sunshine with my brother Yaya.

But I think we can also be helpful to my people cos they will be more busy than before.  I have been learning to do some dusting.

and I have always done cooking sometimes with my brother Yaya.

I can also take charge of the gardening.

So I think we will be helpful to our people and of course Leroy will supervise he is good at that.

But there is one problem.

I can play with the computer but I am not good at tweeting or blogging without help from my person.  We intend to keep on tweeting and blogging but when my person starts their job we may have less time for a while as we are all getting used to our new way of life and at the beginning we might all be tired in the evenings.  So if you do not see us around for a while please do not worry we are OK and we have not forgotten you all we are just busy and will be on when we can.

We have a treat planned for this Sunday and we will blog about that but probably not until the following weekend and we are going to see Arsenal on the following Saturday so you might not see our news and pictures very much for a few days after next Saturday but we will be thinking of you all and we will be back.

When we go to the Arsenal game we will be leaving a pile of HUGS HUGS HUGS for a special friend who we don't get to see at the moment but who will be sending somebody to pick them up a few weeks later.  The stewards at the ground will keep them for them and although that friend won't see them they will know they are there and that we think about them and that they will be taking HUGS HUGS HUGS home with them.

So everybody we will be around for the next few days but then we might be a bit quiet for a while we won't have gone away just being a little bit busy and getting used to things.

HUGS HUGS HUGS to everyone and we'll see you when we can.

Not Unique

Everyone who knows me knows that this is me, Kolo Martin.  I don't know about you but I have never seen a boy who looks like me before and neither have my people. So imagine our amazement when we were walking through another town on our island last Friday and saw this.

I knew I wasn't really the only baboon like me around, they must have made more, but I did think I was probably the only one on our island. 

My person was quite emotional when she saw him, it was quite a shock.  My people were not looking for another baboon and neither was I but we did feel that we needed to find out whether he needed a home, we couldn't leave him there if he did but we tried not to get our hopes up.

The shop was closed and we rang the number in the window for several days.  Today finally the shop was open and we spoke to the lady who owns it.  She told us that he has a responsible job in the shop and she needs him there.  We were a little disappointed but we did understand.  We asked her if she would let us know if she changed her mind and she said that another lady was interested in him too but if she no longer wanted him she would let us know as she would be clearing out the shop in the next 18 months.  She did tell us he was very popular and lots of people wanted to buy him but she had said no to all of them.

Well we had to accept that and you know our friend Henry (@Henryandfriends from Twitter) would say it will happen if it is meant to be.  We will wave to him and say hello when we pass the shop and when the day comes that they close down we might be lucky but if not we will know that he will go to a home where he is really wanted, so although we are a bit sad we are happy for him he has a job he likes now and when he finishes he will go to a loving home like mine.

I learnt a few things too.  I learnt that I'm not the only baboon on the island, that feels a little but funny but also quite nice in a way and also that not all baboons are the same even if they look similar.  This baboon has responsibilities whereas I live in a place where everything is done for me and I am cuddled a lot.  I hope this baboon also gets cuddles when he gets to his new home, he looks as though he has not been handled much yet.  I learnt that sometimes you can't get what you want and you have to wait and still maybe not get it.  I also learned that my people love me so much that they were willing to go to lots of trouble to find out whether a boy like me needed help.

We are sad and a little disappointed but we understand and know that this baboon will also have a loving home one day even if it is not with us in the meantime he has a job he likes.  I am happy that we did go to some trouble to find out about him and if we ever saw another boy like me we would do the same thing again to make sure he was OK.

Scamp's big adventure

Today it was Scamps turn to go out. For those of you know don't know Scamp he is one of @Bear_Berkeley's brothers made by Snuffy Norton, but he lives with us not with us here in England.  Scamp was very excited he has met Henry before but then he was very shy.  He put on his best hockey shirt because he is Canadian (actually he always wears it) because he wanted to look good for his day out with Henry.

Scamp met Henry at the bus station after Henry had come across on the hovercraft and they took a long walk to the abbey that is in Ryde where we live.

When they got to the gates they were shy to go in as it was an abbey so they sat around for a while on the gate getting up the courage to go in.

Anyway Henry was too keep to get his chips to hang around for too long so they got in, found the tea shop and got down to the serious business of ordering and eating their lunch.

Scamp noticed that somebody was either trying to kidnap Henry or steal their chips can't have that but we did offer them some as it was a big bowl for two small bears.

Well having given half their chips away they did need some cake they chose a lemon and coconut cake which was very tasty!





They made very sure nobody tried to steal their cake chips is one thing but cake is another, they looked to see if Olly was lurking around they would have shared some with him but not just anybody.

Then they looked around the farm shop at the abbey and tried all the fruit and vegetables.  There were pears and beans that they wanted to buy for dinner.

After lunch they were too full to walk home so they got the bus.

They both had a lovely day but were very tired after all that walking, eating and travelling on the bus.

Small lion, big city!

Hello its me Leroy again taking over Kolo's blog to tell you about my adventures and give an opinion or two.  Yesterday I was luck I went to London again for the second time in two weeks.  I went close to where I went before but to a different place. I am learning more about my city now than when I lived there.  I also met some nice friends and had lunch.

As usual when you live on an island our journey started on the ferry. I couldn't believe this was the sunshine coast in the deep sount in August the sea was grey and stormy but I like it when the ferry rolls around so I wasn't complaining, its more exciting that way.

We went on the train, same journey as I did before to Waterloo although the scenery was a bit grey and misty this time not like last time.  When I got to London I went on the tube, I haven't been on the tube for ages so that was exciting.

When I got to London Bridge I noticed that the London Underground signs were big enough to sit on so of course I had to try.  My person couldn't get far enough back without falling onto the tracks so you can see clearly but I am sitting on the London Bridge station sign.

We walked round past Southwark Cathedral and Borough Market so busy and rainy we didn't get pictures and eventually we arrived at Bankside Pier.  Just a suggestion London Mayor, can you put better signposting from London Bridge Station to the Globe Theatre everything else is well signposted but if you don't know the area, like if you are a tourist not a Londoner, you might get lost. I was OK of course.

When I got there I met our lovely new Twitter anipal @Choc_the_moose (follow him pals he is nice and a very snappy dresser).  We are not the types to waste our time so we got straight down to reading the menu and deciding what we would eat.  We both decided to have pizzas.

This was my pizza, Choc's was even bigger!  Well that didn't exactly pose a problem we got through those pretty quickly and then settled down to the serious business of choosing a pudding.

I had a look at this pudding but you know frankly, and I am sure you will agree with this, it doesn't look very impressive, how would you expect that to satisfy a rapacious lion and a moose with a healthy appetite? Not really!

So we quickly moved on to more promising territory!

Now this was more like it a full size cheese cake and a banoffee pie now you are talking!  Choc and I agreed that these would be fine for us!

After our lunch we decided to have a stroll along by the Thames.  Good job @dogstoyevsky's mum Wendy was there because I have to admit we had eaten so much that we would have found walking ar a bit difficult.

Here we are in front of Southwark bridge. Thanks Wendy for helping us after our lunch.

Well we were near the Globe Theatre so we thought we should visit that, afterall Choc is from Norway so he needed to see some British culture.

Here we are outside the theatre.  We did think about going to see a play but my person thought that a whole play would be a bit beyond the concentration span of a hyperactive lion and she may have been right.  We actually preferred the idea of acting in one of the plays, Hamlet was on, but it would need a rewite to get rid of the tired old Prince of Denmark and include the Moose of Norway instead and a new part would need to be written in for a sophisticated lion about town.  Then we would consider taking the parts.

Now on the subject of rewrites of Shakespeare plays I have a suggestion to make.  Four hours watching a play, that seems a long time to me.  I was going to suggest some cutting down, getting rid of the long speeches, making things a bit more user friendly.  I thought that might be a job for Kolo, he is a bit of a writer, get rid of the image of the bard with a pointy beard, Elizabethan ruff and quill pen and replace it with a baboon in a T-shirt with a netbook, (or an iPad that would seem cooler), kind of theme.

While you are at it Kolo they need to be a lot shorter.  I think the ideal length for a spectator event is 90 minutes divided into two 45 minute halves with a break between to get a pie and a pint, a mug of tea and a doughnut or, if you attend more upmarket events at a stadium in the Highbury and Islington area, a balti lattice slice with a glass of Chablis.  A red and yellow card system would be useful for actors who try to big up their parts or fluff their lines.  I am sure you can come up with something Kolo.

Well anyway back to the day in hand.  Choc had to take his person back to the office and Wendy had to go to a meeting so we wended our weary way to Waterloo (now that is just the sort of high maintenace, over indulgent kind of writing that I want to get rid of), so my person and I got the train from Waterloo and the ferry back to the island and had an uneventful journey, now that is another thing I need to mention, an uneventful journey, no unforseen events beyond their control, no lateness or delays, no danger of missing the ferry, come on if you keep this up travellers will have nothing to complain about, then where will we be?

Acknowledgements:

Food by Pizza Express

Leroy's wardrobe by Snuffy Bearmani

Choc's wardrobe by the Norweigan Department for Tourism (an as yet unknown but clearly talented designer who has a big future in moose on the loose wear (that could be a fashion lable, Moose on the Loose Wear))

Plays by Shakespeare with suggested alterations/updating by Leroy

Weather by Grey and Damp Productions Ltd

Leroy in London

Hi there everyone remember me, Leroy, I think I have been getting more use out of Kolo's blog than he has lately. But he is planning a great entry soon so hang on in there genisuses never work quickly!

Anyway as many of you know I live on a little island off the south coast of England, but really I am a Londoner!  I need to point out here that I am not a cockney, those people are born within the sound of Bow bells, I was born within the sound of cheering at Highbury (Arsenal's old ground) and yes I am old enough to remember when they used to cheer there! So I guess that makes me an Arsenal boy.  I am from north London but any visit to London is a good thing to me and this was special cos I met a nice person.  Read on and you will see.

We started by going over to Portsmouth on the ferry so we could get the train to London.  I had my own seat on the ferry.

If I stood on tip toe I could just see out of the window.  While we were waiting for the ferry to leave we could see our town.

When we got to Portsmouth we got on the train.  I had my own seat again.

I could see out of the window from the train too and I could see another train waiting to leave like we were.

I was very excited to get going.

We went very fast past trees and then past fields.

It reminded me how lovely our countryside is this is Hampshire which is very nice we saw lots of animals in fields too, horses, cows, donkeys and even lamas!

When I got to London I met the person who I was telling you about this is Wendy, you may know her cos she is @dogstoyevsky (Lexie's) mum.  Isn't she pretty.

We went to the south bank (of the River Thames) and had lunch I had a chocolate brownie (Wendy got it for herself but well you know me I used my charm and here I am eating it! Heee heee sorry Wendy I'll buy you one of your own next time.

After lunch we walked along the river a bit.  This brought back old memories for me I looked across the river and saws some buildings that I remember well in the city of London.  If you look you can see St Paul's cathedral, new gerkin building and the London Stock Exchange building.

Oh but you can see the buildings but not me, well here is one with me in it!

The island where we live is lovely but I do miss London, who wouldn't its a lovely city and is my home town.

Eventually we had to go home.  As I couldn't get a picture of me with the London Eye (because it is so big and I am so small), I tried to take one from our train at Waterloo, there was a train in the way but you can see it above the train and you can see the Shell Building on the south bank as well.

We didn't gon on the London Eye cos it moves slowly and I'm a boy that gets impatient and likes to be quick but we had a great time in London and I hope I will be going there again soon.  Maybe even to go to see Arsenal again!

I just wanted to say thank you to Wendy for a lovely day out, it was so nice to meet you and sorry I ate your chocolate brownie, but it was very nice!

A day out in Portsmouth

Its taken me a bit of a long time to get round to doing this blog but here it is.  My person had to go to Portsmouth last week for some icky tests to try and get a job interview, that was not the makings of a good day out but that was only the morning so there was room for a day out.  I couldn't go along because people might think it was a bit odd to take a large baboon to a job interview and they might think I was doing the tests for her (she might have done better if I had), but Leroy is small enough to hide in a bag so he went along.

After the interview Leroy met up with @Henryandfriends to go out for lunch and #FlatMarley came with us.  Henry has already shown you pictures of Marley eating chips, he wasn't interested in Leroy's dinner as it was all vegetables.  After lunch they went for a trip around the Naval Dockyard at Portsmouth.

Leroy, Henry and Marley had a look at HMS Warrier which was built in 1860.  Well Leroy and Henry looked at the ship #FlatMarley was too busy posing for the camera.

Leroy and Marley decided that firing a cannon would be a good idea.  Leroy likes the idea of being a gunner but I think that is more to do with supporting Arsenal than firing cannon.  Marley was very intersted in the guns.

Marley found himself a new job in the Dockyard, he thought it would be a good place to work because the place where he had chips was so near by it would be very convenient for lunch, breakfast, afternoon tea, supper, you name it!

We did meet some interesting characters in the Dockyard, I think Marley was practicing being a police dog by jumping on this suspicious looking character.

Marley was very interested in this carving that commemorated the Battle of Trafalgar.  They knew once they saw that that they were getting near to HMS Victory.

Finally we found HMS Victory, which was Nelson's flag ship at the Battle of Trafalgar and where he died.  HMS Victory was built in 1759 so it is very old and they are always repairing it.

Imagine how surprised we were to meet Nelson, I thought he had been killed on Victory but look!!

Look at how big he is, we couldn't get all of him and all of us in the picture.  Marley is hiding and you can only see Leroy, Henry and one of Henry's andfriends heads.  Its quite spooky close up to this statue, his right eye is not painted to show that he had lost it. Ugh not a good look!

On the way home Leroy found this really old wooden lifeboat from our island.  It is called Osbourne after Queen Victoria's house on at East Cowes on the island, I think that will interest @DaneRay.  He couldn't resist having his picture taken on it.  The wood work was beautiful and the brass so shiny we really knew how to make things in those days.