Kolo's Island

As you all know I live on an island off the south coast of England its not really called Kolo's Island its called the Isle of Wight. Many of you have asked me to show you pictures so here goes. These are not in any particular order but they are some of our favourite places. I hope you enjoy the pictures some of you may recognise some of the places that Lippe visited.




This is Ventnor it is a resort on the south coast of the island and is said to have the best weather in Britain. It is quite continental in appearance.






This is the longstone, it is very historic and I don't think we really know just how old it is, but it is very spiritual when you go there.

This is St Catherine's lighthouse on the southern tip of the island it is very beautiful .

Oh now how many of you have seen one of these? Most of England and the US have grey squirrels but our island is one of the few places that still has red ones. They are very secretive and you are very lucky if you see one of them.

This is the steam railway that I have been on with HenryandFriends and MrsFiddlesticks and Tim_Kirby it was fun.

Price Albert built Osbourne House for Queen Victoria as a country/seaside home. After he died she came and lived there for the rest of her life.

This is Newtown town hall, isn't it tiny, it is Georgian and it is not in use any more but it is a beautiful building in a beautiful village.

This is Newport the capital of the island. It is mainly Georgian with some Victorian buildings.

The Needles are a very famous landmark on the island they used to be joined to the island and some people believe they were joined to the mainland at Old Harry Rocks near Bournemouth.

The landslip is exciting there used to be lots of smuggling of brandy and tobacco there. The land slipped away in the 18th century and its a very beautiful place and quite exciting with unusual plants.

This is the best way to get to the island on the hovercraft it is the only passenger hovercraft in the world now and hovercraft are built on the island for the Canadian coast guard and Singapore police.

Godshill is very historic with a lovely little church on top of the hill. They say the people were building the church at the bottom of the hill but the stones kept being moved up the hill during the night, so they believed that god wanted the church on top of the hill and they built it there, that is why it is called Godshill.

Freshwater is very beautiful, the poet Tennyson lived there for a few years, his house is still there it is a hotel now. He used to walk on the downs there and he said "the air on the downs is worth a penny a pint".

Cowes is famous for Cowes Week yaht races, this is the Royal Yaht Squadron where the races are started using these cannon.

Carrisbrook Castle is fun if you like climbing onto the ramparts and looking over the island. King Charles I was imprisoned there before he was taken to Whitehall in London to be executed.

This is Bembridge Mill it is no longer used and you can visit in and go inside. It is in a field in a lovely part of the island.

Anipal Photo Hunt #2: Pawtraits

Well as you can all see I don't have paws, cos I'm a primate, I have hands. Now look at that hand!

My people say I have big slappy hands, what don't they get? I'm a baboon what do they think I should have paws, hooves, trotters!! All your paws are beautiful and elegant but I would look strange with paws instead of hands so here I am loud and proud!

And look I can hold a mug with my hands so they have their uses!

If you are a baboon long live big slappy hands!!

New Football Kits for the new Permier League Season

Well its a new football season and we have been very lucky in our household we have all got new football kits for our team.

Mine is an update of my old one which was 5 years old, its easier for me to have football kits cos I can wear clothes designed for a 3 year old.

Leroy got his first ever proper Arsenal shirt from Build-a-Bear it is much too big and needs lots of pins but he is thrilled because he had a knitted one before with no badges, see how proudly he is displaying the Arsenal badge.

Even the official Arsenal support the Gunnersarus had his shirt updated from the old faded one he used to wear. You can see how great he looks. His shirt came from the Arsenal shop like mine.

We are all looking forward to the games now that we all have the right kit to wear. Hope we get to go the ground soon but we will happy watching in television or listening on the radio in our new kits. There are enough of us to feel as though we are at the ground with all the other supporters in their shirts.

You lookin at me!!

I'm joining in the you lookin at me photo hunt (if I can master the technicalities with my baboon brain)!


People have been looking at me this week cos I went out on the steam railway with some pals and I did get looked at not always for the right reasons.




You lookin' at me buddy cos I'm sure lookin' at you on that station platform!!

You lookin' at me sitting in this luggage rack pal, I'm a baboon I climb, its my job!

Yeah right y're lookin' at me driving away this train, keep on lookin,!!

That was fun being a baaaaad baboon! Keep right on lookin'!

World Cup on Twitter

Well all of you who know me at all know I love football and I know that not all of my friends do but this post is for all anipals whether or not they like football. Obviously I'm an England fan I am an English baboon so of course I get behind them in a big way with my England shirt, England world cup pizzas etc etc etc. In previous world cups I have only been interested in England, I didn't care about the other teams as long as they didn't beat England and I didn't give any thought to their fans. When England were eliminated which they always are I would support any team that had Arsenal players in. I was a thoughtless baboon.

Well I'm still a baboon that is fine, but I think I'm not so thoughtless anymore. Meeting friends from lots of countries on Twitter has made me be concerned for how they feel as well. My friend Mookie is obviously a major fan of his country Germany, that makes a big change for me, well actually for any England fan. Germany are the old footballing rival for England we have footballing history between us and both countries have suffered from the other in footballing ways. Usually England are the ones left crying after a match between them, especially in major tournaments, but it has gone the other way sometimes. If Germany ever lost a match England fans would be pleased and relieved. This time, when that happened I was so concerned for my dear friend. If/when Germany knock England out I will back them even though they don't have a single Arsenal player.

Then there are my US friends. Its been wonderful to see pals like MarshallSheldon and Gunner (Tweeypie54) getting more and more into football and enjoying the success of the USA. I think Gunner already had a good knowledge of football, having a name like Gunner I said 'you should support Arsenal their nickname is the Gunners' so the interest was already there. For MarshallSheldon it has been a major learning curve, oh dear he thought football was a game where people were padded up and ran holding the ball, when I explained it wasn't he thought it was played with sticks and the teams scored wickets, oh dear Mookie and I had a major problem trying to explain to him and Happpiii what football was. We still think that some of our US pals are a little confused they think it is called soccer but the progress has been amazing!! (Just joking US pals).

The there is the role Twitter has played itself, if you type #worldcup you get a little football and if you type #Eng you get an England flag, etc I haven't managed to work out the letters you need for some of the countries but its good fun and very colourful.

So my reason for writing this was to thank all my pals for being my pals and making things so much more fun including the world cup.

MarleyTerrier asked me some questions

My friend @marleyterrier asked me some questions its because one of his friends asked him questions and then he had to answer them and then asked some different questions of some other people so now I got to do that. Marley did it really professional like with lots of pictures and stuff, I will do my best to do a good job.


1. Wot is the favourite fing wot your pawsons and hoomans duz for you?

Well my pawsons do quite a lot of good things for me, they say they do so they must do! There is the pizza and the football and sky TV and nice clothes that I got you can see my longhorns T-shirt here from Texas, I like that. Which are very nice but I think the main nicest thing they do for me is more about having lots of friends here for me to play with at home, you can see my pal Arty the armadillo from the Alamo here, and also helping me to tweet so I can have lots of friends in the world as well. I was always a happy baboon with my pawsons and my friends here at home but now I have lots of friends all over the world my life is much more interesting and my pawsons help me with that.

2. Iz time for noms, wot you eatin?

I expect you think I will answer bananas to that one, well of course I love bananas they are real baboon food but I like them done in different ways, banana bread, banana sandwich, banana fritter, banana cocktails but you know my favourite food is pizza. Now my pawsons don't understand that a pizza with banana on would be perfect so I don't have banana pizza but I have red and white toppings to represent my football teams Arsenal and England so that is pawesome!


3. Duz you ave an embarassin abits?




Embarassin abits well nothing that embarasses me! Before anyone jumps to the wrong conclusion I don't do what some baboons do to eachothers' bottoms and I don't have that kind of bottom anyway cos I'm a stuffed baboon. I don't think I have any embarassing habits actually although some Chelsea fans were embarassed to be seen with me once but that was because I was wearing an Arsenal shirt so I don't think that counts do you?


4. Wot is your favourite animal fillum?

Oh here is a tricky one animal film well I love all animal films, favourite, ummmm don't know about that I get sick of seeing chimps in films chimps are very nice and I've got nice chimp friends but you know everyone makes such a fuss of chimps and baboons are just as good really, so I think when the make a film with baboons that will be my favourite animal film.


5. If you comin to a pawty at my ouse, wot you bringin wiv you?

Well although I miss most of the pawties on Twitter I am a pawty animal so I would bring lots of things, pizza, dog beer, baboon beer all anipal beers, bacon beer for our friends (although I'm a vegetarian so I don't have that) and lots of noms but most importantly I would bring ear plugs for the neighbours cos we anipals know how to pawty and we don't want them complaining to the police about us making a noise.

Oh so now I have to think of five pals to pass this on to and ask them 5 questions ummm now who?

@OllyTed
@SpencerTeddy
@Pasikas
@SydPie
@SidTheCatahoula




Here are your questions:




1. If you could visit any country in the world where would it be?
2. What thing really makes you smile?
3. If you were Prime Minister for one day what law would you introduce?
4. When you are not on Twitter what is your favourite game to play?
5. What do you do to make your human or anipals happy?

Looking forward to your answers. HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS!

How to make a World Cup pizza

Lots of people have asked me about my pizza recipe so I decided to share it with you via my blog. I made a pizza last night in England colours for the world cup but you might decide to make it with different toppings and you may not call it a world cup pizza you don't have to.

First get your ingredients ready, these quantities are enough for two people you might want to make more or less:

225 grams/ 8oz plain flour

1 sachet of quick yeast

A shake of salt (however much you like)

25 ml/1 fluid oz olive oil

145 ml/6 fluid oz warm water

pepper

red pesto or tomato paste

mozzarella cheese or other cheese if you prefer

cherry tomatoes or a tomato cut into chunks

Little jarred peppers or other toppings to your taste.

Measure out your ingredients

Mix the flour, yeast and water and a little salt in a mixing bowl, add the oil and water and mix together into a firm dough using a large spoon.

Now here is the really fun bit, kneed the dough by hand for 4 or 5 minutes, you can squeeze it, slap it around, do whatever you like with it. Don't over work it though or it gets tough, however much fun it is leave off after 4 to 5 minutes.

Divide the dough up into however many pizzas you are making and start to flatten it out, when its a bit flat but not to flat to pick up (like mine here) spread a little olive oil on flat baking trays to preven the pizza from sticking and then put the dough sections onto them. Then spread it out with your hands until it is thin enough to form a pizza base. You do not need a round tray you can make the base round in any tray or you might like to try other exciting shapes.

Make the pizza a little larger and thinner than you want it as it will rise and be a little smaller and thicker than you make it on the tray. Leave the pizza bases to stand for approximately 1 hour, if it is warm you can leave them out in the kitchen, otherwise a very low heated oven can be used by not hot enough to cook it. If you have an airing cupboard that is ideal. Heat up the oven ready for cooking, gas mark
7, electricity 220 degrees Celsius, 425 Fahrenheit, slightly cooler if you have a fan oven.

While the pizza bases are resting you can prepare your topping, you can have whatever topping is your favourite, I use sundried tomato pesto as a sauce but you may prefer a tomato sauce it is up to you. My topping is usually mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, I like the little cherry tomatoes and those nice spicey red peppers you get in a jar but you will make your own choices. You can't see my mozzarella on the white plate but it is there.

Spread the pesto or tomato sauce thinly on the base and add the toppings. You can always make an image such as a flag of St George if you are an England football fan, good luck if you want to do the whole stars and stripes that sounds challenging and I don't know what you would use for the blue bits but I'll leave that up to you.

Once your pizza looks as you want it to it is ready for the oven. Cook for 14 minutes turing the pizzas half way through to ensure they are evenly cooked.

When it is cooked serve on a warm plate, you can slice it and share or do inidvidual ones or each of you. You may want a side salad or your human may want a glass or wine or beer. Enjoy!