Author: Tom

(Tom’s still away on his bike ride. This is Ruffy keeping you up to date.)

The weather is definitely autumnal.

I’m worried about Tom. Can he get a hot drink? Is his tent waterproof?

I was just cooking myself a warming meal, when the phone rang.

It was the bear himself!

beep beep beep beep beep beep beep

Oh bother.

Oh dear, there were so many things I meant to ask him!

And so much advice I meant to give him!

I hope he phones again soon.

He sounded all right.

But has he got enough to eat? And what will he do if it rains? And will he manage to find the Welsh bits of seaside?

If he’d taken his mobile with him, then I could have phoned him.

But he was right, it’s not a very mobile mobile.

And I guess he’s enjoying travelling light. Fairly light.

It was good to hear his voice.

A parcel has come in the post.

A pot of clotted cream. Someone’s forgotten that I don’t eat animal products.

No, I’m wrong. It’s the vegan option – mashed potatoes. Lovely!

There’s no message, but it must be from Tom.

I don’t know of anyone else who could have sent it.

I think it confirms our theory that he’s in the West Country at the moment.

If he wanted seaside, he’s certainly gone to the right place.

I’d better ring and tell Ruffy.

I’d better think about what I’m going to say, while I practise my bugle.

It’s all thanks to the NHS that I can play it at all.

A Cornish tune today, I think.

Nice to think that Tom’s actually got to Cornwall.

I’ve been totally immersing myself in French culture, and French baking.

As a result, Lopsy and I have been eating rather too many croissants and other patisserie.

My trousers are getting tight, and Lopsy has hardly got room for a hot-water-bottle any more.

We’ve decided to have a month of living healthily, starting now.

While we were enjoying our muesli suisse and jus d’orange this morning, a postcard arrived.

Oh dear. We definitely do need to get fitter and healthier.

Sad. I’d finally mastered the art of croissant-making.

I happened to be in Tom’s part of town this morning, when someone called out to me in the street.

(There aren’t many very small pink bears around here, so I thought it was a safe guess.)

I decided to go down to the river myself, for a swim.

I saw a rhubarb-leaf raft go by, but I couldn’t see if Strawberry was aboard.

She is very small.

It was a good swim.

Of course nothing like swimming in the sea, with waves and sand and seashells, and the far blue horizon.

I think I must get myself a bike.

We had a Book Club meeting last night, on Zoom.

I wanted to get an early night, ready for my expedition.

But I missed the last meeting because of being asleep, so I thought I should attend this one.

I didn’t have time to tidy up, so for my background I chose a place I don’t usually sit, and wore one of my Puffin Club badges.

There’s nuffin, nuffin, nuffin like a puffin, nuffin like a puffin book to read (yes indeed).

Ah, the good old days, when you could buy fine literature for half a crown.

Or even two shillings, if it didn’t have very many chapters.

The topic for the meeting was Pancakes.

Teddy read us a story about a pancake machine.

I wonder if I could build one?

It seems to be made from things that one has around the house.

Walrus read to us from his book of Russian fairy tales.

It was a bit too exciting for me, but it had a happy ending, with everyone eating pancakes together.

Except the witch.

Perhaps that’s why she behaves so badly, because she’s not invited to join in the friendly gatherings.

Teddy asked if our next meeting could be about French books, or books set in France, to help with his immersion in French culture.

Everyone liked that idea.

Gibbs recommended The Red Balloon, but I think that’s much too sad.

He and Ellie went to Paris a few years ago, to visit all the places in the book.

That set Didcot off about a holiday he’d had in the Marne, and he recommended The Greengage Summer.

What with pancakes, and everyone’s reminiscences about French holidays, the meeting went on rather late.

I’m sleepy this morning.

I hope I haven’t left anything off my packing list.

Ruffy said I must take my telephone, so as to be able to ring my friends often, and reassure them that I’m all right.

But it’s rather big and heavy.

I think I’ll leave it behind.

I’m sure to be able to find a phone box.

I said goodbye to the people who were at the Zoom meeting, and I can ring all my other friends before I set off.

I might leave the barometer behind too, though it’s a handy thing to have at the seaside.

Now, let’s think about this list.

Oh dear, my handwriting isn’t getting any better.

I can barely read some of this.

Of course I won’t be able to blog while I’m away, but I have a portable little book which I shall use as a journal. Also to write my Welsh vocabulary in.

(Better remember to take a pencil. And a pencil sharpener. And maybe a rubber.)

I used to have some dear friends called Great Stuffed Doll and Rubber Doll.

Gone long ago, I’m afraid.

But a relation of theirs got in touch the other day, and sent me this very useful book, just the size to take on holiday.

She also sent an interesting book about My Fundamental Rights in the European Union.

I don’t think that can have belonged to Rubber Doll or Great Stuffed Doll, so I’m puzzled as to where it came from.

It’s all in French. I’ll ask Teddy to read it to me some time.

Oops, that’s the phone.

(I don’t have a dressing gown.)

It probably is a good idea to relax a little before setting off.

I didn’t quite finish my packing.

I should have hurried across rather sooner.

Ted and Lopsy had been waiting for a while when I got there.

They had everything laid out ready.

They’d set my place at the far end of the tablecloth.

I hope that was distant enough.

Teddy had baked some croissants.

I asked how he’d made them.

Lopsy said she couldn’t bear to watch. She has a rolling-pin phobia.

She had brought a hot-water-bottle full of cocoa for our picnic.

She has a special talent for keeping hot drinks warm.

I wonder if Reindeer has tried that? He has some of the same characteristics as Lopsy.

Cocoa is what French people drink for breakfast. They drink it out of bowls.

That’s quite tricky, with a big bowl. I had to lap mine.

It’s also good to dunk a croissant in the cocoa.

Teddy said I mustn’t call it cocoa. In French it’s called Shocko Larsho. Very tasty.

I believe it was the best breakfast I’ve ever had.

I put aside all thoughts of my packing, and my plans for an early departure, and enjoyed the moment.

What could be better than to spend time in the park chatting with good friends over croissants and shocko larsho, even if it does mean I have to change my plans a little?

We discussed the Book Club.

Teddy’s very pleased about French books being the next topic.

I told him about the French book from Rubber Doll and Great Stuffed Doll’s friend, and he’s keen to borrow it, even though we don’t have fundamental rights in the European Union any more.

Lopsy told me about the delicious casseroles that Teddy has been cooking.

I think they’re the same as stew, but Ted puts a lot of wine into them.

I enjoyed our cultured conversation.

We met someone at the park who was just setting off on a Health Walk.

I shall think of my expedition as a Health Bicycle Ride. I’ve been rather short of fresh air and exercise lately.

Ted and Lopsy are going down to town later for a Black Lives Matter demo.

I wonder if I’ve been using the Lockdown as a bit of an excuse for not doing very much at all?

Oh well, I’ll just have to come back energised by the sea air, and throw myself into the issues of the day.

There are quite a lot of them.

Very kind of Teddy and Lopsy to organise such a nice occasion.

They urged me to take a croissant for my journey.

I won’t take any drink with me, because I don’t have any way of carrying a hot-water-bottle.

As long as I have my Sierra Club cup, I’ll be able to find water wherever I go.

I’ll leave it out when I go to sleep, and it can be filled overnight with soft refreshing rain.

It’s useful for cooking too.

My bicycle panniers are nearly full. Perhaps it won’t be possible to fit all of this in.

I won’t take my strategy suit. I’m not likely to need a jelly pocket on holiday.

And one t-shirt is probably enough.

I’m taking only the healthiest food.

Condensed milk does have all the goodness of fresh milk, only more so, but the tin makes it very heavy.

I’ll have a spoonful or two of it just before I set off, and leave the rest behind.

I’ll pop my face-mask in one of the panniers for easy access.

I’ll just wear it when I’m going through towns or villages.

I can tie the sleeping bag on the top, with my bucket and spade.

I’ve got my helmet, and my hi-vis jacket.

There isn’t really time now to telephone all my friends.

I’ll send everyone postcards while I’m away.

Keep watching your letter-box!

I got to all my friends’ houses and dropped off the Welsh Cakes I’d made.

I didn’t knock, because I’m unsocially distancing.

But Lopsy and Ted waved through their window.

And Ruffy came out onto his doorstep.

I hope that’s not against the rules.

He said he and Points and Funky went to an event organised by Extinction Rebellion.

There were gravestones for species that have died out recently, or that are very close to dying out.

Oh dear oh dear.

Ruffy and Points made a gravestone for the horned dung beetle, which became extinct in this country in 1974.

Ruffy says that dung beetles were very useful creatures, who improved the soil and protected other animals from parasites.

And anyway they were peaceful creatures, who were quietly living their lives until we started poisoning them and wrecking their habitats.

I couldn’t find a beetle badge, so I’ll wear a butterfly one today.

I don’t know what species it is, but I’m sure it needs to be carefully guarded.

If I ever have a garden or an allotment of my own, I shall fill it with beautiful weeds to make it hospitable to insects.

As I arrived home, Strawberry was just wheeling a courgette to my front door.

She’s very generous with her produce.

I shall have a nice courgette supper.

It’s quite a big courgette. I’ll probably have a nice courgette breakfast tomorrow as well.

I’m definitely getting better at the cycling.

I hardly fell off at all.

As soon as I got home, I washed my paws very thoroughly, and then I got out the bagpipes.

It’s true that they’re not very easy to play.

But if I wear a kilt it will help me to get in the spirit.

I thought this was Mackay tartan, but it’s not. It’s Wilson Number One.

But I think I really belong to the MacMathan clan, because they’re Sons of the Bear.

Now I’ll work a little on Scotland the Brave.

I’m very glad that I’m going to be a bagpiper.

The triangle often gets overlooked, but no one can ignore bagpipes.

Practice makes perfect. I hope.

There where the hills are sleeping,
Now feel the blood a-leaping,
High as the spirits
Of the old Highland bears.

Now that my spirits are so high, I think it’s time I started to plan a serious bicycle expedition.

I’d better hurry, because summer may end at any minute.

Where do I want to go? Mountains? Forests? Seaside?

Because Teddy’s learning French, he’s immersing himself in French culture..

Since I’m learning Welsh, I could ride to the Welsh mountains and immerse myself in a Welsh lake.

But I don’t think I’m quite ready for cycling up mountains yet.

And in a forest, there’d be the danger of getting lost.

Anyway, there aren’t many forests left. That’s part of the extinction problem.

A good thing about going to the seaside is that as I live on an island, I won’t need a map.

I can just keep on riding and whatever direction I go in, I’ll definitely get to the sea.

Besides, it’s years since I’ve had a seaside holiday.

Of course, I’d keep well away from other people.

I’d take a mask, and some hand gel.

But is it irresponsible to travel while the virus is still around?

And what about my duties at home?

I can phone my friends, and send them postcards, so they won’t feel neglected. Memorandum to self: take postage stamps.

I’ll get ahead. I’ll practise my triangle now.

I’ll play for twice as long as usual, and aim to be twice as silvery.

While I’m away, I can play both instruments in my head, like Bimbo when he was in hospital, so as not to let my technique backslide.

I really should be trying out my key on lockable or windable things.

I’ll have to rack my brains while I’m cycling, and come home with lots of new ideas for things to try the key on.

And I’ll write out some Welsh vocabulary to learn while I’m on the road.

Dw i’n mynd i ddysgu geiriau yn Gymraeg.

When I come back, I’ll be reinvigorated.

Perhaps I’ll even start volunteering to make masks, as Teddy suggested.

But first, the last ride of summer.

I wonder where my swimming trunks are?

Look what’s arrived – bagpipes!

Who can they be from? Let’s have a look at the letter.

“I wondered how you would feel about trying a new instrument.”

I think I feel very positive about it.

“I’ve heard that bagpipes can be quite tricky.”

Probably true, but where there’s a will, there’s a way.

“Love from your neighbours”

Of course – they’ve just been to Scotland. How very nice of them to bring me back a set of bagpipes.

“P.S. Please remember to wash your hands after reading”

Good point. I’ll do that now before I start playing.

Actually, perhaps I’d better leave the bagpipes till later, so the viruses can fade away.

Meanwhile I’ll make another set of Welsh Cakes, and this time I won’t burn them.

Here’s the recipe, in case you want to make them.

Then I’ll set off on my practice bicycle ride, and drop a Welsh Cake off at each of my friends’ houses.

RRRING RRRING

Oh, there’s the phone. I wonder who that is?

I wonder what Bimbo did, to get sent to a reform school?

But of course, pachyderms do get picked on. He may just have been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Bimbo didn’t sound very excited about my bagpipes.

Perhaps I wasn’t sufficiently enthusiastic about his first go at his bugle after all this time.

I’d better drop off his Welsh Cake first of all.

I’ll have a look at those Welsh Cakes.

I think they’ve come out quite well.

Hardly burnt at all. I’ll put the burnt side underneath.

I’m going to wrap them in greaseproof paper.

I must take one to little Strawberry, she’s been so helpful.

And some for the neighbours, who brought me my bagpipes.

Two for Reindeer and Madame Cholet. Even better than giving them a bean.

Two for Ted and Lopsy.

One for Points, one for Bimbo.

I wonder if I dare give one to Dillion?

Being Welsh, he’ll know if I haven’t got them right.

But they are quite tasty (I just tried one of them). I will take him one.

I think they’ll all fit into my bicycle panniers.

Mustn’t forget the hand gel, for before and after every letter-box.

Some of my friends live too far off for today’s bicycle ride.

But if this expedition goes well, perhaps I’ll be more ambitious another time.

I could go anywhere!

Dw i wedi gyneud pice bach Cymreig.

I believe that’s Welsh for “I did make some Welsh Cakes”.

But while I was making them, I couldn’t stop thinking about the key that I found.

I really need to work out what it’s meant to wind up.

So while the Welsh Cakes were frying, I went to investigate.

I had an idea that it just might be the key for winding up a very clever Chinese elephant that I know.

She can ride a tricycle while spinning a ball on the end of her trunk.

I don’t think even Bimbo can do that.

Anyway, it turns out she doesn’t need my key, and it wouldn’t have fitted anyway.

I hope she doesn’t ride on the roads, because she doesn’t look where she’s going at all.

When I came back, my Welsh Cakes were burnt.

I tried to think of them as toasted, or caramelised, but they really weren’t very nice.

I’ll try again soon, and next time I’ll concentrate just on the Welsh Cakes.

I’ll watch the pan constantly.

I’ve finally picked my beans.

I asked Madame Cholet and Reindeer whether they’d like to have one of them.

So I cooked both the beans for myself.

I’ve chosen a Transformers badge to celebrate the amazing transformation from one little seed to a tasty bean breakfast.

A lot better than burnt Welsh Cakes.

Robinsbear has also been growing beans.

He had a problem with blackfly, but he did get a nice bean or two to eat.

Actually, I think only one. But it was a fat one.

My friend Chippy in Kuala Lumpur has sent some pictures of the banana tree he’s been growing.

This was what it looked like two months ago:

And now I think it’s nearly big enough to have bananas on it.

It grows even faster than my beanstalk.

Nice to see Chippy again – he looks just the same as when I last saw him.

While I was in the cupboard, he went over to Malaysia, to do some research into extracellular matrix proteins.

Little Strawberry from up the road has also started growing things to eat.

She’s brought me a nice selection – carrots, potatoes, and brussels sprouts.

She says that sprouts are really nicer after we’ve had the first frost, but by then they’ll be gigantic cabbages, so she very sensibly harvests them early.

She also said she’d brought me two “zucchini”.

I had no idea what she was talking about.

Then I saw that they’re just courgettes.

Strawberry calls them “zucchini” because she spent her gap year in America, and picked up some of their vocabulary.

I remember seeing my first courgette when I was a young bear.

It seemed very exotic.

Before that, we’d only had marrows, which really aren’t practical for someone of my size.

Strawberry says that one of her zucchini grew much too big to eat, so she made it into a canoe.

She discussed it with Bunce’s uncle, who’s a canoe-building expert.

Then she went on a voyage down the river.

She’s an intrepid little bear.

I’ve been putting off having another adventure myself, because the weather hasn’t been very lovely.

But if Strawberry can go out boating in the damp, I should be able to manage cycling.

I have a waterproof cape, after all.

I’ll plan my next expedition.

Just for a bit more practice, I thought I might cycle round to some of my friends’ houses.

I’ll post a Welsh cake through each of their letter-boxes (a new one, not one of the burnt ones).

I think they’ll like that.

Of course I’ll sanitise the letter-boxes before I touch them.

I wonder if I should spray the Welsh Cakes too?

My bean!

I’ve been neglecting my bean plant.

Oh dear, some of the leaves have gone a bit funny.

They probably want more water.

But look, there’s a real bean growing. Two beans. They look delicious.

I must tell Reindeer and Madame Cholet.

It was them that gave me the big flower pot.

I don’t think the plant would have thrived if I’d kept it in the small pot that I started it in long ago.

It was just a tiny seed in those days.

Nature is amazing. Green in leaf and tendril, apart from a few brown patches.

I’ll let the beans grow a bit bigger before I harvest them.

But what I’ve decided to do today, is to make myself some lycra cycling shorts.

I’m actually using a lycra substitute, but I believe they’ll make me look slim and sporty.

I’ve got out my sewing machine.

I think I remember how to thread it.

It seems to be jammed.

I wonder if Teddy would have any advice. He’s good at practical things.

Perhaps I should choose a language that comes with good food and entertainment.

I like pancakes (I did eat all of those pancakes that I made the other day).

Russian pancakes are delicious, and I’d like to drink black tea from a samovar.

I have a lot of Russian friends that I could talk to.

I could learn to play the balalaika, and dance the hopak.

On the other hand, I don’t have a balalaika, and my knees aren’t very bendy, and I don’t like vodka.

Also I’d have to learn a whole new alphabet.

Even the letters that look familiar turn out to make different sounds.

So perhaps not Russian, after all.

Let’s have a look at that App again.

What about Welsh?

Ellie’s friend Dillion is a Welsh dragon.

He speaks excellent English, but I’m sure he’d like to have a chat in his native tongue.

You can tell he’s homesick for Wales sometimes.

I like leeks too, and Welsh Cakes, and Welsh Rabbit.

I could sing Welsh songs, and maybe even save up for a harp.

I will. I’ll learn Welsh. Dw i’n mynd i ddysgu Cymraeg.

I’m glad to have settled that question.

Now to oil the sewing machine

and make my cycling shorts.

Nearly done. I only have to hem up the bottoms of the legs.

I’ll look good in these.

Oh dear, the sewing machine has made them a bit too slim and sporty.

I can’t get into them at all.

Perhaps I ate too many pancakes.

I suppose there’s not much wrong with my grey shorts.

Probably more comfortable than lycra.

I’ll make myself some Welsh Cakes now, to get into practice for my Welsh lessons.

They’ll be healthier than pancakes because they’re full of fruit.

One of my five a day.

I’m still quite well.

My temperature is normal, and I haven’t got a cough.

I haven’t had anything to eat yet, so I don’t know about my sense of taste and smell.

But so far, it looks as though I didn’t meet the Virus when I was out on my bike ride.

It’s definitely breakfast time now.

RRRRING RRRRING RRRRING

Oh, that’s the phone.

I’ll try out my new triangle beater now.

I think after my little break, my tone is rather improved.

But talking to Bimbo reminded me that I haven’t spoken to my cousin Peter for a long time, or thanked him for the nice postcard he sent me.

I’d better phone him.

That doesn’t sound very likely to me.

But it’s a nice idea, and I expect the thought of it is cheering Peter up.

It’s true.

I hadn’t guessed at Peter’s Tempest Shadow side.

So it must have been Jenny who saw me out on my bicycle.

So I did that, ready to lend it to people.

Oh bother, I never asked Jenny about the topic for the next Book Club meeting.

I’d better ring Ellie.

Some might think that my eyes are bigger than my stomach.

But as a matter of fact, I believe I could eat 16.9 pancakes, because I’m so hungry.