Somewhere Over the Rainbow – December 2019
Freddie (the rodent fancier) here:
Many many thanks to our neighbours Giles and Antonia for sending on this stunning photograph of our new house and the lovely caption.
I just really hope that maybe there are two pots of gold ………….!!!!
Moses’ November Postbag
Goodness me, Moses was completely overwhelmed by the varied responses to his November offering:
Your new home looks really terrific you must all be so excited. Another fun and interesting post. Surrey Found-ling
Just read the latest blog. Great progress, so excited for you and the wonder of the flying things is a fountain of surprises. The house looks beautiful as also do the Christmas spirited felines. Mikal’s Mate
Mikal (on the right below) was delighted to receive a chocolate advent calendar from England.
From the Compton Couple:
What a great blog Moses, and such fantastic progress you’ve reported! Your post was spotted while we were out with a friend. A fellow cat lover, she knew about your mammoth project, so we scrolled down to show her some pics – just of cats you understand! Our scrolling was somewhat over enthusiastic and we managed to land on the sad photos of the demise of Hambledon House and for a minute our blood ran cold, more than cold – our confused old brains thought it was Hazels – what had caused the blaze, had Mr Rod set fire to the remains of his sunflower plantation too close to the house …..?
Sanity regained, with scrolling finger well under control and over a calming coffee we digested the whole thing from top to bottom. Moses, don’t tell the others but our friend thought that you are the most elegant of cats! We now ‘eagle-ly’ await the December post, the last of 2019. Good wishes to you and all your readers for Christmas and the New Year. Compton Couple (plus our ailurophile friend)
Of course, you probably won’t be surprised to hear that Moses and I could not stop Layla from ‘informing’ us that the noun ailurophile, (sometimes spelled aelurophile), comes from the Greek words for ‘cat’ and ‘lover’. And (inevitably) she could not resist adding further that the term ‘ailurophobe’ (dating from the early 20th century) means someone who dislikes or fears cats.
Last month’s competition – readers’ responses
Moses posted the photo above in November’s blog and asked for suggestions as to why these three were so engrossed. He was extremely disappointed to note that most of your submissions were completely unprintable! And the ‘best’ propositions were all along the lines of “Surely Mr Rod cannot be serious ……………..!!!!!!!!!!!!” Maybe the general standards of blog readers should to be questioned closely and such competitions are not a good idea after all.
The Greenoak Groupies sent the lovely photo below of their new oakframe house – also by Oakwrights – under construction on a more urban (but challenging) site in Esher. We know that Mr Rod and SWhoMBO are looking forward to observing the progress.
Your photographic skills clearly match your literary skills! Very impressed that those furry paws of yours can produce such amazing & detailed pictures. Even a pterodactyl to boot!!
You must be getting excited about testing out all those miles of underground heating cables, and choosing the best spot for your own sonambulistic moments ready for when it’s switched on. Not long now!!!! Guildford Girl
And who knew that laying underfloor heating was so complicated? Those Ancient Romans were amazing, weren’t they? Fantasy Flat Friend
I am so pleased to hear that the Eagle has landed safely and has kept away from the Pterdactyl…..he needs to take care!! Hope you and your friends are getting on alright….there don’t seem to be many cosy corners for you to hide…..have you asked the Boss (does she mean Mr Rod or SWhoMBO? Ed) where you are to sleep?? Good luck for the next phase…..the house looks magnificent! Puttenham Pal
We are sure that the 3 cats could work together to see off the pterodactyl. Hope our feline friends keep writing. Maidstone Miss
Very impressed by this month’s Brick in the Wall. The WWW have had no heat or shower for a week and lady of the house has resorted to extreme methods to escape. But the kitchen is looking stunning as is the bathroom! Very exciting. West Wickham Wanderers
In late December, we sent our roving reporter (SWhoMBO) to check on progress in West Wickham. She was most impressed by what has occurred so far:
External
Monday 2 December was a very important milestone in the story of the Hazels new oak frame house build project. This was the day the concrete screed was to be poured onto the ground floor, over the underfloor heating coils. Mr Edge was very relieved that the first lorry trundled up the driveway bright and early.
Internal
Curiosity Corner
The Alps are Calling
You know that it must be December and nearly Christmas when Mr Rod starts to pack for his first skiing trip of the season (this year to Val D’Isere). I would really love to go with him sometime as I am sure could take my hunting abilities to new heights.
The Pink ‘Bath’
Readers with long memories and an acute appreciation of good taste will undoubtedly recall the delightful pink ‘bath’ that appeared at Hazels whilst the groundworks were underway.
Moses, Layla and I were so looking forward to the day when this glorious item of high fashion would be in pride of place in the master bathroom. We could picture Mr Rod and SWhoMBO luxuriating among the bubbles with glass of wine in hand (surely supplied by the Young Master), whilst gazing up the north field and discussing the events of the day. (Well, maybe not, I think it best that we draw a veil here – Ed.)
On behalf of Mr Rod, we kept a most watchful eye on this artefact as we did not want anyone to take it for their own enjoyment.
Then, disaster – sometime between the 2nd and 7th December, the ‘bath’ just disappeared! Where could it be?
We quickly checked everywhere and wondered if it had already been lovingly placed in its final resting place. But, no!
What to do? We were disconsolate. How would Mr Rod and SWhoMBO be able to unwind at the end of a hectic day with the sunflowers?
We were just idly wandering around the site when we spotted it …………………..
How could they? Ah well, back to the drawing board for another bath proposal.
Christmas
This year the Ekman (Finn Swede) family from Malax, Finland came to stay with the Edge family for Christmas week. They stayed in Hazels barn whilst Mr Rod and SWhoMBO became the Young Master’s lodgers. The latter was most concerned about how this would work out (completely forgetting that he had ‘lodged’ with his parents for more than twenty years without too many mishaps). Fortunately, they did not disgrace themselves too much, other than Mr Rod insisting on cooking the whole salmon in the dishwasher on Christmas Day but then that is another story entirely.
The humans tried to make sure that the family had as many English Christmas experiences as possible. These included: nativity play with a large cast of actors and farmyard animals on the 400-hectare Wintershall estate; visits to Hamleys and Natural History Museum; afternoon tea at Four Seasons Hotel, Trinity Square; bus trip along Oxford & Regent Streets, Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square and the Strand to see the Christmas lights; pub lunch followed by crib service at Hambledon Church on Christmas Eve; Christmas stockings – complete with sugar mice, chocolate coins and brussel sprouts, opened on 25th (rather than on 24th); turkey with all the trimmings, Christmas pudding with silver charms, and crackers on Boxing Day; tour of Vansittart Mansion and Windsor Castle; Elena’s 21st birthday supper; and obligatory after Christmas production (‘School of Rock’). It is hardly surprising the family returned to Ostrobothnia for a rest!
The felines demonstrated that a change of live-in companions makes no difference to our regular nocturnal mousing activities and demands for additional sustenance when we think we can get away with it. We were most impressed with how Björn, in particular, dealt with all our various offerings.
It just leaves me to say that everyone at Hazels (felines and humans alike) looks forward to bringing you up to date with our building project in 2020 and ……………………………………..
Another Brick in the Wall 