March 2020 – A Month Like No Other

March 2020 – A Month Like No Other

 

Hello, it’s Freddie here.

As you can see from the photos above, the first day of March started so promisingly after all the terrible weather of January and February. Usually, at the end of each month, my brother or sister or I would tell you about the last four weeks’ progress on the Hazels new build project. However, with the unrelenting onslaught of Covid-19, March 2020 could not be described as a ‘usual’ month for anyone.

Therefore, in recognition of all this and after much wise counsel from the Young Master, Mr Rod and SWhoMBO considered it was inappropriate at this moment to publish details of the recent happenings at Hazels (although I can report that there has been some progress) and instead we should save this photographic narrative for less uncertain times.

However, Maidstone Mister was also most persuasive in his argument that some light relief is welcome and, indeed, necessary on these occasions. So, with grateful thanks to him, I am including here below just a few observations and some pictures of amusing items received in recent days.

Huh, Moses and Layla say that this is my infamous chicken impression, but I do not know what they mean!

 

 

 

From the Postbag

We are so impressed with how creative people can be in difficult times. This exciting little package arrived at the end of last week. As you will all know (particularly as he never seems to stop going on and on about them), Mr Rod is rather fond of sunflowers.  Thanks very much to Canterbury Belle and we will keep everyone posted on progress.

Our very good friend Truffle the Old English Sheepdog (staff members = the Storrington Stargazers) was asked to be a poster girl for Crufts this year. And if that was not exciting enough, we were thrilled to receive this lovely photo of her interviewing an up and coming TV personality (we think!) in front of her very own picture. With her cropped hair, doesn’t she look absolutely gorgeous (Truffle, that is)?

Our feline friendships extend far and wide. However, this one with Minty only just creeps over the border into West Sussex. As you can see, she is very quick to catch on.

Mikal’s Mate in Helsinki never lets us down, ALWAYS having something amusing to contribute.

The Greenoak Groupies (who are also building an oak framed house in north Surrey) might be self-isolating on the south coast but their oak beams have come up a treat with their ‘acid’ cleaning. Mr Rod and SWhoMBO look forward to the same effect on their own timbers. (Layla says that does not sound quite right, but I am leaving it as it is!)

Blue Container

Like me, Layla was convinced that the infamous blue container would not be re-opened until the time came to move into the new house.

Many of you will remember that some months ago the Young Master berated his progenitors for ‘storing’ so much stuff, a large percentage of which he predicted they would no longer ‘love’ in future years. Whilst they heeded his words to a limited extent, we know that, much to his annoyance, they still kept a large number of the boxes.

Understandably, Layla was appalled at the beginning of March to discover that Mr Rod and SWhoMBO were again secretly sneaking into the container (when they thought we cats were sleeping) and sorting through many of the packages. And, surprise! surprise! there were many cries of “Why did we keep THIS?” and “Did you think we would use this again?” Ah well, everything is a little bit tidier now and at least the Godalming charity shops did benefit.

Out & About

Social Media Humour

I am always amazed at how quickly funny pictures and jokes appear about current situations. Many of them could be described as being ‘darkly’ comic and fairly hard hitting. So, I am including here just a small selection of the lighter, more humorous ones (and particularly those that relate to felines) which have entertained us in recent days.

And, just in case you had not yet adopted the principles, here is:

The Cat’s Guide to Self-Isolation  

• Snacking
• Relaxing
• Snacking
• Sleeping
• Staying hydrated
• More snacking
• Taking regular exercise (if you must)
• Staying connected with your staff members (a.k.a. family)
• Keeping tidy
• Stimulating activities
• More sleeping
• Yet more snacking

With very best wishes to all of you and I hope that April will prove to be a less challenging month for us all.

Finally, despite all the difficult news: