Fairy Tales and Fish Tails

Princess Kitty has been to a party today. She is on a little holiday. She is at the seaside. She is with lots of her friends. She is finding out about the point of guinea pigs. She is having a nice time.

The party Princess Kitty went to was a fancy dress party. She had to dress up as something to do with the sea. She went as a mermaid. She had a tail and shells for her top and some special fur. She felt very beautiful.

Princess Kitty used to love the story of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson when she was a kitten. She used to like all fairy tales.

Princess Kitty wonders what sort of character Growly Bear would be if he was in a fairy tale. She doesn't think he would be Hans in the story of Stupid Hans. He is too clever. She doesn't think he would be the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood. He is too kind. She doesn't think he would be Rumple Stiltskin. He is too gentle.

Growly Bear is sure that if he was in a fairy tale he would be a handsome prince. He would rescue the lovely Princess Kitty from the wicked witch and they would live happily ever after.

Love and Loss

Today is a sad day. Today Princess Kitty and Growly Bear had to say goodbye again.

Princess Kitty says it feels as if someone is squeezing her heart. She has a hurt feeling inside her.

Growly Bear says it makes him think of all the other times in his life when he has been in love and had to say goodbye. He says that is how his life has been.

Princess Kitty and Growly Bear have each learned their own ways of caring for themselves so the hurt is not too terrible. Princess Kitty has to work hard on thinking positive thoughts and talking to herself about taking responsibility for her feelings. Growly Bear concentrates on what is in front of him and does his chores.

Princess Kitty wonders if we have guinea pigs so that we can practise loving them and losing them. So that when the time comes to lose someone we love, even if it is only for a little while, we have had some practise.

One thing Princess Kitty and Growly Bear know for sure though is that the next time they see each other they will be even more in love.

Musical Magic

Princess Kitty had a spooky experience last night. She went to wait in a pub whilst Growly Bear went to work. She took her book so that she would have something to do. The book was about the point of guinea pigs. She read and read for hours and hours.

Then something really weird happened. She had just decided to have a little rest from her reading and look around her. As she raised her head she heard a sound. A sound of music. It sounded familiar. It was a guitar. And someone singing. And she had heard the guitar played like that before.

Then she realised that the man playing and singing was a man she had seen before. The night she went to see a concert of Nick Drake music. She couldn't believe her eyes and ears. She wished Growly Bear could hear it. She wished he could hear it because she knew he would like it. And she wished he could hear it because then he would know magical things happen to her.

Musical magic.

Stiff Upper Lip

Growly Bear and Princess Kitty have been looking at possible new homes for Princess Kitty. It is hard choose. It is hard to nearly choose one then lose it. That has happened to Princess Kitty already.

Growly Bear says it is best not to become emotionally attached until the deal is done. Like when you have a pet, maybe a guinea pig or two. You should not fall in love with them until they are yours.

Princess Kitty knows this is sensible advice. She knows Growly Bear is right. She just doesn't know how to stop herself doing it.

When Princess Kitty is looking at a possible home she imagines herself living in it. She thinks about Growly Bear being there. She thinks about her ability to make a nice home. She knows she is not very practical or observant about her environment. And yet she knows her environment is important to her.

Growly Bear thinks Princess Kitty needs to be more stoic. He feels upset when he sees her hurt. And Princess Kitty does show her hurt - like a child. She hasn't learned to hide her feelings without blocking them out to herself.

Princess Kitty knows Growly Bear is right about this too. She looks in the mirror and practices having a stiff upper lip.

Shooting Fish In A Barrel

Growly Bear has been teasing Princess Kitty. He has been teasing her a lot. He has been teasing her about forgetting things. He has been teasing her about getting mad when her fur is not perfect. He has been teasing her about the way she cooks. He has been teasing her by pretending he is not sure if he wants to make honey. He has been teasing her because she sometimes simply cannot see the point of guinea pigs.

Princess Kitty wonders how Growly Bear can find so many things to tease her about. Growly Bear says it's like shooting fish in a barrel.

Epi_c

Growly Bear's frittatta is epic. At least that is what he tells Princess Kitty.

He has made a frittatta for Princess Kitty tonight. It is made of eggs and mushrooms and parsley and sweet potatoes. Growly Bear does not like cooking on Princess Kitty's cooker though. He says it is a nightmare. He says even a fantastic cook like him can't cook well on Princess Kitty's cooker.

At one point he thought he had burnt his frittatta a little on the bottom. Princess Kitty went rushing into the kitchen. She thought Growly Bear had had a terrible accident from the noise he was making. But he was just upset because he thought his frittatta had burnt.

Princess Kitty thinks it must be quite a burden to have such a glorious talent. She feels sorry for Growly Bear. Having to perform in such difficult conditions. Feeling the pressure to produce something perfect every time. No wonder he was mad when he thought it was going wrong.

In the end though, Growly Bear's frittatta was indeed epic. He served it with a lovely salad. Princess Kitty thought it was delicious. A feast fit for any guinea pig she thought.

Epic!

Cheese and Pickle

Princess Kitty is a bit of a pickle. Sometimes she can be very organised and efficient. Lots of people think that she is all of the time. But Growly Bear knows different. He knows that she can be chaotic and inefficient.

For example, Growly Bear always knows what time of the day it is. He regularly checks the time and can guess to within a few minutes what the time is. Princess Kitty on the other hand drifts along in her own little world and is always surprised how much time has passed.

Growly Bear knows how long tasks take. He knows how long it takes to wash his hair. He knows how long it takes to cook a meal. He knows how long it takes to feed a guinea pig. He knows how long it takes to make honey.

Princess Kitty always underestimates how long things take. She always overestimates what she can achieve. Then she runs out of time to do things. Then she gets in a pickle.

Today she had quite a few tasks to do. She did the first few well. One of them was to get some special goat's cheese. She went to a farm shop to get this. Well done Princess Kitty. Then she suddenly realised that Growly Bear was arriving at The Cardigan in an hour. And she was supposed to buy some other food but the shops had shut. And The Cardigan was still not very tidy. And she still had not powdered her little nose. What a pickle Princess Kitty.

By the time Growly Bear arrived Princess Kitty was buzzing like a little busy bee. It took him an hour to calm her down and help her to relax. He had to rescue the tea because half the ingredients were missing or were wrong. Luckily the cheese was delicious.

Growly Bear does sometimes wonder what he has got himself into though.

Love Conquers All

Princess Kitty has been reading a book. It is a good book. It is called "Human Traces" and is written by Sebastian Faulks.

Today she has been reading about two people who fall in love in the book. Their circumstances mean that they should not but they cannot resist the force. And they know straight away that what they have is something special. They know instantly that they will be right. Each feels the other lights up their life.

And when they make honey it is very special. Their passion is powerful and deep. They touch each other's souls.

What has moved Princess Kitty is that she understands. She understands completely. It has happened to her. She has read about love before but it didn't have proper meaning. And now it does.

Maybe love is the point of guinea pigs.

What's In A Name

Princess Kitty has been out running with her friends. It is a special sort of running in the dark with torches.

Princess Kitty and all her friends have special names when they do this sort of special running. Names like Mad Dog and Leeky Willy and Love Machine and Hyena and Hoggie. Every name has a story.

Princess Kitty likes doing this running. It is always fun. Everyone plays tricks on each other. Sometimes they even talk about guinea pigs.

Growly Bear says it sounds awful. He does not like running and he does not like these sorts of tricks.

Growly Bear has had a quiet evening. He has been thinking about Princess Kitty out running. He has been thinking about Princess Kitty playing tricks. He has been thinking about special names.

Growly Bear likes being called Growly Bear. He thinks it suits him. He thinks it describes his furriness and cuddliness and growliness in just the right way. He has not always been called Growly Bear. Only since he met Princess Kitty.

Growly Bear thinks he has things just right. He has a special name like Princess Kitty's other friends. And he has not had to run a step.

Just Like Andy Pandy

"Growly Bear is coming to play
La la la la la la
Growly Bear is here today
La la la la la"

Well not today actually. Growly Bear is coming to stay at The Cardigan for a few days at the weekend. But Princess Kitty is getting excited already. Very excited indeed.

When Princess Kitty was a little kitten, she loved to watch Andy Pandy. She remembers her excitement when the programme came on. She remembers enjoying watching Andy Pandy play with Teddy and Looby Loo dancing. She remembers too her sense of devastation when it was time for Andy Pandy to go. This is how she feels when Growly Bear has to go.

Princess Kitty remembers other programmes from when she was a little kitten. Her favourite was "Bizzie Lizzy". Bizzy Lizzy wore a little blue dress with a flower on the pocket. Every day Bizzy Lizzy could touch the flower and have three wishes and every day her first wish was that her doll, little Mo, would come alive.

Another programme she liked was "Tales of the River Bank" She remembers GP the guinea pig. That was back in the time when she just took the point of guinea pigs for granted.

Growly Bear didn't have a television when he was a cub. He used to listen to the radio. He understands about looking forward to things though. He understands the sad feeling when it is over. Just like Andy Pandy.

"Time to go home
Time to go home
La la la la la la
Time to go home
Time to go home
Time to go home
Growly is waving goodbye
Goodbye"