Moon Sheep dot com

I am now such a huge internet superstar that I get to be on the front of Christmas cards; courtesy of a well known internet card supplier.

Alright, it was only four Christmas cards but it's a start. Only three people will have received these cards however, because one of my humans posted one of them without putting an address or a stamp on it. Good grief.

I haven't been online much just lately, but I keep busy. Rory, Moosey, Idris, Ptolemy and myself have been preparing for Christmas. Wrapping presents;

Dressing up in silly paper hats;


And assisting with decorating the tree.

It's a good job that Christmas comes but once a year.

Baaaaa!

Errol Goes West

Where have I been then?

On holiday with my humans!




We went to a cottage in Gloucestershire.



It was very comfortable.






There was a young lady bear sitting on a bench near the window on the landing.

And ponies in the field at the bottom of the garden.

I was taken for a walk in the Forest of Dean.

I was also taken across the border into Wales, where I visited Tintern Abbey…

…and Chepstow Castle.

I came back from Wales with a new friend…

Idris The Dragon!

Loyal readers (hello Pam and Cheryl) may recall that I myself am named after a dragon (Errol the swamp dragon, from Terry Pratchett’s “Guards! Guards!”) so Sir Bruin decided that a red dragon from Wales would be a fitting companion for me. Her ladyship came up with the name Idris because that was the name of the dragon from the 70s childrens TV Programme, ‘Ivor The Engine’.

Idris and I didn’t always get taken out. Sometimes the humans just forgot us (charming!) but on Thursday and Friday it was raining and as soft toys don’t like to get wet, we had to stay behind in the cottage.

Of course, we did some exploring while the humans were out. We found evidence that someone who is missing an 'r' is running a take-away emporium in my name in the nearby town of Newent.

[You do know that kebabs are made of lamb, don't you Errol? Ed]

We also found a map of Gloucestershire…

…and some pinecones.

The sunshine came out again on Friday afternoon, so I took Idris to see the ponies, but they weren't in their field.

It was soon time to go home. Idris and I said a last farewell to the Gloucestershire countryside as we rode home on the back parcel shelf of Sir Bruin’s car.

When we arrived back in Ipswich, I introduced Idris to the rest of my friends.

Baaaa!

Culture Sheep

My humans went out without me again yesterday. I don't suppose they went anywhere elegant.

My reader could be forgiven for thinking that I sit about all day watching telly.


Or surfing the internet.

And that when I am taken out it is only to the seaside or the pub. However, I have been known to do a bit of culture. Quite apart from visiting Shakespeare's birthplace (as described here) and Ludlow Castle (more here) earlier this year, I have also been to Burghley House and Cambridge (but I've only got around to blogging about it now. It's a busy life being a sheep.)

Time for some culture.

Admiring the sculpture park at Burghley House.

Beside the River Cam at Cambridge.

On the River Cam, travelling past Kings College on a punt.

Enjoying the sights of Cambridge - Mathematical Bridge, Queens College in the background.

When the Cambridge photos appeared on Facebook recently (it's not too late to join the Friends of Errol The Sheep!), Eddie from Egypt asked if that was where I had been to Ewe-niversity. Nice one!

I don't think a sheep has ever graduated from Cambridge. That would make me ewe-nique!

Any suggestions for a suitable subject for a young sheep to study?

Baa!

Sheep beside the sea side

It's amazing what can be achieved if you whinge in public (or at least on the internet). I have been taken out twice this week. I will revisit the more cultured of my two outings at a later date, but on Wednesday I was taken to the seaside.

The beach at Dunwich is a bit stoney, as you can see from the photo at the top. There is a bit of sand, but not much. The picture above is of Dunwich beach with the Sizewell nuclear power stations in the distance.

We spent a bit of time on the beach at Dunwich (getting funny looks from other humans who were probably wondering what a sheep was doing at the sea side).

Later we moved along the coast to Walberswick and walked along the River Blyth. We crossed a bridge...

...and then walked back along the Southwold side of the river. When visiting the Southwold area, it is compulsory to sample the local ale.

Mmmm. Adnams.

We crossed the river again by means of a little ferry boat, but I had to stay inside Lady De Minutive's handbag for fear of being blown away. The wind had got up a bit by this time.

Sand dunes at Walberswick.

We eventually ended up in Southwold, on the pier in a really rather brisk breeze. Here is a picture of me with Southwold's iconic lighthouse in the back ground and Sir Bruin's hand preventing me from blowing into the sea in the foreground.

As you can see, the wind was whipping the waves up a bit. Perhaps I should have brought my scarf with me!

Baaa!

Pigs might flu

So, you may ask, what have I been up to since I last blogged? Well, I certainly haven't been on any outings. My humans have been neglecting me.

But no matter, I can amuse myself. I spend lots of time admiring myself in the mirror in my new scarf.

My friends and I get up to all sorts while the humans are at work.

We can't help noticing that there is a lot of 'flu' content in the news in recent weeks.

A particular type of flu.

Not Lion flu

Not moose flu

Not turtle flu.








And certainly not Sheep Flu.

Nope. Everybody in the human world is talking about swine flu.


There aren't any toy pigs in this household and so far both of the human residents seem to be well, so we're not worried.

I'm not sure why anyone is worried really. According to an internet article I read last week: "In England, the number of people with swine flu symptoms who have consulted their GP is now equivalent to a bad bout of seasonal flu during the winter months - although Wales and Scotland have reported fewer cases." If humans can normally handle the flu without this level of media attention, why is swine flu different? And "The government says up to 12,000 people die every year from seasonal flu." Apparently, the expected level of deaths from swine flu is lower than this number, so why all the fuss?

Obviously, I'm not a heartless sheep and I don't want humans to get ill and die (who'd take me on outings if I didn't have humans to entertain me?) but I do wonder why they get more excited about some things than others.

One of my humans is getting excited about the prospect of acquiring a new shed. Is this any way for her to be spending her holidays? Get a life woman, and take me out somewhere!

Baa!

Fan Mail

Now that I have become a cult figure on Facebook, I have begun to receive fan mail.


Yes, really - I parcel arrived just yesterday, addressed to me.



Sir Bruin held it up for me to look at.

Yep, that's definitely for me.

I took it out into the garden to open it.

Hooves aren't ideal for opening parcels, especially when the parcel is bigger than the sheep.

The contents were a scarf and a card!

I think I look rather fetching.

The card, and indeed the whole parcel, is from Washington DC.

A hand knitted scarf from my friend Pam in America. Thank you Pam!

I took my present back in doors and showed it off to my friends. I think Ptolemy the Turtle looks a bit jealous.

The colours are very me, don't you think? I may start a new trend for scarves.

Baaaa!