Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Stanley in London

Introducing Stanley the lean, green chocolate eating machine. Stanley was subject to some initial delay. He missed a marvellous trip to Italy as he was locked in a brown envelope on top of a wardrobe and his owner didn't know that he had arrived. But, as you can see he is learning some creative skills and is enjoying living in a big city. Thanks go to Tammaan for her great pictures. In the first picture Stanley sees his name in Chelsea (posh part of London) which happens to be the same colour as him. Stanley helps himself to a packet of chocolates while his owner is blissfully unaware.

Stanley's owner finds out about the chocolates and threatens to throw him out of the train window if he does it again. (Stanley has been warned!)
Stanley turns to crochet to entertain himself on the train and makes himself a hat and a scarf combo.
Stanley arrives at Leeds university for a Open Day where he will be able to continue and build on his crocheting skills on a textiles course.

Back in London Stanley looks out onto the new shopping centre .

Eager to shop he tries to hitch a ride on Lowies shoulder but to no avail Lowies is staying firmly put.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Wally in Le Havre, France - Part 2

Wally as you will remember got himself in a bit of a scrape when he went to Mallorca. Falling asleep in a cactus and so forth. He also spent some time in France and this is the second installment of his stay there. I've been busy working on the furrytravelbuddies.com website which I hope to launch soon but if you have any suggestions or requests about what you would like to see included please drop me an email. I'd like to thank Sophie for her wonderful photos and storyline and everyone who has contributed to the blogs this year as it wouldn't be possible without you. Coming soon Cynthia in Texas, more Hairy Hank adventures and Introducing Stanley...

Wally explores the climbing roses. Ow! Avoiding the thorns is tricky!
Wally then decides to try another flower bed. Ah! The softness of tthe flowers is soothing.


Wally is scared away from the fields by a curious cow. Why are they so big?!

Wally decides to investigate the piano. Nothing like music to calm you down.

As the house is quite big Wally decides to take the train to tour it.

Wally meets the family of Barbapapa who are celebrities in France as they have their own t.v. show! Their fans are young children but they were happy to add Wally as one of them!

Wally and Sophie(his owner) take a stroll along the windy beach of Le Havre. Wally was impressed by the sea and the sunset but where was the sun and people sun bathing Sophie had mentioned? Sophie was well and truly wrapped up! He was disappointed he couldn't wear his new sunhat. Oh well! There's still Mallorca..



Thursday, October 23, 2008

The Secret Diary of Hairy Hank

The long awaited Hairy Hank's Diary is here and like all good things it was worth the wait. All 30 pages of it. I'm going to serialise it every week but I think you'll agree Ethan has done a great job. If you like what you see be sure to leave a comment !







Wednesday, October 22, 2008

The Arrival of Julius

As mentioned in the last blog Julius has arrived safely in the UK and has retained his plumpness I'm glad to see. He is currently on a 6 week tour with his owner Matt and seems to be having a great time. He just made it into the calendar which has gone to press and should be ready soon so watch this space.

Julius is introduced to the hat whom he'll be seeing on a daily basis.
Julius seeks refuge from the strange goggle eyed creature that lives in the cup holder. Maybe they will be friends, its too early to tell and Julius is a little shy.
Julius clings on to the sign as if his life depended on it which it does as there appears to be a gale blowing and he doesn't weigh that much.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Ethel at Court Gardens

Ethel has been busy over the Summer, not content with a trip to Paris and Spain she also visited The Court Gardens as part of her Spring Collection research.


Ethel finds herself in a dark place.
She is not impressed by all the green stuff on the pond as she can't see her reflection.
After what seems like hours of walking Ethel reaches an impasse. What pray tell lies behind the gate ? and why did she not bring her hat.

It's no use the gate won't budge, Ethel is a lady so no climbing for her. You'll remember her fall into the Spanish ruin on her last vacation. She has learnt her lesson. Ethel begins to panic as the SPF she has on will only last another hour and a tan is so last year.

Fed up, she consults the map to find out where the coffee shop is and is horrified by the walk to get there. Ethel is definitely not the outdoorsy type.

Thanks to Ciara for her great pictures. Coming soon to the blog, Wally in Le Havre Part 2, The arrival of Julius and The Secret Diary of Hairy hank. Watch this space.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Troy goes Baywatch in San Elijo

Troy the new poster boy of the FTB's recently went on a camping trip to San Elijo State Beach. It was blustery and there was a lightning storm (not so good when in a tent with metal poles!) which for California is unusual weather but it didn't stop inquisitive Troy investigating the beach. If you have a google email address you can sign up as an FTB follower and will receive a notice each time a blog is posted when you sign into your account. Don't forget only 3 pages left in the FTB calendar so get your images in soon to be included.

Troy checks out the waves and wishes he had his wetsuit.


In order to get a better view Troy ignores warnings and climbs up a fence.


Troy spies another sign and notes that the lifeguard isn't on duty and decides to take matters into his own hands.

Troy waits for the people to disperse before making a move.He decides to consult Sanford the old sage about his plan. Sanford gives him the thumbs up.


Troy climbs up on the lifeguard tower whilst no one is watching and commences his self-imposed duties.
All seems well.
Oh, no someone is giving him the evil eye. Troy decides to scarper sharpish.


It isn't long however before he spies another empty lifeguard tower but he decides he's not that keen on getting wet as the tide is rising and he doesn't want to get stranded.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Cynthia goes to see Beckham

Cynthia makes her first appearance in this blog and is the first I believe to attend a sporting event. She was taken to see LA Galaxy better known as the team David Beckham plays for. It was quite a warm night so Cynthia was quite overwhelmed by all the running about, as she doesn't really understand the offside rule. Thanks to Heidi who despite having sporadic internet reception sent me these great pictures. If your FTB has met anyone famous please send me a picture to coolcrafter@gmail.com thank-you.


Cynthia takes on fluids, its a warm night after all.
Cynthia spies a kindred spirit on the pitch. She doesn't think he's a player but what is he doing on the pitch ?
Cynthia is surprised by the number of family members at the game. They must have got together beforehand as they are all wearing the same shirt.
They really are going too fast, thinks Cynthia she can't keep up with the pace.

Almost at the end, Cynthia debates whether to head for the car now or wait till the game finishes. Its so much easier when you can pause and rewind.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Update on Wally's friend - Lilia the fairy bear

You may recall that Lillia the fairy bear featured in the September blog Wally settles in. I had enquired as to how Lillia was doing as she didn't accompany Wally on his holiday in Mallorca where he got into all sorts of trouble after his afternoon Margueritas. I received this email by way of explanation.

Sadly Lillia was doing just fine when the excitement of moving into her own house next door to Wally's made her dance more than her condition would allow. thankfully her owner's mother is experienced with this sort of thing so will be back on the mend very quickly!

We wish Lillia a speedy recovery !! ( I love the decor, what fantastic chairs.)

FTB's spawns cottage industry !

I am pleased to report that the FTB's have inspired a range of cards by the talented and enterprising Miss Emily Burford who's still at school ! (oh to have been so industrious at that age!) who handmakes each one which are available to buy in the UK. They are priced at a very reasonable 50P/$1 each so stock up for those birthdays. Emily can be contacted at trendyemm@hotmail.co.uk
Emily has been an ardent contributor to the blogs and I encourage her efforts. I think they are fantastic.If you have been inspired to write a story, comic, drawing etc drop me a line and I'll feature it on the blog.












Wednesday, October 1, 2008

FTB's in Paris

As mentioned in a previous blog. Ethel, Constance and Wally are back from Paris and their owners have sent me a bunch of pictures of their tour de Paris.
The journey begins, no Eurostar for our intrepid trio as they brave the seas on a ferry.

They listen to some music to drown out the sound of the engines and combat the nausea from the rocking of the boat.
Ethel arrives and hasn't the energy to unpack.
Wally and Ethel are the first to bed once they are settled in their Parisian Hotel.They are not impressed that they have to share a bed and that Constance somehow got separated.
Wally gets an attack of the munchies and sneaks off for a midnight snack. He misjudges the depth of the tin and spends the night surrounded by biscuits.

Ethel revitalised checks out the sights and marvels at the Eiffel Tower.
Ethel likes it so much she buys one for herself and when in Paris the beret must be worn.
Ethel outside the Notre Dame Cathedral, she wonders if the Hunchback still lives there ?
Constance gets into a spot of bother.
Constance and Wally pay their respects at the Memorial at Vimy Ridge.
Wally wonders off to check out the museum.Wally decides to climb a wall of sandbags for a better view.
Wally always up to no good loses his friends at the Louvre. A man in a beret appears to think someone is taking his picture judging by the po.
Outside the Pompidou Centre, the trio prepare for an afternoon of art and culture. According to my sources apparently it didn't smell very nice inside so they didn't enjoy it that much.

Ethel once again house hunting thinks the Palace at Versailles would make a great residence.The trio are impressed by the spectacular gardens at Versaille. Ethel thinks it would be a great spot to show her fashion collection.
Ethel and Constance take a cheeky picture in front of the naked lady to show their friends.
Wally, Constance and Ethel despite being ignored when queuing for toilets and travelling in lifts have thoroughly enjoyed their Parisian jaunt but the real world beckons and they have to get back to their responsabilities. Thanks to Ciara, Sophie and Emily for their fabulous pictures.