Hooray! It’s true! We’re going travelling again! Saxton and Hudson told me the good news yesterday! Mother has been in touch with some of our old hosts (and some new friends who would like us to visit), and has arranged a lovely itinerary. I’m going to be travelling to all sorts of lovely places, including Bedfordshire, Kent, Wales, the Lake District – and other places too!
I was really pleased that we had a family trip out today for us all to say our excited farewells. It really kicked my adventures off with a bit of drama! You see, we went for a walk at Kinver Edge in Staffordshire…
I had lots of fun climbing trees. Well, no surprises there – it IS my natural habitat!
I even climbed into some gorse – though it was a bit tricky getting out again…
And I loved looking out at the views from the top of the hill…
Where it got a bit *too* exciting though, was when my family had stopped to chat to a nice man who was out walking his dogs. Two of them were puppies and went racing on ahead, all barking and bouncy. The other older one stayed behind and I looked at her in a friendly way, which she seemed to take as an invitation to carry me off! Now I’ve been told I am very appealing, but this was a bit much, I felt! Obviously so did my boy who had been escorting me as he burst into tears and screamed to get me back. The grown-ups quickly reacted and told the dog to drop me, which she did straight away. She had been very gentle – just as if I was one of her pups to carry about – and I was settling in to conduct a proper scientific exploration of what it is like inside a canine’s mouth, but I only had time to observe that it was warm and a bit wet before I found myself face down and bottom-up on some cold damp leaves on the ground. Not very dignified I suppose, but at least everyone was suitably impressed with all the excitement. I reassured my boy that I was fine, really – not at all the worse for my unplanned adventure – and then he tucked me into his pocket to keep me safe from any further friendly dogs who we might meet. I didn’t mind that as I needed some peace and quiet to recover from all the drama!
Before we went home he did take me out to show me some really interesting rocks, before tucking me firmly away once more.
And then on the way home we stopped in Bewdley to have a look at the river Severn. There weren’t any dogs around then, so my boy and I relaxed and enjoyed looking at the swans (I was well out of their reach and they only really cared about the other people there who had bird food).
Finally, calmed by the views over the impressive river, we made our way home and got my things packed and ready for the journey ahead. A little “Bon Voyage” tea party was a lovely way to wave my furry friends off, before I settled down into my travelling box. I’ll miss my family, but am looking forward to sharing all of my adventures when I get home again. Until then, I’m raring to go!
The Adventures of Kendal Sloth 