Remembering Alge..

AR and the misfits say goodbye!

2011-12-27T20:04:00.000+01:00

And for the second part

Goodbye Moline, goodbye Misfits

At the Airport

AR Celebrates Thanksgiving

2011-12-20T15:21:00.002+01:00

This is AR at thanksgiving with us:)

At the table is left to right:
Greg (jeans and andys son)
Ana ( gregs wife)
Grace(jean and andys daughter)
Z(jean and andys grandson)
Jason(graces husband)
Becky(good friend)
Grandma
notice AR is in the middle of the table

Jason is sharing a turkey leg with AR!!

AR with Newest Misfit Ava

This is also from thanksgiving with AR
this is me(Jean) and my granddaughter ( Magdalene Jean)

AR Visits the Critter Corral Open House

2011-12-13T13:50:00.000+01:00

Sunday Nov 13th We gathered AR and Athena up and drove 3 hours to Crete, IL where the Critter Corral hosted their 12th annual open house. Many adoptable piggies there and lots of fun and games for piggies and even a piggie costume contest!
When we first arrived we looked for Debbie from the storybook piggies on the digest and found her. a AR had his picture taken with Debbie(storybook piggies) and Jean(holding AR). Debbie was very happy to finally meet AR in person!

Next AR wanted to look around and talk with some of the piggies up for adoption. SO many piggies needing homes.

Then AR watched while Athena got her pigture done by Ilana Ostrar the most talented artist ever!

Athena entered two contest and she won first place in the cutest lips! and Third place in the costumes contest. AR was very proud of her! Judges looking at her "Lips" and also judging her costume.

There were even piggies dressed up at turkeys! and even a elf!

There were many things to buy that the money went for the Critter Corral. Lots of people that loved piggies as much as we did. AR was glad that many piggies got adopted out that day. The misfits did not bring any new ones home.

AR liked the costume contest the best. HE thought the jail bird piggies was so cute! And the beaver pig was clever! A great day for all.

Long day in car but so well worth it.

AR Feeds the Misfits

2011-12-06T12:21:00.000+01:00

AR got up very early to help with the veggie plates in the morning before Jean and Andy go to work.
There are 5 girl plates as there are two girls to each cage. And 8 boy plates. One little hamster dish in the middle. Each morning they get a piece of carrot, tomato, green pepper, cucumber, broccoli and green/red leaf lettuce on their plates. And every morning a different pig gets to be "Pig of the Day". today was Amanda's turn. She is the one with the very large cysts inside her that she is taking hormone shots for, plus they drain them every other week. She is a sweet sweet girl.

AR Visits the John Deere Pavillion

2011-11-29T09:16:00.000+01:00

The next day we took AR to the John Deere Pavilion that showcases alot of John
Deere tractors and gives history etc of John
Deere. AR loved
playing in the very LARGE tractors and he loved hearing all the history.
Actually the misfits daddy ANDY works for john deere in East Moline in the paint
dept.

Then we of course had to see the gift shop to get AR a treasure to put in his
suit case.

He decided to play with the little tractors that are on display for kids to play
with.

Next he found the treasure he wanted to get for his suit case!

Then he decided to pose infront of the john deere sign in the gift shop.

AR loved all the john deere stuff so much he wanted us to take him to the Head
Quarters to see where all the big wigs work. Notice the brass Deere in the
background .

Then he wanted us to take his picture in front of the John Deere headquarters
where there is a lovely pond with real swans in it.

Then the most amazing thing happend when we were leaving... Two real Deers
walked in front of the car~ We got a picture of one of the deer. AR thought that
was perfect! We couldnt of planned that if we wanted too.

AR Visits Rock Island Arsenal

2011-11-22T07:32:00.000+01:00

AR wanted to see the Rock Island Arsenal, he was surprised that we had to show our ID to get on. The guard was nice and let him go on without his ID.

A little History of Rock Island Arsenal

We first went to pay our respect at the national cemetery there. Jean explained
to Algernon that she has two Uncles burried there(her mothers brothers)

Next we went to the confederate Cemetery on the arsenel AR was amazed at how nice and straight the markers of the graves were. It is a impressive site.

Then we showed AR the Headquarters building. Can you spot him on the sign
?

AR wanted to see Quaters One. He thought it was very impressive
indeed.Quarters One, an Italianate villa, was completed in 1871. It has 20,000
square feet of floor space divided into more than 50 rooms. It is considered the
second largest single-family government residence next to the White House.

AR sat on the black gate and gazed at the building.

Then AR spotted another big building and of course took a nice picture.

Next AR spotted the big guns and machinery in the park on the Arsenal and we
just had to go play on them. He seemed to love running around on all those
guns. Can you spot him on the big guns? silly ratty.

After a busy fun filled day it was time to go home.......

Finding a Comfy Seat for Sight Seeing

2011-11-15T07:19:00.000+01:00

We decided on nov 6th to go driving around and check out some of the sites of Moline.

AR couldn't decide how he wanted to travel around Moline so here he is trying out different spots:

He jumped in my purse first and it was just to crowded

Then he decided to try out my little camera case, again just not a good comfy fit.

Then he decided to try the seat and be safe with the seat belt... not good as he
couldn't see out the windows.

Then he decided to try sitting on the dash of my husband's truck.. and that was
just right!

(Jean, slave to the misfits)

AR Arrives in Moline

2011-11-08T19:06:00.007+01:00

Here he is just arrived in Moline, IL with all his treasures from everywhere.
We enjoyed all the stories he had to tell us of each stop he has made so far.

Its Halloween nite here so yes he did get to go Trick or treating. He is being
held by my grandson "Z". He had a wonderful time and had too much candy to eat of course!

AR met the newest Misfit little Benny who after a sad start in life is finally getting the love, attention and food he needs, being a gentlerat AR let Benny be the star of the show in this pigture.

AR wondered how big Moline was. We showed him our welcome sign. Moline is attached to Rock Island, and East Moline as well. So we are a bit bigger than just Moline. He thought that was awesome!!!

AR on the Roller Coaster and Rocking

2011-10-14T07:13:00.000+02:00

Riding the Kraken with Jenni and Joe

AR Says Listen to the Humans Scream

AR Enjoys Some Head Banging

AR Visits Sea World Florida and Watches One Ocean

2011-10-07T16:10:00.001+02:00

Can you Spot Him?

What About Now?

There He Is!!

Watch the One Ocean Show with AR

WOW How Good Was That

Algernon's Racing Adventure Part 2

2011-09-30T20:11:00.000+02:00

On the 8th in Oskaloosa Ia AR went to the Southern Iowa Speedway http://www.rlpromotions.com/oskaloosa/ to attend the All Stars program followed by another USAC non wing Event the next day.

The 9th & 10th he returned to Knoxville raceway to watch the 410 Nationals qualifying nights for Saturday Finals. On the 11th they had a nonquifing race and World Challenge and Race of Champions. On Saturday the 12th was the final night of the 51st 410 Knoxville nationals.

Also while staying near Des Moines, the capital of Iowa he visted the capital.

And the famous "Cows" of the Anderson Erickson Dairy (AR with Steve and Birdie visting the Cow and Calf ) locaated in Des Moines not far from where the Iowa State fair is located.

Then on Sunday the 14th AR visited Husets Speedway http://husets-speedway.com/ for a final night of racing with the AllStars Sprints before leaving the next day for another adventure.

AR is so cute, I miss him, take care my friend.

Algernon's Racing Adventure Part 1

2011-09-14T15:19:00.021+02:00

AR started his adventure in Sprint Car raceing on August 6th. After checking in to the motel he arrived at the Knoxville Iowa race track.http://www.knoxvilleraceway.com/Index.aspx

He had a very busy Schedule. Saturday the 6th he attend the 360 National finals and a Allstars program, the next day on the 7th the USAC non wing Sprints and 305 Sprints.

AR met with some VIP's of the racing World at Knoxville including Ralph Capitani, who is the Director of Racing.

The Knoxville Hall of Fame Sprint Car Muesum, which had some of Tony Stewarts' cars, car 20 shown below.

Ar also met sprint car drivers such as Steve Kinser.

Terry and Austin McCarl (a racing father and son)

Even international stars Brook Tatnell

Kerry Madison

He also browsed the sales trailors for other drivers and other local establishment such as the world famous bar "Dingus" of the sprint car racing society.

To be continued......

Algernon visits the Bill Cody Ranch

2011-09-14T07:06:00.000+02:00

Hi All!

We flew to Wyoming on Aug. 20 and drove to the town of Cody for a 5 day stay at the Bill Cody Ranch.

AR loved the horses and sitting on a saddle.

We took him to the Cody rodeo and he enjoyed a coke and cheering the cowboys on.

His straw hat and bandanna made him look just like a cowboy.

Next we took him to Yellowstone National Park where he saw lots of buffalo.

Then we went to Jackson Hole where he posed on an old wagon.

He shared his buffalo jerky (dried and spiced Buffalo meat) with Joe.

Because of hurricane Irene our trip home was delayed four days but AR took it in stride.

He is a great traveling companion!

Dee in Massachusetts

Goodbye Australia

2011-08-08T13:13:00.000+02:00

Bella and AR

Well after a long and exciting stay in Australia its time for Algernon Rat to leave us.

He wont tell us where he is going but we think Bella may know, she is refusing to say anything at the moment but whee will keep working on her.

Goodbye AR we hope to hear about your next adventure soon

Velvet and Onyx

Algernon's visit to Blijdorp continued

2011-07-14T21:44:00.000+02:00

This report is way overdue, (bad slave!) but is the third part of Algernon's visit to the Zoo called Blijdorp in Rotterdam, the Netherlands

We have no idea what this animal was... Anyone have ideas, it looks a bit like a Capybara (but isn't)?

We shall ask the zoo people on twitter if they know...

The prairie dogs here were very cute, we could walk through their enclosure and kids could crawl through a tunnel to get in the middle of their big field.

These Bizons were enjoying the sun....

And of course slaves and Algernon rat had to see the domestic guinea pigs!

Whee think this is a Tapir...

And two Rhinos

These were baby Toucans raised and hand fed at the Zoo,

these were getting fed soon so they were very excited.

There was a huge Galapagos Tortoise!

These were called 'Klipdasje', in english Rock Hyrax, we think...

and they are related to guineapigs

Of course Algernon had to pose with the Lions...

The tigers had some young cubs, who were staying in a quiet place, so we could only admire dad!

But isn't he gorgeous?

The birth of this little giraffe is the reason the stuffed giraffe was given to our slaves

(you can see her in the pigtures below)

Isn't little Doris cute?

These bats were in a hollow (artifical) tree, luckily these bats were artificial too... Photographing the real ones wasn't possible in the dark!

Algernon and his new friend Doris posing in front of the map of Blijdorp

And here you have AR and Doris at the entrance just before they left...

Eventhough this was not a very long or detailed report of the visit to Blijdorp Zoo, we hope you liked looking at the pigtures!

The Guinygirlz: Lily, Woopy and Daisy

and Valentine Chico

Algernon in Marianske Lazne (Marienbad), Czech Republic

2011-06-30T22:23:00.002+02:00

Algernon visiting the singing fountain in Marianske Lazne (click on the underlined name to read a little more about this town).

This spa town is also known as Marienbad, it's German name, as it's close to the German border. Many (famous) Germans visit(ed) the place to enjoy the spa and take water from the mineral springs...
Algernon went here together with our slaves, while we were staying at Auntie Janneke's.

We hope you like the video,
Wheeks
Lily, Daisy, Woopy and Chico (aka Guinygirlz and agent Valentino)

A message from Wilma

2011-06-19T12:46:00.003+02:00

Dear Piggies

Hope you are all feeling well, Just wanted to let you know that me and Algernon visited Barcelona together. Here are some pictures I made during our trip.

We started in Parc Guell to get a good view of the city

Algernon admiring the view. The Sagrada Familia pops out and in the back you can see the sea

The famous lizard in Parc Guell

Next we went to the city centre for something to eat and enjoy the spanish way of life.

The fountain at Placa de Catalunya, close to the famous Ramblas street

The old city centre in the Gothic Quarter

The next day, we went to see some of the Catelan Modernista buildings

And obviously, we just had to see the famous church the Sagrada Familia from the most well known architect of the Catelan Modernism movement; mister Gaudi.

Whoah! that's big!! And the Sagrada Familia isn't even finished yet

Inside the Sagrada Familia

Mister Gaudi intended to give you the feeling that you were in a big forest once you were inside his church. In his view, going back to nature was a spiritual experience. I think he succeeded very well in doing this.

Light falling through the ceiling, just like in the forest

And finally, we said goodbye to eachother at the harbour in Barcelonetta :'-(

The setting sun..

And that, my dear piggies, were my pictures of Algernon Rat in Barcelona, Spain.

xoxoxo

Miss Wilma

Algernon on holiday

2011-06-16T23:31:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone! We are the slaves of The Surrey Squeakers, on holiday on the west coast of France. We were very excited to get an e-mail from Algernon telling us that he was travelling to Barcelona and asking if he could visit us on the way. We said we would be delighted to see him. We collected him from La Rochelle and showed him the beautiful old harbour.

We brought Algernon back to La Palmyre and he seemed to approve of the mobile home that he would be staying in.

The first place he wanted to visit was the nearby lighthouse, called Le Phare de la Coubre.

He checked the sign outside and was pleased to see that he was allowed to climb it because he wasn’t elderly or drunk!

He climbed all the 300 steps (totalling 64 metres, which was hard work for a little rat!) and stopped occasionally to rest and to admire the Atlantic coast through the windows.

The next place Algernon wanted to go was La Palmyre Zoo, which is famous throughout France. He was glad that he saw a capybara because he’d heard lots of slaves enthusing about them, and it did look like a giant guinea pig.

Algernon enjoyed seeing the other animals as well.

Algernon told us that he would very much like to see the carrelets, which are a traditional sight along the Atlantic coast. A carrelet is a sort of raised cabin with a fishing net that can be lowered into the sea. We took him to Saint Palais, where there were several of these carrelets.

He thought it was a beautiful place.

Before he continued on his journey, Algernon visited the harbour at La Palmyre to admire the yachts and to say goodbye to France.

Algernon was a pleasure to have with us on holiday!

Algernon Joins the Mothers Day Race

2011-06-05T08:27:00.000+02:00

Mothers Day Classic Race

On Mother's Day each year people alround Australia do either a 4 or 8 Kilometer walk or run to help raise awareness for Breast Cancer and raise money.
This is the 6th year that I,Glynis have done this walk......this year on my tribute placard I had the name "Heather" she is the Aunt that AR visited in Queensland, she is recovering from breast cancer.
Early start to the day, breakfast and help me clean out the girls before leaving, then off in the car to the City. Everyone was wearing pink, or dressed up in a theme, or wearing the MDC tshirts that do come in other colours.

Algernon with placard

Classic T-shirt

Close up

Kiss for luck

WE DID IT!!

Algernon felt the benefits of all that exercise and he felt even better to have helped Mummy raise money for such a good cause.

Algernon Gets Fit???

2011-05-27T07:04:00.001+02:00

Well as you know after over indulging on cheese at our birthday party Algernon Rat decided he needed to get fit, he convinced Mummy to take him to an Australian football game.

Where are we going?

Ahhh found it!

That pitch is very big

Will just stay here with Glynis

AR became an honourary member of the Essendon Football Club (AFL - Australian Football League)
He wore the membership badge and tried to wear Mummy's scarf but it was rather too large!! LOL
It was the first game of the season.........tense game..........Essendon was playing Western Bullodgs (the team that Daddy barracks for!!) All the colours and the sirens and the people screaming their support for their teams was so much for AR that at half time he had to have a snack (cheese of course!) and a nap........ then back into barracking for the 3rd and 4th quarters. The Bombers (nick name for Essendon) won the game by 55 points, AR is definitely a good luck charm !!
He loved looking at the team banner and when the players ran thru it. He and Mummy came home very happy, but they did not gloat as it was after all something not sportsrattie like to do !!

Learn more about Essendon Football Club

Well Algernon decided that football was not the way for him to get fit, he was worried the humans would get confused and tread on him or hit him with the ball, so Mummy has promised to take him out for another way of keeping fit.........

Message from Onyx and Velvet

2011-05-15T21:49:00.002+02:00

Whee know where Algeron Rat was on the 12th of March, he was here in Oz celebrating our 2nd birthdays.

Onyx Inspects her Parcel

Cards for Velvet and Onyx from Ethan and Friday

Onyx loves her cuddle cup

Velvet thinks Onyx's cuddle cup is neat!

AR loves Onyx's cuddle cup

AR enjoys some cheese in the cuddle cup

nom nom, don't interrupt me LOL

Mmm our cakes are yummy!

Our birthday playhouse, eating our candles

As you can see whee had great fun on our birthday, we loved our presents and cards.

After eating all that cheese AR decided his tummy was getting too big and maybe he ought to think about getting fit so Mummy took him to a game...................

So where is Algernon Rat?

2011-05-07T13:28:00.002+02:00

Today Miss Wilma visited us for some herbal tea and she asked if we knew where Algernon Rat was. She hadn't heard from him after she went to Barcelona with him and was kinda worried.

We were very surprised, we didnt know he went to Barcelona, all we knew is that he's enjoying the nice weather and granny Glynis' cooking in Oz right now (granny Glynis is awfully nice, we don't blame him ;-))

So guys, help us out; were is (and was) Algernon??
Miss Wilma promised to send us the Barcelona pictures so we'll post them soon.

Algernon Rats Australian Adventure

2011-03-22T14:03:00.002+01:00

Hi guys,
well as you know AR has been visiting us here in Oz, well we were most upset when Mummy took him on a special adventure with her human girlfriends and left us gorgeous girls at home.

Glynis and Algernon at the Gold Coast Lounge

AR told us all about it.....he went to Queensland, arrived at Gold Coast Airport on wednesday 2nd, to beautiful sunny day about 28 C, the temperature didn't change much for the whole time he was there, it cooled down to about 20 over night.

Algernon meets Glynis' Auntie and Cousins,
Left to Right: Jacob, Heather, Elise and Emma

Wednesday afternoon he went shopping at the local Broadbeach shops. That night he went to the Changmai Thai restaurant.

Algernon looking at the Rugby jumper

Thursday AR went on a drive down to New South Wales, Byron Bay (most eastern point of Australia !!) Late afternoon he went shopping to Pacific Fair and then out to an Italian restaurant, Ristorante La Roma for dinner.

Algernon makes friends with the Statues
on Mount Tamborine

Friday was another drive, up to Mount Tamborine, he tried some local moonshine!! Had lunch at The Olive Tree, then went shopping at the night market at Broadbeach. He went to Infinity (http://www.infinitygc.com.au/about-infinity.html) but he had to stay at reception as you're not supposed to take bags (AR spent a lot of time, peeking out at his surroundings). Friday night they all went to another Italian restaurant (AR can't remember name we wonder why) where they had cocktails, AR enjoyed a banana cocktail !!

Algernon enjoying the surf at Burleigh Heads,
he also enjoyed some peach & passionfruit muffin

Saturday they packed their bags and headed to Burleigh Heads where AR enjoyed watching the surfers and had his photo taken again. Then down to Coolangatta for lunch at a cafe and some more shopping. They had to be at the airport by 3pm to return the hire car. Linda had organised for them to be in the Gold Coast Lounge, AR had his photo taken with Casey who looked after the Lounge.

He enjoyed nibbling on the party pies and sipping a juice, whilst the humans had glasses of cold Savignon Blanc and hot nibblies.

His last photo was taken with him looking out the window at the airport just before taxi-ing to the runway!

Then he returned home to us with Mummy of course.

Algernon celebrating Christmas!

2010-12-25T17:00:00.005+01:00

We received some pigtures of Algernon at his current whereabouts...

Anyone know where he is?

Algernon about to go to a job, being careful to take his hard hat!

Algernon helping his hostess at work answering the phones

Algernon exploring at work!

Algernon enjoying Christmas at Garnay Industries!

Algernon visits (under)water Blijdorp...

2010-11-05T14:19:00.001+01:00

As slave mentioned before Algernon Rat visited the Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam the Netherlands.

At the entrance there were these big wire and plantmatter Giraffes.

Algernon posed in front of them, can you see him sitting at bottom in the plants?

First thing he visited was the Oceanium of Blijdorp.

Here Algernon poses with some birds that we think live at the Dutch coast.

There was also a shark in the Oceanium. This Shark was kind enough to keep his mouth open while Algernon posed sitting in his beak!!

Did you know that? Sharks have rows of teeth, new teeth are constantly added while old teeth fall out. A tooth will be replaced by a new one, every 8-15 days!

Sharks also have Scales, to be precise Placoid scales, also known as dermal denticles (= 'small tooth'). Studies have found that the scales create tiny vortices that reduce drag, which makes swimming more efficient, as well as quieter compared to bony fishes (source: Wikipedia). A shark will loose up to 20.000 scales a year as it grows, they will be replaced by new (bigger) ones as the shark grows.

Here you can see an actual shark that was lying on top of the Shark tunnel.

We also saw little Nemo, the clownfish hiding... Algernon is on the left

There was also this really big whale, it was not a real one, as it was used by kids to play in (see the kid in white on the right?). Algernon is sitting near the whales eye, near the 'Teeth'. These teeth are actually called Baleen, used to strain seawater for plankton, krill and small fishes.

There was also an Orca, that Algernon wanted us to show you. Algernon is sitting on the Orca's fin.

Algernon also got into the Shark cage, used by people to get close to sharks, but stay safe. Sharks are not that dangerous by the way, of the 375 types of shark only 5-7 types will attack humans. It is said that the chance of getting struck by lightning in the US is 5 times bigger, than to be attacked by a shark.

Slave looooves Mantuas, that are so graceful and as you can see below, that have real smily looking faces...

Algernon took a dive with a turtle in the background

And a big resting fish. Unfortunately slave did not write down what kind of fish is was... Like piggies is also seems to rest on its side :D

Algernon then moved on to a different part of the Oceanium, Here there were Crocodiles, the crocodile in the second pigture below with Algernon are very old! Slave vaguely remembers about reading that then had been in the zoo since after the second world war (1945). She should have written this post earlier! But we guarantee you they were old! Ah, thank god for the Blijdorp website, it says the 2 slender-snouted crocodiles have been there, since 1930 and survived the bombing of Rotterdam.

Back underwater we saw these little Starfish, and he had to have his pigture taken with them...

On the way out of the Oceanium, Algernon saw some huge turtles and this Komodo Dragon. He has a question for us:

How does a (Komodo) dragon kill it's prey?

A. With his sharp claws and teeth

B. They bite their prey, and then wait, it will eventually die of the bacteria in his saliva.

C. with his venom, released when he bites his prey.

The last pigture is one of a Polar bear and two cubs. These are just statues, but the real one, was impressive! Unfortunately we could not get a good pigture of it, as it was behind glass.

Well I hope you enjoyed the post, we really like Blijdorp as a Zoo, and it's close to our home. We have heard however that Subsidy from the rotterdam municipality will be stopped in the near future, which wil very likely mean the end of Blijdorp :(

There is a petition online to keep Blijdorp open: Unfortunately it's in Dutch, it asks for your name, town/city and email adres...

Algernon visits Blijdorp, the Rotterdam Zoo

2010-09-23T18:28:00.004+02:00

HI all,

we want you to know Algernon is still around, but we have to admit our Slave was lazy, and she still hasn't written an update on his last visit to the Zoo in the Netherlands!

Slave made some nice videos we want to share with you,
in the mean time we will urge her to write the other post...

By now Algernon has long left the Netherlands, and we have heard he has arrived safely after a long postal yourney!!! Can you guess where he went?
We'll think of some hints, to post in the next message slave sends!

Algernon swims with the fishies

Algernon and the Elephant

This elephant must loooove living at Blijdorp, Rotterdam zoo!
He looked very happy at least, it must have been nice to cool down and have a lie down on such a hot day!

We will make sure our slave writes her long overdue report soon!
Current female hosts to Algernon, is he doing okay? ;)

Wheeks,
the Guinygirlz: Woopy, Lily Daisy
and Agent Valentino

Algernon goes to a festival

2010-08-20T09:17:00.001+02:00

Hi All,

It's me Igor. I forgot to post this; a while ago me, Yaya, Chico and Woopy went to Flappiepop in Mickey and Jimmy's house.

Igor and Mickey @ Flappiepop

Algernon was staying with us at the time, but he disappeared for quite a while and we were wondering were he went so I did a little crowdsourcing on twitter, Facebook etc. and several online friends sent me pictures of him at Pinkpop, a Dutch festival located near Flappiepop (see here for the line-up).

Algernon with the Pinkpop logo ('pop' is dutch for doll)

Algernon on the phone?... Who is he calling? Maybe miss Wilma? Or pigs for a future destination?

Algernon dancing during the Skunk Anansie performance

What is Algernon doing with beer? Maybe they served carrot beer..

Apparantly they served an excellent cheese fondue at Pinkpop, Algernon was seen eating this on more than one occasion.

Algernon dancing to the music of the Prodigy

Algernon crowdsurfing! Teeheee.. that rat sure is full of surprises!

Seriously.. that rat never stops to amaze me.

Grtz
Igor

Algernon's city trip to The Hague (2/2)

2010-08-13T22:57:00.000+02:00

Algernon's trip continued to the Binnenhof, where the Dutch parliament has it's seat. On his way to the Binnenhof, he had his picture taken in front of the Statue of King William the Second. This William II was the son of William the first or William of Orange who became king after the napoleontic wars. He was depicted on the monument that was at the end of our previous post.

Algernon also took a picture in front of the Gevangenpoort, which is now a museum. Suus and Dunya also had their pigture taken there!

Outside the Binnenhof (inner court), which is called Buitenhof (outer court) is the nice big Hofvijver (Court pond). Algernon liked the view, so you can see him in the picture below. In the back you can see two modern buildings which are always depicted at drawings of the current skyline of The Hague.

As you might remember Suus and Dunya also visited the Hofvijver and the Binnenhof. On the pigture below you can see Dunya sitting in the Flowers, with part of the Hofvijver and in the distance the statue of William II.

He then entered the Binnenhof, this is where the Dutch government works!

Like we said Suus and Dunya also visited the Binnenhof, here a little reminder.

And cause Algernon wanted to follow in the footsteps of Suus and Dunya he insisted on having his picture taken at one of the Binnenhof gates.

WE are not too sure that this is the same gate as where Suus and Dunya had their pigture taken.

Also this little tower is quite important. This is where our prime Minister has his office. Our current prime minister is still Mr. Balkenende, but once they get the new government ready it will very likely be someone from another party, named Mr. Rutte. He is a single man, doesn't this look like a nice place to invite and impress a lady?
We had very interesting results of our elections on 9 June 2010. Apparently all the human voters were so divided that it will be very hard to form a new government. It will probably consist out of 4 or more political parties...

Then we were surprised to find some nice sandsculptures. Many famous paintings were depicted in sand, but algernon liked this one best. It's an M.C. Escher, depicting an impossible waterfall, or an optical illusion of a waterfall. Because the picture does not show the illusion too well, have a look here.

If you want to see or read more about Escher have a look here. Check the downloads and click on the Waterfall, so see how the building would look in reality!
After this long day, Algernon took the tram home...

On his way home in the tram he passed the Zuiderpark (Southern park), which is a nice park where the biggest free popfestival of Europe is held every year: Parkpop. You might have heard of it, as this year our mayor, police and public prosecutor, denied Snoop Dogg entrance to the festival...

In the Zuiderpark, Algernon found tracks, that lead us to a small station!

There was also an actual old Locomotive on the train site.. (By the way, Algernon is in this picture!)

And on these miniature trains, you can actually take a ride...

Well this was The Hague, we hope you enjoyed our City.
We'll be back soon!

The Guinygirlz: Woopy, Lily and Daisy
and Valentine Chico

Algernon's city trip to The Hague (1/2)

2010-08-07T18:40:00.048+02:00

Algernon thought it would be nice to do part of Suus and Dunya's City trip to The Hague.
He also wanted to show you some other parts of the Hague that Suus and Dunya did not show us in their report.
His first stop was the 'Nieuwe Kerk', new church in english. Actually this church is not that new, but was built after the 'Grote kerk' (big church), which Algernon will show you as well. In the Golden Age (17th Century) The Hague had a period of economic growth. The Government also took it's seat in the city. Business was booming, more people came to live in the city and that also meant more people going to church. There were so many people attending masses that there was a need for another church. They started with the building of this church in 1649 and in 1656 the New church was finished. In this pigture you see the church in the back and in front are the fountains that are a nice playground for kids visiting the city centre.

In the sixties (of the 20th Century) religion was declining and less and less people attended the mass. The church stopped having a religious function and was renovated. Since then the Church has been used for events, like weddings, concerts and so on. The Church is now an official monument and is one of buildings in the top 100 of Dutch UNESCO monuments. It is a bit hard to see but the white dot in the lower left hand corner is Algernon posing in front of the church.

The Hague has quite a big group of Chinese and other Asian inhabitants. They are mostly in the part of the centre called China Town. Since the start of the Chinese new year this year (13 February 2010) there are two big gates at the entrances of China Town.

As we said before the Grote kerk (Big church) or St. Jacobskerk (saint Jacobs church) became to small for all the new inhabitants in growing The Hague, and the Nieuwe Kerk was built. Slave couldn't get the whole Grote Kerk in the picture, but here you can see Algernon in front of the tower of the Grote Kerk. See this link for a picture of the whole church. This church was only a wooden chapel in the 13th century, and was completed as we know it now in the 15th century.

A bird that used to be very common in the city of The Hague was the stork. The surroundings of the Hague were ideal for birds, even called a bird paradise. It is said that there were even tame storks that would walk over the market and ate out of the hands of merchants. The stork is depicted on the crest of the city. The stork has been away for quite a while, but nowadays storks have been sighted again.

Next stop takes us to where Suus and Dunya snacked on some flowers and had a look at the Queen's palace. It is the Palace of Noordeinde.

Here you can see Suus and Dunya posing in front of the Palace..

And Algernon posing in front of the same palace...

Here is Algernon with the statue of William the Silent, posing in the flowers.

And here a similar pigture with Suus and Dunya and the yummie flowers.

Algernon also said hello to the Queen's grandmother that is placed opposite the palace

The same statue that Suus and Dunya visited in their City trip!

Then Algernon heard from MonSouris (The Mouse from the library in amsterdam, also on twitter) that the Peace palace has a great library. He thought it would be nice to visit them. On his way to the Palace he saw this bike. According to a tag it belongs to the Night Mayor (nachburgemeestah) of the Hague Mr. Bom. We were allowed to take a pigture with it, and if we broke it the pic would be proof of that! Can you see him sitting at the handlebar?

Then Algernon reached the Peace palace (Vredespaleis). It turned out the palace is a beautiful but well guarded and secured building. There was no way even a small rat like algernon was to enter the palace unseen... Well, maybe he should have send them a message on twitter and made an appointment first...

On the way to the Peace palace Algernon also saw a big monument in the distance that he decided to explore. It turned out to be a monument that remembers the independance and founding of the dutch state after the victory over Napoleon.

Well we hope you enjoyed Algernon's trip in the Hague so far...

Read the whole city trip of Suus and Dunya here

Algernon in Paris

2010-08-02T19:59:00.004+02:00

Hi all,

This is Little Munch, our slave Mieke went away for the weekend to Paris.
Algernon and me decided to tag along and see a bit of France and the eiffel tower ourselves.

It was very early in the morning when we were dropped off by the other slave at the train station, in the picture above you can see us passing Delft.

Above you can see Mikey's train ticket to Paris. She was going there with some ladies from her sewing class to shop for fabrics and nice trimmings(!) Weird slave, huh? You can see the fog on the pastures, it was that early in the morning! We looked drowsily out of the window...

Luckily the train journey to Paris only takes a 2 and a half hours!! I took some nice pigtures of Algernon at the Paris 'Gare du nord' Station,

and outside the 'Gare de l'est' station which was opposite the hotel.

Just below the Sacre coeur there were many nice fabric stores. But we of course were much more interested in the Sacre Coeur. You can see in the pic what an impressive building this is, located on the top of the hill Montmartre. Slave and her friends were very tired after climbing the 130 meters (approximately 426,5 ft) high hill of montmartre.

The view from the Sacre Coeur was very nice...

Here you can see a close up of Algernon at the Sacre Coeur.

Later that day we had an appointment with all the ladies to go for dinner, and met near this fountain. This was of course something we had to check out! Can you see Algernon at the bottom of the statue?

Then we were finally off to see the Eiffel tower!! Our slave bought some mini eiffel tower-keychains, which Algernon will take along on his journey. If one of the next hosts of Algernon would like one, be our guest and keep one, sending the rest on with Algernon as he continues his journey.
Doesn't the Eiffel tower look huge?

The next day our slave just went shopping, so we didn't make any interesting pigtures to show you. But Algernon had to have a taste of the French everyday life....

Au revoir, mon amis! *hic*
Little Munch and Algernon Rat
p.s. Slave Mikey did NOT buy any fabrics or trimmings on this trip...*sigh*

Algernon meets Lily and Daisy

2010-07-25T20:56:00.000+02:00

Hi dear readers,

Our slaves, Erwin and Mieke, were to pick up our new cage mates today.
Mieke had to go to sewing class first, and Algernon said he'd go with her, cause then they could also travel a bit by train to meet up with Erwin. Plus Algernon could help Mieke find the way (She gets confused about which way she is going quite easily... ask auntie Janneke)

It was a bright and sunny day, and Algernon enjoyed the scenery...
After a trip of about an hour from the sewing class, they arrived at Arnhem station. They took a quick pigture and then hopped on the next train.

From there they took a train to a station near the motorway, where there was this big sign with a map saying 'How to go on from here?'

In the mean time Erwin picked up little Daisy from her breeder. Daisy was a loud and active piggy on the way to the station where Mieke and Algernon were. When Erwin got there Algernon got to say hello to little Daisy, you can see her in the back. What a cutie!

Then Mieke got behind the wheel, and they drove even further to pick up Lily. We had some refreshments in the lovely (and hot!) sun in the breeders green garden. And then the journey home begun...
Pfft, it was very warm in the car so Algernon found himself a nice spot in the sun.

But there was quite a lot of traffic, because of road works, so after watching all the cars barely move Algernon stretched out in the sun again!

Because they were not going that fast Algernon helped out with some of Mieke's sewing work. Can you see him holding the needle?

So when they finally got home, we took a nice pigture of Algernon and the little girls: on the right is Daisy (with the white stripe on her nose) and on the left is Lily.

You can see how the girls and we get along on our own Ustream channel Guinygirlz

Will write to you soon,
Chico and Woopy
and little ones Lily and Daisy

Algernon arrives...

2010-07-15T20:09:00.001+02:00

Hey friends,

Guess who arrived in the mail today!

After a short journey from the south of the Netherlands, Algernon had himself mailed to us, Chico and Woopy! He told us about how he is enjoying his time travelling around and visiting friends,
and that the 'Gekke Flappies' Mickey and Jimmy and their slave Dannielle were very nice to him.

After telling us about his trip so far, he asked if he could read his story on the PC, and possibly have some food? So mom gave him some slices of cheese and turned on the PC for him. Here you can see him read the 'Remembering Alge' blog.

After that he went to sleep...

Wheeks,
Chico and Woopy

Football rules in the Netherlands

2010-07-11T18:07:00.001+02:00

Here's Jimmy!

Mickey was wondering where Algernon was but I took him to the football. You know football? It's a game with two teams, 22 players and one ball. The Dutch team had to play some very important games in South-Africa during the Worldcup. That's a bit too far, even for guinea pigs, so first we went to slave's family to watch together. Everybody was wearing orange (because the Dutch team always play in orange!) and we even got orange food. And it didn't even taste like carrot. But Algernon loved it!

For the second game we went to a big square in the centre of Heerlen. We could watch the game on a very big screen and cheered for the Dutch players. Ofcourse we had our orange hat on and had a few carrot beers together. We had a lovely time and Algernon loved the big screen!

I think the Dutch team has a new fan.

Cheers,
Jimmy

Library mail

2010-07-10T19:12:00.004+02:00

Dearest Igor,

You never guessed who arrived by librarymail? It's Algernon Rat and he gave me a little gift from you. Oooooh, you're the cutest guinea pig I know and I love the tulips you've sent me.

Mickey admiring Igors flowers

Hmm.. I wonder where he is going next…

Lots of piggy kisses and yours forever,
Mickey xx

A message from MonSouris to Igor

2010-07-09T21:18:00.001+02:00

Bonjour mon petit Cochon d'Inde!

C'est moi, Monsieur Souris, Professeur in Mousology and I have a message for you from mon ami Algernon. He asked me to tell you that he has enjoyed the stay in your house very much but that now the time has come to move on.

Algernon visited moi when I was doing research in la Bushuis Bibliotheque (that is where your mademoiselle goes to make money so she can afford your chicory, he told moi that he hitched a ride in her bagage)

Les livres* are located at le third floor of the Buishuis building and that is where mon ami wanted to go. We had to be very careful, the staff is not terribly fond of mice (when I was just a petit enfant.. a long long time ago.. they even had a kitty kat, named bibelot). But Algernon came to le bibliotheque for a special livre.

He didn't want to tell me why he wanted to see that livre, but as you know, but I can tell you we were in the Anthropology section *winkwink*.

Monsieur Igor, before I forget, Algernon wanted you to know that he has not forgotten about your surprise pour Mickey la belle.

Au revoir
Monsieur Souris

*livre = book

Message from Wilma for Algernon

2010-07-04T18:43:00.000+02:00

Hi All,
Look what just arrived in the mail!!
Grtz
Igor and Yaya

Dearest Algernon,

Thank you for the lovely time in Haarlem, I sure enjoyed being your guide.
If you ever happen to drop by in the Netherlands again, be sure to give me a call.

xxx

Wilma

The Haarlem tour continued..

2010-07-01T22:18:00.001+02:00

Hi All,

I'm back! So where were we? Ah yes, Miss Wilma showed us the Frans Hals museum, with paintings from the most famous painter that lived in Haarlem during the Dutch Golden Age. The rats went on a tour inside and I waited outside (I don't care that much for art). When they came back, they sat with me outside on the little benches and enjoyed the sun for a bit.

Sitting there, we got the idea to go to the city park Haarlemmerhout and just relax a bit more. It was such a nice day (and yes okay.. the prospect of a huge lawn appealed to me)

Wilma told us that the Haarlemmerhout park is the oldest public park in the Netherlands and that Napoleon's army carved their initials into a tree.

When I was full, Algernon and Wilma also wanted something to eat, so we rode back into the centre and I dropped Algernon and Wilma off at a restaurant (aka a cheese store). When I got home and took a good look at the photo's I made... *giggle*.. can you see the two of them holding tails??

It was not until much much later Algernon got home and crawled right into his hammock. When Igor went up to him and asked how the dinner was, all Algernon said was; 'Very nice, dutch cheese is superb' and then he fell asleep.

x
Yaya

A message from Yaya

2010-06-24T23:07:00.004+02:00

Hi All!

It is me, Yaya. I promised Igor I'd tell you guys about our day in Haarlem last weekend. So here it goes. I invited a special guide to show us around Haarlem, her name is Miss Wilma and she is a girl rat and lives in the church where the Noord-Hollands Archives are located. When she showed up at our cage Algernon went all red and ran into our wooden house *giggle*.

After Igor gave him a peptalk (I swear I saw him showing Algernon how to rumblestrut) they came out of the wooden house and we went downstairs where another surprise was waiting..

Wilma brought her special bike! After Igor told me about Algernon's excitement about the bikes at Amsterdam Central station, I thought he would appreciate a real bike ride (gathering from his response, I think he did). So.. Wilma and Algernon crawled in the little basket, and I worked the pedals ;-).

The first thing we saw when we were riding along the river Spaarne was the former Droste Chocolate factory. Wilma explained that humans were very interested in that factory, we were slightly bored, so we kept on going along the riverside.

When we arrived in the city centre, there appeared to be a Mechanical Organ festival. The centre was littered with mechanical organs and you could hear their music everywhere. Wilma also told us that the St. Bavochurch on the market square houses the famous Müller organ, which was played by Mendelssohn, Händel and even Mozart when he was only 10 years old.

Next to the church, Wilma explained, was a statue of Laurens Janszoon Coster, the alleged inventor of the printing press. The dutchies long thought he invented the printing press, but there is some evidence that Gutenberg in Germany invented it, and there is other evidence that the chinese invented it, several hundred years before they started printing in Europe. Ah well, at least it makes a very interesting story.

Another interesting building on the market square is the city town hall. On nice days you can see newlyweds coming out of the building (Wilma blushed when she said this.. hmmm.. )
To be continued..

xoxo
Yaya

Igor sends a message to Fugly

2010-06-15T23:42:00.005+02:00

Hi Fugly buddy (and everyone else),

So.. after seeing the Arena sports stadium, me and Algernon decided that we wanted to go downtown and see a bit of the city centre. I also promised you a while ago that I would follow up on that tip you got from your slave about Amsterdam's most delicious food. So I made sure we checked that out for you ;-)

We got out at Waterloo station and the first stop was to take a look at the 'Magere Brug' (skinny bridge). The human spy James Bond shot his movie 'Diamonds are forever' at this location, so that was a must-see (tuh.. showoff.. real spies err.. blog).

Then we walked towards Rembrandt square to further investigate the tip from your slave about Amsterdam's yummiest food.

Well.. I think I have to disappoint you, buddy (you can see mister Rembrandt in the picture, which is proof we really did investigate). I did not find an exclusive vegetable shop and Algernon tried to find a cheese store, but he had no luck with that either. Needless to say, we were VERY disappointed. Food is not something to joke about.

Ow, I have to tell you a secret, but you have to promise not to tell Mickey. Me and Algernon came up with a plan when we were passing the flower market. It took us a while to get the shop assistant's attention (can you spot Algernon in the basket? I cannot believe humans have trouble seeing us) But in the end it all worked out. I cannot wait until Mickey gets her surprise, my beautiful little flower deserves only the best..

After that, we were thirsty, so we went to this cute little alley 'Gebed zonder end' (prayer without an end) to have a carrot beer and a platter of cheese at 'Captain Zeppos'

At 'Captain Zeppos' we accidently ran into one of Algernons friends. Dennis was just grabbing a bite during his break (Dennis is spokesrat for the Dutch Society for Replacement of Animal Testing). After our lunch we joined Dennis at Dam square and tried to help him raise awareness of the plight of laboratory animals.

After all of this, we were terribly tired so we went back to Amsterdam Central station to catch the train back to Haarlem.

Yaya is gonna show Algernon around Haarlem this weekend and she has a surprise planned for him. I do not know what it is but since she likes him, I don't think he has anything to worry about *winkwink*.

Lots of manly wheeks!
Your buddy Igor

p.s. Ghaaaaaaaahhhhh.. my slave just told me what the so called 'yummiest food was'. Apparently it was icecream. WHY?? Humans are weird.

Algernon visits Amsterdam

2010-06-09T22:15:00.001+02:00

Hi All!

It's me again, Igor. Algernon has been staying with us for a while now and we were having so much fun I totally forgot to send you guys a message.

The first thing Algernon wanted to see after he arrived was Amsterdam (especially the pirate ship I conquered for our first pirate adventure). So we took the train from the Haarlem railway station. By the way, Algernon was not the first celebrity in this railway station; some scenes of the movie Ocean's Twelve were shot here.

We quickly jumped into the yellow blue train and left for Amsterdam. Algernon was sooo excited! He was talking about everything he wanted to see in Amsterdam. But when we got out at the Amsterdam railway station he saw something he hadn't expected; lots and lots of BIKES!!!

Yeah well.. those Dutchies really like to ride a bike. With their landscape being so flat and everything. It is just a really convenient way to get around.

Our first stop was the VOC ship the 'Amsterdam'. It was so good to see her again. This ship was were I first met Captain Jack from Alge. Arrrr the memories matey.. I stayed on land this time, the lubbers were giving me the evil eye after what happened back then, but Cap'n Algernon swiftly boarded the ship. I saw him racing up and down the masts (screaming 'Ahoy Igor!') and from bow to the poopdeck. Arrrrr..that rat sure is quick.

We also took a look at the more modern port of Amsterdam, the second largest port of the Netherlands.

We met Pontus the dog there; he wheighs 3000 kg (6610 lbs)
and he was really big and friendly (can you see Algernon on his head?) He protects the travellers from the difference in height between the floating platform and the wharf. We asked him if he had any tips for us and he told us to go on the 54 metro and look for a sparrow. So that is what we did. The sparrow was already waiting for us and he gave us a tour around the sports stadium the Amsterdam ArenA.

This stadium is the home of soccerclub Ajax. Algernon apparantly is quite the sports fanatic so he was really pleased that he got to see the stadium. The sparrow even took Algernon for a flight around the stadium. That was soooo cool!

He also arranged a pigeon for me (very common bird in Amsterdam) But my paws are not suited for grabbing onto something so I gracefully declined.

To be continued..
p.s. Fugly buddy; do not dare call me a cissy!! *evil stare*

Message from Igor after his lunch

2010-05-26T21:05:00.000+02:00

Hi All,

Okay, so where was I? Ah yes, I just finished my carrot cake with Tjerk and Algernon.
When we were making our way to the railway station, we met one of Tjerk's colleagues. He came up to us and started telling us how much he loved animals, especially guinea pigs. Algernon really liked him so he asked him if it was okay to take a picture with him.

Then it was time to go home; I promised Yaya I wouldn't stay away too long, and you guys know how she is.. *shudders*. The nice security man helped us to buy a train ticket (those train ticket machines are kinda high) and then we climbed into the train to Haarlem.

Tjerk decided to travel with us, his shift was finished and he needed to go home anyway. Algernon pressed his nose against the train window; he never saw a countryside that was so flat.

Tjerk explained that there used to be a large lake instead of a polder (the land on which Schiphol Airport is located). Since the lake was very shallow, it claimed many ships during storms (Schiphol translates to 'Ship hole'). So in 1852 the Dutch decided to reclaim the land. In 1916 the Dutch opened a military airbase and that was the beginning of Schiphol Airport.

When we arrived home I entered first to see what temper Yaya was in (I still haven't figured out where she hides that cane) and she did give me the evil eye, but once she saw Algernon she started fussing over him and trying to make him as comfortable as possible. Algernon was happy to see her again, but he was very tired, so he excused himself and I showed him the hammock. I'm happy to say that our little pirate immediately felt at home. He did take out his little seashell netbook and his Buckingham Palace magnet, but soon afterwards me and Yaya heard soft snoring coming out of the hammock.

The poor rat fell asleep with his seashell in his lap..

Sweet dreams Algernon!

Grtz
Igor (and Yaya)

A message from Igor

2010-05-24T13:00:00.002+02:00

Hi All!

You'll never guess what happened! Me and Yaya got a textmessage from Algernon;

"Hey Igor buddy, Can you pick me up at Schiphol Airport? Grtz Algernon Rat"

So I grabbed my camera and rushed down there. One of my mates works in security at Schiphol Airport and he happened to be standing outside when I arrived and offered to help me find Algernon.

Thanks to Tjerk, it was not that hard to spot where the London passengers from PigAir would be arriving and we rushed to the gate and waited anxiously for Algernon.

To be honest, I was a bit nervous that we missed him, his text was a bit vague. But tadaaaaa!! Look who came strutting through the sliding doors :-D

It was so good to see him again! We were jumping up and down from excitement. Algernon asked Tjerk if it was possible to wave the lovely crew from PigAir goodbye, so we rushed to the Panorama deck.

The view up there was absolutely amazing! Algernon had to use the binocular thingy to spot the Pigair plane, but soon he was able to point out the plane to us (we all waved.. *giggle*.. ah.. the memories..).

It was a really sunny and warm that day so we hung out for a while. It was good to hear that the Piggyfriends and the Surrey Squeakers were all well and sent us their love. Algernon brought a really cool little seashell netbook and a little painting of Buckingham Palace (AR told me that humans stick that to their Fridge; silly slaves! Fridges are for storing our veggies! Not for decorative purposes)

Talking about the Fridge made us very hungry (obviously). So we went back into the Airport building to grab a bite.

Algernon had a Blueberry Cheesecake and me and Tjerk shared a piece of Carrot Cake*. And now I've gotta stop typing because Tjerk is munching down that cake at a speed that would have made auntie Lotje jealous! Talk to you soon!

Igor

*do not feed this to real animals, it is not healthy for them.

Igor is up to something

2010-05-22T12:22:00.003+02:00

Hi All,

I bet you are all wondering where Algernon Rat is right now. Well.. I was wondering that too and I was keeping a close watch on the Guinea Pig Daily Digest for any signs of him.

Yeah well.. Igor was acting a bit strange the last few days; but that is not unusual for my Igor. That silly pig is always up to something with his buddy Fugly. Turns out I should have been paying better attention to my own herd. Look what the mailman delivered this morning...

I wonder what my pigs are up to now.. Maybe Algernon is leaving the UK?

Grtz
Janneke

Last message from the Surrey Squeakers

2010-05-16T23:00:00.005+02:00

Hi Fugly,
Orinoco here again. Algernon loved seeing London last week when he ran the marathon but he said he'd like to see a bit more, so my energetic daughters (Noodle and Truffle, who at nearly four are probably the youngest Surrey Squeakers) took him on a sightseeing tour.When they got there, Algernon waited to use a phone box by Big Ben so that he could let me know they'd had a safe journey. He's a very considerate chap.
They then went through Horseguards Parade where Algernon loved seeing the guards. One was actually on a horse!They made their way through the busy streets towards Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square and Algernon posed for a photo between the paws of one of the lions.

He then had a near miss whilst standing at the edge of a fountain in Trafalgar Square. The wind suddenly blew and he nearly ended up in the water!Next they walked along The Mall towards Buckingham Palace. This was where the finish of The London Marathon was, and Algernon enjoyed seeing it again without feeling so tired! He admired the beautiful flowers outside the palace, and thought the palace building was amazing.He bought himself a little fridge magnet of the palace to remind him of his visit.At the end of the day, Algernon thanked Noodle and Truffle and all The Surrey Squeakers for such great hospitality, but said it was time to move on. He remained as mysterious as ever, and wouldn't say where he was going. He got into a black cab, and waved from the window as it drove off. We hope we hear from him again, and that we can follow his adventures.

Algernon visits London

2010-05-10T23:29:00.002+02:00

Hi Fugly,

Orinoco here again. The Surrey Squeakers are enjoying having Algernon as a guest, but we are still mystified as to why he keeps doing exercises.

Yesterday we found him packing a bag to go out and so we decided to send Agent Frothy with a camera to follow him.

Algernon caught the train to Waterloo Station in London and thought about taking the underground but instead he studied a map and walked towards the River Thames.

He took a good look at The London Eye and then sat on the embankment enjoying the sunshine, with The Houses of Parliament behind him.

A London pigeon even came to say hello to him.

He then went to stand on Westminster Bridge and Agent Frothy took a couple of pictures of him there, but it was very windy and she was extremely worried that Algernon might end up in the river!

Then a surprising thing happened. Algernon put on a running vest with a number pinned on it and dashed off to Greenwich.

He was entered in The London Marathon!! There were far too many people for Agent Frothy to follow him (and he was too fast), but she caught up with him at the end and took a photo of him wearing his medal. Well done Algernon! What a star! We are very proud of him.

We hope this keeps you updated, Fugly.

Orinoco and The Surrey Squeakers

Algernon enjoys a meal at Tyson's diner

2010-05-07T12:00:00.002+02:00

Hi Fugly

Orinoco here with an update on Algernon's visit to The Surrey Squeakers. He seems to be enjoying his stay, although he's a bit mysterious. We can't understand why he keeps doing limbering up exercises and studying maps of London.

Long before my time, two rats used to live here. Our junior slave used to look after them. One was named Tyson (after the boxer who bit another boxer's ear) because he bit the junior slave when he first arrived. This turned out to be totally unjustified because he never bit anyone again, and was (so I hear) absolutely delightful.

The other one was called Scabbers, after the rat in Harry Potter. He wasn't anywhere near so delightful, but everyone adored him because he was so naughty! When the rats became very old and had to leave, they each decided to set up their own business. Scabbers opened a night club for us, and Tyson opened a bar/grill. Algernon didn't really enjoy the grass as much as us, so we gave him the choice of going to the nightclub or the diner. He chose to eat at Tyson's diner, and had a lovely plate of cheese and a goblet of wine, once Agent Frothy had left!

I will keep you informed of Algernon's activities, and if he goes to London one of us will follow him to see what he's up to!

Orinoco and The Surrey Squeakers

Orinoco sends an e-mail to Fugly

2010-05-04T18:09:00.001+02:00

Hi Fugly

The Surrey Squeakers heard the sound of crunching gravel on the lane that leads to our house. A very smart red car pulled up at the far end of the drive, and guess what! Algernon got out!

We are so pleased that he has come to see us. We invited him into our shed and I had a good chat with him and asked him about his journey so far.

He was quite hungry after the long drive from the south coast and so we told him he was more than welcome to share our lovely dried grass. He did eat some, along with Mocha and Pippin, but he didn't look like he was thoroughly enjoying it.

He kept muttering "Where's the meat? Where's the cheese?". We told him that we know somewhere where he'll really enjoy eating, but that's for later in his visit.

Algernon was clutching a seashell when he arrived. He'd brought it from his visit to The Piggyfriends.

We thought it was a lovely shell, but we didn't know just how special it was. It opens up into an Asus EeePC Seashell netbook! We watched him send an e-mail home to say he'd arrived safely. (You can see the seashell on the home page).

We hope Algernon stays with us for a few days. He's making plans to visit London. I wonder what for?

Orinoco and The Surrey Squeakers

A Message from Barley and Rye Piggyfriend

2010-05-02T21:49:00.000+02:00

Whilst we were enjoying a morning snack, Algernon Rat showed us the seashells that he had collected at the beach.

He told us that he intended to visit lots of other friends and that he should be thinking about moving on. We hoped that he was not going to post himself to his next destination as one never knows when there might be another postal strike but he replied that he wanted to try different methods of travel. We told him that the airport was closed as all the planes were grounded due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland and we doubted that even PigAir would be allowed to fly at the moment.

Then we suggested that he might like to borrow a car from the Piggyfriends' car pool so we all trooped out to the garage to see what was available.

He chose a red one and took it for a spin around the garden. We thought that it might be a good idea if he wore his hard hat from the Rescue as we suspected that he would be a fast driver.

We were right! Rats seem to do everything faster than us piggies, except, perhaps, when it comes to eating.

Next he took a map book out to study his route. We asked where he was going and he said that, although this was to be a secret for now, we would soon find out where he had gone. We were intrigued by this.

Slave made up a parcel of rat food for his journey and he selected a seashell to take along as a memento of his visit.

We were all very sad to see him preparing to leave but we know that other piggies will be delighted for him to visit so we tried hard not to let him see how upset we were. We all gave him a hug and wished him a safe journey.

Slave sat on the bench in the front garden and we all gathered around her to watch him leave. With a jaunty wave he hopped into the car and drove out onto the road, heading north.

We watched him leave and waved until he was a little red dot on the horizon and then he disappeared over the hill and was gone.

"What is that poem of your granny's that you say when people are leaving?" asked Pandora. Lavender jumped up. "I know it!" she replied and recited it.

"May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of the sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near."

"That's part of it," said Slave, "the best part. We all need the hand of a friend sometimes."

We hope that Algernon finds many friends out there to help him on his long journey.

"It is getting chilly out here" said Slave "Let's go in for tea". We all followed her in through the front door, except for little Moonlight who stood on the mat looking wistfully up the road.

"Good bye Algernon" she whispered. "Safe journey. I hope that we all meet again one day."

Algernon visits the rescue - Continued

2010-04-28T18:09:00.000+02:00

After lunch in the cafe, we went to meet some more animals. I was surprised that no-one in the cafe took any notice of a rat and a guinea pig sharing a table with a human but then, Kevin sometimes walks around the grounds with a snake so perhaps it was not so odd. Algernon had a dish of rat food from the animal food store and I had a salad. Kevin had his sandwiches from home.

Next to the cafe is the Small Animal House. Kevin opened the heavy door for us and in the first cage we saw a beautiful rat!! He came over to his door to say " Hello".

Kevin lifted Algernon up to see him and then took the rat out of the cage. They had a great time running around on Kevin's fleece.

Whilst they played, I went to look in the other cages. There were mice, gerbils and hamsters in huge tanks but when I tried to take some pictures the flash reflected off the glass front and I did not know how to avoid that. Guinea pigs are not renowned for their photographic skills. The degus were too fast for me to get a photo and Kevin said that they were rather skittish and if he were to take one out of their home, he could be frightened by the visitors. Human children are much noisier than baby piggies. It would have been better to have visited next week, when the children would have been back at school.

We reluctantly said goodbye to the rats. I know that Slave would love to have them all at home but probably has enough to do with all of us Piggyfriends, not to mention her birds and mice.

There were some chinchillas across the way. They had such beautful coats and whiskers to die for. Algernon was allowed to go inside a cage to meet some and they were very interested in him too.

Outside, in the grounds again, we went to the aviaries. These are home to all sorts of exotic birds, macaws, parrots, conures, cockatiels and others. Most of the big birds were neglected in their previous homes and were kept in small, unsuitable cages with nothing to do and, out of boredom, they had plucked their feathers.

They will probably never be rehomed but have a home for life here and bring a lot of pleasure to visitors, who are warned not to put their fingers through the bars. Not all of the big birds are sociable due to their earlier mistreatment and those big beaks could cause some serious damage.

Kevin introduced us to a cockatoo called Ice Cream. He has lost a lot of feathers due to self mutilation. Kevin was careful not to let Algernon too close to the cage bars just in case but all was well.

Last of all, we donned our hard hats again to go through the building site for a visit to the goats. Goats will eat absolutely anything so Algernon was careful to stand far enough back from the wire.

Toffee and Badger came over to see us but DJ watched us from his shelf.

We came home very tired after our busy day.

Floyd takes Algernon to visit the Rescue

2010-04-27T11:53:00.000+02:00

Buttons and I were telling Algernon about the Raystede Rescue, where our Slave's son works. He was very interested in the quarterly magazine, one issue of which featured a lovely rat on the front cover.

We thought that a visit to Raystede might make a good day out and Algernon agreed." If we are quick," I said, " we might catch a ride with Kevin as he is off to work soon." I asked Buttons if he was coming but he said that he lived at the rescue when he was a piglet and that, although they took very good care of him, he would prefer to remain here at Piggyfriends.

I said that I would take lots of pictures for everyone to see and went to find Slave's camera. " Where did you leave it, Copper?" I asked. Soon we were ready to leave.

When we arrived at Raystede, Kevin parked the car and I asked him if I could take a picture of the entrance. The sign is rather high for us little rodents so I asked Kevin to lift Algernon up so that he could be in the photo.

Then Kevin took us to his office. As a result of a generous legacy, there is a lot of building work going on at the moment. A new kennel block is taking shape as well as new stabling for the horses and some improved roads. Kevin told us that this work should have been finished before Easter so as not to hamper visitors but, due to the unprecendented snowfall this past winter, all the work was delayed for months. Some of the grounds are, therefore, out of bounds to visitors but we would be allowed to accompany Kevin through the building site as long as we wore hard hats.

We stayed in the office and Kevin went to fetch some hats. Algernon mended a computer while he was waiting and then played with some mice.

Then Kevin came back with the hats and we set off through the building site to see the donkeys. Lots of people enjoy visiting them and are disappointed that they cannot now reach the paddocks.

After that we set off for the area called the Sanctuary. There are several large lakes, which are home to wildfowl like ducks and geese.

During the winter, these lakes are packed with migrant birds, who stop off for a free feed before continuing on their way south but the birds that we saw today are residents. Wild birds are free to come in for a meal and to stay or leave as they please. Two geese stopped by for a chat and laughed when Algernon told a joke.

The lakes, which are home to many carp, can be deep so the lifebelts are there for the safety of visitors. I took Algernon's photo when he jumped up onto one of them but I stayed firmly on the ground. Piggies are not built for climbing like rats.

Next we returned to the area where the visitors are still allowed.

We heard a lot of barking. I am used to dogs but Algernon was unsure so we decided not to visit them and he definitely did not want go near the cattery so we went to see the poultry.

There are many rescued birds here, often as a result of being dumped in the car park or as rescues from battery farms but Kevin told us that most of them soon find new homes with people who have smallholdings. New owners are very carefully vetted to make sure that they are only taking these birds home as pets, with the bonus of a few eggs sometimes, not for the dinner table.

Kevin unlocked the gate into the Rabbitry. It was a sunny day and all of the rabbits were asleep. I expect that they were glad to be outside after the bad winter.

To be continued..

A message from Copper Piggyfriend

2010-04-26T12:09:00.000+02:00

I thought that Algernon might like to go out and see a little of our neighbouring countryside so I went to fetch Slave's handbook of interesting places.

We had a look through the book and Algernon said that he would like to visit a castle. We discovered that Pevensey was not very far away so I went to borrow Slave's camera and away we went.

When we reached the village, there was a cannon on the village green and we could not resist climbing up on it and I took this picture of Algernon with my friends, Velveteen and Patch.

We walked along the road towards the castle and passed a very old church. A sign said that this was the very first church erected by the Normans. These were people from across the Channel in France, who invaded England in 1066. Something this old deserved another photo or two.

Then we reached the castle. We all sat down on the grass whilst I read from the handbook.

"This building has a history going back 16 centuries (wow, fancy that! ) It was begun in the 4th.century as a Roman "Saxon Shore" fort, two thirds of which still stands. Then William the Conqueror landed here ( boo, hiss ) and during the next century a huge Norman castle was built. It continued to be used after William's time and there was a great siege here in 1264. In 1588, the castle was strengthened to face the threat of the Spanish Armada."

Then we went to explore the castle ruins. We climbed the castle walls. We probably were not allowed to do this but the humans did not notice us small folk.

We looked at the gatehouse and some turrets and then we went into the dungeon but it was too dark for me to take a picture down there. The steps were very steep for small piggy feet. We are not as agile as Algernon.

Algernon wanted his picture taken on the castle fence. There was a very steep bank behind it with a moat. It was a very windy day and I was so scared that he was going to fall off that my paws were shaking when I held the camera. It is not a very good picture but I thought that you would like to see it anyway.

Algernon ate some of his rat food, which we had brought along. The grass in the castle grounds was lovely and tasty so after a good meal, we set off for the nearby beach.

The castle once stood at the edge of the sea but now there is marshland between it and the coast as the sea has receded.

Here is a picture of us at the beach. Algernon leant back on some seaweed to catch some rays.

The tide was in so we could not play on the sand. I wanted to write our names in the sand but we were out of luck.

We climbed on the breakwater and then collected some shells before setting off got home again.

Copper Piggyfriend

Penny's Famous Garden

2010-04-24T13:14:00.000+02:00

GuPi suggested an exploration in the garden where Camp Piggyfriends was held. She led the way and told Algernon about all the GPDD piggies that had visited from all over the world to set up camp there.

Gupi has wheels and can go really fast so she told Algernon to hold on very tight as they circumnavigated the lawn.

After that they were very tired so stopped for a rest on a bench and Algernon had a little nap.

When they had recovered, GuPi told him about the SAS manoeuvres in the shrubbery with Fugly during the camping expedition so Algernon decided that he wanted to climb a tree. " You won't get me up there" said GuPi but Stripy-Pig wanted to try. "Help" said Stripy " How am I going to get down?"

When Algernon saw the pond, he wanted to take out a boat. Hansa-Pig watched very anxiously from the edge. " Do be careful!" she said. " That is a very small boat and I think that you should sit down before you row."

"Don't worry" Algernon replied. He told her that all rats could swim and often lived on board ship. Hansa-Pig decided that she would rather live at Piggyfriends and watched as Algernon took a turn around the pond.

She was very relieved when he landed safely. Just then, it turned rather cold and so they headed for the greenhouse, where it was lovely and warm.

Algernon climbed up amongst the plants but Hansa-Pig stayed down on the floor. "Take care you don't get stabbed by those prickly cacti" she said but Algernon was very agile and jumped around without any problem.

Roscoe sends an email to Fugly

2010-04-22T09:35:00.000+02:00

Hi Fugly,

You'll never guess who has just arrived in Shadow's and my pen. It was Algernon Rat. He said that he mailed himself here. Wasn't that a brave thing to do, especially as the mail service is so slow? He was very hungry. Just then our Slave came in with a bag of grass for our tea.

We told him to hide in our hay but she spotted an extra pair of eyes peeking out from the hay and we couldn't avoid him being found out.

It was OK because she loves rats and she picked him up and said " You must be Algernon! Don't you know that your mummy is dreadfully worried about you?"

She was so pleased to see him that she went straight to the computer to let Algernon's family know that he was safe.

She gave out our grass and put Algernon into Garnet's pen. His group rushed towards the grass and started eating it. Algernon told us that he did not really like grass but that the things in the bowl looked good. He was so hungry after his trip that he started eating those.

Slave came over and said that she must buy some proper rat food so she took Algernon in her car to the village pet shop. She let him choose the one that he liked and they bought a bag and brought it home.

I must say that I prefer the grass but there is no accounting for taste.

Algernon is going to stay with us for a few days and then go and visit some other piggies.

From your pal,
Roscoe Piggyfriend.

Message from Penny to M

2010-04-20T20:30:00.000+02:00

Hi M,

I just got home from work and found a mysterious envelope with my mail. It looked like it had been gnawed and there were no contents. This envelope looks very like the one on Fugly's security camera.

I thought that I saw a flash of white dash across the hall carpet but I can't be sure. I've counted all of my fancy mice and they are safely in their tank so I am wondering if Algernon has found his way here.

The Piggyfriends were strangely quiet and shifty when I asked them about this, which is surprising, as I have just brought them a bag of freshly cut grass.

I'll let you know if I have any more to report but it does look as though the mysterious disappearance may be resolved and that Algernon is safe, although I do not know where he is hiding.

Regards from Penny

Algernon Rat is MIA

2010-04-19T10:20:00.000+02:00

For those of you not up to date with the latest Secret Agent speak MIA means he is missing in action yep the Rat has vanished...............

Having just returned from an adventure myself the first thing me did was to check my top secret security cameras after hours of the humans doing things that would only interest other humans me found this!!

It looks like the sneaky rat has written out an envelope and intends to post himself somewhere.

Me has tried my best to zoom in and read the address but these cameras were bought on a budget and you cant expect too much for 4 carrots and a lettuce leaf.

For my next piece of detective work me managed to locate the table where Algernon Rat (AR) had written the envelope, sure enough there was a note.

"Hey Family AR here I had so much fun at THE piggy party and so many piggies invited me to see their homes that I have decided to take them up on it, I am sure you will hear about my whereabouts soon, dont worry about me"

DONT WORRY does he not know that, that is all the humans do, lets hope we have an update from him soon.

Fugly

A Message From Penny and the Piggyfriends

2010-03-25T14:21:00.000+01:00

Gulliver, the Piggyfriends' spokespig greets Alge at the Rainbow Bridge

Penny Charlesworth

Sunday, February 21, 2010
I am sending my deepest sympathy to all the family on the passing of dear Beverly.

I never met her in real life but knew her as a member of the GPDD, an online guinea pig lovers forum, where we all knew her as Alge.

She was always ready with a kind word or advice and made us all laugh with her stories about her guinea pigs' adventures.

She was a true friend to us all and will be sorely missed.

Please accept my most sincere condolences at this, the saddest of times.

Penny and the Piggyfriends, a guinea pig sanctuary in England.

A Message From Cindy, Tumbleweed and Friday

2010-03-24T08:48:00.000+01:00

Sunshine Over the Rainbow Bridge with Alge

I had been so pleased to see Alge return to the Digest, and it was such a shock when she became sick again and I read how bad things were. I had hoped that somehow she could fight through her illness once more, with her wonderful humor and great inner strength. Unfortunately it was not meant to be. What a loss her passing is, for family, for friends, and for the Digest as a whole. She was certainly a cherished member, and we were all so very lucky to know her through her lovely postings. She was, and remains, an inspiration. I've kept her e-mails to me, as I keep many of my mails in a personal "archive," and it is a comfort that she will continue to live through her words. Alge, you will never leave our hearts.

Thank you, Alge, for being you. We miss you dearly.

Bethann, Tony, and family, we are so very sorry for your loss.

Sadly,
Cindy, Tumbleweed, and Friday

Cindy's Last Message to Alge

2010-03-24T08:46:00.000+01:00

Friday (left) and Tumbleweed (right)

Dear Alge,

We love you. I guess those are the three most important words anyone
can say. We love you, and we miss you. We hope and pray you can return
to us, but I'll say now what I tell our piggies when they begin to look
toward the Bridge: we need you and we want you to stay, but if you feel
you must go, we understand.

If you do leave for the Bridge, we are sure you will find the truth in
the Rainbow Bridge story, that all of your piggies who went before will
be awaiting you, and will cross over with you. So many sweet faces,
with hearts full of love and appreciation, will make your passage a
beautiful one. And then you'll get to meet Debbie Jones and Joe
Petrillo and Peter Gurney and Kirsten of the Critter Crew and any other
GPDDers who have passed over. And, of course, your beloved relatives
who are there, including your wonderful father who recently left.

Again, we love you. We hope you come back to us, here on earth, but if
not, you will never leave our hearts.

In special friendship,
Cindy, Tumbleweed, and Friday

Captain Jack Converses with Onion Ring

2010-03-16T18:13:00.000+01:00

Thanks Nancy and Alyssa and of course Onion Ring for letting us share this, everyone else be sure to check out the small animal channel link to view Onion Rings profile.

Onion Ring as Hokey One Spumoni in an elevator, heading to the Planet Lettuce. Copyright Alyssa Buecker

Here is the transcript between Captain Jack and Onion Ring

My Dear Onion Ring,
Our mommas know each other! I was so happy to learn tonight that you are here, too. Princess Snowflake has a profile here as well. On another day I'll help you find her site. I should introduce myself. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow although my friends just call me Capt'n Jack. I have a little brudder who doesn't have a profile here yet but his name is Barnacle Bill. I see that Aggie has already welcomed you. She's a very cool ferret lady, and our Pirate Brigade's Captain Mingo's "little flower." Yes, he loves her. If you come by and leave me a message it will be much easier for me to get back here to your profile. Everytime I visit I leave a vote. (However, you can only vote 1 time each day for each critter but you can vote for however many critters you like.) I learned about "I always leave a vote when I visit" from Aggie's Angel Brother, Thor, who went to the Bridge just about a month ago in the middle of surgery. It was so sad. We all miss him very much. He was a biker, liked ATV's and all that. So while he wasn't a pirate himself, he was a great friend to us pirates. Oh, I'm sure that you know that if you click the red link with our name at the end of the blog, it will take you to that critter's profile page. You can practice with my page. :) (Don't forget to leave me a vote! :) You're very brave to be traveling thru space in an elevator. We have your movie, Carrot Wars. There are all kinds of cool small animals here. Mostly little brudder and I hang out with our pirate buds and they all seem to be ferrets. I had no idea how much fun being a ferret must be. When you visit me, you can visit any of the critters on my blog and tell them that you're my friend. They are very friendly and will make you welcome. Merlin is a Wizard and he's very wise. And there are some very nice piggies here, too. Hope to see you on my blog page! (Bythe way, I left you a vote. Or did I already tell you that?)
Capt'n Jack
Come visit me, Captain Jack Sparrow II, Dec. COTM Thanks everyone & Barnacle Bill: shipwreck survivor and June COTM :).

Thanks so much to all my critter friends! :)
Captain Jack Sparrow, you are such a handsome young pirate of a pig! And I'm sure that Barnacle Bill is dashing, too! To both of you, I say thank you and ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!! I am having fun seeing the pages and voting for all my new friends on here, including Nero, Aggies, Noah, Nibbit, Angel Bosco (and all her wonderful piggy pals), Hammy, Chilla, Tigga, The Hamster Trio, Angel Pepper, Cosmo Bunny, Angel Ozzy & the Gang, Jitterbug, Clovie Dovie, Trina, Fannie-May-Ferret, Hammy, Elizabeth, Tiny DC & Pippin, and all the rest of you really great critters.
It's fun to spend some time on here after a hard day of filming! :)
Love and WHEEEEEEEEEPS,
Onion Ring
Come visit me, Onion Ring.

Hi
Just stopping by to leave you a vote and a greeting!Hello!
Come visit me, Captain Jack Sparrow II, Dec. COTM Thanks everyone & Barnacle Bill: shipwreck survivor and June COTM :).

Ahoy There, Captain Jack!
I just visited your page again, Captain Jack, and this time I posted a comment for you! I hope that you like it!
Love and WHEEEEEEEEEPS,
Onion Ring
Come visit me, Onion Ring.

Hi Onion Ring
Still traveling thru space in that elevator. Wow.You must really like to travel. Thanks for visiting me. It was good to hear from you. It sounds like you're meeting a whole lot of new friend. I, of course, am dropping off another vote for you! We guinea pigs are an interesting sort -- you're a movie star, I'm a pirate -- wonder what some of the others are besides being guinea pigs.
Come visit me, Captain Jack Sparrow II, Dec. COTM Thanks everyone & Barnacle Bill: shipwreck survivor and June COTM :).

Hi
I just stopped by to give you a vote!! And to say a friendly hello!
Come visit me, Captain Jack Sparrow II, Dec. COTM Thanks everyone & Barnacle Bill: shipwreck survivor and June COTM :).

Hey Onion Ring
I bet it's starting to get cold where you live. We had snow yesterday and today, but it's melted where the sun is shining. The two of us wanted to say hi. Did you hear that Barnacle Bill was COTD on Sat. We almost missed it 'cause momma didn't sign in the 'puter until late. So we had a late night celebration. He was really tickled to be so honored. Remember, he was from an animal abuse case and all this attention is making him feel really 'escited. He had a tough life before and we feel good that we can make him feel happy.
Come visit me, Captain Jack Sparrow II, Dec. COTM Thanks everyone & Barnacle Bill: shipwreck survivor and June COTM :).

Congrats, Barnacle Bill, on being COTD!!!
You really deserve it, you handsome devil! It IS getting cold here, and today we had snow. Luckily, I don't have to go outside and be in it.
Come visit me, Onion Ring.

Onion Ring!
So good to hear from you. We both hope that youse hadz a very nice holiday and dat your mum is feeling better and better all the time. It looks like you've met some really fine friends here. Our mom said to pleeze tell your mum and her mum hello! It seems like its always late when one of us is writing, but its getting late again. Have you and the space traveling elevator stopped to rest or explore anywhere? We are great fans of all the guinea pig movie stars.
Come visit me, Captain Jack Sparrow II, Dec. COTM Thanks everyone & Barnacle Bill: shipwreck survivor and June COTM :).

Guess what, Onion Ring!
Capt'n Jack got Critter of the month for Dec. Wheeze was all shocked. Thought we were on a wrong page. It is pretty 'eciting. You'll have to swing by an dtake a look at us in our Santa pictures that Pirate Mingo made for us. Dat one picture of Jack when the camera is turned the wrong way reminds me of you -- only your camera is turned the right way. Bof of youse looking like you're going up into space. I know you are, but Captain Jack isn't!!
Come visit me, Captain Jack Sparrow II, Dec. COTM Thanks everyone & Barnacle Bill: shipwreck survivor and June COTM :).

Hey Onion Ring
I was back here to write to you but something must have gone wrong cause I didn't leave you a message. We bof got your messages and were real happy to hear from you. Our friend Mingo made the pictures for us. Isn't that cool. Its the first time we've ever had holiday pictures. Course, is our first Chrsitmas, too. But the Jolly Rodents never had holiday pictures. And we're Jolly Rodents, too, when you think about it. The Jolly Rodent Pigggy Pirate Crew! Or just the Jolly Rodent Pirate Crew. We've been havin' fun with names.Momma still misses them udder Jolly Rodent guys dat have gone on to the Bridge. Chester went dar last Dec. on the 18th so Christmas reminds her of dat.But you guys and your momma have been with us through all those things. We're just glad your mom has come so far since her bad accident. Our momma's test came back good. She's still got a long way to go but at least, she says, it looks like she can keep going! She seems to think that's funny but we on't understand all that human stuff, do you? Marry Chrsistmas to you and all your fambly!
Come visit me, Captain Jack Sparrow II, Dec. COTM Thanks everyone & Barnacle Bill: shipwreck survivor and June COTM :).

Copyright Small Animal Channel Onion Ring's Profile

The Tale of the Little Lost Rat

2010-03-16T15:58:00.000+01:00

One day not very long ago at all, a little rat woke up to find himself all alone and in a strange place, worse than that the strange place was outside and it was not very warm.

"What do I do?" squeaked the little rat

"Dont worry I will look after you" replied a strange voice

"Who are you?"

"I am your Guardian Angel and the first thing we need to do is find a kind human to look after you"

"What about that lady in red?" asked the rat "No, not her"

"What about that man in the official uniform" asked the rat "No, not him"

Just then a car parked right next to where the little rat was waiting and a man with a friendly face, fat tummy and big grey beard like santa got out.

"Thats him" said the Guardian Angel

The little rat stuck his head out of the grass and made his way toward the man.

"Hello little guy, are you lost?" asked the man "Lets see if we can find where you belong"

The little rat wriggled into the mans hand and together they set off, they found the man in the official uniform and the friendly man asked what he should do with the rat, the official told him there had been a rat show at the weekend and that the little rat had probably escaped, he suggested running him over.

"See I told you not that one!!" said the Guardian Angel

"Well it looks like you are coming home with me" said the man

The man took the little rat with him to his home, realising that the rat needed somewhere safe to stay as well as food and water the man went to shop and bought a cage,bedding, a water bottle, food bowl, food and hidey hole for the little rat.

The little rat went straight into his new home and hid in the hidey hole to sleep.

The man was confused about where the rat had come from as he was incredibly friendly and seemed well fed he was sure a family somewhere were missing the little rat.

Not being very familiar with the world of the internet the man asked his daughter to look around and see what she could find.

Despite checking several websites including the website for the venue where the little rat was found the daughter could find no mention of any shows having ever been held there, and after lurking on several forums she found no mention of anyone having lost a rat.

When she reported back to the man, he was quietly pleased with this information as during the few days it had taken the daughter to do her research the family had fallen in love with the little rat.

The little rat had also fallen in love with his new family, he loved coming out for cuddles and climbing onto peoples shoulders, hiding in their pockets and hoods to sleep.

"We need to give you a name" said the man "What would you like to called?"

"Guardian Angel" said the rat "What would be a good name for my new family to call me"

"Well" replied the Guardian Angel "Before I became a Guardian Angel my friends in the virtual world knew me as Algernon, this was a name I chose from a story called "Flowers for Algernon" Algernon was a rat just like you, so I think the name would suit you well, and now you have a new home and are safe its time for me to leave you with your family and look for more little lost critters"

"Thank you Guardian Angel" said the rat "I will tell the man my new name"

So the rat told the man that from now on he wanted to be known as Algernon Rat and the man agreed.

They all lived happily every after......

The man is the story is my Dad, the daughter is me (M) and the little rat known as Algernon Rat has been in his new home for about 4 weeks now. We believe our Alge was watching over him as the Guardian Angel of the story.

The Pirate Piggy Adventure

2010-03-16T13:14:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the Pirate Piggy Adventure begun by our own beloved Alge in May 2009.

This is the transcript of the adventures saved by me M as the adventure progressed, each change of text colour represents a new group of piggies reporting on the adventure.

Here is the first post written by Alge, to read the whole adventure please click the links.
Download: The Pirate Piggy Adventure
Or view online The Pirate Piggy Adventure

Copy Right GPDD 2009

Pirating Piggies May 2009

Hi Every Pig and Every Person,

Wheese be reading da posts at da archives and our new address was only partially underlined and in blue there. Hmm... we wonder if dis makes it look like dat underlined part is our entire address. We hopes not, but we nots be getting either mail or our GPDDs. So we will put da complete new address in quotation marks. Will someone den writes to us so dat we may see dat the correct address be posting? It be: "Da Piggy Pirates@ aol.com" and it not be case sensitive.

Barnacle Bill from Remembering Alge..

Alge has thought of a couple other variations of da name but we told her just to stick wif what she has. Wheese be pirates and not overly particular on whether wheese be "Da Piggy Pirates" or "Piggy Pirates X2." Wheese thinks she told you dat someone actually already had "Piggy Pirates," da scurvy dogs. Dat was da name wheese really wanted. As for da virtual events: Dis is meant for everyone, but especially for Miss Mary Fran and she'll know why. (Wheese been procrastinators.)

Alge be lining up a bunch of medical tests and procedures and should have made some more appointments today but somehow managed to sleep instead. We bet dat be Freudian or somfin like dat. She not wants to make dem appointments. But there are 3 scheduled for next week and there might end up being more. But maybe whee should begin planning our Pirate Adventure for sometime in June. Be ye willing?

Captain Jack from Remembering Alge..

Father's Day be June 21st so that might not make that a good time for da trip. What say you? It be a fine time for us. Do ye sailors want to start on a weekday or a week end? Dare be a Friday da 12th in June. Anytime from da 12th on be fine wif us. So sing out you lads and lasses! When do ye be wanting to set sail? This trip can last as long as ye like. You'll have to bring some imagination wif you, but you piggies have never been short on dat! Whee'll be stopping at at least one island where be be passing out maps and ye can follow dem and find your own treasure. You can go in pairs, in groups, singly or what ever way strikes yur fancy. Wheese be gettin' 'xcited 'bout dis trip already. And da ship has been being polished and shined and will be ready to dazzle you right down to da glossy teakwood haul.

Wheese be sure whee can count on our usual partners in crime to be

ready to sail anytime. Also, our sail remains at half-mast for our good friend Manny da Boar who is busy having adventures at da Bridge. But wheese do miss him being wif us.

Capt'n Jack and Barnacle Bill, 1st Mate

(respond to "Da Piggy Pirates" address. Wheese don't know why we not writing from dare.)

A Message From Nancy, Alyssa and the Film Star Piggies

2010-03-15T17:30:00.000+01:00

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Dear family of Bev,

I'm posting here a message I sent to the GPDD listserv on Friday, February 19. I get the GPDD messages in Digest form, and hadn't gotten any for a couple of days, but had an uneasy feeling, so searched for the messages online. Here's my post:

We get the GPDD in Digest form, so hadn't gotten any news about Alge. But about an hour ago, I got a sharp sense of foreboding, and felt that I needed to know something about how she was doing. I went to the GPDD site (something I never do), in the hope of reassurance.

I organized the February archive by date, started looking towards the bottom, and then...my heart just about stopped.

I could no longer see the screen, the tears were coming so fast.

How can it be that such a big heart, a heart that was a friend to all of us and to all of our piggies, has been stilled? How can such a thing happen?

We have lost someone very precious and dear to us all. Alyssa and her movies have lost their biggest fan and their staunchest supporter.

Alge was a wonderful friend. She emailed us (especially Alyssa) all the time, for many years. We knew she was chronically ill and, from time to time, she made reference to her ailments (for one thing, she was waiting for a lung transplant), but she rarely dwelled on such topics. No, it was all about the piggies, and she was always complimenting Alyssa on her movie, Carrot Wars. To me, it was wonderful that Alge was so encouraging to my daughter, a young person, and cheering her on from day to day. I still have the email that Alge sent when G-Force first came out:

Hello Alyssa!!! 

I miss emailing you but there never seems to be time. As for G-Force, I'm certain that they're plagiarizing Carrot Wars or that, at least, it was their inspiration! Delighted that GP's are getting some attention these days. For the longest time, I believe that Carrot Wars was the only US made movie about GPs.

"We stand on the shoulders of those who've gone before us!!"

Alge and the Piggy Pirate Crew

It's amazing, the power of this listserv. Peter Gurney was a personal friend of mine, and I would never have met him and gotten to know him, if Alyssa and I hadn't subscribed to the GPDD. And then, there was Alge.

Although she'd lived an extremely interesting life filled with adventures, her world had gotten much smaller in the past several years, as her health situation worsened. Her beloved guinea pigs (first, the Jolly Rodents and then Cap'n Jack Sparrow and Barnacle Bill) helped fill the hole in her life, and so did her friends on the GPDD.

There are no words to describe the terrible emptiness I feel. For those of us on the GPDD who counted on Alge to show up and give us her very humane, very compassionate, very creative "take" on every issue concerning guinea pigs, it is like we have lost a family member.

There is no greater honor that we can give Alge now than to carry on her love of guinea pigs, and her basic human decency. It is such a blessing that her piggies are going to a good home. I'm sure that it was so hard for Alge to leave them, loving them as much as she did.

There are really no words to say what we are all feeling right now. This is indeed an irony, since our dear friend Alge was so good with words.

One thing we know: Alge is now at peace. And my fondest hope is that she is now reunited with her darling Jolly Rodents.

Love and WHEEEEEEEEEEEPS,

Nancy (& Alyssa, who is grief-stricken, too)
http://www.carrotwars.com

Sunday, February 21, 2010

There is one more thing about Bev (we knew her on the listserv as Alge) that I need to post: My daughter Alyssa (whom Alge continually sent supportive and encouraging emails to, anyway) was in a serious car accident a few years ago, when she had just started college. She was severely injured, and needed major surgery. She was in great pain for a long time, as it took ages (and lots of Physical Therapy, etc.) for her to recover. Bev was like a guardian angel to her at that time, sending her special goodies through the postal mail and helping see her through this dark time. We owe Bev a huge debt. Not only did she always applaud Alyssa's creativity and promote the sales of Alyssa's videos whenever she could, but she also ministered to her when she was badly hurt, and very much in need of a friend.

Alge, we will always love you, and I know that Alyssa will always think of you as her special Guardian Angel.

Message from Ellen and her 8 piggies and bunny

2010-03-15T15:53:00.001+01:00

Cheyenie

I wanted to put in something on the scrapbook for Alge.
I have been busy and grateful with my employer, and also with my 8 piggies.

Li'l Guy

I just read the post to Gpdd of March 3rd, which included what Tony, Alge's hubby, had sent to Susi. I did not sign the guestbook yet, but when I read what Tony had written for Alge on the Newcomer page, I burst into tears.

Gin Gin

Grief is a strange thing and holds no limit.
I feel glad that Tony and Alge's daughters, found out something so beautiful about her, that she did not 'let them in on' while in this physical world, and that is, she had the GPDD family. Since I am in Hawaii I shall tell you that in Hawaiian, the word ohana means family, and that is what we are, the Gpdd ohana.

Li'l Guy and Gin Gin

I have attached some photos of photos which I tried very hard to capture in filtered sunlight, with my new cell phone camera, so as to not look too one dimensional, of the piggies I had who have since left this physical world and departed for the Rainbow bridge.

Li'l Guy napping

I do not have a photo of Mercy who had been with me only two days. But his love is included in this, I am sure.

Gin Gin

Beginning with the photo that Michelle, a vet tech at the exotic vets, took of Cheyenie under a Christmas hat, then Li'l Guy (white and orange face), then Gin Gin (tri-colored, black face), then the two of them together, then Li'l Guy napping outside his cage next to the wall; Gin Gin in the same area. then the full photo; and last but not least, a photo of Rufie taken last year a few months prior to his passing.

Li'l Guy and Gin Gin

Piggies I love all of you, and now you have Alge to assist you as well. Love and light to all of you, and may peace be with you...

Rufie

Aloha,

Ellen and the 8 piggies and bunny

A Message From Birdie and Misses Perky and Pooky

2010-03-11T11:41:00.000+01:00

Tuesday, February 23, 2010
I am an online friend of Beverly or Alge as she was known to us at the GPDD. I will miss greatly her posts, words of encourgement and stories of her beloved guinea pigs. I had the pleasure of being a Secret Santa Pig one year at Christmas. I feel truely blessed to have been able to share a part of her life with her. I believe that she is watching over all of us from heaven now and is reunited with all the guinea pig family masters and slaves that have passed before her. She touched many of our lives with her specialness and love. You will be greatly missed our friend.

Birdie Horn

Pigture of Miss Pooky

Bethann's Message to her Mum (Alge)

2010-03-10T15:44:00.000+01:00

beth kitzmiller

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

MOM HOW I MISS YOU. YOU MADE LIFE SO GOOD JUST SEEING YOU . I ALWAYS KNEW THINGS WHERE GOING TO BE OK AFTER I TALKED TO YOU. YOU WHERE ONE IN A MILLION. YOU TOUCHED SO MANY PEOPLES LIVES THAT NO ONE CAN COUNT. AS I HAVE TALKED AND RECEIVED E-MAIL FROM SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE GPDD MOM YOU WHERE KNOWN AROUND THE WORLD. ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS WORLD AND YOU DID.YOU PROVED IT COULD BE DONE. YOU SAT AT YOUR COMPUTER AND HELPED AND SAVED MANY LITTLE PIGGIES, EVEN RESCUED A FEW YOURSELF. WE ALL HAVE A PLACE IN THIS WORLD AND YOU FOUND YOURS I JUST HOPE ONE DAY EVERYONE CAN FIND THERE PLACE IN THE WORLD AND MAKE THE DIFFERENCE THAT YOU DID. YOU ARE UP IN HEAVEN WITH PAPPY, LOTTIE AND YOUR OTHER FAMILY INCLUDING YOUR LITTLE PIGGIES THAT PASSED AWAY THAT YOU LOVED SO MUCH. ONE DAY MOM WE WILL SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN AND WE WILL REJOICE. MY LIFE WILL BE EMPTY WITHOUT YOU BUT I KNOW WHEN I AM DOWN I CAN TALK TO YOU AND YOU WILL LISTEN. YOUR ARE MY GUARDIAN ANGEL NOW, YOU WILL BE WATCHING ME BUT YOU WILL ALSO BE THE GUARDIAN ANGEL FOR ALL THE LITTLE PIGGIES OUT THERE AT NEED PROTECTING. I LOVE YOU MOM BETHANN

A Message From Kathy

2010-03-10T15:09:00.001+01:00

Kathy Congi

Sunday, February 21, 2010
Please accept my sincerest condolences for Beverly or as we know her Alge of the Guinea Pig Digest. She was such a wonderful supportive person and always had such kind and supportive messages for anyone in need. She is at the Bridge now with all her loved ones now. Peace be with you Alge

A Message From Sandy and Shipwreck Sam

2010-03-10T13:04:00.001+01:00

Sandy Oliver-Poore
Saturday, February 20, 2010
My forever love to the best friend any woman could ever have. I will miss you forever Alge, and keep you in my heart as long as it beats. Born the same month of the same year & as Gemini's always seemed to be as close as sisters. We shared a love of guinea pigs & wrote fictional stories about them in an alter life as Piggy Pirates, both of us share our love of the GPDD where I post as warmbreath

Candles from Glynis, Onyx and Velvet in Oz

2010-03-10T12:30:00.000+01:00

This is a charcoal drawing of Duke (RIP 2008), when he was ill i received emails from Alge offering advice and sending me her encouragement, love and best wishes.

I wanted to feel as if Alge had visited my house, she did in her emails, well now the lit candle has been around our house, in this picture it's sitting on the kitchen bench with a pot plant sitting behind it.

I carefully placed the lit candle in the cage with Onyx on the left and Velvet on the right, i was very careful and the girls seemed mesmerised by the flickering flame ........ they wanted to share in the candle lighting as well in respect for their friends Captn. Jack and Barnacle Bill.

Glynis, Onyx and Velvet

remembering Alge

2010-03-09T04:43:00.001+01:00

To Alge's family--

I am a very infrequent contributor to the GPDD, though I feel like I know everyone as I've read it daily for almost five years now. I prefer to post personally to members when I feel that I have something I want to share.

When I first joined the GPDD, Alge asked about an uncommon occurrence with guinea pigs, but one that I've had experience with. We had an interesting email correspondence concerning this issue, and it was then that I began to form a picture in my mind of what Alge was like. She mentioned her daughter and grandchildren, so I imagined her as an thin elderly lady, gray-haired and spectacled. I knew that she had health issues concerning her lungs and was bedridden at times, so I suppose that contributed to my thinking she must be an elderly grandma. My husband and I loved that she called her piggies the "Jolly Rodents," and I think it was that nickname as well as her droll sense of humor that made me think she MUST be British--until I learned that she lived in Ohio. Still, I thought perhaps she was British by birth--there was something about her wit and "voice" that made me think so (perhaps she was?). Anyways, I enjoyed seeing her photo and the slideshow of her life--my imaginary Alge was so different from the real person in looks, though the warmth, compassion, intelligence, and wit that shone through her writings reflected that real person in spirit, I'm very sure.

I hope that Alge's family reads this post. I've been wanting to write since I heard that she had passed on. The sadness that Alge's Digest friends are expressing is also very real--she was a friend to all and very beloved in return. She will be remembered with fondness and love.

With sincerest sympathy to Alge's family,

Ann and piggies Gizmo, Dart, Feather & Tessie

A Message From Jaime and Mimi

2010-03-04T01:44:00.001+01:00

I was lucky enough to meet Bev (Alge) thru the GPDD about 8 years ago. I loved her stories, creativity, and sense of humor. Even though she was sick, she always was there to cheer me on and help me get thru my own health issues. She was always concerned about me and not herself. That's just the kind of friend she was. I will miss her, Barnacle Bill and Captain Jack. I am a better person for having known her.
~Jaime & Mimi~
~Missing Albert, Molly, Radar & Daisy~
http://s652.photobucket.com/albums/uu246/chirpy123/

My Poem to Alge

2010-02-26T09:13:00.000+01:00

Goodbye to Alge,
A friend who made me smile, and sometimes laugh out loud,
Always ready with a kind word,
Though your voice we never heard,
You gave to us the Cavy Cavaret,
By mistyping Cabaret,
That sure was a key stroke of luck,
As the name it really stuck,
You gave the piggies the Black Pearl,
All I can say is what a girl,
And now you've gone we shed a tear,
We all miss you so much down here,
But in our hearts we hold you near,
Goodbye Alge a friend so dear.

M, Fugly + Spooky

Once Upon a Time..

2010-02-25T20:00:00.000+01:00

Once upon a time, in a country far far away, there was a princess... well.. No, strike that. Princesses tend to be stuck up little brats too dim to remove a perfectly edible pea from underneath their mattresses (except for guinea pig princesses, which is just a natural state for a guinea girl). No, this story is about a mom and the love she had for everyone and how the Jolly Rodents she raised changed the life of a little boar from the Netherlands.

Jan the Boar was a young chocolate colored silkie who found his forever home in 2005 when he joined the herd of the Winky Girls. He was the happiest pig alive. But sadly, the girls wouldn't give him the time of day and they'd tease him for having a 'girlie wheek'. When Lady Jasmine and Prince Biscuit invited them to their wedding in February 2006 Jan thought his moment to prove he was a real man had finally come. He tried to be as manly as possible and even climbed into their bedroom wearing tights and a rose between his teeth. But the girls, and especially his love interest Suus, just couldn't stop giggling and told him he was making a fool of himself. Poor Jan was very shy. But that was about to change when Jan met our mom's Jolly Rodents...

Back at home, Jan's slave was worried about her boy, she knew that he just wanted to be accepted by the girls and the other pigs. And that is when she received the following email from Charlie's mom:

Hi All,

This is too neat not to share right now. Charlie called me to let me know how great everything was though he has apparently used up almost everything on his Egg card including phone minutes, but he was so pleased -- he said that Jan the boar performed Beethoven Pig's Rumblestrut Blues with the rest of them. Charlie was as "esscited" as if he were speaking of a personal triumph. The girls were quite wrong, he said, "there's nothing girlie about his rumblestrutting." 

And then he ran out of minutes so I don't know what else is going on.

Alge

Copyright GPDD 2006

After that, Jan the Boar and the Jolly Rodents became great friends. They often told him about their mom and when she became sick, little Jan was very worried. He wanted to make her feel better like her boys did when he was in a tight spot. So he made a card for her and sent it far far away to the big US of A.

He was very happy when she came around again and he and the Jolly Rodents had many more virtual adventures until one weekend, Jan became sick and left for the Rainbow Bridge. Jan's slave was heartbroken and couldn't stop crying, until...

.. Until the Jolly Rodent's mom sent her a message that the Rodent Vehicle was picking Jan up and that all his friends were waiting for him at the bridge. Looking down from the bridge Jan finally saw his slave smile again and he knew that when Alge would go to the Rainbow Bridge he would be right there; with his friends, waiting for her. And in her honor they'd perform their best version of the Rumblestrut Blues... ever. For her...

See the boys strut:

Janneke
The Winky Team Igor & Yaya
And Suus & Jan the Boar from the Rainbow Bridge

a little poem for Alges page

2010-02-25T00:30:00.001+01:00

I thought this little poem would be fitting to  put up on Alges page. 


Gone But Not Forgotten 
 Don't think of her as gone away 
Her journey's just begun 
Life holds so many facets 
This earth is only one 
Just think of her as resting 
From the sorrows and the tears 
In a place of warmth and comfort
Where there are no days and years
Think how she must be wishing
That we could know, today 
Now nothing but our sadness
Can really pass away
And think of her as living
In the hearts of those she touched
For nothing loved is ever lost
And she is loved so very much

. Anonymous 

Remembering Alge

2010-02-24T20:33:00.001+01:00

We are all devastated here at Piggyfriends at the loss of our dear friend Alge. She was always there with advice when needed and with comforting words when one of us lost one of our precious piggies.

She will be particularly remembered for her wonderful virtual adventures, firstly with the Jolly Rodents and more recently with the brave and daring Piggy Pirates.

We loved the stories in which our Diamond ( see pigture ) was escorted by Chester, the Jolly Rodent.

We are glad that Captain Jack will be staying with Alge's nurse but are worrying about the long journey that Barnacle Bill will have to make to get to Florida.

We will think of Alge every time the Black Pearl sets sail, ably assisted by Sandy and are so sad that Alge will not be a part of these voyages. I hope that she will be watching her little ship from the Rainbow Bridge as it sails the seven seas.

Remembering Alge always.

Penny and the Piggyfriends.

Alge

2010-02-22T20:55:00.001+01:00

We are all missing our dear friend Alge here at Misfits. She was one special lady. Her wonderful imagination is just what we all needed on the digest. Her kind heart and comforting words helped us threw the losses of each Misfit when they crossed the bridge. She always knew just what to say in those times of sorrow and loss. The "Pearl" will sail on in her honor on the digest, and we will all think of her each time our guineas travel on that wonderful ship. We miss you Alge!
Jean & Andy and the many misfits

Online scrapbook for Alge

2010-02-20T19:00:00.001+01:00

Hi All,

Sandy wrote:

Many of you might like to write a story about Alge, I'm sure there is someone who would volunteer to make a scrapbook for Alge's family, esp Beth and her daughter Katherine..

I'm volunteering..

Send (or cc when you send your message to the digest) an email to the following adress:

guinygirl.alge@blogger.com

Please note that your email will be placed automatically and directly(!) onto this blog:
http://rememberingalge.blogspot.com/

If you attach pictures to your email they will appear in the blog. I'll work on the layout of the blog and if you also want to be an editor of this blog let me know (mail me at guinygirl@gmail.com; I could use some help when people start sending messages, if spam ends up in there it has to be removed)

Big Hug!
Janneke, Igor and Yaya

Capt Jack says his mumsie Alge is gone

2010-02-20T17:56:00.000+01:00

Alge has died with Beth by her side. The plan to rescue her Capt Jack and Barnacle Bill to Florida is starting, we may be needed to help for those of you who wish to help. I dont know much else except that all the people who need too be in the loop are coming together.

Whee are left without our dear friend, Capt. Jack and Barnacle Bill are left without their Mumsie, Alge is finally without her pain, thank goodness. The world is not quite as good as it was before. This is how the world works

love to all esp. Alge,

Sandy and Shipwreck Sam
(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")