Algernon on holiday

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!

Last message from the Surrey Squeakers

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

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

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

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