Hiya, Roscoe here, talking from the lofty heights of upstairs.
Mam said something to us on Friday night about ‘moving upstairs’ and Saturday, after our cuddles and runaround on the kitchen floor, she took us upstairs. I’ve never been upstairs before. One or two stairs, yes, but not a whole level up to the rooms above, where Mam works during the day.
Bertie got terribly excited, and started popcorning around when he arrived (he was last, because Biggles went first, we went next, and he went after). He’s back in his old home, he said. I must admit, it’s a canny place. We’ve got more space, and an extra tunnel and bed, but we haven’t got our fiddlesticks. We also haven’t got the blue snugglesac, but Mam said she’s washing it in special stuff to see if she can get the hard bits out. Apparently we’re not supposed to wee in the soft furnishings. Bit late to tell us that, Mam.
Biggles is in a loft area of his own. It’s not as big as Bertie’s run, which is a tad smaller than ours, but Mam says she’s putting in an extension next week.
Our new set-up
Biggles
Bertie wants to talk to me
This is us all on our first day upstairs.
When we went down for our cuddles yesterday morning there was no sign of our cages. Mam said she’d had a tidy up to make it look smarter for visitors. I reckon it had something to do with that man in a suit who came to visit on Friday. I got to meet him, because I need to know who’s there, you know. He was very polite and scratched my ear and said I was bonny. Well, he didn’t say ‘bonny’ but that’s what he meant. Obviously a man who knows what’s what.
We also had cake yesterday. It was because it was the anniversary of Fred’s passing, seven years ago, and seven is a special number. This was Fred with Auntie Dawn, a couple of weeks before he decided to go and join his brother. He looks like a bonny chap too.
I’m very sad at the moment. I was all alone upstairs in the run when Mummy took Percy to the dentist last week. Then I was all alone again when she took him somewhere else for a couple of nights. She did tell me what she was doing, but I didn’t understand, except for her coming back after two darks.
When she left, Percy had been wobbling about his cage a lot. He told me he was feeling very funny. Mummy said he’d had a funny turn at the dentists and she was glad he’d pulled through. He wasn’t all right though.
Then when she came home after the two darks Percy had gone over the Rainbow Bridge. I think I knew he’d gone after the first dark. There was a sort of shimmer in the fabric of guinea pig space. That’s what Percy told me about when Midge died. It’s the way we guinea pigs communicate across time and space. That’s what he said, anyway. I told him I didn’t understand and he said I would in time.
Then I asked what is time, and he said he wrote about it the other day. Fred wrote about it too. I said I didn’t know Fred, and he just said ‘you will’ in that funny way he did when he talked about time.
So I’m very confused and I’m on my own now.
I was very lonely and then Mummy brought me downstairs to the kitchen for my run and when she picked me up I went in a new cage in the kitchen. It’s not as big as the upstairs run, but it has got a little ledge for me to sit on and I can look out of the window and at Roscoe and Neville and Biggles. Roscoe stands up at the edge of his cage and looks back at me. I don’t really like it, but it’s better than being on my own upstairs when Mummy’s out.
She says she still talks to me when she’s upstairs as if I’m there, and she misses me, but it’s best if I’m with the other piggies. I have spoken to Neville during floor time. He’s very nice. I am still not talking to Biggles, though. Neville said I should because he’s nice too. Roscoe’s a bit scary on the floor and Mummy picks him up before she puts me down, but leaves Neville for a while so we can chat.
I miss Percy. And my upstairs run. Mummy says I’ll be back in it some day, probably in winter when I can’t go outside. It’s easier to go outside from here.
Mummy reminded me to tell you we’ll now be in mourning until mid-July. We were going to come out of mourning for Midge this week, but now we have seven more weeks, because that’s the right number for mourning.
But Mummy says we can still have a cake for Princelings Day like she’s been planning. That’s 13th June. Percy would have explained it all much better. I miss him.
Hi there, Percy here again. This is the five hundredth post on George’s Guinea Pig World. I am very honoured.
I suppose I’m honoured to be part of the worldwide blogging community. Well, that’s what Mummy calls all the people who blog, everywhere in the world. We don’t know everyone that blogs all over the world, but we do know some of you 😀
I thought I’d better give you a run-down of who’s been posting in George’s Guinea Pig World (with their funny usernames), although you probably know them better than I do, because you have a longer memory than me.
Our authors on the blog
George (georgiepig)
George started it all. I don’t know if Mummy suggested it or he did. You can still read his original introduction to the blog. He first blogged on 8th May 2009, with two posts, one about favourite foods, and the other about having his grease gland cleaned. He did 63 posts, the last one was on 1st May 2011, which was about Hector’s first birthday. A lot of his posts are about visits to the dentist, because George had bad teeth and lots of operations. Mummy says I remind her of him sometimes, especially when I’m being stoical. I had to look that word up.
Fred (freddieready)
Fred at Haunn
Fred was George’s brother, and he took over when George died. He’s a little more intellectual than George. He started some new posts about the way the world works, and left one to be published on the spring equinox. That surprised Mummy because he died the November beforehand. He just missed George too much. It seems to be that way with brothers that live together. Fred did 51 posts including his memories of George on the day before he died.
Victor (Victorthefirst)
Mmm Dandelion
Victor took over from Fred, after 18th November 2011, although he’d stepped in once before when George couldn’t post because he was in hospital. He had a style of his own, but he settled down to proper English eventually. He did 93 posts, including an AtoZ Challenge on the theme of food (good theme!). He alternated with Dylan for a while, then Dylan lost interest for a bit. Hm, sounds a little like Bertie. Then Victor continued on his own until he died in May 2013. I think Victor did lots of interesting posts.
Dylan (Dylancavy)
Dylan’s first post was a very short introduction when Victor was doing the A to Z Challenge in April 2012. Dylan was only four or five months old then. He blogged off and on until Victor died, when he took over. His posts are really very good; he puts a lot of his personality into them. He got to report on the Jubilee Party in the Park, which we’ve never managed to replicate because there’s always someone who will pick a fight (Bertie). He also reported on his ninja capabilities (probably outside the ninja code). He did an AtoZ Challenge with Kevin, talking about guinea pig friends, which is useful because a lot of them are in Mummy’s books. He did 110 posts in all, so he was very industrious in spite of forgetting several times.
Kevin (KevintheBold)
Kevin joined in just before the Ato Z Challenge with Dylan. Kevin always sounds very reasonable, but then he was. He was clever without being a cleversticks (Dylan). He had an amazing life, like Colman, and he told us about it a few times. In fact his first post was Colman for the AtoZ Challenge, but he’d been looking after the Facebook page before that, so he knew how to talk to people. He only blogged 58 times, but they were really good posts, including guest interviews with people, like Auntie Dawn. Maybe I should do some more. He died in May, after getting a lumpy neck after Colman died. I’d started to help out, and we did the A to Z together on the theme of things we liked. That was only last year. I still miss him.
Percy (Misterpercypig)
Percy
I was the next Blogger to take over. I first posted on 4th April 2016, and got Kevin to check it for me. I did a post called The Last of the Jubilee Seven when Kevin went over the Bridge. This is my seventy-third post! I wonder if I’ll manage to get past Victor?
Bertie (Bertiebossyboots)
Sigh. What to say about Bertie? He’s a nightmare, although he can be very sweet. So far he’s done sixteen posts, and most of them are me, me, me. He’ll probably improve as he grows up, and maybe he’ll be back again in future.
Roscoe (Geordieroscoe)
Roscoe has only just started, as you know. He’s a nice chap. I like him. I could do with spending more time with him, in truth, but I expect when we get grass time we’ll get more time to chat. That shouldn’t be long now. Although it was snowing again last week. Roscoe’s done three posts so far, and they’ve all been interesting, haven’t they.
And Mummy…
Mummy with George in 2009
So that’s us, and I hope the posts add to 500. Well, they don’t, because sometimes Mummy posts things (32), especially memorials, and occasionally other things.
People who’ve lived here who haven’t posted are Hugo, Hector, Humphrey, Colman, Oscar and Midge. I wonder why. I’ll ask Midge and tell you next time.
Vikki with Midge
Oh, and I’d just like to thank Auntie Vikki for coming in and seeing us this week. It’s been great.
Hello! I’m Kevin. I’m a ginger and white guinea pig and I look after both George’s Guinea Pig World and our Facebook page. Percy and I have been sharing the workload for our A to Z Challenge this year, and I’ll be doing this last week.
Our theme is “Our Favourite Things” – and I hope you’re not tired out from all this blog-visiting! I’ve had an upset tummy for the last couple of weeks, but I’m feeling a lot better now.
T is for Tunnels…
… although it could also be for TENTS.
We have lots of tunnels, some soft and cosy ones, some cardboard ones, and some covered with dry grass which we can nibble. There’s also a blue fabric one, the same as our tent fabric, which we use out of doors. Tunnels are lovely to snuggle up in or run through, and they make a great shelter when we’re in the garden and fancy a snooze.
George and Fred 6 weeks old
Fred and Victor
Kevin in the tent
Oscar in the old green & purple tunnel
Fred and George with new chubes
Snuggly Dylan & Dougall
Midge in his tunnel
Hector’s tartan tunnel
Dougall mowing
Hugo takes a break
Tents and tunnels in the garden
Victor rests
When Mummy first got guinea pigs, that was Fred and George, she used to carry them around in the cardboard tunnels called chubes, which she thought might be safer if she ever tripped over. Later when she got the tents, she realised that not only are they good for sheltering from the sun (and rain if she forgets to bring us in and it starts raining), but also, for carrying us from the house to the garden and so on. And then when she did that, we all knew what was what, so when she shakes our tents at us we come and get in them to be taken in (or out). Mostly. Sometimes if we really don’t want to come in she has to be a little stern with us. But we know when she really means it.
She’s learnt from our Looks at her when we want to come in. I think Fred taught her to watch for his Look, and I managed to give her the same Look, which she understands. So we’ve done quite well at training Mummy over the years.
Here’s a moving picture of Dylan playing with his tent and tunnels in the garden, and Dougall too.
And here’s a picture of Midge coming into his tent at the end of floor-time in the morning.
Come back tomorrow and see us doing something Unusual!!
Hi, Kevin here. We’re into the second week of the A to Z Challenge, and in case you’re just visiting, I’m a six year old ginger and white guinea pig. This blog was started by Fred and George, Mummy’s very first guinea pigs. She writes books about them too.
Our A to Z Challenge theme is “Our Favourite Things”
L is for Lavender
Oooh, lavender! I adore lavender. Mummy has some bushes growing in the corner of one of the vegetable patches, and when are runs are next to it during the summer I try to sneak some pieces off and eat them. She doesn’t seem to mind, she says something about pruning doing them good.
Oscar with a lavender and cucumber birthday cake
Dylan prunes the lavender
Percy finds the lavender
Fred and George with a lavender cucumber cake
Sometimes she uses pieces of lavender in things, and gives us a little with our breakfast, or as a treat. She sometimes decorates summer birthday cakes with it, too.
Hello and welcome to George’s Guinea Pig World. I’m Percy, and I run this place with Kevin. George set it up in 2009, which is before I was born. I live with Bertie & Biggles in a nice cage next to Oscar, and his brother Midge lives next to Kevin.
Our A to Z theme is “Our Favourite Things”
G is for Grass
Today we’re talking about grass. Running around on it, eating it, sleeping on it, it doesn’t matter which, we just love grass.
We go out in our runs on the grass when it’s warm enough and we won’t get cold feet. Mummy often puts the runs out around her vegetable patches so we can see what she’s growing for our breakfasts. We are supposed to trim the grass next to the vegetable patches for her, but she says that Dylan and Dougall were never very diligent with that, and they’ve passed on their bad habits to us. Kevin’s very good at edges, though.
August in the garden with Dougall and Dylan
Apparently, once upon a time Mummy used to grow grass in trays for Fred and George, who were the first guinea pigs in George’s Guinea Pig World. Once they got older she just put them outside for a run, and she’s done that ever since. You can see some of our adventures on the grass on our Youtube Playlist.
I wonder if you’ll be able to see this one, with Fred running around. He’s only 2 here. That was in 2009, when George started this blog.
We’ll be doing H on Monday, and Kevin will take over for the week. I’ll be back the week after!
