PART 15 OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL!!!
GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL!!! - PART 15The 15th and final part of our internet-exclusive mini-adventure by Paul Chandler, set in Barcelona. Part 14 was posted earlier today.As it happened that particular explosion was only the first of several that filled the cavern and later decimated the pie factory building altogether. It appeared that whatever it was that the stranger had been digging for; as Gladstone and Claud had approached the mysterious bear in the boiler suit he had lost control of the machine and this had caused it to go out of control and into overload.
Despite the first explosion; they had all managed to get out of the building in good time; but they had been covered in gravy and pastry and all sorts of mud and rubble dust from the cavern.
The mystery remained, however - for the boiler suited bear had vanished without them getting to speak to him. They had presumed that he was both the manager of the pie factory and was responsible for all recent appearances of the Pie Man to keep the locals scared. Gladstone recalled noticing that he was gone just moments before the first explosion - but had been too distracted by Charlie to say anything - and then the explosion had hit.
They never did find out what had happened to the mystery man and who he was - at least not at that time...They did, however, learn what exactly he had been up to; it had been Charlie who had uncovered that - and it was quite a surprise, at that:
It had been lunchtime, on the next day that Charlie, Gladstone and Ollie were joined by Claud for coffee and Boccadillos in the Poblenou district of town.
"I really don't think I want to go on any further pie-crawls, thank you - Charlie…" Gladstone had said, a trifle distrustfully. "…and ghosts hunts are out too…" added Ollie and even Claud seemed to agree with this.
"You're so unadventurous…" Charlie frowned, having enjoyed every minute of their little run around last night. "I'm really disappointed with you all…" he sighed, sounding really disappointed and let down by them all. "It’s just that I had another little adventure planned that I thought you might like to know about…" he teased. "I thought you might like to know what our mystery Pie Man was up to…"
It was hard to resist finding out what had been going on and sure enough they all sat with baited breath as Charlie took the copper tube from his coat pocket, removed the scroll and then unrolled it; these were the papers that Gladstone had seen him steal from the factory.
Slowly; very slowly amd for maximum effect, Charlie laid out the papers on the table before him and then read out the heading on the largest sheet of paper - words that were written in Spanish and which only he and Claud could read without difficulty…
THIS IS A MAP… he read slowly…
THAT LEADS TO THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA…"It's a treasure map!!" gasped Ollie, Claud just looked dumb-struck.
"It's someone else's treasure map…" Gladstone reminded him. "Someone else who escaped from the explosion at the pie factory and who probably suspects that we've stolen it too…"
But Charlie wasn't swayed from his decision."It WAS someone's treasure map…" he corrected Gladstone. "But NOW it's MINE!!" he growled greedily. "And I'm going to find all the pies that the lost city contains - they're all mine now - every last one…"
Claud, Ollie and Gladstone stared at him in a mixture of surprise, horror and admiration - the bear meant business and very soon the bear would be heading out; DESTINATION:
THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA..."Boss…" whispered Ollie. "We can't let him go alone, can we?"
Gladstone said nothing; they all knew the answer to that...Will Gladstone, Ollie and Claud join Charlie on the search for the lost city? What troubles will the map lead them into and will the mysterious stranger re-emerge to try and steal the map back from them.COMING SOON:
GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA.First part of this new adventure posted Monday 3rd December 2007The final instalment of GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL was originally written in Barcelona on Sunday 11th November 2007.
BEHIND THE SCENES OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWLFinal photos from our fabulous trip to Barcelona. Not forgetting, as promised - my good friend Tom Crittenden's stupendous Pie Birthday Poem that he wrote in my birthday card.
BEARSONONA!!!(A Poem by Beardad…)Bearson is spending his birthday in Spain,
He didn't fly there, he got there by plane.
Else he would have ached and the pies that he baked -
Would be left to go cold from the pain.
I hope that he's not a whiner and moaner,
If, when he wakes up in fair Barcelona,
He finds no pies to fill up his insides -
And his belly's a big furry groaner…
Are pies there in Spain like those in UK?
Do pies there have genders? Can pies there be gay?
If a pie's not a fella, is it called a pie-ella?
Is that how paellas got named?
Thanks again to Calum and Quint for making my birthday weekend so special! It was a great weekend, thanks guys!! :)
Photos and text - copyright Paul Chandler, 2007. Birthday Pie Poem by Tom Crittenden - copyright Tom Crittenden, 2007. Labels: Gladstone McWhiskers, Mouse of Commons, Oliver Louse
PART 14 OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL!!!
GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL!!! - PART 14Part 14 of a 15 part internet-exclusive mini-adventure by Paul Chandler, set in Barcelona.Oliver Louse took a deep breath and decided that the only thing that he could do was to stand up to the furious cub-waiters with their rolling pins...
"Now I can explain..." he called out - after having found himself lost for words for a moment or two.
The trouble was that the expressions on the faces on the skele-cubs suggested that they really didn't want him to explain; he had rather spoilt whatever scam that was going on in the pie factory and if the fact that there were no ghosts got out then there was a chance that the newspapers would get hold of the story and ruin the business. (Not to mention the matter of the ghosts keeping people away from investigating what was going on underground - something that Ollie didn't even know about, as yet!) Ollie was sure that they wouldn't let him get away - but on the other hand he had no intention of letting them beat him to a pulp, either; his head simply wasn't made for battering with a rolling pin - not even once. He was a very small woodlouse and the chances of surviving any kind of christening with even one such weapon was extremely small.
"If you intend to murder me then I promise I'll come back and haunt you..." Ollie declared, as bravely as he could manage. "Believe me - I've met ghosts - there just aren't any in this building..." He continued and then added. "I have very friends in very high places, you know..."
"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!" was all the cub waiters had to say in reply, which was presumably Beargrrrian for "PREPARE TO BE BATTERED LOUSE BOY", or some such unfriendly promise.
"Please..." whimpered Ollie. "Please - have mercy on me... It was the allure of the gravy!!" he pleaded.
But he didn't have to plead for very much longer..."GRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOWWWWWLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!" boomed Charlie Grrr suddenly, from behind the cubs, sending them scattering away in fear. "UNHAND MY FRIEND AND TAKE ME TO THE MANAGER!!!" he demanded, his furry face distorted with rage - although as he turned his head he winked to Ollie, just to emphasize that he was really only play-acting to create a scare. "I SAID - TAKE ME TO THE MANAGER!!!"
This time the cubs seemed to get the message and started to jabber; half in Spanish and half in Beargrrrian - with a very scared look upon their faces. Ollie couldn't make much of it out, but even he could tell that they were petrified of their boss; but then again at this precise moment they were torn due to being even more frightened of Charlie.
"Hello Ollie... Aren't you clever?" grrred Charlie with a big smile, chuckling as he scooped up his friend and placing him behind his ears. "Hold on tight, now... We're off to see who's behind all this..." he continued brightly - seeming to have sobered up from the effects of all that excessive gravy sniffing; he didn't even appear at all indignant over Ollie having had to show him the truth.
Together they returned to the ground floor and then following the direction of the distressed cubs began to head down to the kitchen and then down to a level even below that. The sound of the pie kitchen were soon drowned out by another noise - the sound of a drilling machine to be precise.
"HERE WE ARE!!!" boomed Charlie as they emerged into a dark and dusty cellar where, indeed, there seemed to be a lot of building work going on. "I DEMAND TO SEE THE MANAGER!!!" he bellowed, once again, causing Oliver to put his hands over his ears.
As they both peered through the haze of dust in the cavern below the pie factory they soon made out two figures; however one of the appeared to be slumped unconscious by the digging machines - which still seemed to be busily digging into the earth beneath the city.
As for the second figure; well - from what Oliver could tell, from all the descriptions he had heard from Charlie and Claud - the second figure appeared to be THE PIE MAN!!!"Are YOU the manager??" Charlie snuffled, sounding a little less confident now that he was facing the giant pie-faced villain.
"Isn't he supposed to be a ghost..." Ollie hissed. "He looks pretty solid..."
But before Charlie could reply, the Pie Man stepped forward and stared at them both with an intense gaze that made Ollie close his eyes in fear. It was almost as if the Pie Man's pie eyes could see inside his brain.
"No, dear boy - I reckon he's the manager..." squeaked a familiar voice. "But I think we rather scared him out of his wits when we crept up behind him through the dust..."
The Pie Man suddenly flipped up his head and standing there, on the shoulders of Claud the cat, was Gladstone McWhiskers.
"WHATEVER ARE YOU UP TO, BOSS..." Ollie exclaimed. "And what ON EARTH is going on down here??"
"What UNDER earth, more like..." growled Charlie with a smile. "Trust a mouse to find a whole burrow of trouble underground..." he teased, as he wandered over to a table with what appeared to be a whole pile of dirty artifacts upon it. "Somebody's been digging up treasure..." he muttered as he began to file through some of the items that had been exposed; including what appeared to be a scroll of paper protected inside a copper tube.
Gladstone was about to reply to Charlie, who appeared to be stuffing as many of the trinkets into his pocket as he had space for - when all of a sudden Oliver called out. "Whatever that machine is doing it looks as if it's about to overheat or something... Shouldn't we try to turn it off!?"
"No time for that..." mewed Claud. "It's on fire..."
They were both right; but there was little time to do anything; as before any of them had time to make a move towards the exit to make their escape the whole room filled with steam and there was an almighty explosion...TO BE CONTINUED, LATER TONIGHT.How will the four friends escape the explosion underground? Will they ever discover who the Pie Man was and what was being dug for? Find out later tonight in the final instalment of GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL!!!This instalment was originally written in Barcelona on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th November 2007.
BEHIND THE SCENES OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWLPenultimate posting photos from Barcelona from the clot what wrote this story. (See photo below!!) hehe.
Photos and text - copyright Paul Chandler 2007.Labels: Gladstone McWhiskers, Mouse of Commons, Oliver Louse
PART 13 OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL!!!
GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL!!! - PART 13Part 13 of a 15 part internet-exclusive mini-adventure by Paul Chandler, set in Barcelona.It had to be said that it was very dark where Gladstone and Claud now stood and there was really no room for error now in their plans and so Glad was keen to ensure that Claud knew exactly what he was meant to be doing. He felt a little bad for suspecting the cat of foul-play and wrong-doing, for even though he'd nearly knocked him off that ladder and had purred rather scarily at him when they'd first met - he really wasn't a bad cat at heart, just a trifle over-exciteable.
"So, you know what you're doing, Claud?" Gladstone hissed.
"Yes... Yes... I know..." There was an uncertain pause. "I think I know... No - no - I do know - there's no problem at all..."
"Okay then... Is there anything you need to know, Claud?"
"One last thing, Senor McWhiskers..."
"What is it, Claud?"
"When this whole business is all over and done with, can I please have your autograph?"
"Of course, Claud... It would be my pleasure..." Gladstone took a breath and hoped that the cat could be trusted not to mess up their plan. "Okay then..." he sighed. "Let's do this, shall we?" he exclaimed bravely, as he reached out into the darkness for the button that worked the lift - pressing it with a confidence that he really didn't feel. But it was done now and slowly, but steadily the lift cranked into action and steadily they began to sink down below the floorboards in gradual pursuit of the boiler suited stranger who they'd seen descend there no many minutes before...
Meanwhile, back in the pie factory, Charlie was just about to start tucking into his 13th ectoplasm pie when there suddenly came a gasp from a number of the cub waiters and the disturbing smashing of crockery close at hand.
"CAREFUL OVER THERE!!" cried the bear. "I HOPE THAT'S NOT MY NEXT COURSE THAT YOU'RE DROPPING ON THE FLOOR THERE..." he'd completely forgotten about Oliver and Gladstone and it had to be said that he was still a little intoxicated by the smell of the beef gravy.
*CRASH!!*SMASH!!*CRASH!!*Charlie looked up again in dismay as he realised that all the smashing of plates was coming from all around him and that one of the plates had almost hit him on the head. "HEY!!" he cried - wondering what was up with the poltergueists - but this time he saw the truth; this time he saw the smashed plates and the chewed wires that were attached to them and the furious cub waiters who were pointing at the ceiling; enraged that the tricks of their trade were being exposed.
"I THINK I WANT TO SEE THE MANAGER!!!" he boomed, but none of the cub waiters appeared to be listening to their V.I.P. guest. "I SAID - I THINK I WANT TO SEE THE MANAGER!!!" he bellowed.
But still no-one was listening...Meanwhile, back upstairs - Oliver Louse sat back and took a well earned rest; his teeth ached from all the nibbling - but he hoped that he had least exposed the crime behind the supposedly haunted pie factory...
"He'll be cross, though..." Ollie reasoned. "Charlie Grrr doesn't like to be proved wrong about ANYTHING!!"
Giving himself another few moments he finally rose to his feet and took a quick look around before heading back the way he had come on his way up...
Only this time his way was blocked; blocked by three bearcub waiters dressed as skeletons - each holding rolling pins and wearing expressions of fury...
There was no doubt about it - these cubs wanted their revenge...TO BE CONTINUED, TOMORROW.How will Oliver escape the revenge of the fury-filled bear cubs? What is the lesson that Gladstone has in store for the boiler suited stranger? All this and more in tomorrow's episode.
This instalment was originally written in Barcelona on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th November 2007. BEHIND THE SCENES OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWLMore fun at the zoo!!
Photos and text - copyright Paul Chandler 2007.Labels: Gladstone McWhiskers, Mouse of Commons, Oliver Louse
GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL!!! - PART 15
BEARSONONA!!!
Photos and text - copyright Paul Chandler, 2007. Birthday Pie Poem by Tom Crittenden - copyright Tom Crittenden, 2007. 
