MOUSE OF COMMONS. MOUSE OF LORDS.: PART 14 OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA...

Thursday, January 03, 2008

PART 14 OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA...

GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA... - PART 14

Here for your delictation is the 14th and penultimate segment of our new internet-exclusive mini-adventure by Paul Chandler, set in Spain and the Islands, which is a sequel to GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL.

Majorca - Valdemossa, Late Autumn.

Out on the streets of Valdemossa, still relatively weak and disorientated, Augustus Grrr was searching for his son. Augustus had been made so youthful by the life forces that he had stolen that he now looked almost like the twin of Charlie - rather than his father. The change was uncanny; you could barely have told them apart if you had been unfortunate enough to have seen them together.

Augustus found that he could no longer read Charlie's mind - partly because of the tin helmet, most probably - however he was still able to detect his scent; although the bear's trail seem to criss-cross itself all over the village and nervous villagers and watchful cats peered down at him in slight confusion - wondering if this was the same bear as they had seen earlier and if so, what happened to his tin bucket helmet and his loyal friend, the wood louse.

Standing outside one of the restaurants in the village; Augustus could smell freshly cooked bread and his appetite began to rush back to him. He raised his muzzle to the sky and howled; food was essential, but getting revenge on Charlie was even more important...

Meanwhile, turning away from the gorgeous view of the snowy mountains; the church with its bell tower and the groves of oranges and olives; Ollie demanded an explanation; for he could see nothing.

"I don't see a portal or an entrance of a door to any lost city, Charlie... Where is it? Am I missing something? Is there some trap door amongst the cobbles that I'm just not seeing? Is the city somewhere beneath our feet - somewhere under the hill?"

Ollie would have hoped for a more mature response; but instead all that he got was a scoffing noise; or at least that was the initial reaction. "The city isn't beneath our feet - nor even above our heads; it is directly in front of us; except that it is on another plain - another dimension. All that is needed to open the door between the two worlds is a little bit of magic; magic which I stole from Augustus when we were exploring one anothers minds.

Oliver wasn't sure that he believed a word of it - but before he could say as much they both heard the sudden and angry growling of Augustus Grrr. "It's his party and he'll growl if he wants top..." observed his son glibly, not even seeming surprised to hear him, it appeared. In fact Charlie was so disinterested that he turned away and back to the view before him and began to growl the magic words to evoke the lost city.

Meanwhile, back on the cobbled streets of the village; not too far from where Charlie was chanting; Gladstone and Claud were making their own way through the slippery snow-strewn streets of Valdemossa. Even thought the snow had now finally stopped - it was still not easy to get about as none of the previous nights snow had yet been shifted. Whereas the arrival of the bears had caused some considerable dismay to the villagers - the arrival of the Mouse of Commons and Claud, had gone by almost totally unnoticed by comparison. In fact as they hurried along the cobbled streets some of the villagers were nervously emerging from their houses - and so, it seemed, were some of Valdemossa's watchful cat population.

"Hey! You!" called one small gang on a street corner. "Are you going to share your dinner with us fatty? You don't look like you need feeding up..."

"Look at him..." chuckled another. "He walks around our streets hand in hand with his lunch; what a very modern pussy cat he must be..."

Claud was quite incensed by hearing this. "I used to work in a pie restaurant..." he snapped. "We used to be paid in pies - and as for the mouse; he isn't for eating - he's the Mouse of Commons and Lords from back in London, England!"

"Hark at him!!" called another cat sarcastically, his english was good, but he had a strong accent - which made him sound quite funny using British slang. "Mouse of Commons and Lords? How posh!? Look who's eating gourmet food now... Normal mice aren't good enough for him!?"

"Don't listen to them, Claud... They're only teasing you; the mice of Valdemossa have obviously upped sticks and left for a better life somewhere where the cats are less rude..."

"We ate them all!" cried another of the feline villagers and before either Gladstone or Claud had a chance to ask about the bears. "We ate them all - and now we fancy a spot of gourmet British mice too..."

In the final episode of this story the portal is opened and Gladstone and Claud have to fight for their lives; whilst Charlie and Augustus clash head on...

TUNE IN AGAIN SOON FOR THE 15TH AND FINAL PART 15 OF THIS ADVENTURE...

This instalment of GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA was originally written in London on Friday 5th December 2007. It was finally completed on Tuesday 15th January 2008, due to unforeseen delays in producing the post.

BEHIND THE SCENES OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA...

Further photos from December's trip to the lovely Valdemossa and a very special tribute to a Mouse of Commons star, gone too soon...

MOG ARCHER

Finally in this post I have to announce the sad news that Mog Archer - who appeared in photos on this blog, as Claud during the posting of GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL passed on just before Christmas. Although he had not lived very long with Pete and Julie, his mum and dad, he was, of course, very much loved during his time with them in Reading and is now sadly missed by them. It is believed that Mog was about 8 years old and had come to live with Pete and Julie from a rescue centre; sadly his illness remained undiagnosed until it was too late to help him; however he was a very active and affectionate cat for all the time that they knew him.

I was lucky enough to meet Mog in late October 2007; when I took some of the photos that are included below and in previous posts. Thanks also to Dr Neph for some of the pictures he took, during this visit.

As you can see, these photos show him off at his handsome best.