PART 8 of GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION...
PICTURES TO FOLLOW!!!GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION...
- PART 8Welcome to the 8th part of our new internet-exclusive, 15 part, mini-adventure by Paul Chandler, once again set in Spain, which is a sequel to GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL and GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA. Although the story refers back to some elements from the previous two stories it can be read on its own and detailed below is a brief summary of the events of the two stories so far. The three stories will be published, along with other stories from this site, in a collection called POSTCARDS FROM MCWHISKERS, due in Spring/Summer 2009.The story so far…During a visit to Barcelona; Gladstone, Oliver and Charlie meet a cat waiter called Claud and embark on a pie-crawl around the city. During their adventures they stumble on secret goings-on under a pie factory and discover a map that leads them to The Lost City Of Bearcelona - which just happens to be somewhere on the island of Majorca. The only person who can understand the map is Charlie's father Augustus; who is imprisoned inside a cocoon where he can't cause any further trouble. He isn't dead - and yet he isn't really alive in any proper sense; although he is able to communicate with Charlie psychically and during their visit to Barcelona he escapes and Charlie and he fall through a portal that may or may not lead to the lost city… The portal closes behind them and there is no sign of them for months. This new story takes place almost a year later and nothing has been heard from either Charlie or Augustus…
So far this adventure: Oliver Louse and Laura Dust-mite have trailed Gladstone McWhiskers to Barcelona where there have been sightings of Charlie up in the mountains near Alquézar… Meanwhile, Charlie is safe and sound, but stuck in another dimension in "The Lost City of Bearcelona", which is rather smaller than expected; he and Augustus are at loggerheads - but Charlie has decided that he will escape - one way or another and manages to get a pie with a HELP message on it, through the barrier…The Other Dimension: The Lost "City" of Bearcelona...To be honest, seeing the tourists in the “city” had been both a blessing and a curse for Charlie – there was simply no denying it…
In some ways it had made him sad and cross that he was still imprisoned, but in other ways it gave him hope and the ambition to keep searching for a way out. The fact that the tourists had arrived and then left again also gave him the hope that, as long as he could find the portal again – that he could probably get out that way too…
Well, surely – it had to be possible!?It took him a long time to work out if there was any science behind the opening of the portals and whether they appeared at any regular time or place. Pretty much the answer seemed to be a resounding NO!! – but it was possible, over time, to work a potential pattern of when the opportunity would present itself and although no more strangers like the French tourists found their way in he did often stumble upon the same familiar shimmering lights that he’d seen in the mountain town of Valldemossa in Majorca, where they had first fallen into the portal.
But always too late…His activities did not go unnoticed by his father – who kept appearing on the hillside outside the monastery watching him busying himself down in the town through binoculars. At first Charlie had wondered whether Augustus was somehow able to control the portal activity – but he seemed almost as intrigued by the whole phenomena as Charlie, himself, was. That said the bear’s father seemed to be quite content living in the tiny Lost City of Bearcelona; unlike his celebearity, show-business, show-off offspring.
On the other hand he didn’t seem keen on the idea of Charlie attempting to make his escape – although he seemed to know more about the whole matter than Charlie did.“You won’t be able to escape, son… You can only get in that way – you can’t get out!”
“Nonsense…” Charlie refuted, he had been stalking around the “city” square all afternoon and hadn’t noticed his father approach; he’d not seen him close up in months and it was strange to think that the young-ish looking bear who stood opposite him and who looked no older than him was his father – this was due to all the life-forces that he had drained from innocent London theatre-goers some time ago now. “Nonsense!” Charlie repeated. “Not so long ago we had visitors here – a bus load of French tourists – they came in through the portal and then quite quickly they left again…”
Augustus grinned at hearing this and patted his stomach. “Yes…” he beamed. “They came and they went; they went well with a nice three-bean salad and some steam-cooked rice, I should say…” he added and then licked his lips.
"I don't believe you, father... You're making it up..."
"I'm jolly well not..." Augustus sneered. "They were a little bit chewy, it has to be said - but the older ones made decent pies and the younger ones the meat just fell right off the bones... I have the skeletons to prove it back in my basement if you really want to see!"
"No thank you!" Charlie spat back, in disgust. "So if you really saw them, where is their vehicle? I don't see it standing around anywhere?" he challenged.
“Oh! That old thing... Well, the bus eventually ran out of gas – didn’t you see me riding around on it – you are unobservant, Charlie. Still – it didn’t go to waste; once the fuel ran out I simply took it apart and made a nice croissant-baking machine out of the remains…” Charlie wasn’t sure if what his father was saying was true, but the bear had more to say. “You should get used to staying here – one day the portals will close for good – believe me – I know these things; for you own well being – if you find a portal whatever you do don’t try and go through it because it will kill you! Nothing can travel through from the other side and survive…”
However, once he’d been told this Charlie say it as a challenge in itself, of course – and that night he returned home and began to bake. He baked pies with warnings spelt out in on the crust in large, chunky, capital letter pastry; messages that pleaded for help…
Messages that he hoped he could throw through the portal, that would somehow reach the outside world…FROM NEXT WEEK GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION WILL BE POSTED TWICE-WEEKLY: ON TUESDAY AND THURSDAY - UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE…PART 9 OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION WILL BE POSTED ON THIS SITE ON TUESDAY 9TH DECEMBER…This instalment of GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION was originally written in Bierge, Spain on Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th October 2008. BEHIND THE SCENES OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION...We continue to explore “The Lost City of Bearcelona…” in photos…
PICTURES TO FOLLOW!!!Story, Text and Photos copyright – Paul Chandler, 2008.Labels: BARCELONA, Charlie Grrr, Claud, fiction, Gladstone McWhiskers, HUMOR, HUMOUR, Laura Dust-mite, Mouse of Commons, Oliver Louse, SPAIN
PART 7 of GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION...
GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION...
- PART 7Welcome to the 7th part of our new internet-exclusive, 15 part, mini-adventure by Paul Chandler, once again set in Spain, which is a sequel to GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL and GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA. Although the story refers back to some elements from the previous two stories it can be read on its own and detailed below is a brief summary of the events of the two stories so far. The three stories will be published, along with other stories from this site, in a collection called POSTCARDS FROM MCWHISKERS, due in Spring/Summer 2009. The story so far…During a visit to Barcelona; Gladstone, Oliver and Charlie meet a cat waiter called Claud and embark on a pie-crawl around the city. During their adventures they stumble on secret goings-on under a pie factory and discover a map that leads them to The Lost City Of Bearcelona - which just happens to be somewhere on the island of Majorca. The only person who can understand the map is Charlie's father Augustus; who is imprisoned inside a cocoon where he can't cause any further trouble. He isn't dead - and yet he isn't really alive in any proper sense; although he is able to communicate with Charlie psychically and during their visit to Barcelona he escapes and Charlie and he fall through a portal that may or may not lead to the lost city… The portal closes behind them and there is no sign of them for months. This new story takes place almost a year later and nothing has been heard from either Charlie or Augustus…
So far this adventure: Oliver Louse and Laura Dust-mite have trailed Gladstone McWhiskers to Barcelona where there have been sightings of Charlie up in the mountains near Alquézar… On their arrival they can hear the bear howling, but haven't yet seen him. Meanwhile, Charlie is safe and sound, but stuck in another dimension in "The Lost City of Bearcelona", which is rather smaller than expected; he and Augustus are at loggerheads - but Charlie has decided that he will escape - one way or another…Alquézar, SpainIt wasn’t only Oliver and Laura who heard the unmistakable growl of Charlie Grrr echoing through the streets of Alquézar – but also Gladstone and Claud…“That’s him! That’s Charlie!” exclaimed the mouse; but this was quite an obvious statement and, of course, Claud knew it too – for their was no mistaking Charlie’s growl – to be honest it wasn’t the sort of sound that locals in obscure Spanish towns were used to hearing; they were used to hearing local cats like Claud doing their daily singing practice – but not to hearing the cry of the lone Beargrrrian bear…
“Does he sound like he’s in pain?” Claud asked Gladstone as they hurried on through the twisty, turny streets of Alquézar. “I wasn’t sure, to be honest…” he admitted.
“No… I don’t think so… That wasn’t a cry of pain – it’s, well – it’s more like a cry to grab someone’s attention…” Gladstone explained. “The sort of call he uses to gain waiters attention in restaurants when he wants another gravy boat or when he’s at home and would quite like another pie, but can’t be bothered to get off his fat behind to fetch it himself…” he added affectionately.
“I have a nasty feeling we’ve missed him; I must have miscalculated Gladstone, I’m sorry…” Claud apologized; but Glad didn’t reply and just encouraged the cat to keep leading them on their way. “The good thing is, at least, that we’ve definitely heard him tonight – so these appearances are definitely genuine and they’ve been occurring increasingly of late too, Gladstone…” he added hopefully. “We can stay here a couple of nights and next time be sure we’re in the right place at the right time…”
All of a sudden Gladstone stopped still and, at first, Claud thought it was because he’d smelt the gorgeous aroma of a local risotto dish that was wafting around the streets from a nearby restaurant; but it wasn’t food that the mouse had detected, but something else – he was staring back the way they had just come as if he had seen something there lurking in the shadows.
"Hello..." he called. "Hello!? Charlie..."
But nothing responded and as they both stared into the darkness Claud wandered if it was just Gladstone's imagination or whether it really was the same beary phantom that the locals of Alquézar had recently been reporting. The more they stared into the shadows the less it looked like there was anything there – for Claud couldn’t see anyone at all.
“What was it, Gladstone?” he hissed, reluctant to speak aloud, for the moment seemed so tense.
“Something – nothing…” the mouse replied rather cryptically, making no sense at all as he walked on ahead – out into a courtyard which looked down to the valley below; but which was dwarfed by a large church on a rock ledge above them.
Claud seemed to recognise the square, but was a little nervous for a group of locals was watching them from a balcony above and seemed quite disapproving of their arrival. It had been much the same when they had been in Majorca and the last thing they needed was trouble from local humans, cats, mouse or any resident animal. Taking a breath to calm himself, Claud cast an eye around the square again and then explained himself.
“This is where I was expecting to see the vision of Charlie tonight…” he explained, but seemed quite confused about something. “I don’t understand it – we’re not late; at least not by our calculations – and we’re in the place where I expected the appearance to occur…”
“Well – either the calculations are wrong – or maybe it’s yet to happen…” Gladstone suggested, but Claud didn’t look too convinced.
“But we heard his growl…”
“Could he have crossed between dimensions?”
“Perhaps – but in that case where is he?!”
“WHERE exactly!!”
Both Gladstone and Claud stood beneath the shadow of the cliff and watched; listening – it was then they both saw it – there on the tarmac before them – a pie and in it were carved four words that sent a chill through them both:
HELP ME!! TIME IS RUNNING OUT!!!THERE WILL NOW BE A DELAY OF APPROXIMATELY A MONTH BEFORE THE RETURN OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION WHILST I HEAD TO OSLO FOR MY BIRTHDAY TRIP TO BEGIN WORK ON GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE NORSE KNITTING GNOMES, WHICH WILL APPEAR IN A MOUSE OF COMMONS BOOK NEAR YOU SOMETIME SOON… I AM ALSO BUSY PUTTING THE FINISHING TOUCHES TO THE NEXT MOUSE BOOK OF NOVELLAS: GOSSIP FROM THE CHEESE COUNTER AND WILL BE HAVING A BOOK LAUNCH FOR THAT; AS WELL AS APPEARING ON THE RADIO WITH GLADSTONE AND WORKING HARD ON THE NEXT POETRY COLLECTION. TO SEE WHAT I GET UP TO DURING NOVEMBER PLEASE CHECK THE 100TH POST OF MY POETRY BLOG AT: www.thedaffypoet.blogspot.com SEE YOU ALL SOON!!*THE MOUSE OF COMMONS WILL RETURN FOR PART 8 OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKES AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION ON THURSDAY 4TH DECEMBER 2008!!!This installment of GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION was originally written in Bierge, Spain on Tuesday 14th October 2008. BEHIND THE SCENES OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION...In this post we continue to look around Alquézar - to see what lies in store within the shadows… Next episode we return to "The Lost City of Bearcelona" to see more of the sights and sounds in that neck of the woods...
Story, text and photos - copyright, Paul Chandler, 2008.Labels: BARCELONA, Charlie Grrr, Claud, fiction, Gladstone McWhiskers, HUMOR, HUMOUR, Laura Dust-mite, Mouse of Commons, Oliver Louse, SPAIN
PART 6 of GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION...
GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION...
- PART 6Welcome to the 6th part of our new internet-exclusive, 15 part, mini-adventure by Paul Chandler, once again set in Spain, which is a sequel to GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL and GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA. Although the story refers back to some elements from the previous two stories it can be read on its own and detailed below is a brief summary of the events of the two stories so far. The three stories will be published, along with other stories from this site, in a collection called POSTCARDS FROM MCWHISKERS, due in Spring/Summer 2009. The story so far…During a visit to Barcelona; Gladstone, Oliver and Charlie meet a cat waiter called Claud and embark on a pie-crawl around the city. During their adventures they stumble on secret goings-on under a pie factory and discover a map that leads them to The Lost City Of Bearcelona - which just happens to be somewhere on the island of Majorca. The only person who can understand the map is Charlie's father Augustus; who is imprisoned inside a cocoon where he can't cause any further trouble. He isn't dead - and yet he isn't really alive in any proper sense; although he is able to communicate with Charlie psychically and during their visit to Barcelona he escapes and Charlie and he fall through a portal that may or may not lead to the lost city… The portal closes behind them and there is no sign of them for months. This new story takes place almost a year later and nothing has been heard from either Charlie or Augustus…
So far this adventure: Oliver Louse and Laura Dust-mite have trailed Gladstone McWhiskers to Barcelona where there have been sightings of Charlie up in the mountains near Alquézar… Meanwhile, Charlie is safe and sound, but stuck in "The Lost City of Bearcelona", which is rather smaller than expected; he and Augustus are at loggerheads - but Charlie has decided that he must escape - he would rather be dead than trapped in the lost city with only his father for company… Meanwhile, back in Alquézar, Charlie's growl can be heard echoing around the streets…
But meanwhile - back in the other dimension...The Other Dimension, Somewhen...Make no mistake about it; Charlie Grrr had done his very best to escape his new prison within the ever-so slightly small “Lost City of Bearcelona...”There was the slight problem that the “City” would not let him leave...If you stood from the balcony of the apartment or up on Augustus’s side of the village by the monastery looking out across the countryside you could see fields and trees, roads and what might even have been further settlements up amongst the mountains in the distance.
You could see all these things; but it seemed you could never reach them; it was as if they were lost behind a thin veil of haze. The weather was still bright, but there was a definite film that seemed to hang over everything; a blur – as if the world beyond their town was somehow out of focus...
Charlie had done his best to find a way out beyond the lost “city”, but as he reached the outskirts one of a number of things happened; he felt sleepy and fell asleep in the road, he smelt pies and had to return – once he saw an enormous ball of parmesan rolling in the opposite direction and had to chase it back into the village. When he finally caught up with it; it wasn’t half the size that he’d first imagined it to be – but it still made a nice addition to his dinner that night. There had been one occasion where he had deliberately drink 20 espresso coffees before he went out; this kept him awake and he had taken provisions of pies so as not to be distracted.
But he’d still not been able to find a way out – in fact he’d gotten so far and then had, quite literally, hit an invisible barrier and could simply go no further...
“This is RIDICULOUS!!” he complained to the reflection in his bedroom mirror; the only other beary face that there was for him to speak to, other than his evil father. “RIDICULOUS!!!”
The mirror seemed to echo his words in agreement and so this only helped to fuel Charlie’s anger and encourage him to prolong it…“Not only is it RIDICULOUS!!” he declared. “But it is ALSO MORONIC and FOOLISH and plain UNFAIR… I am an actorrrr and a creative bear overall and I not only NEED but CRAVE an audience and that audience CRAVES and NEEDS me back… It’s a two-way relationship here and that’s been snatched away from people. The world back home must be mourning the loss of my amazing beary talent…” he observed and then turned back to the mirror to see what its opinion was; only to be quite shocked by the sight of his own reflection sitting in an armchair, eating a large pasty with his earphones on; head swaying gently to whatever growly music its was listening to and paying absolutely no attention whatsoever to Charlie.“Well, I never!!” exclaimed the bear indignantly, before striding off furiously to try and find some other object to complain to.
He’d tried venting his fury at a milk bottle only that morning – but all his bile and grumbling had only resulted in his turning the milk off; it hadn’t even turned to cheese – it had just gone bitter and unusable…
Life was hard for a bear like Charlie in the Lost City of Bearcelona…For what seemed like months Charlie had lived this dull and boring life and hadn’t known what to do. He’d begun to wonder if Augustus had actually left him there and found his own way out; but then, occasionally, Charlie would spot his father chasing the large ball of camembert around around the town square with a stick; or sometimes vice versa…
…And then some hope for the future had come in the form a mini-bus of French tourists…At first when Charlie had seen them he wondered if perhaps this was the “city’s” way of telling him that it had run out of cheese and break and chorizo and pies and belly button fluff tea – but that a coach load of French tourists would probably do just as nicely…
Except that they all looked pretty old and wrinkly and Charlie had made a pact with himself years ago never to eat humans; because he knew far too many of them in the entertainment business; that and he had also heard that they were flavourless and as tough as old boots…
What he did want to ask them though was how they had gotten through the portal into the “lost city”; for the only thing that he could think of was that the portal must have reopened and the tourists had accidentally driven straight through, which possibly meant that he could escape out the same way.
Now Charlie’s French wasn’t great, but he did his best as he approached their mini-bus; smiling and waving pleasantly and even holding out the remains of a chocolate cake that he’d been eating as an offer of friendship.
Unfortunately Charlie’s plans didn’t go so well – in fact the tourists all started screaming and began throwing onions and fresh croissants at him – which was actually a nice thing for the bear and by the time he’d cleared up the mess that they had left, they had driven away…
He never saw them again after that…But although he had lost his potential audience – Charlie had not lost his hope of escape…
He no longer wished he was dead – he felt alive and excited by the possibilities of life again.“I WILL GET OUT…” he declared to the hills and house of the lost city. “I WILL ESCAPE…”
…And this time there was no doubt in his mind…Charlie Grrr would escape. End of story.Erm… We’re talking metaphorically here, obviously! It’s not really the end of the story…So, will Charlie escape? Is there some hidden way out that the bear has yet to find? Next episode we return to Alquézar to discover what Oliver, Laura, Claud and Gladstone are up to…NEXT WEEK GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION WILL BE POSTED ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY – AS I AM HEADING TO OSLO TO RESEARCH A NEW MOUSE SERIAL TO BE POSTED IN DECEMBER ON THIS SITE. THE FOLLOWING WEEK EPISODES WILL BE POSTED TUESDAY AND THURSDAYS AND HOPEFULLY THIS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE END OF THE CURRENT SERIAL - UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE…SO TUNE IN AGAIN, ON TUESDAY 4th NOVEMBER FOR PART 7 OF THIS ADVENTURE!!This instalment of GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION was originally written in Bierge, Spain on Monday 13th – Tuesday 14th October 2008.
BEHIND THE SCENES OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION...In this post we continue to look around "The Lost City of Bearcelona” – which, in reality, is made up of quite a fair few towns that Dr Neph and I visited during our trip; most notably Bierge, Rodellar and Peratallada, Next episode we return to Alquézar to see more of that area…
Story, text and photos - copyright, Paul Chandler, 2008.Labels: BARCELONA, Charlie Grrr, Claud, fiction, Gladstone McWhiskers, HUMOR, HUMOUR, Laura Dust-mite, Mouse of Commons, Oliver Louse, SPAIN
PART 5 of GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION...
GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION...
- PART 5Welcome to the 5th part of our new internet-exclusive, 15 part, mini-adventure by Paul Chandler, once again set in Spain, which is a sequel to GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE PHANTOM PIE-CRAWL and GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE LOST CITY OF BEARCELONA. Although the story refers back to some elements from the previous two stories it can be read on its own and detailed below is a brief summary of the events of the two stories so far. The three stories will be published, along with other stories from this site, in a collection called POSTCARDS FROM MCWHISKERS, due in Spring/Summer 2009. The story so far…During a visit to Barcelona; Gladstone, Oliver and Charlie meet a cat waiter called Claud and embark on a pie-crawl around the city. During their adventures they stumble on secret goings-on under a pie factory and discover a map that leads them to The Lost City Of Bearcelona - which just happens to be somewhere on the island of Majorca. The only person who can understand the map is Charlie's father Augustus; who is imprisoned inside a cocoon where he can't cause any further trouble. He isn't dead - and yet he isn't really alive in any proper sense; although he is able to communicate with Charlie psychically and during their visit to Barcelona he escapes and Charlie and he fall through a portal that may or may not lead to the lost city… The portal closes behind them and there is no sign of them for months. This new story takes place almost a year later and nothing has been heard from either Charlie or Augustus…
So far this adventure: Oliver Louse and Laura Dust-mite have trailed Gladstone McWhiskers to Barcelona where there have been sightings of Charlie up in the mountains near Alquézar… Meanwhile, Charlie is safe and sound, but stuck in "The Lost City of Bearcelona", which is rather smaller than expected; he and Augustus are at loggerheads - but Charlie has decided that he must escape - he would rather be dead than trapped in the lost city with only his father for company...
Alquézar, Spain. Early AutumnMeanwhile, back on the other side of the portal, back in what most people refer to as "the real world", Oliver Louse and Laura Dust-mite were finally getting a chance to catch their breaths; it had been a hair-raising few hours; not to mention a rather dangerous time for them both too…
"Darling! When you said we were going to catch a lift I had no idea that you meant anything quite so crazy and unplanned…"
"It wasn't unplanned…" Ollie snapped a little too quickly and then smiled, apologetically. "Although it probably was kind of crazy; I'll give you that…"
Having spotted Gladstone and Claud climbing into their chauffeur-driven limousine Ollie had decided that there was no alternative but to create a diversion. Having rescued Laura only moments before he had hurried straight into the path of the limousine and almost got both of them run over in the process. However it had done the job and the limo had slowed and once Ollie had waved them on furiously with his walking stick, as the car had passed, Oliver had been able to attach them both to the vehicles back bumper using another of Smith's devices inside the stick. So, although they had been safely attached to the limousine for the period of the journey neither of them had really felt that safe as they had blown around in the breeze somewhere just above the exhaust pipe. That said, whilst Laura had almost lost her fake butterfly wings on a couple of occasions, she had been amazed to see that Oliver appeared to be looking quite calm and was even filling in further pages of his notepad; updating his diary even though they were speeding along tight mountain roads at 100 km an hour, or some such ridiculous speed…
To be honest Laura was too scared by the whole journey to say anything and the g-force that she was experiencing also put pay to much conversation…
But now, THANKFULLY, all that was over because they appeared to have finally reached their destination - a town, high up in the mountains, called Alquézar…"I may be jumping to the wrong conclusions here, darling…" Laura began coyly. "But I have a nasty feeling that there are no superb fashion houses up here in the mountains… Tell me I'm wrong, sweetie? Well?"
But Oliver simply tried to ignore her and stared around the square in which they now stood. "Don't be so negative…" he replied with a slight smirk. "I'm sure you'll find a few I LOVE SPAIN t-shirts in your colour and size and all manner of pleasant tourist trinkets…"
Laura said nothing, but simply glared at Ollie - but the louse was distracted. They had held back a moment or two to allow Gladstone and Claud to get some distance between them, but they now needed to make a move so as not to lose them entirely amongst the maze of streets that made up the small town. "Come on slow coach…" he urged his companion. "No dawdling now, dear!"
Laura was so surprised at the sarcasm in his tone that she didn't even consider arguing - but tried instead to pretend that she was interested in the architecture of the town; stumbling along after the louse, still wearing her butterfly wings with her head turned towards the rooves and arches far above her tiny dust-mite hairdo bee-hive. "Do we even know why we're her yet, darling?" she enquired eventually.
"Err - yeah - well…" Ollie mumbled, for he was distracted - but looking more relieved now, for Gladstone and Claud had appeared ahead of them at the other end of the cobbled streets of Alquézar. "It's Charlie, isn't it - is he here, darling - how super!? He's here, but he's sick is that it? Oh dear, poor bear…"
Ollie shot her another disapproving glance. "Look Laura - I really have no idea - but I'm sure it's more complicated than just that…"
It was beginning to grow quite dark now, especially down the back streets where what sunlight that was left could no longer reach. The shadows were stretching on ahead of them and they kept making Ollie jump because he kept mistaking them for people, but other than Gladstone and Claud up ahead there was no sign of anyone else…
No sign - and no sound; except…Suddenly, a familiar growl rang out across the streets; echoing around them…
There was no mistaking it; it was Charlie... What exactly is going on? Has Charlie managed to find his way through from the other dimension or is this merely another beary phantom? In Friday's episode we return to "The Lost City of Bearcelona" to find out exactly what has been going on between Charlie and Augustus Grrr...GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION WILL (HOPEFULLY) BE POSTED THRICE-WEEKLY: ON MONDAY, WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY - UNLESS STATED ELSEWHERE…SO TUNE IN AGAIN, ON FRIDAY 31ST OCTOBER FOR PART 6 OF THIS ADVENTURE!!This instalment of GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION was originally written in Bierge, Spain on Monday 13th October 2008. BEHIND THE SCENES OF GLADSTONE MCWHISKERS AND THE HULLABALOO DIMENSION...In this post we continue to look around Alquézar - to see what lies in store within the shadows… Next episode we return to "The Lost City of Bearcelona" to see more of the sights and sounds in that neck of the woods...
Story, text and photos - copyright, Paul Chandler, 2008.Labels: BARCELONA, Charlie Grrr, Claud, fiction, Gladstone McWhiskers, HUMOR, HUMOUR, Laura Dust-mite, Mouse of Commons, Oliver Louse, SPAIN
