Places

Mellowdene County

The north east of the Sylvanian mainland is separated from the sea by a substantial range of mountains. These offer the lands to their south protection  from the worst of the weather. The mountains hold a number of natural basins that have become lakes, the higher ones iced, but a handful are a source of fresh water. There is one in particular that is relevant to Mellowdene County, that being named Sweetwater Lake.

The mountains are bordered by foothills but beyond that the land dips down into arable land peppered with stone flats. 

To the south, the county is bordered by a forest of tall trees. It is difficult to pass through some of these leading to paths being established to circumnavigate the most inaccessible areas.

The land in the valley was not always fruitful. There are underground watercourses that supplied some irrigation but it was the actions of prospective settlers that improved the situation by diverting the overflow from Sweetwater Lake into those watercourses.

The mountains are also the source of a river that marks the bottom of a valley. West of the river is woodland but the east side borders Mellowdene County. Towards the north of the county some of the aforementioned stone flats help guide the river. In one short section the stone is noticeaby raised and this outlier from the mountains is referred to as The Ridge.

The stone flats in the north of the county were used as convenient foundations for many of houses that were part of the village that grew there. There was even a house built on top of the Ridge despite its inferior accessibility. It offered a fine view of the river.

In recent years, work was done to level part of the slope leading up to the Ridge and this land became a row of beautiful houses overlooking a glade of cherry trees. Their blossoms in spring gave the avenue of houses their name. 

The base of the foothills was also developed so that a shallow stream - The Ditch - became a canal that leads east to the community of Catsholme and to the break in the mountains leading to Acorn Valley.

Both the river and the canal are important to the commerce of the village.

Beyond the village, there are farms, orchards and other agricultural establishments. There are also various homesteads that have sprung up, a number within a grassland area attractive to the canine residents of the county.

The further one gets from the village, the less domestic services become available. For example plumbed water supplies to houses are present in the village but not for those living out near the tall tree forest. They rely on wells and natural springs. 

 

Resident's Homes

Butterglove House

Situated on Dandelion Lane, this is one of the long-standing homes of the Butterglove family. The sizable house was the home of Hansel and Dorothea Butterglove and the place they raised their three sons.

Merlin and Jackson Butterglove still live here. Their families have rooms at opposite sides of the building, but they are such a close family that most facilities are shared.

Butterglove Lodge

The second of the two oldest Butterglove family homes, the Lodge is comparatively close to Butterglove House, separated only by a small piece of undeveloped land they call "The Field". Butterglove Lodge was the home of Henry and Marianna Butterglove and this was the place they raised their three children Samantha, Barbara (Bobbie) and Jonathan.

All three still live there with their families. Sam lives in one wing with her husband Denzel and their five children. The other wing provides rooms for Bobbie and her daughter, and Jonathan and his comparatively recent bride Tabitha.

3 Dandelion Lane

The immediate neighbours of Butterglove House, the home is owned by the Marguerite family. Beforehand, it was briefly owned by the Clearwaters and prior to them it was the property of the Dale family.

32 Dandelion Lane

At the corner of Dandelion Lane and Dock Road, this house is owned by Perry and Anita Babblebrook.

Cherry Blossom Avenue

This avenue of modern houses were designed by Henry-Lloyd Construction and built with the assistance of two external companies.

Number 12 is owned by Mason and Natalie Marlowe.

Number 18 is owned by Coltsfoot and Celandine Ivory. 

Copper Beech Cottage

On Dock Road, this house is owned by Burdock Rowan Ivory and his wife Angelica.

Minestrone House

Despite the name, this isn't a single residence. It is a medium sized apartment complex developed from a number of closely-packed homes. Currently owned by Doctor Henry Bearbury (who lives nearby with his family), Minestrone House was conceived as accommodation for hospital staff. There are some staff living there, but it has since become a set of rooms for the wider population. Henry's brother Bruno lives on site and is a skillful maintenance worker ensuring the smooth running of the place.

Bassett's Boarding House

This is a family run business providing primarily temporary accommodation for visitors to Mellowdene, listed here because the family live on site.

 

Workplaces in Mellowdene

Mellowdene Clinic and General Hospital

The hospital caters primarily for Mellowdene County although a number of hill cats are also registered as patients. Originally a single building, the growing population was the impetus to extend the hospital. It now includes side wards and treatment rooms.

The staff comprise:

• Henry Bearbury - Lead General Practitioner
• Terence Murdoch - Surgeon
• Elliot Murdoch - General Practitioner and Consultant
• Emily Nightingale - Head Nurse
• Thomas Nightingale - Paramedic
• Nigel Snow-Warren - Pharmacist and Anaesthesiologist
• Spencer Clearwater - Dental surgeon
• Ben Sweetpea - Dental surgeon
• Nikki Sweetpea - Nurse
• Gilda Maces - Nurse
• Annemarie Spotter - Nurse
• Darlene Hazelwood - Nurse
• Brie Norwood- Nurse
• Maisie Meadows - Receptionist / Records administrator 

Informal Consultant chemist (not employed by the clinic) - Tara Lapine-Frost. 

The "Pink" Post Office

Samuel Stamp and Pete Petite are the two postmen who serve Mellowdene village. When not out making deliveries they split their time between the sorting office (which shares a building with the Telephone Exchange) and a nearby small pink-hued building which serves as the Post Office. The latter is used for dealing with the public; some villagers refer to the Post Office as the "Pink Office"!

Deliveries to the rest of the county were achieved but difficult until the work force was increased to include the Brightfield family. A sub post office nearer to Tall Tree Forest has improved postal services. A public phone box by this office has also improved communications.  

 

The Hornbeam House Safety Department

Like all Sylvanians, the population of Mellowdene are particularly safety conscious and their desire to avoid risks led to them setting up a Safety Department. Hornbeam House was converted for the purpose, and staff and equipment was organised to achieve their objective. They have a small truck that can handle most of the rare fires, but a larger fire engine is available if the need arises. There is always someone on duty at the HHSD, (sleeping facilities and fire pole provided) and the small staff is supplemented by large number of volunteers.

 

Benjamin Underwood is in charge - and although the HHSD deals with more than unexpected fires, he is often referred to as the Fire Chief.

 

The Sheriff's Department 

Deputy Sheriff Ebb VanDyke works part-time primarily in an administrative role, as he also owns the waterworks and has work there.

Sheriff Bisto Wildwood is the head of the Department. He is connected to Mellowdene Council but this dues not affect his main role.

Constables Billy Webster and Woodstock Fisher are the other employees, Billy's work in aerial surveillance being particularly useful finding children who get lost! 

In addition to these worthies, a friendly face at the front desk of the Sheriff's Department is essential. Consuella Lopez is invaluable in that role. 

Blackcurrant Café

Marion Brighteyes is the proprietor of this popular eatery. Francesca Osbourne works here too, primarily in shifts when Marion has other commitments.

The Mousehole Restaurant
This restaurant was formerly part of the Seaside Restaurant franchise but since it was purchased by Basil and Betty Hazelwood the menu has expanded and diversified. Connections with the franchise have been maintained.

The Snack Bar
This informal eatery is located on East Dock Lane. Abutting some warehouses associated with the docks, the snack bar evolved almost by accident as somewhere for dock workers and passing sailors to relax and gain sustenance. It is owned by Horatio Seadog and as a glorified outbuilding with only basic decor nobody would have expected it to grow. Fenton Barker has taken over the small kitchen but this is comparable in size to his other workplace of the galley on the Marita May. Some of the ingredients for his recipes are unique to the snack bar as they are brought in by river.

The Bearpit Club
Finley Osbourne is the landlord of this friendly basement meeting place. Drinks, snacks and live music make the venue a popular attraction.

Marcus Tan operates a small brewery that supplies fine ales to the club. Bevan Acaster works there and he is a great help moving the barrels of ale.

Pickleweed's Pizza Emporium
This is one of the newer catering establishments. They prioritise home delivery of their delicious pizzas, using motorised bicycles to cover Mellowdene County. Heloise Pickleweed used to work with Christopher Appleblossom at the Watermill Bakery, but when the demand for oven space for pizzas began to affect bread production it made sense to open a dedicated workplace.  There is still a profitable working relationship between the bakery and this pizza production hub.

Watermill Bakery
The delicious bread and pastries from this bakery, owned by the Appleblossom family, supplies the village demand.

Mellowdene County Library
Employing Merlin Butterglove and Mona Hazelnut, this library serves the village and the outlying farms and small holdings nearby. A small annex building houses a modest museum.

The Mellowdene Examiner
Darcy Fielding and his family produce the village newspaper from a building comprising separate rooms for the printing equipment/resources and a front office. Reporters include Harry Hawthorne and Antonia Petite. The travel column is written by freelancer Ricardo Porcini.

Mice & Clean
Just outside of the village but still within Mellowdene County is an area of land dedicated to waste management. Work buildings, garages, recycling equipment, esoteric reprocessing machinery are all part of the company resources for Mice & Clean. Owned jointly by Ashley Maces and three of the Hazelwood brothers, they do the "dirty jobs" so that the village remains a pleasant place to live.

HHG Enterprises
This small company has a core team of Huckleberry Hamilton, Perkin Harvey and Richard E Grunt. They specialise in physical work and have contracts with the council to assist in maintenance of the village. This includes keeping the roads in good condition. They are available for hire by other companies or individuals, and this includes removal work and deliveries of heavy and/or unwieldy items.

Mellowdene Van Hire

With the increase in motorised vehicle transportation over recent years, there was a need to organise their storage, care and maintenance. The Truffle brothers formed Mellowdene Van Hire to act as a central source. It didn't stop there.

They associated themselves with the Sylvanian Driving School so that villagers could be safely taught to drive the vehicles they rented. They also arranged for a comprehensive garage and servicing area.

Whilst there has never been the desire for private ownership of cars in the village, crittizens acknowledged that it would be handy to rent personal transportation.  Longer journeys were occasionally required to access regions that the Woodland Bus Service did not cover. Mellowdene Van Hire obliged.

Mellowdene School
Teachers include Eve Wildwood, Hilda Hamilton, Alex Periwinkle, Rupert Buckley, Ken Golightly, Alessandro Lopez, Isaac Merryweather and Angelica Ivory. Agatha Buckley is the headmistress.

Mellowdene Nursery
The nursery provides a safe environment for the tiniest villagers to associate with one another. Emma Goldbacke runs the nursery and her husband Nick drives the nursery bus.

Timbertop Farm

A major producer of food for the village, the farm specialised in vegetables, cereal crops and eggs. There is a windmill on the farm, producing flour from their cereal. Maynard Chestnut and Elmer Timbertop run the mill.

Blackberry Orchards

The Blackberry family produce a wide range of fruit and salad vegetables from their orchards and greenhouses. 

By growing and harvesting the quick-growing fruit from their fields of lactolia bushes, they are able to provide milk to the village. These fields are sited on sloping land to help with the harvesting of the lactolia berries. Specially designed chutes make this process more efficient. This area of Blackberry Orchards is controlled by the Buttercup family. The close relationship with the Blackberry family works well, and the farm shop is usually operated by Dotty Buttercup. 

Dingledale Worm Farm

This unusually named concern is run by the Dale and Dingle sheep families. The discovery of a particular species of worm was not of general interest until it was discovered that - with care - they would be able to duplicate a wide range of fibres if samples were introduced to their diet. The so-called echo worms were not harmed by the addition, and seemed enjoyed this added variety, producing an incredible yield.

Dominic Dingle is an expert in this, and as the family can supply wool from their own backs, synthetic yarns are readily available. Some echo worms enjoy it when imported cotton plants are added to their food, and are happy to produce considerable cotton substitute in return.

Koala Clay

This business is run by the Billabong koala family. Rolf Billabong creates clay tiling that is now used extensively within the village. Being a skilled climber he is often involved in roofing jobs that use his custom tiles. Matilda helps with the clay work when necessary but she is more interested in the pottery aspect of their business. 

Mentis Amplectendo

Located in the Mews area of Mellowdene, this establishment caters for the mental and physical well-being of the community. Run by Natalie Tuxedo and initially started for the benefit of cats, the place now caters to other crittizens.

The Rose of Sylvania 2

Although owned by the Columbus Seabreeze rabbit family, the canal boat Rose of Sylvania 2 is used by a clowder of cats. The boat is primarily used to take goods in and out of Mellowdene, and the nominal captain of the vessel is Mungo McCavity. Alonzo is accompanied at various times by his son Midge and his best friend Lemuel Fisher. Also heavily involved in the business are members of the Keats family. Other members of the Fisher family assist from time to time.

William Wordsworth Keats is first mate, and his wife Edna Millay Keats chooses to handle the catering on the long journeys, insisting that the crew need to be heartily fed.