The Olympians

Tara Lapine-Frost is a remarkable bunny. Since her accident in the snow fields of the Atlandian mountains - incredibly two and a half years ago - her initial enforced recuperation led to regular social interactions between not only the family of Nigel Snow-Warren (her romantic partner) but also with us. Cecile helped bring her out of herself and we gradually learned more of her past.

 

We now consider her a good friend and I believe the feeling is mutual. When I think back to our early meetings I remember I was actually a little scared of her! I get the feeling that, with the secretive aspects of her job, she was wary of making new friends. Now, she has a group of people with whom she can relax. People separate to her work.

A recent chat revealed some more interesting information.

"No, I've completely recovered. I learned from that accident that I'd been stupidly careless and I was angry with myself. Rather on dwell on the negative I decided to restart my training with the Mist Cats. I needed a refresher. Years ago, before I went out into the human world I underwent long and intensive training with them."

We hadn't heard this tale before so we asked for details.

"It wasn't just going there to forage for plants and minerals," Tara replied. "I'd been a handful of times under the supervision of the Mist Cats but I found it a little restrictive. This must have prompted them to look at me more closely and they must have seen some potential in me, leading to the training. I had to avoid complacency and be capable of taking care of myself both mentally and physically. Anyway, in time they made me an associate of the tribe and they told me that they were confident in my abilities, that they believed I could venture there alone. That was quite an honour."

"What sort of training did you have?" asked Cecile. 

"Climbing, endurance, concealment, self-defence. That sort of thing. Felixor was one of my trainers."

 

She described how Felixor worked, how they progressed from working in the gym, moving onto survivalist training on the small outer Sylvanian islands before venturing into the human world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You make Felixor sound like a super Sylvanian," laughed Cecile.

 

"He is very capable, as are most of the Mist Cats. Actually, Felixor was an Olympian."

"As in the Olympics?" I said.

"Yes. I'm not sure which sport. I think it was multi-discipline."

"Now that is interesting."

Cecile agreed. "I've always wondered where the word came from. What does Olympics actually mean?"

"Oh, it's a human word; no idea what it means. Just what it represents. It's yet another of those human traditions that we seem to have acquired and adapted in our own Sylvanian way. Like Christmas and Halloween."

"Is their Olympics like ours?"

"I think many of the sports are, but the organisation will be different. The humans are split into different groups called nations. Each nation finds their best sports people and they come together to compete against each other. We don't have nations as such. Atlandia, the Isle of Rut, where we live, other islands - we're all considered Sylvanian, so we handle the sports differently."

From Merlin's books on the "History of Man" I was aware of the nation thing. As Tara provided more details I was glad our Olympics were different. Ours has different challenges. I suppose I should explain.

o 0 O 0 o

The main Sylvanian Olympic event is held in central Sylvania and athletes come from villages throughout the land to participate. However, the number of spectators tend to be limited. This is because of the distances involved and the comparatively low capacity for transport. 

 

Being in the northeast of Sylvania, Mellowdene is one of those villages affected. A handful of sports fans will trek to the Olympic village but it is impractical for most. We have to follow the sports remotely. The Mellowdene Examiner publishes a supplement containing official colour photographs organised and provided by the Olympic Committee, plus a log of the results. There are a few television sets in the village (but not further afield in the county) that potentially allow some high profile events to be seen. However, the main sources of information are the scheduled radio broadcasts. They don't always report on events as they happen but they tend to be quite comprehensive.

With this limited coverage of the main Olympic competition some villages organise their own sporting events for locals to participate. Mellowdene hasn't had a great take up by residents but that may change. This is due to a particular cat who works with the schools. Ken Golightly was a past Olympian too.

[As an aside, it's worth commenting on Sylvanian cats. Anatomically they can be quite - bendy - and are naturally agile. From what Tara says, the Mist Cats are prime examples. They go into the Land of Men and are like shadows as they do whatever they do there. It isn't as surprising as it could be that both Felixor and Ken Golightly were Olympians.]

 

This year is special. Ken Golightly has been training some young Mellowdenians and they have qualified to enter the youth Olympics. All three of Josef Darwin's children are sporty and Judy Darwin in particular is quite the talented gymnast, Adam Maces is a speedy runner and Jocelyn Springer is skilled in both long jump and high jump.

 

There is some excitement about these three youngsters but there was also some regret that more people would not be able to watch them in their sporting activities. One couldn’t rely on television coverage. Even if there were enough televisions there is no guarantee that their activities would be filmed.

Although there is a rumour that a solution has been found.

o 0 O 0 o

 

There is a small theatre in Mellowdene. It was set up by Grayson Newcastle - the brother of Deborah Pookie - and it is a wonderful addition to the village as he uses it primarily to show movies. These are shipped in from a contact in Calico New City. Because the floorspace is limited, not many crittizens can assemble to watch the scheduled movie. This is not a problem as there will be multiple showings, Grayson having the Mellowdene Examiner publicise forthcoming treats. Small parties can book to watch a given show.

What has this to do with the Olympics, you may ask? It was another of Grayson's ideas, piloted for the first time this year. He engaged a film cameraman to attend the Olympics and ensure that the efforts of our sporting young Mellowdenians would  be captured for posterity.

Our villagers would be able to see Judy Darwin...

...Adam Maces...

...and Jocelyn Springer. 

 

 

 

So far, the theatre slots have been booked solid. The interest in our youngsters Olympic efforts is unprecedented. There is talk of booking either the village hall or the chapel meeting room and setting up a screen there.

I wonder how many people would be curious to see Tara Lapine-Frost's training? 

o 0 O 0 o

 

  

 

 

Give Pizza a Chance

“Pizz-a 

please sir, 

mine with 

cheese sir…”

“They sing it like that – the two-tone thing?”

“Yes - sounding like the fire truck from the Safety Department. It’s funny.”

Tara Lapine-Frost was telling me about the girls at the Snow-Warren home. I had to smile and the reason was clear to me.

Tara’s time spent recuperating there had had an effect upon her. There was Nigel, of course, attending to her every whim. His daughter Lisa has really taken to her, and the warm surroundings provided by Chris, Charity and their children had shown her what a loving family life can offer. Even Bernard – Chris and Nigel’s dad – has entertained Tara with his periodic visits from the cottage at the end of their garden.

Her anecdote about the three girls was simply an example of the subtle change in her attitude. I had no doubts that the independent, efficient, clever, slightly scary bunny was underneath, but the Snow-Warren family had worked their magic upon her. And it was likely to continue.

She had recovered from her leg injury in the snow fields of the Atlantdian mountains and I’m happy to report that she no longer needs to use a cane. Although she has supposedly moved back to her house at the north of Mellowdene County she doesn’t spend all week there - at least two days a week she spends still living in the Snow-Warren household. She’s also continued the visits to our house for chats with Cecile and me. Today, Cecile was visiting Emma Furbanks so it was just the two of us chatting.

Which brings me back to the pizza conversation.

 

 

“I’ll tell you what else is funny,” said Tara. “The sudden discovery of pizza by Lisa and her cousins. As you know, I’ve been to various places around Sylvania and I’m used to pizza being an established food item. I find myself smiling at the girls’ enthusiasm.”

I sort of understood. We’d only had a dedicated purveyor in Mellowdene for two years. Prior to that, if one wanted to buy pizza bases, one had to visit Christopher Appleblossom’s waterwheel bakery. It wasn’t a usual product they supplied, but Eloise Pickleweed worked there and would provide them upon request. With increasing demand I suppose it was to be expected that Eloise and her husband would open up their own premises.

 

Pickleweed’s Pizza Emporium was an instant success. A good location at the edge of the village shopping area meant it was ideal for the peckish customer to visit and purchase a custom pizza. 

 

 

A year on, and word of mouth meant that visitors to the village from elsewhere in Mellowdene County could share in the experience. Their only disappointment was that an impulsive desire to munch on a pizza slice would mean a long trek from their home to the village. When Hector Pickleweed proposed a delivery option it was welcomed immediately.

 

Now they have three motorised delivery tricycles. 

 

The first addition to their delivery workforce was Darcy Fielding’s cousin Alonso. He has some mechanical skills which was a bonus when keeping the trikes in good condition. Last thing I heard was that they were looking for a third driver.

Tara was watching me. “What are you thinking about?”

“Oh, not much,” I replied. “I was just thinking how Pickleweed’s has grown since it started up.”

“Are you one of their customers?”

“We sometimes pop in on our way back from shopping.  Brendan and Beverley consider it a treat. They like to choose the toppings and Eloise spoils them.”

“She does make a good pizza. I’m particularly partial to the variety of cheeses she uses. It’s probably my fault that I’ve made Lisa such a pizza fanatic. “

“Do you get deliveries to your cottage?”

“Of course,” she laughed. “I’m good customer. Always piping hot when it arrives, and Hector is a friendly chap.”

“Yes, he is. It does surprise me how they manage to keep the food so hot, even when it is taken to the other end of the county. You know we're related to the Cornflowers? Well, Wester Cornflower is an enormous cheese fan and he has remarked on that point.”

“It’s no big mystery, Jackson. There are shallow tanks built into the trikes and these contain crushed minerals from used coolsalt blocks. Small discharge units allow the trapped heat to be released.”

“We are lucky to have the Polaris family and all their hot and cold expertise.”

“True. I’ve had some interesting discussions with them about their work with minerals.”

Of course she had. Tara’s knowledge went beyond unusual plants. That was another reason that Nigel enjoyed her company – intellectual discussions on minerals and plants as part of his role as pharmacist played an essential part in their initial association.

“And what about Nigel?” I asked, following my thoughts, “Does he like pizza?” If the apparent change in subject puzzled Tara she didn’t show it.

“Oddly, he’d never eaten it, but I said he should give it a chance. Now he loves it.”

“That’s nice.”

“And you?”

“Oh, I like it well enough. Sometimes after shopping…”

“Yes, you said. You never have it delivered for an evening meal?”

“Not yet.”

o 0 O 0 o

The conversation came to mind later that day, and I suggested the idea to Cecile. It was well received. A telephone call to Pickleweed’s and Hector answered the call.

After taking the order, he told me the expected delivery time and then ended the call with a chuckle, saying “It’ll give you a chance to meet our new delivery driver.”

He wouldn’t elucidate further, but all became clear when the driver arrived. When Beverley showed them through, it was someone we knew very well.

“Rowan! It’s you,” exclaimed Cecile.

“I’ve always been me, Sis,” he said, winking at me. “I’m filling in as a favour. I was giving Alonso a hand identifying a fault with his trike’s engine."

 

"He knew that I’d spent years maintaining the camper van and he caught sight of me when I was picking up a pizza."

 

 

"He asked me to have a look at the trike as he thought he was missing something obvious. He was, but whilst he was fixing it they would be short one driver. And Hector had already had an idea about asking me.”

“So how long will you be filling in?” said Cecile.

“Who knows?” he shrugged. “Anyway, I’ve got to go. I’ve got another delivery. Eat up whilst the pizza’s still hot.”

With that he was gone. 

 

“He’s got a point,“ Cecile laughed. “Let’s eat.”

o 0 O 0 o

 

 

o 0 O 0 o