I Need a Holiday!

Story to follow. I'm having a break over the Christmas period.

Darcy Fielding.

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So, What's Been Happening?

Hello my friends - and apologies for our silence over the last month. It's Darcy Fielding, in case you were wondering. And if you were also wondering about the reason for my particular absence, read on!

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In summary, I needed a holiday.  That in itself may surprise you, workaholic that I am, but one can reach a point when the amount of work becomes too much. In fact I had reached the point where, when I was leaving home for work, I found myself looking back and longing to remain with my family.

I have always managed to balance my home and working life - until recently. The population growth in Mellowdene - including crittizens in both the village and the county - has steadily been eroding that balance. You may remember how busy I was last Christmas and my family time was going to suffer. Fortunately, my good friend and work colleague Harry Hawthorne stepped in to share the load. Everything worked well but it made me think. I needed to make changes.

That became essential following the opening of Chunglewood. Now, even though we haven't mentioned the people of that village much this year, their influence has been felt, particularly in some quarters. Granted that most of their residents still haven't left their home in Tall Tree Forest, but - possibly because of that - there is an official policy to ensure they will feel welcome when they do. The Mellowdene Examiner has been publishing a small weekly magazine specifically for the Chunglewoodians, gently giving them an insight into Mellowdene. We've taken selected articles from back issues of my newspaper, suitably edited, with a view to acclimatising them to our nature. As you might imagine, this has significantly added to our workload.

It became clear that a holiday was needed to give me a break. It was also clear we'd need help to keep the paper running in my absence but we had to acknowledge that would only be a temporary respite. A long term plan was needed. I would need a permanent increase to my staff numbers.

And that's what I did. For the past six months we have had three additional employees at the Mellowdene Examiner. And wow. They are good.

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I'll get to the three additions shortly but first I'll remind you of my current colleagues.

Harry Hawthorne may be my lead reporter but he does so much more. I decided to make him deputy editor but that was only when we'd agreed on the balance of his duties; he does like reporting and interacting with the public.

Antonia Petite does a little news reporting but she concentrates on community articles including her popular "People" column where she interviews villagers about their lives.

Although a freelance travel writer on paper, Ricardo Porcini goes beyond his syndicated travel column to help Mellowdenians learn about other Sylvanian communities.

I must include my friend Jackson Butterglove as he plays a small role in my newspaper. Of course he writes the majority of this blog, but as far as Mellowdene is concerned he writes occasional articles for the Mellowdene Examiner. It helps explain our association here at the office. I've not mentioned it before; it's not really relevant to the blog. His articles involve short interviews with villagers to discuss their musical tastes, asking for examples of songs they like and why that might be. He's rather efficient at it now and can pile up a number of articles that I can publish periodically. He says he quite enjoys it. There's the social aspect and it also helps as market research for his songwriting.

My three eldest children like to help out with small tasks for their daddy. Una, as previously indicated, goes way beyond that. She wants to be a top reporter and I think she will take over the family business one day.

So that's the current mob. And with the workload increasing, I can now introduce you yo my new gang.

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I needed someone to handle the administrative tasks that I had traditionally addressed without assistance. Some of the necessary work was tedious but it was increasingly taking too much of my time. For a couple of weeks Edith Snow-Warren looked to be a candidate but that wasn't to be. She had missed much in the years she was absent from the village, and was spending time both at the library reading our archives and here at the office delving into the recent back issues, trying to catch up on events. She wasn't interested in being employed personally but her research prompted her to suggest someone she had met when reintroducing herself to the village. 

The Faraday sisters are well-educated twins and when they came to the village it was no surprise that one sister - Felicia - would become part of the school teaching staff. The other - Fenella - had not found her niche, spending most of her time in the library. It was there she met Edith and this led to her coming to meet me. Discovering what I needed, Fenella became interested and agreed to help.

She has proved to be a whizz at administration. That included the essential tasks I found both tedious and time consuming. And she likes doing them!

Calbert Porridge is the second new employee. He has always been interested both in electronics and in machinery but hadn't found the right place to utilise his skills. Since Newton Butterglove upgraded our print room a few years ago we have increased our output but it's fair to say none of the Mellowdene Examiner staff were techies. We were tinkering around the edges. Calbert, on the other paw, is technically brilliant and the print room now runs at optimal efficiency. 

That brings us to reporting. Harry Hawthorne remains our best reporter but he was also faced with doing some of the editing when I was pushed. As already mentioned, that role is now official. We are more organised now that Fenella is saving me time, but my analysis highlighted that we needed more reporters. Edmund Tailbury was engaged as another reporter and he's an astute investigator snd a good writer. 

In addition, my daughter Una has formally become an apprentice with the newspaper. This is part time because of her school work, but prior to this change she was like my other children Daniel and Helen - willing gophers but not deeply involved. Now, Una is shadowing Harry or Antonia Petite on their assignments.

The newbies settled in better than I could have hoped. They were happy to do their work over Christmas and Harry agreed to be on call as deputy editor - if needed. That meant - for the first time in many years - I could take a break from my family newspaper and actually dedicate all my time to my family.

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So that's how it became possible for me to take a winter break. I gathered the family and made an announcement to that effect.

My wife Bridget said she'd have a break too, and that meant an adjustment to the proportion of household chores. Fair enough.

We didn't go away, limiting ourselves to day trips. My suggestion to take a vacation beyond the village was tactfully refused. Well, I say 'tactfully' but Bŕidget prefers clarity.

"I'll miss my programme," she said. I didn't need to ask which one. Of the television entertainment she enjoys, her 'programme' is a domestic drama series called 'Meece Tenders'. She is highly invested in the convoluted fictional lives of its characters and our home life is suspended whilst she avidly watches the show.

Outside the family, I again helped Spencer Maces organise the traditional Mouse Run. Together, we interview all the rodent families to determine availability and then Spencer does an amazing job with his tables of names, workflow diagrams, risk analyses and flexible alternatives. We then notify each family of the plans for the festive visits.  Even when more families are brought into the tradition, Spencer always delivers and, as with previous years, the event was a complete success.   

The children had a post-Christmas visit to Santa's Grotto.  For each of his "elves" (each semi-adopted into Mellowdene families) Lennox Murr-Grand invited their new siblings to see toys being made.

Bridget and I went out for a couple of meals - just the two of us. We arranged for my cousin Alonso to babysit our children. Una wasn't keen on the term "babysit" but when she was told there would be pizza she decided to live with the term.

None of this was exceptionally exciting but it definitely served its purpose. For me that was a break from work. Time with the family. When I eventually returned to the paper (two week's longer than originally planned) I was fully refreshed!

Watch out!

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Finding a Way - Epilogue

Hello. My name is Darcy Fielding and I have a problem.

Yes, I know that sounds serious but I couldn't resist a bit of drama. And I do have a quandary to resolve. It is distracting me from my work here at the Mellowdene Examiner. Fortunately, Harry Hawthorne and Antonia Petite are more than capable of keeping things on track.

As for my quandary, it relates to the potential aftermath of Jackson's expedition to open a route to Chunglewood.

Of course I'm proud that my friend was able to succeed in finding a way for Ricardo Porcini to reunite with his family in Chunglewood but it has opened up so many more questions. 

 

First the unusual questions. Bruin Redbear said it perfectly. How did the Chunglewood people get to the middle of the forest? To the best of our knowledge the sole way in was the winding route that was so lengthy that only Ricardo was prepared to endure the journey. Four hours or so. If everyone else rejected this route, how did they get to the clearing? Even if they made that initial journey, why would they venture into Tall Tree Forest? What would prompt them?

And the route itself. How was it discovered? Given the unusual properties of the forest it must have taken many aborted searches to reach the clearing. 

I cannot explain it. You can imagine how irritating that is for someone with my reporting background. Which brings me to my real problem.

I publish the Mellowdene Examiner. It's how the people of the county find out what's going on and I have a responsibility to tell the truth. There are things I've not mentioned but I have never lied. 

I have not made the villagers aware of the vast network of tunnels beneath Sylvania that would hugely reduce journey times about the land. I am aware that there are potential dangers down there and flooding these routes with crittizens is not in anyone's interest. An omission for the public good, not a lie.

Chunglewood is different. How do I explain a new community on our doorstep? When Chunglewoodians (we really need a proper term here) wander into Mellowdene, our friendly nature will prompt greetings and questions. The paper can hardly remain silent. 

So what can I say? What stopped them visiting before? Do I attempt to explain this crystal malarkey? I'm guessing that the Treefellows, Mist Cat Tribe, the Sylvanian Research Group would prefer that the crystals - and what they represent; their functions - are not made public knowledge.

Will Mellowdenians decide to visit their Chunglewoodian neighbours?  Having read Jackson's story I gather that there may be differences in culture. Ricardo could advise, but I can't see him addressing village meetings. John Silk, as a trained mediator and advocate would be better getting involved. Maybe assisting in producing a supplement for the Mellowdene Examiner.

That is the crux of my problem. There are more questions, probably lesser ones based on Jackson's story but they have still piqued my interest. What or where is Honeysuckle Hollow? What is a Woodzeez? What does Owen Quiller hope to learn? Was Ricardo using his travel writing job as a cover to search Sylvania for a mysterious truth?

Who can I ask? Might Mulder Honey-Fox have any advice? The Treefellows? What should Mayor Nettlefield be told? The Sheriff's Department? Reverend Kelvin Waters?  

These are the thoughts I'm having. I think I need to lie down. Failing that, get involved in work. Antonia needs to work on her "People" column and Harry will need assistance in the print room. 

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Me again. I left work early to come home but I've reached a decision. I decided to put aside the unusual questions I highlighted and concentrate purely on finding a way to suitably inform Mellowdene about Chunglewood. 

 

I was considering approaching our Sheriff, Bisto Wildwood. His department settles differences in opinions and helps to ensure we adhere to Sylvanian values. I wouldn't need to go into details about crystals. I could just say that I'd learned that the Treefellows found a new path through Tall Tree Forest and they opened a route to an unknown village. I could then say the villagers might have different customs, then ask Bisto to handle any potential clashes. I picked up the phone to arrange a meeting. 

The response was unexpected. He chuckled.

"I was about to come and see you," he said. "and you preempt me by asking for a meeting. Perhaps we can help each other. What do you want to talk about?"

"There's a place called Chunglewood..."

I broke off and stared at the phone earpiece. He was laughing.

"Darcy Fielding. I might have known you'd be ahead of me. That's why I want to talk to you. Okay if I come over to you now? You're at your office?"

"No. At home."

"Be right over." He hung up.

I was intrigued.

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Bisto was in his uniform. It seems he lives in those clothes. Maybe because duty is so important to him. He wasted no time in coming to the point.

"Aristotle Treefellow requested an extraordinary meeting of the council and the mayor complied. They had it this morning. Other than Ramsey Nettlefield, Hugo Trunk and Kelvin Waters, representatives for food, transport and postal services were there. And me, of course. Really, you should have been present, but you weren't at the paper. I saw Ricardo Porcini and he thought you'd taken a day off."

"Half day. I was visiting Jackson Butterglove."

"I see. That's how you knew about Chunglewood."

"We are friends. We talk. But back to Chunglewood. Who speaks first?"

"You can."

I told him my concerns about Mellowdenians flooding to Chunglewood out of neighbourliness, overwhelming them and giving rise to inadvertent cultural clashes.

 

Bisto nodded and refrained from commenting until I'd done.

"You've essentially summarised the council meeting," he said, shaking his head in wonder. "This could be a marvellous experience so we want to handle it right. We have indeed called in John Silk and he will be going with Aristotle to speak to the Chunglewood people. He then wants to have letters sent to all Mellowdene residents, explaining how best to proceed."

"Good."

"We'd hoped that you could help with the printing..."

"Of course. That would have a greater reach than a newspaper supplement."

"Thank you. Although your idea about a supplement has benefits too; I suggest it is probably best after the letter drop. Actually, maybe a regular column with updated information would be useful."

"Including Ricardo in the communications?"

"If he's agreeable. John Silk will be speaking with him before he goes to Chunglewood."

To my relief, it seemed that everything was falling into place. Bisto's visit had put my mind at rest. Of course there still were the "unusual questions" to answer but there was no great rush to do that.

I started to think about my chum Samuel Stamp and his colleagues. The Mellowdene Post Office would be getting busy! 

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Growth in Mellowdene

Hello my friends in the human world! Darcy here. I'm writing this on a new computer! A couple of days ago Newton Butterglove replaced the terminal that I've been using the past few years. That's not the reason I'm filling in for Jackson, though.

 

I was delighted to see that the views of the Mellowdene blog had passed the 30,000 mark, noting in particular how those views had grown over the past couple of weeks. Thank you!

The word "grown" made me pause for thought. It has always been a matter of interest to me, seeing how the population of Mellowdene County has grown during my lifetime. This has, of course, necessitated changes to cope with the increased numbers, be that via administrative or infrastructure modifications. It has tended to happen in sporadic bursts and we've been in one of these this last couple of years. For this blog post I thought I'd mention a few.

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I don't know if my daughter Una had been the catalyst for one such change, but it does concern the school. Una's project had highlighted points that seem to have inspired the teachers to put forward syllabus changes and modifications to teaching methods. The opportunity was taken to employ more teachers and the council went further and approved a new school building. 

 

This is almost complete, Henry-Lloyd Construction using copies of building plans already employed throughout Sylvania. HHG Enterprises are doing the final touches and the hope is that the school will be ready for next term. Sandro Lopez - as mentioned by Jackson in a previous post - is but one of the new teachers. Professor Isaac Merryweather will be taking the advanced classes. Other tutors are scattered throughout the county to give localised educational support.

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We've had another enhancement to public services. Two postmen were considered insufficient for the widespread population. Frankly, I don't know how my friend Samuel Stamp and his colleague Pete Petite have managed these past few years. When Pete had to take a break due to ill health, Mookie Dappledawn helped fill in. Granted he only made one mistake, quickly resolved, but it did help to highlight that we needed more postal workers. 

The Brightfield family came to Mellowdene just over a year ago and two of them are experienced postmen. Billy Brightfield is one and his brother Buddy is the other. One of Buddy' daughters - tiny Sue - is already infatuated with postal work and she sometimes helps her father on his round. Most of the time, the Brightfields will be covering the greater county area leaving Samuel and Pete to cover the village.

 

A small building has recently been renovated to become a sub post office and the Brightfields are using this as their base of operations. It will be a great help to the families living at the other side of the county. The building will also have one of the new phone booths to aid communications in what is a less developed area. I expect Jackson's relatives (the Cornflowers, featured in a recent blog) will be pleased about this.

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There is little wrongdoing in Mellowdene but things do go wrong. The Sheriff's Department copes brilliantly with such problems but there was concern outside the county that such a small department had too much to do given the size of the population. The Central Sylvanian Police offered to provide more personnel but Bisto Wildwood didn’t want to alter the balance or focus of his Department. A compromise was agreed. The CSP would provide one policeman from Calico New City but he would be under Bisto's command. The newcomer would primarily handle all the administration and act as the liaison between the CSP and the Sheriff's Department, freeing Bisto and his staff to do more community work. 

 

As it transpired, Bisto had no need to be concerned about any difference in approach by the newcomer. Bartholomew Roberts - usually preferring to be called Bobby - was a perfect fit for the Department. He liked Bisto's way of working and adapted almost immediately.

 

He came to the Mellowdene Examiner's office and introduced himself. A truly nice badger. From our chat I have a feeling that he won't limit himself to admin!

 

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Even our chapel has been affected by this growth. Yes, the serene and calming Reverend Kelvin Waters - the elder brother of my childhood friend Wade - has taken on help to assist in dealing with the spiritual health of Mellowdene. The new curate is Orlando Oakwood. 

 

Currently his duties are light as he is learning the intracies that define the range of faiths in Sylvania. It's important if he is to fully support our crittizens in the same way that Kelvin established when he took on the role.

 

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I'm happy that, despite all this growth, Mellowdene continues to be the same comforting place as ever it was. Newcomers become new friends, welcomed into the community and in no time at all they cease to be newcomers. As it should be.

 

Anyway, that's it for now, my friends. 

This is Darcy Fielding, signing off. Bye-ee!

 

 

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