Another Holiday Weekend

Just a few odds and ends of what has been happening since I last posted on my Blog.

It's been a Holiday weekend. My humans tell me that in the USA it is "Memorial Day" when everyone remembers the contribution of people who serve in the armed forces. In England it is "Bank Holiday". I'm just a toy cat so I don't pretend to understand why the British make it a public holiday just because the banks are closed. If the banks closing was a reason for celebration, you would have thought everyone here would have been very happy over the last year. But then, I'm, just a toy cat - and I am getting off the point of what I have been up to recently.

My humans had two nights away seeing Andrew's mother - who is moving flat (apartment). There are lot of things to sort through!! Andrew's mother has a Figaro toy too. She has one of Floppy cat's brothers and I like to visit and see how he is. For some reason I don't know, Andrew's mother has named him "Mischief". I am sure he doesn't do anythig naughty to deserve that or break any rules. Most of the time he just lies along the back of her sofa. He is rather cleaner and softer than Floppy. I suspect he doesn't get as many cuddles.

We also celebrated Andrew's brother's birthday at the weekend. The whole family of humans went to a nice restaurant for lunch. They didn't take me even though the restaurant specialises in fish. Only joking, I am a toy: I don't eat.

I am not sure whether he would want me to say how old he is on the internet: it was one of those birthdays with a "0" at the end. Let's just say he is still younger than my character (70 this year, isn't it?).

Another feature of Bank Holidays in England is that the main tv company (the BBC) seems to hand over a lot of its air time to the Walt Disney Company. The main channel shows "Freaky Friday" followed by "National Treasure" while the second channel has just shown "The Moon Spinners". I still miss the old "Disney Time" shows when you would get clips of really great movies - like the one of a wooden boy setting off to his first day at school while a certain little black and white cat played round his feet.

Then, there has been sadness in the house over the holiday too. We were all sorry to hear that The Mouse has lost his voice. Wayne Allwine was like so many people at the Disney studio. His name may not have been known to many but his contribution to the happiness in the world was immense.

So my picture is of the original "Speak for Mickey" statue from the "Mickey InspEARations" set. My Mikki has a miniature but this is the big one. The 75 statues were created for Mickey's 75th birthday and we saw them outside the Magic Kingdom in December 2003. The decoration of this statue celebrates Mickey's first voice - that of Walt Disney himself. It was designed by the (then) current voices of Mickey and Minnie. If you can't read it on the photo, it says "I speak for Mickey and Mickey speaks for me: Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor".

Welcome Big Fig

Here he is: the latest addition to our family of Figaros. He was rushed over freom someone who bought him in a Disney Store in the USA. Like "Long Tail", he has a patch sewn onto him saying he is a "Disney Store Exclusive". It's on his back left leg so you can't see it in the picture.

He is very soft and - yes - he is big. I like being in pictures but I am not sure I wanted to be in this one next to him. I am standing up and he is lying down but still as tall as me. His head seems especially large but we are too kind to make any comments about that. After all, we are all cute, adorable Disney characters so our heads are larger than life in proportion to our bodies and our eyes are larger than life in proportion to our heads. This new one's eyes are as big as my paws (yes, I did test it but I didn't hurt him really).

He also has a tale that manages to be soft and stand up at the same time. I suppose those Disney designers are getting cleverer and cleverer over the years.

Mikki has named my new cousin "Big Fig". I am not sure she isn't getting a little less imaginative with her names, but I'm sure he will get to like it here soon. He is new. His fur is fluffy, his black is very black and his white is very clean and white. I point out to him that if he wants to stay that way he will have to avoid getting cuddled (all the more for me).

Characters 4 - Tigger

It's time to remember another character I met in Walt Disney World. This time, it's Tigger.

Tigger is very friendly and nice. He is an animal from the cat family - and he is also based on a toy! Those both seem to me to be positive characteristics.

This picture was taken at breakfast at Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom. I like going to meals with characters because of the chance to get pictures without having to stand in line. I do get just a little worried at some of the meals when the humans put me on the table with all their food and drinks. They haven't got me messy yet: I just get nervous. Fortunately, Crystal Palace has larger tables than some restaurants. The characters must also get a bit nervous as they go round tables while guests are moving about with plates of food. That probably explains why Tigger isn't as "bouncy" as he could be. As you can see, he was very gentle with me.

This was on a Saturday morning last December. We were up early because we wanted to get to Crystal Palace at 8.00 a.m. to meet some friends in time for the booking. One of our party was actually the very first guest to be let into the park that day.

Because we got in early, we were also able to get some lovely pictures of Main Street, Cinderella Castle and the Hub with no other people there. Actually, there must have been some other people there because one of the pictures has both my humans in it. It must have been a cool day too: they are wearing sweaters.

It's a good thing I get on so well with other cats who are bigger than me. And that will probably be my next post. The latest member of the Figaro family has arrived sooner than expected - and he is big!

Family Photograph

My humans have a web site. It is out of date. Around Christmas time and New Year, they tell friends that this year they are going to update it. And the next year they say that, no really, this year . . . ..

Well, I think it's time to give you some news. This year (2009) they have been doing some work on the web site. The main work so far has been to gather together all us toy Figaro plushes for a family photograph. Andrew collects us all up; carries us to a comfy sofa; poses us nicely; takes some photographs from different angles and with different lighting conditions; and takes us all back to our places. Then he gets on with other things while Mikki sees a new "Figaro" plush on "eBay". So a couple of months later we all have to pose again. It's all go when you're a star.

So here is the latest picture - but one that will probably never make it to the web. There will be another "cousin" for me on the way next month (June).

You don't need to count. There are 20 toy cats in the picture. Most are different (if only a little). They are all Figaro but they are all little individuals - and all of them except me have another name (like Softy, Floppy, Happy, Oscar or Long Tail). For the web site Andrew does a version of the picture with numbers on it and our names on the page beneath the picture. Naturally, I am "No. 1" And I have the centre spot in the group.