The Pagan roots of Hallowe'en explained

Wilson explained all about Hallowe'en to Byron. He told him that it was a pagan festival invented in pre-Christian times by the Hallmark company in America, and that the point of it was to terrify your neighbours by dressing up then threatening them into giving you sweets. He also said that the god of the festival is called Jack, and he is a pumpkin. 

Byron seemed somewhat puzzled by this explanation, but W just shrugged and said that he didn't make the rules up, he just took the sweets.

Then they went into the village to choose some pumpkins in Waitrose. 

The earwigs have gone!

Taking advantage of a rare dry spell, Wilson took Byron round to the Folly to meet the Earwig Family in the Bee Hotel. He was very surprised to find the hotel empty once again, the earwigs having vacated it! 

Byron found a tiny handwritten note addressed to 'Deer Mista Wislon' in which the earwigs thanked W for allowing them to stay in the hotel rent-free and announcing that they had decided to resume their nomadic life-style. 'Wunderin is in our blud.' the note explained, 'Xept that we don hav no blud. Eneway thanc yu.'

"Barely literate,' Wilson reflected, 'but kindly meant! I wish them well in their travels, they are a maligned species.'

The two anteaters then returned to the house, where Wilson explained the concept of Hallowe'en, which is not celebrated in the zoo and of which Byron knew nothing.

Another unsuccessful introduction...

Following yesterday's anticlimactic meeting with Diesel the Goldfish, Wilson was pretty sure today's introduction would be more successful, so he was full of confidence as he took Byron into the garden to meet the sTone Brothers, sTony and sToneye.

Byron immediately burst into tears and ran indoors. Since then he has refused to venture into the garden alone. 

The thing is, Wilson has no idea how scary the sTone Brothers look if you've not been properly prepared. Or even if you have been, come to that — they still make me nervous…

Byron is not impressed

Today Byron was introduced to Diesel the Goldfish. Wilson regards Diesel as a wonderful and exotic pet, but to his annoyance Byron was not greatly impressed. 

'There are much bigger and brighter fish in the aquarium at the zoo' he remarked to W 'and I'm on first-name terms with many of them.'

I think Diesel might have been a little bit disappointed too, though it's very hard to be sure with fish. 

Ant Race

Today dawned chilly and damp, but not actually raining, so I've sent the boys into the garden to play. They're out there now playing 'Ant Race' which is a highly competitive game in which each player tries to eat the most ants in a given time. 

This being mid-October I think they'll be lucky to find any ants at all, and in fact it looks as though Byron has fallen asleep... which will give W the option of smacking his lips together noisily and claiming a victory. 

In anteater circles this is not 'cheating' so much as 'gamesmanship'. Apparently.

No-one has correctly guessed the identity of the artist of the drawing in the Spare Bedroom photo a few days ago — I'll give you a couple more days before I tell you the answer. 

Playing indoors on a rainy day...

It's been so wet today that the boys have been playing indoors in the living room. Tag, Piggy-Back Rides and WWF Wrestling are their favourites, and they do play very nicely together. The occasional argument breaks out of course ('No I'll be Hulk Hogan, you can be Dwayne The Rock!') but nothing serious. And as I always say, broken ornaments can be replaced. 

And furniture. 

And electrical appliances, I suppose...

I hope it's dry enough for them to play outdoors tomorrow!

Here's the link to Wilson's recipe in the Waitrose "Marvellous Mince" page: 

https://www.facebook.com/Waitrose?v=app_272699512828519&rest=1&app_data=essay%3D309975

He'd be very pleased if you clicked the Like button!

Meeting W's family

Today Wilson introduced Byron to Antony, Tiny Toy and Polly-B. This is a bit delicate, since the last thing W wants is for any of his soft toys to decide they'd rather go to live at the zoo with his brother and his family.

Yesterday, Waitrose published Wilson's recipe for Ant Lasagne in their on-line "Marvellous Mince Handbook" page — W is SO proud! To celebrate, he says he'll cook this very dish for tonight's dinner, and Byron will be his sous-chef in charge of ants. Mmmm.

Incidentally, who recognised the framed sketch in yesterday's 'spare bedroom' photo? It's by a person who's very famous for something other than art. Any guesses?

Hide and Seek

The boys were up early this morning — well before me — and I couldn't find them anywhere. 

I searched the house without success… then just as I was leaving the spare bedroom they jumped out of the wardrobe, shouting 'BOO!'

They've spent the rest of the day playing hide-and-seek in increasingly unlikely places, and taking a heavy toll on my nerves. 

I can easily understand why their Mum, Mrs Vermilingua, drinks so much Ant Gin. I may need to have a glass myself soon, for entirely medicinal purposes!

A late breakfast

When they finally emerged from the washing machine, Wilson and Byron had breakfast together this morning. 

Byron, being much younger than W, has not yet mastered eating with cutlery so to avoid embarrassment they both ate from the food bowl that Byron brought with him. 

Apparently it's only his family who call him Byron, the zoo keepers call him Eustace, which is why that is the name engraved on his bowl.

House guest

Wilson is now safely home, and I have to say it's good to have him back! However, he is not alone — one of his little brothers has come to stay for a few days. When I arrived at the zoo W had previously told him I wouldn't mind, and he was already packed, so what could I say?

His name is Kenneth Byron Eustace Vermilingua, but everyone calls him Byron. He's quite a bit younger than Wilson, although they are almost the same size. 

They are both exhausted — Wilson by his holiday, Byron by the drive home — so they've gone to bed for a rest. They're sleeping in the washing machine as the tumble dryer is too small for them both at the same time, and Byron won't sleep alone. 

Actually, I doubt he'll be sleeping at all — there is a constant sound of whispering and giggling coming from the utility room!

CHECK THIS OUT! 

September has been a very busy month for Wilson Vermilingua OBE!

I've just uploaded the latest monthly volume of Ant Wars II: September 2013 so you can catch up on anything you've missed.

Please tell all your friends, as it is Wilson's stated ambition for his life story to be, as he puts it, "As Popular as a Summer Holiday at the Zoo."

You can download it or read it online at:

http://issuu.com/friendlydragon/docs/ant_wars_ii_september_2013

http://issuu.com/friendlydragon

Photographs of the lovely WILSON are by Tamanduagirl at 

http://www.livingwithanteaters.com/ and are used by kind permission.

POSTCARDS FROM THE ZOO

While Wilson is on holiday with his family at the zoo he can't send any photographs (the zoo has withdrawn Wi-Fi privileges for all the animals because of some internet scam the warthogs were running).

Instead he's drawing pictures on his iPad, printing them out as postcards and mailing them to me each day.

Here is today's postcard:

 

 

POSTCARDS FROM THE ZOO

While Wilson is on holiday with his family at the zoo he can't send any photographs (the zoo has withdrawn Wi-Fi privileges for all the animals because of some internet scam the warthogs were running).

Instead he's drawing pictures on his iPad, printing them out as postcards and mailing them to me each day.

Here is today's postcard:

 

 

POSTCARDS FROM THE ZOO

While Wilson is on holiday with his family at the zoo he can't send any photographs (the zoo has withdrawn Wi-Fi privileges for all the animals because of some internet scam the warthogs were running).

Instead he's drawing pictures on his iPad, printing them out as postcards and mailing them to me each day.

Here is today's postcard:

 

 

POSTCARDS FROM THE ZOO

While Wilson is on holiday with his family at the zoo he can't send any photographs (the zoo has withdrawn Wi-Fi privileges for all the animals because of some internet scam the warthogs were running).

Instead he's drawing pictures on his iPad, printing them out as postcards and mailing them to me each day.

Here is today's postcard:

 

 

POSTCARDS FROM THE ZOO

While Wilson is on holiday with his family at the zoo he can't send any photographs (the zoo has withdrawn Wi-Fi privileges for all the animals because of some internet scam the warthogs were running).

Instead he's drawing pictures on his iPad, printing them out as postcards and mailing them to me each day.

Here is today's postcard:

 

 

POSTCARDS FROM THE ZOO

While Wilson is on holiday with his family at the zoo he can't send any photographs (the zoo has withdrawn Wi-Fi privileges for all the animals because of some internet scam the warthogs were running).

Instead he's drawing pictures on his iPad, printing them out as postcards and mailing them to me each day.

Here is today's postcard:

 

 

POSTCARDS FROM THE ZOO

While Wilson is on holiday with his family at the zoo he can't send any photographs (the zoo has withdrawn Wi-Fi privileges for all the animals because of some internet scam the warthogs were running).

Instead he's drawing pictures on his iPad, printing them out as postcards and mailing them to me each day.

Here is today's postcard:

 

 

POSTCARDS FROM THE ZOO

While Wilson is on holiday with his family at the zoo he can't send any photographs (the zoo has withdrawn Wi-Fi privileges for all the animals because of some internet scam the warthogs were running).

Instead he's drawing pictures on his iPad, printing them out as postcards and mailing them to me each day.

Here is today's postcard:

POSTCARDS FROM THE ZOO

While Wilson is on holiday with his family at the zoo he can't send any photographs (the zoo has withdrawn Wi-Fi privileges for all the animals because of some internet scam the warthogs were running).

Instead he's drawing pictures on his iPad, printing them out as postcards and mailing them to me each day.

Here is today's postcard:

POSTCARDS FROM THE ZOO

While Wilson is on holiday with his family at the zoo he can't send any photographs (the zoo has withdrawn Wi-Fi privileges for all the animals because of some internet scam the warthogs were running).

Instead he's drawing pictures on his iPad, printing them out as postcards and mailing them to me each day.

Here is today's postcard: