The boys are back in town… But which town?
Paddy is instantly sold.
“I like the look of this place – where are we, Plunkett?”
Fortunately, Plunkett remembered to bring along the travel guide.
“I think we’re in St Ives! Here, look.”
“The book says that St Ives has long been a popular place for artists to live and work, thanks to the special quality of the light here. I think I see what they mean…”
Paddy, as ever, is less concerned with the light and more interested in getting to the heart of the action.
“C’mon then! Let’s take a closer look!”
Down at the harbour, Plunkett is enraptured. I think he might consider sticking around here and joining the St Ives School of artists himself at this rate.
“Wow, what a beautiful place! And look at that sky!”
Paddy’s eye is caught by something else.
“What beautiful boats! I wonder if…”
Oh no, Paddy. Let’s just nip that idea in the bud right now. We can’t have him attempting to commandeer any more vessels on this trip. Into town we go!
And the town doesn’t disappoint either, with its winding streets, pretty stone buildings, AND…
… A WOOL SHOP!
Plunkett just had to stop and pick out some supplies for his next project. Or projects! He usually has a couple of things on the go.
Fortunately, someone was keeping an eye on the clock.
“Plunkett! PLUNKETT! The humans are going to leave without us! Hurry up!”
And that leaves ME wondering what weird parallel universe the boys have fallen into, where Paddy is the responsible one… Hopefully normal service will resume next week, with some new Beastie friends for you to meet! See you then!
This monument is believed to have been standing here since round 2500BC, although new findings indicate that some of the stones were quarried and shaped much earlier.
… During which time the boys found a novel way of staying out of the rain.
“Outta the way, camera! This is a Beastie bag now!”
Well, they do find us humans endlessly fascinating. And while there were occasional opportunities for mischief…
For the first part of our visit, we were in Highgate Cemetery East. Humans and Beasties can wander freely around this newer part of the cemetery for a small fee, and there’s so much to see here! While many of the monuments are fairly traditional…
… But keep your eyes open as you stroll around and you could also meet Douglas Adams, George Eliot, Karl Marx or Bruce Reynolds, who masterminded the Great Train Robbery!
… To see the rest, you’ll have to take the tour yourself!
… While others were a lot less subtle.
I liked how some of the shapes echoed each other a little, like these two pieces. As above, so below!
Mind you, much as I loved the unearthly, ethereal shapes, there was something a little unsettling about this one… It looks like those white bulbs are poised for a global takeover, starting right here! It didn’t seem to bother the Beasties though – maybe they’re planning a takeover of their own?
They fitted in especially well in the Japanese garden – I feel more Zen already.
And when the rain got a little too heavy, we went to check out the indoor exhibition in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art. In the dark rooms, each of the carefully-lit sculptures took on a life of their own. They looked like flowers, or shells, or living things… But definitely not glass!
That’s the 
But what a difference this time around! Look at all this greenery! It’s the perfect place for a pair of woolly monsters to hang out.
And while there were plenty of interesting things to see at ground level…
“Check us out! We’re flowers!”
… The Beasties couldn’t wait to climb up the spiral staircase to the balcony and feel tall!
From our high perch, you really see how huge the Temperate House is. It’s the largest Victorian glasshouse in the world today… And it needs to be big! Since “temperate” covers pretty much any part of the world outside of the tropics and the polar regions, 1500 species of plants from 5 continents and 16 islands call this giant greenhouse home.
But they were soon distracted by many more curious plants and idyllic quiet corners.
Eventually though…
But the weather outside the Temperate House is decidedly less temperate…
What now? Should the Beasties stay indoors, or risk getting their paws wet as they explore the rest of Kew? We’ll find out next time we catch up with them… But be sure to join us next week when I’ll have some new Beasties for you to meet!
“
It’s our old buddy 
“Ooooh, check this out!”
It’s almost possible for Beasties to get lost in among all that colour. Can you spot them?
The treetop walkway is really spectacular… But the boys really had to hold on tight! It was a little breezy up there!
What’s this then? Perhaps it will help if we zoom out a little.
This is “Memory Palace”, an 18-metre-wide sculpture by British designer and artist Es Devlin. It’s named after the mnemonic technique where memories are preserved by mentally linking them to familiar locations – I’m sure any fans of “Sherlock” out there will recognise the idea! In “Memory Palace”, each feature on this curved white landscape is a place where a significant societal shift took place.
Mirrors on one wall and the ceiling expand the boundaries of the sculpture, and slightly change the way you see the individual elements… The same way memory can, I suppose!
