Hey there everybody! Today we’re catching up with June Beastie again as she continues her journey to her new home. It’s been quite the adventure, starting way back here! And, in case you missed it, there was a more recent update last week… Which attracted a few interested non-human readers.
“Hey Plunkett, what are you… Oh, look! It’s that Beastie who showed up here a few months back! What’s she been up to?”
“Exploring some interesting places, by the look of it!”
“Wow! You’re right, we should go and visit her… I wonder where she is now?”
Well, funny you should ask that, Paddy. Because here she is!
“This place looks nice. I wonder if anyone’s in?”
“Hellllllooooooo?”
“Oh, look! Is that… The kitchen?”
“Yes! I think I’m going to like it here.”
Now, I know that June Beastie’s ever-present rolling pin has raised a few eyebrows throughout her travels. Did she have trouble getting it through airport security? And why would she need it on a visit to a National Park?
Given that it has never once left her paw, I’m sure you’ll all appreciate her glee when she spotted this…
So… Many… Rolling… Pins! And look at all those recipe books, too.
June Beastie’s mind is made up.
“That’s it, I’m staying here! And to say thank you to my new human friends…”
“…I’ll whisk them up a tasty snack!”
Yum! I wouldn’t mind exploring that well-stocked refrigerator myself!
And after a delicious meal, there was only one more thing June Beastie needed to check out.
“Look! A blue apron, just like mine! And this pocket is the perfect place for a travel-weary Beastie to settle down and…”
“…Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…”
Happy new home, June Beastie! Hopefully she’s still helping her human family to cook up a storm in that lovely kitchen.
As for the rest of us at Beastie Towers, we’ll be back on Friday with another round of unusual Beastie accessories… So be sure to join us then!
On her way to her new home last Autumn, 
Then again, the reason this geyser is called Old Faithful is because it erupts frequently and regularly – every 90 minutes or so, to be precise.
Well, this looks much more peaceful. Where are we now?
Aha! Abyss Pool, on the shores of Yellowstone Lake. The still waters of this hot spring really do run deep, too… The bottom lies 16m (53 feet) below the surface. So don’t fall in, June Beastie!
“Really?”
“Hmmmm, maybe that’s what these are?”
Unfortunately, our knowledge of US flora and fauna has let us down here – can anyone identify the mystery guest?
… And to take in a few more hot springs before the sun set.
Those colours are quite something, aren’t they?
I had visited Bruges before, many years ago… But I’d forgotten how impossibly pretty it is. Here, take a look!
So, where are we off to first?
“Are we really climbing THAT?”
Explorer Beastie was supposed to stay tucked away until we got to the top, but he couldn’t resist popping out for photo ops in the Treasury…
… And the bell tower itself.
On the left is the Triumph Bell, which is the biggest of the 47 bells (47!) housed in the tower. It’s a shrimpy little thing, weighing a mere 6,000kg! On the right, Explorer Beastie is taking a closer look at the playing drum, which allows some of the lesser bells to play recognisable tunes every quarter hour. Each of those pins is actually a nut and bolt, so their positions could be changed….
Totally worth it!
“Gaaaah! Help!”
There was one very obvious reason why we were here.
“All you can eat”? Really? Is that wise?
In fact, he was still feeling chipper enough at the end to pose with these guys – does anyone else recognise the 
Cheers for travelling with us!
Hey, Garcia Beastie! Great, let’s go and explore!
You can also see the King’s House (NB no king has ever actually lived here!)…
…And, on the other side of the square, the Town Hall.
This served as a makeshift hospital during the First World War, and it was our first indicator that Brussels loves its monsters. Check out the statuary and gargoyles!
Wait, did we lose Explorer Beastie? No, there he is – having a staring contest with one of the locals.
Come on! We have to go and check out one of the city’s less tasteful landmarks.
We had a pretty hard time trying to decipher the appeal of the Mannekin Pis, but here we are…
OK, well… That’s done.
A building with multicoloured bikes going up the front? Yes please! And some early signs of the approaching spring, too.
You might not have to wear your woolly jacket much longer, Explorer Beastie!
Yes, they really are everywhere! Check out this winged lion on the side of the Palais de Justice.
As I later found out, the scaffolding is 
… The shelter we’d hoped to find in the galleries of the Mont des Arts and the Musical Instruments Museum was denied to us! It was a Monday, and both were closed.
I’d definitely check out the Museum of Musical Instruments on a future visit though – the building is so cool! I’d like to use it as a blueprint for the next Beastie Towers refurb.
I hope you’re planning to share that with me, Beasties!
… 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!
Cheers, and see you then!
… 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!
