Blob Thing Remembers An Angel's Words And Freedom In Southport

I don't want to say much this morning.  Yesterday Winefride and I found six more snowdogs and we also went to see the Angel of the North.  That angel is my friend.  That angel told me some very special things the first time we met.  After meeting the angel I had been so thrilled by the experience that I got my person to write about it and together we wrote a post.  It was one of the first posts on my blog and we wrote it five months ago today.  Here it is, under this link.

I'm still not going to tell you everything the angel said to me in his special message.  But the angel was right and my life has been a lot more extraordinary and exciting than I could have dreamed all that time ago.  I think that there will be even more exciting times ahead for me and for my person.  And for Winefride too.  Five months ago I hadn't ever imagined that I could have a sister and would love her as much as I do.  I won't share that special secret message.  But I want to share again some of what the angel said to me that day:

"You're a Blob, unique.   Be proud of yourself.  Be proud of who and what you are and live your life in the wonder of your own being.  Be you, love others, and don't let anyone make you feel bad for living a life of freedom and love in whatever way is right for you.  Let go of the things you can't do.  Those things are for others.  Embrace what you can do.  Embrace your desires, your dreams, your passions and let your creative spirit flow.   If people look down on you for being a Blob Thing rise above them and know that you are beautiful, you are strong and you are as valuable as any soft toy could be."

Those are good words for me still.  And they're excellent words too for my person.  She needs to do these things better but she's learning.  She let go of something last week that she wanted to do but couldn't.  And the letting go was hard for her.  I was very proud of her for putting down something while knowing that it was a very good something she was putting down.

Today of course we're going snowdog hunting again.  My person says we're going back to Sunderland.  We were there twelve days ago hunting for butterflies and we saw some of the dogs then but now we want to find them all.  We want to see eleven dogs today and some little dogs too.  Little dogs but not Little Dog.  Little Dog lives here with us.  He's small and white and he's quite old.  I'm not yet one year old and Little Dog might be twenty-five years old.  Maybe he could come on an adventure with me one day because he's only little.

I said I didn't want to say much but then I said lots.  And I want to share some more pictures from that happy day in Southport.  It had been a very good day and I had lots of adventures.  I like adventures.  Most soft toys don't get to have as many adventures as me.  Not even the soft toys I live with.  It would be quite difficult for them all to come out on our adventures.  My person wouldn't be able to carry all of them because there are quite a lot of friends.  And some of them, like Adunno, are heavy.  He's a very heavy unicorn because he had surgery.

I was with my person and my creator in a field after we drank tea and it was so nice there.  I think it might be less nice to lie down on that grass today.  I think it would be a lot colder and the ground would be very wet.  But on that day it was perfect and we were all happy.  I played and bounced up and down the field.

Before we left I lay back on the ground and looked up at the sky.  It was very beautiful.

Of course, I didn't look directly at the sun.  That wouldn't have been good for me.  But my person could point the camera at the sun and that was it didn't hurt her eyes.  Can you see?  Can you see?  Ooh, ooh, can you see?  There are bubbles in that photo.  Because we blew bubbles too.  What can make a perfect moment even more perfect?  Bubbles.  That's what.

Eventually it was time to move on and we decided to walk to the sea.  But first we had to cross this big lake that's in Southport.  That was quite pretty too.  My person took a really nice picture of my creator as we walked by the lake.

And we saw lots of birds too.  They were good to see.

It was a long way to the beach.  I don't know why they put the sea so far away from the carousel and the crazy golf.  It's a long way.  And even when you get to the beach the sea is still a long way away.  I've been to Southport beach several times now and I haven't yet seen the sea.  My person tells me that the sea does come a lot closer sometimes and says that one day we will go there and be surprised because the sea will be nearer and we will see waves.  I saw lots of waves in the last couple of weeks because I've seen the sea several times.  Last time I went to Southport we walked all the way to the beach to sit and watch the sun setting.  It had been a very sunny day.  But just as it got time for the sun to set there was lots of cloud in the sun setting direction and we could hardly see the sun.  We sat and watched anyway.  Winefride was there too that time because she likes to come out with us.

I took this picture of my person.  In the background is my creator and behind her is a fairground.  My person says that she has never seen this fairground open.  Maybe she just goes at the wrong time.  She might like to go on that big wheel but might not like the fast rides.

And then it was time to go.  We couldn't stay in Southport forever.  So we walked back to the train station and I got to sit on a plant with very big leaves.  That was fun too.  I don't think anyone else got to sit on the plant that day.

On the train I sat and remembered the day and I drank my tea.  You will notice that we bought our tea from a shop called Subway.  That's not at the station.  You can't buy cups of tea at Southport station.  There's a shop outside that sells drinks.  But it doesn't sell cups of tea.  It sells cups of coffee.  But it doesn't sell tea.  You have to walk a very long way indeed to buy a cup of tea in Southport, especially when it's so late that most of the shops are shut.  But we found tea because we needed tea.  We hadn't drunk tea since going to the cafe by the field.  And now we needed tea.  My person likes tea.  She's especially obsessed by what she calls black tea.  She has it with milk so it's not black.  And it comes in a white packet.  But the packet used to be black so she called it black tea when the packet was black and now she still calls it black tea even though the packet is white and she has it with milk.  She seems to think that's a totally reasonable way of naming tea.  She's also got some green tea here.  But that's not green tea.  It's a spiced tea and the tea is black.  But the packet is green.  She wants to get some red tea too but only knows of one shop that sells it and that's in Manchester which is a long way to go for a teabag.  My person does also have lots of green tea that is proper green tea.  Black tea and green tea are both black teas but her green teas are green.  My person has too much tea.  But she likes tea and I have to say that sharing in tea drinking with her is very nice.  I like tea too.  My person has more than one mug.  That's good because how else would I be able to have tea to drink?

So there I am, with my tea.  I was quite tired but it had been a wonderful day and I was happy.  I am happy now because I'll be seeing snowdogs today.  And I'm happy because I saw the angel yesterday and was reminded of all that the angel said to me.  I'm happy because I've got my sister.  I love Winefride.  I have lots to be happy about.  My person says that there are lots of sad things going on in the world.  My person says that life can be quite difficult for her.  And it can be much more difficult for lots of other people.  But I am still happy.  Because I am me.  Because I am loved and love.  Because I listened to the angel.  Because life is a wonder and because I am awestruck by the amazingness of it all.  And because there is always tea in this house.  And tea is a happy thing.



[1612 words]

Blob Thing Remembers Happy Times Of Friends, Sunshine and Tea In Southport

Blob Thing says:

My person doesn't seem to be very happy this morning.  I think it's got something to do with that nasty Mr. Trump.  She says that Mr. Trump has said lots of stupid things.  She says that Mr. Trump has said lots of mean things too.  About disabled people.  About black people.  About women.  About people of other religions.  About almost anyone who isn't like him.  My person doesn't like Mr. Trump much and I have to say that I haven't seen much to make me like him.  But my person says that a lot of people seem to like Mr. Trump even though he has said so many horrible things about so many people.  My person says that horrid Mr. Trump has just won some kind of popularity contest and now he's going to be given lots of power and will even be given a button that he can press if he wants to blow up the world.  I think that's what my person means.

My person seems upset by it all.  I've told her not to worry and that we can go out and have a nice day anyway and hunt for some more snowdogs.  Yesterday she took Winefride and me out and we saw lots of dogs.  We saw nine that we haven't seen before.  We would have seen ten but one was missing and we were so sad that Winefride and I cried lots about it and it was only when my person told us that we would go on a boat and then go and see some more dogs that we cheered up.  It's sad that there's a missing dog.  Tomorrow we might see where there used to be another dog and that one's missing too.  My person says that there were 61 big dogs altogether but that we will only be able to see 58 of them.  There are lots of little dogs too.  And yesterday I was really very pleased because I was able to introduce Winefride to one of my old friends, the Herma Merma Dragora.  She was a bit scared to begin with because the Herma Merma Dragora looks quite fierce but she soon relaxed.  He's obviously still working very hard at his job because the sea ogre from Cleveleys hasn't paid a visit and destroyed South Shields.

Today I want to tell you about a happier time.  The only thing that could have made it happier for me was if I had been able to share it with Winefride.  But she hadn't been created then.  It was a very long time ago.

It was a day of friendship.  A day of sunshine.  A day to relax and to smile.  I smile all the time.  I can't help it because I'm a pretty happy person except when my person forgets to take me out or when a snowdog is missing.  I also can't help it because my smile is sewn onto my face.  But sometimes I smile more.  And it's obvious from the pictures.

We were in Southport and were having a good time.  It was the day I sat in the shoe of a giant too.  Exciting.  We went into a shop and it was there that I found lots and lots of friends to play with and it was such fun to see them smile and to watch how they could all move all by themselves even though they are toys.  Some of them were so funny and I laughed a lot and my creator laughed and my person smiled.

I think my creator wanted to take all of the new friends home with us and I wouldn't have minded that at all.  They were all quite lovely and it was a pleasure to meet them all.  Unfortunately a person said that we would have to pay lots of money for each friend we wanted to take home.  So we could only afford to choose one friend.  Who to save?  Who to save?  Eventually the decision was made and my creator said we would take an elephant with us.  I hope all those other friends are okay and that they looked after each other well.  I will probably never see them again but meeting them was a joy.

We walked on from the shops and we found a place to drink tea.  We all needed some tea.  It was very nice because we sat outside and the weather was lovely and there was a field and I was very happy with the whole experience.  Here I am posing with the tea and my new elephant friend.  In the background you can just make out my creator.  My person took quite a lot of pictures of my creator that day and in some of them you can see pure joy on her face and it's wonderful.  Especially in the pictures taken on the beach.  I'll be telling you about that in my next post.

After our drinks of tea we all left the cafe and we went to the field and we sat on the grass.  And then we lay down and looked at the sky and it was very beautiful.  My person says that there is beauty in the world no matter who wins an election.  I hope we find some of that beauty today.  She needs to smile more and laugh more and be silly more.  Silly in a good way.

We took lots of sky pictures that day.  My person likes the sky.  Sometimes she sees all the colours of the rainbow even on a cloudy day and sees rays of coloured light coming from the sky and hitting the ground.  I think she might just be imagining it or that she's just being strange but she seems to enjoy it when it happens and sometimes she gets a bit happily lost staring at the dark clouds.  I prefer it when it's sunny.  But clouds can be very pretty too and on that day the sky was beautiful.

We sat in the field and we blew bubbles with our bubble guns and we lay back and there was peace inside us.  I recommend it.  Sitting or lying back in a field on a sunny day and just being at peace.  Just be there.  In that moment.  Forget about Mr. Trump.  Forget about all the hard things of life.  Let them go.  And just be.  With the grasses.  With the sky.  With the warmth.  With the sound of a child's laughter as they run around with a borrowed bubble gun.  Just be.  My person doesn't just be enough.  She lets thoughts run wild and gets caught up in things even when there's really nothing to get caught up in.  She's learning though.  And I am teaching her.

One last photo of me.  I was very happy indeed.  I'll tell you about the rest of the day next time.

There will be more days like this.  No matter what happens in the world - unless Mr. Trump ever decides to press that button - there will be plants and sunshine and clouds and light and shade and bubbles and friendship.  Someone wrote this morning that the world has just got darker.  Maybe so, but there is still light and warmth and the sea and snowdogs and there are still lots of people who seek to walk in that light.


[1232 words]

Blob Thing Stages A Daring Sea Escape From The Land of Fleetwood

It's fair to say that Blob wasn't having the best of days.  He was in Fleetwood.  And that wasn't turning out to be the most exciting place for adventures.  Blob's person tried to tell him that adventures were possible even in Fleetwood.  She had lived within the boundary of the town for several years and had lived to tell the tale and even had a few adventures of her own while living there.  Blob finds that hard to believe.  No matter how much he is told of Fleetwood Market or Tram Sunday he can't quite believe that a town with a main street as dead at Fleetwood's was on a Saturday afternoon could be a lively place.  He's glad that he lives in Newcastle rather than Fleetwood.  Blob asks why Fleetwood isn't more like Southport.  That's not a wildly bustling metropolis but you can certainly get a wide range of ice cream there and Blob likes to relax by the sea there.  At least, he would enjoy relaxing by the sea if he ever visited when the sea wasn't out of sight from the shore.

Blob was just thinking that there couldn't possibly be any adventures to have in Fleetwood that day when his person and his creator discovered an adventure.  Just for him.

The adventure was this:

They would escape from Fleetwood.  On a ship!

Blob became very excited by this news.  He hadn't been able to tunnel his way out of Fleetwood.  But now he was presented with a different way out.  A ship!  He could hardly think about it for fear of being disappointed.  What if the ship wasn't there after all?  What if he remained marooned in Fleetwood for the rest of his life?  A life with no adventures was almost too painful to consider.  Fortunately, Blob didn't have to risk considering it for long because there before him was a sign.  And beyond the sign was the ship.  Salvation.   Blessed salvation from the dead streets of Fleetwood.  Blob spotted that there was even a tram stop named for the ship.  It was called "Fleetwood Ferry" but that's not what Blob's person kept calling it.  She seemed to think it was known as "The Knott End Ferry."

Blob began to dream about it and the journey they would undertake to the end of Knott.  Or to the place that was not the end.  Blob wanted to know what the place was not at the end of.  His person told him that that's not what the name meant.  He then kept asking what they would find at the end of Knott.  Would they find a pot of gold like at the end of the rainbow?  Or would they find something even better?  His person told him that that's not what the name meant either.  So Blob asked her what the name truly meant.  She had to confess that she didn't know.  It was the end of something.  Maybe the end of the land, since it was the point at which the land met the sea.  But she didn't have the faintest idea why it was called Knott.

Blob resolved to find out for himself.  But by the end of the day he was so tired that he quite forgot to find out and weeks after the adventure he can't be worried to find out.  He doesn't feel that researching the history and lore of Knott End would greatly benefit his life.  He considers that it wouldn't be much more exciting than what he discovered at Knott End.  And on a scale of one to ten excitements that had ranked somewhere towards one.  Maybe if he had more time to explore he would have discovered stunning adventures in Knott End.  Maybe.  Blob Thing confesses that he has some doubts about this.

Blob, his person, and his creator walked past the sign announcing the presence of the ship and they walked down a ramp.  They needed to pay a ferryman in order to proceed to wherever the ship would go.  Blob thinks it fortunate that the ferryman needed to be paid in cash rather than in the souls of dead ocelots.  If he had wanted to be paid in ocelot souls that would have proved more than problematic because Blob didn't know a single ocelot and even if he had known an entire circus troupe of ocelots their souls would be their own, rather than an acceptable currency for ferryman payments.  Blob doesn't ever want to steal the soul of an ocelot trapeze artist or hustle an ocelot clown in a game.  It wouldn't matter at all whether the game were pool or polo.  Hustling ocelot souls is just not cricket.

Blob was very excited.  His person was excited too.  And so was his creator.  They were going to escape from Fleetwood.  True, the walls weren't quite so high and thick as the walls of Castle Colditz or Monte Cristo and if there were any armed guards they were of the invisible or camouflaged variety.  But at moments that day escape had seemed impossible.   As the ship pulled away from the shore of Fleetwood, Blob and his creator posed together, blissful that they were actually doing this.

The ship crossed the choppy waters known as The Wyre Estuary and the three companions looked back on the town that had until recently been their prison.  It actually looked quite pretty from out on the water.  Blob could hardly believe the escape was proceeding so well.  He thought that at any moment sirens would sound and searchlights would shine out in all directions from the Pharos Lighthouse and the ship would have to return and Blob would be taken off and cast into a dark prison, guarded for all eternity by tormentors who would never be his allies no matter how much they sided with any fisherfolk in adjacent cells.  Yes.  The prison would be ruled by those fisherman's friends.

No sirens sounded.  No searchlights lit up the ship.  No helicopters armed with missiles appeared over the horizon.

They had done it.

Blob, his person, and his creator had actually done it.

They were free.

Blob Thing cheered and cheered and cheered and was raised up high in triumph.  Far in the distance, Fleetwood was just a memory now.  And life was good again.

Blob stood on the shore of Knott End and smiled.  This could be the start of a new life.  He was filled with hope for his future.  Or at least for the rest of the day.

Little could Blob Thing know that his hopes were to be cruelly dashed.  Little could he know that his freedom was just an illusion and that soon he would have to return to Fleetwood.

[Note:  Blob has since escaped from Fleetwood for much longer and he knows that going back there one day won't be the end of the world or even the end of the Knott.  You probably know that he has escaped properly because of everything he's said in his blog since the day he rode to (temporary) freedom on the Knott End Ferry.  Quite how he escaped, and why he had to return to Fleetwood at all, is a subject for another day.]




[1205 words]

Blob Thing Battles With A Cruel Giant And Frees All The Soft Toys

It's August.  Blob Thing is looking forward to August.

He thinks that a lot of special things might happen this month.  And now he's got a sister to share some of those things with.  In two weeks time they will be leaving Newcastle to go to Autscape, a conference or gathering or event for autistic adults.  Blob and Winefride aren't adults but they know that there will be some children there too and it will be fine.  They're looking forward to it a lot.  And then at the end of the month they're going to Greenbelt which is a Christian festival but with lots of things that many Christians wouldn't recognise as having anything to do with their version of the true God.  They're looking forward to that but they're also a bit confused.  Blob's person went to church for twenty-five years and it's only now she's quit that part of her life (Hooray!) that she's going to a Christian festival for the first time.  Blob thinks that's a bit weird.

Today Blob Thing had been planning to tell you about an adventure he had with Winefride.  But she got up this morning and wasn't her usual self.  He is a bit worried about her and wants to look after her.  She doesn't want him to hold her though and seems happier looking at the dust in the air on her own and sorting beads.  Blob hopes she feels better soon although he supposes that she feels okay with her dust and beads.  She just seems more sad than usual and she can't talk about it.

One day Blob thinks that he and his person need to sort out something for her so she might be able to communicate in other ways.  Talking isn't everything.  She doesn't yet know how to read and write so a text to speech application wouldn't work.  Blob says they could work out a picture version and then Winefride would be able to learn to say what she wants through pictures.  He says that there is software like that and they should be able to get some for the computer or the phone.  That would be good for Winefride and it would mean that if she wanted to communicate more then she could.

Blob says that really she communicates quite a lot of things anyway through her face and body and most of the time he can see if she's okay or not.  Blob says to say that he loves his sister.  She's non-verbal but that doesn't matter.  She's his sister and she's wonderful and he loves her.

So what should Blob Thing tell you about today?  He has been having a look at his list of untold adventures.  It only runs up to the end of June and he says that later he needs to write a list of July adventures.  There's no rush.  He still has forty adventures from June that he hasn't written about yet.  Blob has a thrill packed life.  It's not special.  Most people could have a thrill packed life.  Blob's person has shared in every one of his adventures.  So she has a thrill packed life too.  And it's not because she is special, although Blob thinks she is.  It's not that she has a vast supply of money.  It's not that she has social skills to die for or masses of energy.  No.  She finds things difficult and even the best days are a big challenge.  But she still has a thrill packed life.

Why?

Because she has chosen that life.  And she is determined to live it to the best of her ability.

It's a recent choice.  A year ago her life was very different.  She believes that most people can have a thrill packed life too.  Especially in her city where there is so much to do - and so much to do that either costs nothing or is very cheap.  It's not about money.  She can't afford to spend lots on entertainment.  She can't.  But without money there is still a lot she can do.  She's also very fortunate to have her bus pass.  With a bus pass or a bus fare and an empty day, life can be a beautiful adventure.

Blob wasn't going to write much today because he's worrying about Winefride and wants to be looking after her as best he can rather than sitting discussing a blog post.  But now he's written lots about his thrilling life and his person's thrilling life.  On Sunday they had an adventure and lots of enjoyment and it cost nothing.  On Saturday they had a very big adventure and it cost £1.50 and they came back from it with a big book too.  Blob likes his adventures.  He wasn't going to write much but here he is and his discussions have already led to his person typing 800 words.  And he hasn't even told you about an adventure.

He had better be quick.  And here is a quick one.  A one photo adventure:

He's almost camouflaged.  Which is lucky.  Blob thinks so anyway.  Because he's sitting in a shoe belonging to a giant.  A fierce, angry giant who would either eat soft toys or throw them away to be crushed by the lorry the bin collectors use and then have his broken remains buried on a rubbish dump or burned into nothing in a giant incinerator.  Or maybe the giant would be cruel and would want to imprison soft toys and he would have a massive dungeon.  First he would torture Blob and then throw him in the dungeon with all the other physically broken, heartbroken toys and there would be no hope of rescue and then what would happen?

Blob Thing seems to have an entire fantasy going on here about the giant and how he would be able eventually to stage an escape and defeat the evil giant and free all the soft toys and then build a hospital so that their torture scars could be fixed and then eventually they could all go home to their people who would still be missing them and everyone would live happily ever after.  Except for the giant.  He would be sealed into his dungeon and wouldn't ever get out and the soft toys of the world would be safe.  Blob would be a hero and would become friend of all friends and he would become a crusader against all the people who are ever cruel to their toys.

And then at the end of the story Blob would be lying in a field looking up at the sky and everything would be at peace and the camera would pan away from him into the clouds and the credits would roll.  Here's the sky he would be looking at.  In fact he did look at this sky, not long after sitting in the giant's shoe.  He and his person and his creator drank tea and then lay in the field and blew bubbles and it was a wonderful time.  Blob wants to go back there.  He likes it there.

Yes.  A quick one photo adventure.  Blob's person isn't quite sure that it was a giant's shoe.  She's not sure that there would be a giant coming to put it on, already wearing the other one.  She thinks it's just a big shoe from a window display, put there to encourage people to come into a shop where they might buy themselves some normal sized shoes.  That's what she thinks but Blob thinks that's a much more boring story.

Blob prefers the giant story.

Defeating the evil giant and freeing all the toys is a much better adventure than going to a shoe shop and not buying anything.

Blob is sticking with his story.  But you can decide for yourself which story is right.  Or you might decide that there's another story to be told.  You might tell the story.

And then you might post your story as a comment here.

Blob would love it if you did.



[1341 words]

Blob Thing Eats Even More Food And Shares A Very Special Photograph

Blob Thing wants to apologise.  He didn't mean to write as much yesterday and he didn't believe that could be possible that he would be able to.  When he began to think again about his reservoir adventure no words were coming to him.  He was beginning to feel a little disheartened about it and, almost imperceptibly, his smile had begun to sink into a frown.  But then it happened.  He hit the realms of possibility and the words began to flow.  And flow.  And flow some more.  Where starting to write had seemed an almost insurmountable barrier, stopping writing became almost as big a problem.  He might not have stopped at all except his person told him to stop.  Not because she wasn't interested in what Blob had to say - including all he said about how he had been a lot more sensible and clever than she was - but because her typing fingers were beginning to ache.  In any case she had to go out, or so she said, and Blob could hardly type his blog posts on his own.

Blob had written a lot.  He wants to apologise because of the abundance of words.  Only the most devoted Blob lovers could ever have completed the reading of them.  He is sorry.  Blob's person says not to apologise.  If Blob has something to say then his blog is as good a place as any to say it.  And then it's up to other people whether they want to receive the great benefits the wisdom and joviality of Blob could bring them.  She says that Blob has nothing to apologise for.  He doesn't even have to apologise for showing her up so much.  It's okay too because he surely won't write as much in this post because he's writing it late at night and resting would be easier than concentrating.

Today Blob wants to say a little more about a trip he took to Southport.  He's told you already of his chip eating and how delicious those chips were.  He's told you how just recently his person has eaten far too many chips.  It seems he doesn't mind telling you about that again.  Does he really think that if he repeats his opinion enough times his person will change her ways and replace chips with a balanced meal including plenty of fruit and vegetables?

It had been a good day in Southport.  After eating his chips - and then some ice cream too - Blob explored.  He looked in lots of charity shops.  Southport has many charity shops.  There never seems to be enough time to see all of them.  He walked along streets he had never seen before.  He visited a big lake and saw a paddle steamer.  It wasn't steaming anywhere at the time but Blob was very excited because he's never seen a paddle steamer before.  He's still excited.  Yesterday he was looking at books and one of them, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, had a paddle steamer on the cover.  That reminded him of Southport.  His person is astonished that something written about the Mississippi could remind anyone of Southport.

Blob was exhausted.  He had explored such a lot.  His person was exhausted too.  His creator was also exhausted.  They had been busy.  They needed a rest and Blob was adamant that their rest should happen in a cafe.  He wanted more food.  Being so busy near the sea had given him an appetite.  So the intrepid trio found a place to sit.  Then they found another place to sit because a flickering light was visible in the first place.

Blob was very pleased with how the day had gone and he was very pleased to be able to eat some more.  His person and his creator weren't hungry but they did want a drink.  In this picture you can see something else they did that day in Southport.  It was bubble day.  At least it was bubble day in the minds of Blob's creator and his person.  They like bubbles a lot.  Blowing hundreds and hundreds of bubbles from a bubble gun can brighten up any day.  Who wouldn't like bubbles?  It should be impossible to not like bubbles.  Blob says so but he is aghast to notice that while the majority of people smile more when they see all the bubbles there are some who still look miserable.  In fact there are some who see the bubbles and look even more miserable.  Some people even look quite cross.  Blob cannot understand it at all.  It is beyond reason.  How could anyone not love something as fun and beautiful as bubbles?  Unless they are allergic to soapy water.  In which they could still love bubbles.  Just at a distance.

Here's Blob again in the cafe with a Southport park behind him and in the distance a Ferris wheel.  One day he would like to ride on a Ferris wheel.  It would almost be like flying.  [I am not sure whether in this picture he is pretending to fly or whether he had eaten so much during that day that he was having difficulty keeping his dress in place.]

The day had been an amazing adventure for a Blob who hadn't had many adventures in his short life.  He felt like the luckiest Blob Thing in the entire galaxy.  But like all days, this one had to come to an end and he and his travelling companions had to catch a train back to where he was staying.

And here it is.  Here's what Blob especially wants to share.  A very, very special photograph.  He does not have many like this.  This is Blob Thing.  This is his person.  And this is his creator.  Blob and the most important two humans in his life.  In one photo.  Blob has over a hundred pictures of himself.  But he only has a very few that contain himself and his person or his creator.

Blob Thing adores this photo.  He is almost ecstatic every time he looks at it.  He is often joyful.  And this photo fills him with joy that overflows beyond any measure he can measure with.  Just look at the way he's smiling in this picture.

He is smiling just the same way now as he thinks about how blessed he is.

[1057 words]

Blob Thing Dines Out in Southport With His People

Wow!  What a day!

Blob has been out adventuring again today.  He met Noah and made lots of animal friends.  He toured a cathedral.  And then, quite by chance, he found out exactly where the Church of England has been hiding the fruit of the Spirit.  He doesn't know much about the fruit of the Spirit really.  He knows it's not a coconut.  And he knows that it's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.  Blob thinks all those things are excellent things to cultivate.  It's good fruit.  And he also thinks that all those things are good things to display openly.  If you have love, then love.  If you have peace, be a peace maker.  If you have kindness, be kind to the people and animals and planet around you.

Imagine Blob's surprise then to discover the fruit of the Spirit today.  Hidden away.  By the Church of England.  In a damp smelling crypt.  It's true.  He went down into a crypt and the Spirit was there.  He was a little shocked.  The fruit should be lived and cherished.  It should be given out to enrich others.  Blob Thing doesn't think it should be buried away where nobody will notice it.  [Note: he has photographic evidence of this awful circumstance.]

Anyway, that was today and today is not what Blob wants to talk about in this post, the post for today's tomorrow but your today or possibly your yesterday or possibly your distant past, somehow finding Blob's blog on a database when orbiting a distant star on a space ship yet to be designed, let alone built or flown to that distant star.  Blob wonders whether his words will be read by anyone in ten thousand years.  Or whether there will be anyone left to read them.

In this post Blob is continuing his quest to discuss all of his adventures from the month of May.  He's doing well and in the last two posts talked about much of an epic walk he undertook.  Blob thinks he wants to leave you in suspense over the rest of that walk.  He's going to make you wait a day to learn about it and talk about a different adventure.  His person is doubtful whether there will be any suspense but Blob's a big-time optimist most of the time and believes that someone somewhere will be on tenterhooks waiting to find out what he found in his journey round a third reservoir and what he might have rewarded himself with when he got back to the home.

Today Blob wants to talk about a trip he took to the town of Southport.  He has taken similar trips since but this was only his second trip there.  Blob told you of the friends he made on his first trip in a previous post.  He loves going to Southport and every time he has journeyed not only with his person but with his creator.  It's wonderful.  The three of them together.  All of them smiling.  Blob thinks it wonderful anyway because he gets to experience life with his person and creator all at the same time.  There aren't many people who can say the same.

Blob was excited.  Southport.  He sat there on the seat of the train proudly displaying his train ticket.  Southport.  An amazing place for a small pink toy.  An amazing place for his person and his creator too.  They seem to keep going there and being restful when they get there.  Blob looks so good with his ticket - although the observant among you will note that in his excitement Blob had forgotten to brush his hair that morning.

Blob has noticed a tradition has formed in Southport.  Several traditions.  His person and creator have found things they like to do and they just get on and do them.  They always discover something new but the traditions are soothing and comfortable and just awfully relaxing.  Blob is pleased that he now gets to join in with the traditions.

One of the traditions is chip eating.  Southport is by the sea after all.  And chip eating is a common pastime when by the sea.  Blob thinks it can be too common a pastime for his person.  She has eaten out on chips three times in the last week, in three different towns.  Blob thinks that's quite enough.  He thinks she needs to find something healthier to eat when out - maybe even make her own food.  That hasn't happened in a long while.  She simply hasn't been able to do it.  Blob hopes that pretty soon she can make some food and take it out with her instead of perennially living with the unhealthy desire that there will be a chip shop wherever she goes.  Chips are good.  Blob recognises that.  But he does wish that his person would eat less of them.  Blob has told her so repeatedly, but so far she hasn't changed her very chippy ways.

Blob wants to share a special photo now.  He hasn't shared such an image before.  Here he is, polishing off some Coke.  He knows it's unhealthy.  He knows it might turn his fur a less beautiful shade of pink.  But he does like to drink the stuff sometimes.  And there, behind Blob is a person he is intensely proud of.  This is his creator.  His creator.  He's with his creator.  And he has a photograph of them together.  Blob is so excited to be sharing it.  There aren't any words to say just how excited he is.  Even more excitingly, he has a second photo to share another day soon.  He almost can't wait.  Right now he's spinning and spinning and spinning and getting so happy flappy thinking about it that it's a wonder his dress hasn't fallen off.

Yes, that's Blob Thing's creator sitting there.  He is proud of her.  And he believes that she is proud of him too.  He's living such a full life for a soft toy.  He thinks his creator is wonderful and he loves it when he can go and see her.

Chips.  Yes, chips.  That regular tradition.  Blob is pleased because much as he grumbles to his person about her chip eating activities, he is a great lover of chips too.  He can pack them away.  You wouldn't believe how many chips he can fit inside his belly.  His person has no idea where he puts them all.  There surely can't be enough room inside Blob to fit an entire portion of chips.  And yet, here he is, wiping his lips having polished off an entire plate of them.  It seems impossible, but it is true.

So that was lunch and Blob felt profoundly satisfied.  The fruit of the Spirit does not include gluttony.  If it did that would be another one of the fruits that Blob had developed well.  He's doing quite well at growing those fruits.  Have you ever seen him exhibit an expression that didn't radiate the inner joy he feels?  Have you ever seen him acting in any way unfaithful to his person and his creator?  Yes, he's got the fruits.  He's just got the gluttony fruit too whenever a plate of chips is placed in front of him.  But he doesn't care about that.  It wouldn't do to be too perfect, would it?



[1227 words.  Weren't these posts meant to be about 100 words each?]

Blob Thing Visits Southport And Makes A Lot of Friends

At the start of May Blob Thing had a wonderful day out in Southport.  He's been looking at the pictures of it and has to laugh because he's had two more wonderful days in Southport since then.  He likes Southport.  So does his person.  And so does his creator.  They enjoy themselves there and like the relaxed pace of their times in the town.

When they sit on the beach they can all look up the coast and see Blackpool Tower.  Blob was briefly in Blackpool a few days ago and is looking forward to telling you an experience he had there.  Something he would have thought was impossible.  But it still happened.  Blackpool is famous.  It has lots of lights and noise and three big piers and is a very popular place.  Southport is quieter.  It doesn't attract such crowds and, if the truth is known, perhaps does not have as much to attract them.

But Blob Thing likes Southport.  He likes the shops.  He likes the promenade.  And he likes sitting by the sea.  Or at least he would if there was a sea to sit by.  He thinks it's funny.  The promenade is a long way from the seaside in Southport.  And even when he had reached the seaside the sea has been miles away in the far distance.  Blob has never experienced the sea at the seaside in Southport.  But he knows that one day he will and it will be marvellous.

On this trip to Southport Blob made some new Kitty friends.  He had stopped off on the way there in a place his person keeps calling Notlob.  Blob isn't sure that this is its real name but he hasn't ever heard her call it anything else so quite possibly it is.  Blob hasn't seen a lot of Notlob but that day they had to change train there and there was a wait for the Southport train so they all left the station for a little walk.

Nearby was a charity shop full of very pretty strings of beads.  Blob's person told him that they were special strings of beads called rosaries.  Some people use them to talk to a version of God that they believe in and to talk to God's mum too.  She said that she had used to do the same and still had lots of these special beads at home.  Blob thought it was a very bizarre concept that God should have a mum.  His person said there was a perfectly good reason for it within that belief system and it wasn't just silliness.  But she wasn't going to spend the day explaining Catholic doctrines and dogmas to Blob when enjoying the seaside was much more important.

The charity shop also sold other things and Blob's creator liberated some new friends for him to talk to that day. On the train Blob was introduced to them all and they spent the entire journey chatting away.  The Kitties were ever so thrilled to have been liberated from the charity shop.  They wondered what adventures they would have now that they had been set free from their imprisonment on the shelves of the shop.  Blob says to anyone reading this:  Be merciful.  Liberate a friend from a charity shop as soon as you can.  Set it free to adventure.

After walking round the town and seeing the sea - and after Blob's person and creator had shared rather more ice cream than is healthy - they all went and sat and drank tea in a cafe.  The day had been stunning.  Blob sat in the sunshine and laughed as his new friends came out to see the cafe too.

They played together and then posed for a beautiful portrait while bubbles were blown.  Everyone just relaxed.  The world went past doing whatever it is the world does.  But Blob and his friends, his person, and his creator just relaxed.

For that moment, nothing mattered.

For that moment, there was just that moment.

Blob decided it was a perfect moment.


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