THE ADVENTURES OF PERIWINKLE & STINKY: PART CCLXXX

Stinky is waiting for Periwinkle by the teleportation tunnel. A week between adventures always seems like such a long time, and he misses her tremendously. He’s delighted when the tunnel begins to vibrate, and Periwinkle pops out with the familiar whoosh. Stinky catches her and plants a huge whisker kiss on her, which makes Periwinkle giggle.

London

Stinky takes Periwinkle’s paw and leads her back into the tunnel before she can ask what his plan is for the day. When they emerge at their destination, Periwinkle looks confused. She doesn’t recognize anything around them.

“Are we in Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day?”she asks Stinky.

“No. St. Patrick’s Day was yesterday. We are in London,” Stinky replies.

“Cool, are we going to meet the King?”

“No, but I do have a special surprise planned after we do just a tiny bit of sightseeing,” Stinky tells her. “There are so many cool things to see in London, it would take days, so I hope you won’t be disappointed that we only stop a few places,” Stinky adds.

Periwinkle claps her paws together. “Ooh, I love it when you plan something special! And anything we do beyond that is okay with me.”

While Periwinkle and Stinky are having their conversation, one of London’s famous red double-decker buses pulls to the curb and the tabbies hop on.

 

Victoria Memorial

 

 

The tabbies first stop is the Victoria Memorial, which is located in front of Buckingham Palace. Dedicated to Queen Victoria, the monument was designed in 1901 and sculpted by Sir Thomas Brock. Though, unveiled on May 16, 1911; it was not completed until 1924.

Periwinkle cannot believe it when Stinky climbs part way up the monument and is discouraged she cannot break him of this dangerous habit. When he finally climbs down, she gives him the stink eye but doesn’t say anything.

Buckingham Palace

The next stop is Buckingham Palace.

 

 

Both tabbies are quite impressed with the size, of the palace and Periwinkle says, “I cannot imagine living is such a huge place. I know I would regularly get lost.”

Stinky agrees and replies, “I think we would need a whole lot of food and water bowls and litter boxes!” Periwinkle giggles!

The tabbies decide to get a closer look at the King’s Guards.

 

 

When Periwinkle sees Stinky, she starts laughing so hard she almost wets herself. “Where in the world did you get one of those bearskin hats. And how are you able to keep from falling over?” she asks.

“I am leaning against the back of this guard shack, or I would be on my face,” Stinky replies.

The tabbies notice some of the guards marching in formation and decide to join them.

 

 

As they are marching, Stinky tells Periwinkle that the King’s Guard are soldiers from the Household Division’s Foot Guards and are responsible for guarding Buckingham Palace and St. James’s Palace. They also perform ceremonial duties at the Tower of London, St. James’s Palace and Windsor Castle. King’s Guards are professional infantry soldiers as well. They will see or have seen active service with the British Army.

Though Periwinkle is having a terrific time, she is wondering when she is going to get her surprise and asks Stinky about it. He promises her it will be very soon, but they have a couple more things to see first. “I think you will particularly like our next stop, as I have a mini surprise for you there.”

Horse Guards Building

The Horse Guards building dates to 1753 and is located in the City of Westminster in London. It previously served as military headquarters. Today, it is headquarters of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, which provides troops for The Queen’s Life Guard. This group is comprised of a Squadron of The Life Guards (red tunics and white plumed helmets) and a Squadron of The Blues and Royals (blue tunics and red plumed helmets). The Guard provides the Sovereign’s Escort on state occasions and for ceremonial duties. All soldiers in the Household Cavalry are required to take an active role in the Army’s military operations.

When they arrive, they are met by one of The Blues and Royals, who invites Periwinkle to join him on his horse. As she waits for someone to help her up, Periwinkle bounces from paw to paw in excitement.

 

 

She rides with him into the street where he meets up with other members of the Squadron.

 

 

The tabbies watch them perform a few drills before Stinky tells her they have one more stop prior to her surprise. Periwinkle exclaims, “I cannot believe there is another surprise besides joining that guard on his horse. I’ve never been on a real horse before.”

Stinky gives her a paw hug and tells her how happy he is that she is enjoying herself.

Royal Air Force Bomber Command Memorial

 

 

This is the first official memorial to more than 50,000 Bomber Command airmen killed in World War II. The bronze sculpture was unveiled in 2012 by Queen Elizabeth II. In an attempt to capture the bravery and camaraderie of the airmen, the sculptor, Philip Jackson, featured seven aircrew returning from a mission.

After checking out the sculpture up close, Stinky takes Periwinkle’s paw and leads her back to one of the double-decker buses. They take a short ride to a nearby hotel.

When they arrive, Stinky goes up to the check-in desk and requests two shopping bags he has sent ahead. He takes one for himself and gives the other to Periwinkle.  He tells her to take her shopping bag to the ladies restroom and meet him back in the lobby in ten minutes. When she emerges, he takes her paw and leads Periwinkle into the hotel’s dining room and to an elaborately decorated table.

Tea for Two Tuesday

 

 

“Stinky, this is incredible. You bought me a new dress and brought my engagement collar, and we are going to have tea! You are absolutely amazing. I am guessing this is my surprise.”

“It is. I know how much you love a tea party, and I could not think of a better place to have one. Today is Tea for Two Tuesday. It is a day to celebrate one of the world’s favorite drinks as well as the companionship of friends,” replies Stinky.

“It’s amazing how many unusual holidays exist, and I definitely like this one. Look at that huge bowl of clotted cream and all the yummy pastries,” exclaims Periwinkle. “I cannot wait to try everything.”

“I thought you might like it,” replies Stinky.

“Did you request those vases of periwinkles, Stinky?” Stinky smiles and nods.

“You truly are the best boyfriend ever. I absolutely love my surprise, as well as all the cool places we visited.”

The tabbies spend the afternoon enjoying each other’s company and all the delicious treats. When they have eaten absolutely every morsel of food, they return to the restrooms to change out of their fancy clothes. When they meet back in the lobby, Stinky tells Periwinkle they have one more quick stop before returning home.

Big Ben & The London Eye

 

 

“Wow, Big Ben really is huge,” says Periwinkle. “You better not think about climbing up that,” she admonishes.

“Nope, I promise. Big Ben is the 15-ton bell that sits inside the clock tower, which is actually known as Elizabeth Tower,” Stinky tells Periwinkle.

“I didn’t know that, Stinky.”

“And behind us is the London Eye also known as the Millennium Wheel. It was the tallest ferris wheel in existence at 443 feet when it was completed in 2000. Now it is only the fifth tallest. Maybe we can ride it sometime in the future.”

Periwinkle looks skeptical, but doesn’t say, “no.”

The tabbies both agree they are exhausted and ready to return home. They catch the bus back to where they left their teleportation tunnel and are gone in a whoosh. Stinky sets the coordinates for Periwinkle’s house and drops her off there. After a few minutes of whisker kissing and paw hugging, Stinky resets the coordinates for his house.

When he arrives home, he heads straight for bed and dreams of the wonderful day he and Periwinkle spent together.

The End

Periwinkle and Stinky will be participating in the Happy Tuesday blog hop at Comedy Plus. To do the same, click on the badge below.

 

Note: If you are wondering why Periwinkle and Stinky did not visit some of the more conventional tourist attractions, such as Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London, here’s why. Many, many years ago Dad Tom and I visited all those locations, but in 2012, he returned for the Olympic Games. As I like to use as many of his photographs as possible, I used ones he took during that visit. If you have been to London, maybe some of these are places you did not have the opportunity to see.

Thanks for sharing some of your time today with Periwinkle and Stinky.