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Hi everyone and welcome back to my weekly ramblings. This week I'm going to tell you all about 'The Great Turtle Hunt!'
Gillian Wood, the lovely Radio Bahrain Newsreader, asked me a few weeks ago if we would look after a couple of her pets while she was on holiday. "Of course", I replied, and last Wednesday afternoon she duly turned up at our place with her 'pets'.
What were they you ask? Well, one was a tortoise and the other a turtle.
When we moved into our new home one of the first things we noticed was a chicken/rabbit hutch at the bottom of the garden and when Gillian popped round one day she also noticed it. It looked like a perfect little 'holiday house' for her shelled companions.
So anyway, as we proceeded to put the pair into the hutch Gillian seemed a little worried. So was I when she told me that the turtle was a 'Tree Turtle!' and that the hutch was not as secure as she'd first thought. I said "what, you must be kidding?" "No", she replied and told me the story of how she had found it in her garden... when it had fallen out of a tree!
The story sounded a bit dodgy to me, I mean after all, if there was such a thing as a 'tree turtle' surely it would have a good grip on trees and wouldn't be falling out on top of people.
Anyway we did our very best to ensure the hutch was secure. I got busy strategically placing rocks and bricks in all the gaps, especially after she laughingly called him her 'Houdini turtle'; named so because he can 'escape from anything' according to Gillian.
I just laughed again and thought 'mmmm, yes Gillian, I think you might be pulling my leg just a little'.
But it turns out she wasn't... Before leaving Gillian left some lettuce for the tortoise and also some ham and a tin of cat food for the turtle 'cos that is his favourite'.
Early the next morning I said to my little daughter Hannah "come on, let's go a see how Houdini is doing?" And yes, you've guessed it, there was the tortoise happily munching on some lettuce and the turtle was nowhere to be seen!
Panic set in, what were we to do?
We went round some of our neighbours gardens looking for Houdini the Speedy Gonzales escapologist Turtle with no luck at all. Wendy was not much help saying she had doubts there ever was a turtle because she'd not even laid eyes on it. For a few days she really did think I was trying to trick her into believing in tree turtles.
I chatted with some of the gardeners to see if they had seen him and quickly found out the Hindi word for turtle is Cashurya (I hope I spelt that correctly). I also discovered that if the wrong person found it they might consider it a tasty treat. Yikes! Now I was doubly panicked.
For the next six days we hunted high and low for this elusive reptile, asking everyone we saw to look out for him. Then on Saturday morning we were informed he had been spotted near the kids' playground. I zoomed down there but without any luck. Our tree turtle seemed to have gone underground.
Fortunately this big adventure came to a happy end when there was a knock on the door. Houdini had been found stalking about some reeds and eyeing up a cat food bowl some eight houses away from us!
Talk about being relieved. Thank goodness I wouldn't have to withstand the 'Wrath of Gillian'. After all, if I'd lost Houdini she may never have made me a coffee again!
Security has been doubled on our garden coop and Houdini is now under permanent house arrest until Gillian comes back from her holidays. He may get some time out for good behaviour to swim about in a wash tub but that's all the freedom he can expect.
Keep safe
All my love
Krazy Kevin
