Monkey Business – Part I

Posted on by Zoe

 

Antonio was enjoying a cup of tea and some rare winter sunshine as it gently warmed him through the glass of Agar Hall’s conservatory.

He was feeling rather self-congratulatory; it really was quite a clever idea he’d had. And, with help from a good bottle of single malt, getting Rabbie’s agreement had been a cinch.

And, so far at least, he thought, tapping a knuckle on his wicker chair for luck, Joyce hadn’t gotten wind of any of it and therefore all was going swimmingly.

Or should that be swingingly? he chuckled to himself as a piercing screech from Cameron shattered the tranquility of the room and he looked up to see his simian side-kick dangling from the ceiling fan by his tail.

Looking to investigate the peculiar noises reaching his (but hopefully not Joyce’s) sensitive ears, Rabbie’s faithful hound Scrag chose that moment to nose his way through the doorway into the conservatory, reminding Antonio that he wanted to have a word with Rabbie before he left.

“Time’s up Cameron!” he called up to his cheeky companion who was by now sitting on the parapet above the door, “I shouldn’t bother trying to impress Muriel, she’s only a painting you know!” he added with another chuckle. My goodness, he thought to himself, I am on fine, witty form this morning!

It took a little perseverance to get Cameron back down to terra firma and then to coax Scrag out of the water feature where he was greedily slurping from the cascade. Not that Antonio minded this distraction at all – the marvellously outré Agar Hall water feature should be reclassified as the eighth wonder of the world as far as he was concerned.

“There now, did you enjoy that, Cameron?” Antonio asked his furry friend affectionately as they headed out of the conservatory and into the main part of Agar Hall, “Who’s a clever daddy?”

As the door closed behind them, Susan, who had arrived to practice for a recital she was giving that evening, heaved a sigh of relief.  She would certainly have to have a word with Joyce about those shennanigans!

To be continued…

© 2018, Zoe. All rights reserved.

18 thoughts on “Monkey Business – Part I”

  2. I must have missed something; I haven’t seen Cameron before. My! I’m not sure I would welcome a fellow like that into my beautiful home. What a gorgeous conservatory – and the fountain is definitely a wonder! Did the water come with it? Lovely photos.

    1. Thanks, Maddy! Yes, I haven’t done anything to the conservatory or its water feature since I got it (apart from replace the tiny ceiling lights with larger ones with fans attached to make sure the Grecons don’t overheat in the summer!) The cascading water seems to be quite cleverly made from cling-film or something like it. Cameron the monkey first appeared in Grecondale when the residents of the Ultra Modern held a barbecue in May 2016 – you can see that on the DHP&P site if you click on this link: http://www.dollshousespastandpresent.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=15989145

  3. Page open for me, how nice to see your conservatory and looking so inviting and the pretty water feature, sweet story. Just hope this will post now.

    1. Thanks, Jan – it worked! It always loads fine on my iPad (though I can’t use the ‘back end’ of my site from there) so I was surprised when you said it didn’t for you. Hope it continues to behave… xx

  4. Hi Zoe, my iPad is 5 years old so took to the Apple Store to have upgraded because the maps disappeared but it’s been a real pain since and having to keep signing in on all of the sites now so won’t be forgetting my passwords that’s for sure. When the pages freeze cannot do a thing with it.

  5. Great story instalment, and wonderful photographs of this magnificent conservatory Zoe. I love Cameron, is he made of pipecleaners?

    1. Thanks, Edel! Yes, Cameron is made of pipe cleaners, though not by me. I’m struggling to remember where he came from; I think he came in a little job lot I bought on eBay. I know I didn’t buy him on his own; he just arrived and of course, he was soon adopted by ‘the gang’.

  6. Lovely instalment, Zoe! Some gorgeous miniatures on view, too. Interesting that Agar Hall is also open to civilians – or does Antonio have a military background that we know nothing about?

    1. Thank you, Brooksey! Antonio definitely doesn’t have a military background and really shouldn’t be using Agar Hall – hence the need for secrecy and a good bottle of single malt!

    1. So pleased you got that one, Brooksey. Muriel’s presence isn’t immediately obvious (Steve had NO idea what Antonio was referring to when ran it by him) but I like to slip a challenge in there now and then! (I guess some knowledge of ‘Coronation Street’ from 30 plus years ago would be helpful!)

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