Balloon seems to have had some trouble understanding that Rodney is a Lincolnshire Rhino and therefore a fair bit smaller than his African cousins. The Pig meanwhile refused to get out of the bag in case wild Rhino eat small pigs.

Okay..... it's been a while since they featured in the blog. I'd like to say they have been deep deep undercover, but the truth is blogging for a Pig and a bear can be tiresome.

Anyhoo - they've just got back from a trip to South Africa. Now the bear loves seeing all the animals, but the Pig is sure something is going to eat him. Every year he gets worse.

Still at least they found a friend this year, a French / German duck. Who said the entente cordial is dead?

Happy Christmas
from Balloon Bear, The Pig, little brown and rodney. 

Whilst we were in Munich we heard the news that the England Rugby team coach, Andy Robinson had finally gone (hip-hooray!).

The Pig and Bear (not Robinson's greatest fans after a string of humiliating defeats) decided to explore a coal mine in search of somewhere dark and inaccessable where the former coaches remaining career could be safely stored.

Balloon Bear was of course delighted to find a little train to sit on. 

Balloon like any form of transport. It started with "boop boops" (trains), but now extends to any form of getting somewhere. He therefore loved going on the trams in Munich, waving (as you will know one of his other areas of expertise) to anyone and everyone.

The inhabitants of Munich must really like Bears, as no-one batted an eye! 

Even on a chilly Munich street the pig will always come out for a photo with a "relative". 

We suspect the Pig might have a drink problem. 

Whilst in the museum the boys found loads of things to do - here Balloon found a model balloon which took off when you pressed a button. He may need a little work on his paws now as they were red raw from pressing.

Still it kept him occupied and out of trouble for a while. 

We took Balloon Bear and the Pig on holiday last week to munich in germany. There's a great museum there with loads of buttens to press - sadly we couldn't find the button to set off this ejector seat exhibit! 

Balloon had a really good day on Saturday.

First he went to welford Road, that sacred spot where Leicester Tigers play, to see us up against London Irish. Balloon was delighted to see us beat them 26 - 18 (of course Balloon doesn't know exactly how many points we score, just that we had more than the opposition).

Hi day was really topped off though by the trip to the cinema to see Casino Royale. Balloon Bear is just about the world's biggest james Bond bear fan. We had to keep it a secret until the last few moments before the film started as there would have been no holding him.

As it was he sat all the way through in the cinema twitching with excitment every time JB belted someone or shot at a bad guy. Balloon's been walking, turning and shooting to the music ever since. Still it keeps him mout of trouble - almost.

It's been a while since we posted anything, and now when we do it's not the best of news.

The boys had to go in the wash today. Balloon Bear had got quite smelly and it was clearly time for a dunk. The Bears and the Pig hate going in the washy machine. Rod on the other hand thinks it's great - something like the rhino version of white water rafting at the fair ground.

As you can see from the pic they are pretty down cast after their wash - though they do smell a good deal better. 

Sorry, haven't blogged for a while. Today is special though, the Pig's somethingth birthday - possibly his 17th. We're not telling him he's old enough to drive though! 

Here's one we couldn't resist from a skiing holiday at Killington in the States. 

The Pig always has to say hello to his bigger cousins.

When we're driving we have to squeel "Piggieeees!!" at the top of our voices when we see pigs in a field. 

The Pig and Bear like the sea side. The Pig likes to chill and catch a few rays. The Bear likes to get near the water and do what Bears do - catch fish.

Sadly for Balloon, he's not realised that even tiddlers would be a big catch for him and as he's only ever seen things like sharks on TV (and they look small on the tele) that evn they are easy game, in short he always claims he will catch and eat evey fish in the sea.

When he does this his little arms start to grasp air desperately in preparation for the big one which he thinks lies just under the surface of evey bit of water. He even thinks fish live in the bath. 

Whilst trucks in Africa excite the Pig it was nothing compared to when they got near a real gun on safari.

We had to stop little trotters and paws from searching for the trigger. 

When we took the Pig and Bear to africa a few years ago on safari they liked the idea of big trucks. In fact the safari vehicles are the only plus point for the Pig.