Ross Rabbits' Journal by Dame Maddie CBE

Live Hay'd 2008

2008-07-07T13:15:03Z

Well, I was supposed to be doing my shopping now but I sense everybun can't wait to see a selection of the Live Hay'd photos, so here goes....

All the setting up was done in pouring rain and as soon as the gazebos were erected providing shelter for our soggy slaves, the sky turned blue and the sun shone so the performances took place outside.

Setting up the first gazebo:

Hatty and Austin's staff bring along a second and much larger gazebo to provide more shelter:

Everything is set up, the sun comes out and Live Hay'd is soon in full swing:

Cedric and Millie's 2-foot with no fur on the top of his head plays his wooden box with strings to kick off Live Hay'd:

Filming Cedric and Millie's 2foot with no on the top of his head:

Hay, Glorious Hay sung in glorious sunshine:

Mum filming:

Hatty and Austin's mum takes to the stage:

Just what do these 2foots think they are?:

Cedric and Millie's furred and unfurred 2foots perform together:

The staff seem to be enjoying themselves:

Jazz and Boz's mum - looking the true professional that she is (even if she won't agree):

Jazz and Boz's staff perform together, filmed by mum:

Pebble's mum plays the tambourine in a group song:

Even Uncle J puts in a token appearance:

Sascha's and Bruno's mum's perform an unrehearsed song together and Cedric's slave picked up the tune in seconds on his wooden box with strings:

My new 2foot mother-in-law:

Bruno's mum takes a turn:

Mum adopts a different angle:

Another group song:

Onlookers enjoy the unexpected riverside entertainment:

Feed the Buns - the finale. Just WHAT was going on here? And why wasn't mum safely hidden behind her picture-masheens??

And, all too soon, Live Hay'd 2008 comes to a close and our slaves posed for a group photo:

We're now looking forward to Live Hay'd 2009

(I have not forgotten to post my Inga's weeding photos or the pics of my weeding hat. They need individual attention today thoughts seem to be of Live Hay'd so I'll hold them until tomorrow so the egg-sight-mint and anticipation can build, then all will be revealed.)

What a BUNDERFUL day

2008-07-06T22:44:44Z

Not only was it Live Hay'd Day today but .... I also o-fish-ally became a doe-in-law! Yes, Sascha and Inga became weeded shortly before Live Hay'd started, enjoyed a short bunnymoon in the privacy of Burrow Court during Live Hay'd, posed for their weeding photos after the big event and I was able to wear my new hat while I posed for my pics with my new bun-in-law.

Despite the weather looking grim this morning and while setting up Live Hay'd, the rain stopped, the sun shone and Live Hay'd was soon in full swing with everyone singing along (with one notable eggs-ception).

I have LOADS of photos and video footage of both of today's big events but mum's still hogging my 'puter to copy everything onto my hard drive which is taking aaaaaages, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to make you all wait until tomorrow to see my weeding hat and for a taster of Live Hay'd. I've watched just one of the video clips, filmed by Uncle J, and Live Hay'd looked unmissable.

It's Live Hay'd day TODAY!

2008-07-05T23:53:24Z

It's today! It's today!

Get your 2-foots tuned up, togged out in their best wellies and waterproofs (yes, it's STILL raining) and send them along for an afternoon of the best Bunny Tunes, including some new one that nobuns have heard yet.

I hope to post a full report later today.

Right now, I'm planning to sing loudly all night long!

10.30am: The rain has stopped and in the distance, there's a glimmer of blue in the sky. After my hectic night of singing, dancing and keeping the burrowhold awake while chasing my grandbunnies, I feel quite tired so I'm going to have a little nap while I await Cedric's staff (and hopefully Cedric, too) and my future 2-foot mother-in-law whom I'll be meeting for the first time.

It's Live Hay'd TOMORROW!

2008-07-05T11:46:34Z

We're busy, busy, busy here and the egg-sight-mint is building as tomorrow's Live Hay'd approaches. This time tomorrow the staff will be setting everything up and doing their sound checks so, please everybunny, keep your paws and whiskers crossed for a dry day.

We've heard from Auntie Sue who's got some internet and email access in her hop-sit-all. She sounds bright and cheerful, says her red stuff is improving and that she hopes to be back home with Merry and Ringo soon. She also sends along her best wishes for Live Hay'd and says 'Hi' to everybunny. When she's discharged, she'll be continuing where she left off with the USA Live Hay'd. We don't know when she'll be out - she's been in the hop-sit-all for a month now and that's a long time, so please keep sending her your strongest bunny-vibes.

I must get on. Mum's just swept and mopped the floor so we need to aim some wee-art through the gap in the wee-art barrier to show off to your staff tomorrow after Live Hay'd.

My Shopping Training

2008-07-03T18:31:00Z

I am a very happy bunny. My Shopping Training lessons for Miss Hatty have clearly worked wonders because she has bought me my gazebo so that the cameras, sound equipment and power leads will be nice and dry for Sunday's Live Hay'd. Thank You, Hatty - I am soooo pleased that I could almost hop outside and kiss your daddy.

Everything is ready here and attenshun is now turning to my Inga's hen party for tomorrow afternoon or possibly Saturday.

She's arranged for it to start at 4pm at the Prospect Gardens viewpoint beside the Roman dig. She's then organised a series of lectures on the local geology, archaeology and Roman occupation, which will be followed by a practical digging session before an examination of any finds. Afterwards she's proposing that her party guests hop to Chase Woods Hill Fort for a further lecture about the Iron Age then tuck into a moonlight picnic. If the date isn't convenient for her friends then she insists that it can be postponed - it all depends on when her weeding will take place.

She's REALLY egg-sighted about it and believes it will the best hen party Lagomorphia has ever known. I'm not sure that I agree but it is definitely Inga's style!
___________________________________________________________________________________________
LIVE HAY'D:
Don't forget, everybunny, if you need details of Live Hay'd and its sneakret location, just email me at: maddie@rossrabbits.co.uk. Please could you also remind your 2foots that there are NO facilities of any sort at the venue so please ask them to bring their own carrots, sprowts, fresh cabbage, chocolate, lucozade or whatever they'll need to keep them going, along with the lyrics to their songs. Also, if they need anything or special provisions - please let me know in advance and I'll try to arrange it with mum or Cedric's 2foot, whichever is likely to be the least useless.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

Can anybun help me with my shopping?

2008-07-02T21:56:38Z

That's a question I never thought I that I would need to ask....

Some weather forecasts for Live Hay'd are looking wet so I've bought a cheap, lightweight gazebo which will keep the performers dry. But, if the weather is bad then we need a second to provide shelter for the one of the cameras and power supply (and the audience).

The problem is, they're out of stock in this area in Argos, and have been for the last 3 weeks, and they're not available for home-delivery either.

If anybun is able to buy a second, then I would be a very grateful bunny. It has to be this one - cat no. 650/2210 @ £9.99 - http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6502210/Trail/searchtext%3EGAZEBO.htm This is very lightweight, fairly quick to assemble and can be carried by 4 2-foots if we need to move on Live Hay'd day. Other models are more cumbersome, less practical and the height can't be adjusted.

If anybunny could pick one up one of these then please let me know and I will refund the cost to you, from mummy's gold coin collection, on Sunday.

Thank You, everybunny.

My Carrot Report

2008-07-02T21:10:36Z

With all the egg-sight-mint about Live Hay'd, I've just realised I haven't forwarded a Carrot Report for a while.

I'm far too busy to visit the a-lota-mint myself so I sent mummy and Uncle J along on a poo-run instead and can happily report that my carrots are progressing well:

They've now been covered with felty-stuff to keep them safe but I could see them growing strong beneath it:

My other crops are also growing well, although I don't know what they all are...

Everything looks very tasty:

Impressive, aren't they?

But whatever the crops are, I am very proud to say they are grown in nothing but our poo!

Live Hay'd and my Weeding Hat

2008-07-02T19:06:45Z

Like Cedric, we're busy in the burrow preparing for Live Hay'd 2008 - just 3 days to go now before it all kicks off on Sunday afternoon! If you'd like to come along and haven't yet received directions - just email me at: maddie@rossrabbits.co.uk

I've been looking around the burrow in shame at the dust and cobwebs and mummy has finally agreed with me that one of us needs to tidy it up before my friends arrive. Before I became a grandma, I used to do the tummy-dusting but I'm too busy now - so it's mum's job now.

I also had a visitor this morning - a nice lady from a courier company came to see me. She gave Eva and I some lovely nose-rubs and told us we were a lovely family and very pretty. This convinced me that I liked her so I've decided I will use her services for my bigger, bulkier orders. Her son is getting weeded soon and she needs to buy a hat - so I very enthusiastically told her all about my weeding hat, how my bun-in-law-to-be Sascha arranged for it to be designed and commissioned espeshully for me to wear on Inga's Big Day, and my trip to the sorting office to collect it. Strangely, she left soon after that....

It's a hot day

2008-07-01T20:32:21Z

Mummy put our Ice Pods into the cold machine so we thought we'd be nice and cool, but then she went out and left them there.

Please can I swap my mummy for somebun else's mummy who might be of more use?

LIVE HAY'D 2008 - widescreen or standard screen DVD?

2008-06-30T13:10:17Z

With less than a week to go thoughts here of are Live Hay 2008 and little more (apart from the small ongoing issue of a tiny unwanted stone...). Mum is gathering together plugs and leads, memory cards and tapes, charging up Uncle J's leisure battery (our power source) and later this week I'll be sending her to do another reccie of the site. The egg-sight-mint is building by the day.

Everybunny is invited to send their staff along and if you haven't already requested details and directions, just send me an email and I'll send you a map to the venue which is just a few minutes from my burrow.

Now, I think it's time to take a vote. The concert can be filmed either in standard 4:3 format or 16:9 widescreen. What size moving picture machines do you have in your burrows and which would you prefer:

View Poll: Live Hay'd - widescreen 16:9 or standard 4:3?

(To vote, click on the 'poll' then 'fill out poll' if the options aren't immediately visible)

My Present....

2008-06-29T17:28:19Z

I've opened it and it's bunderful, very elegant and suits and fits me furpectly. Thank you, Sascha. What a gent you are!

I'm not sure whether I can show it to my friends or whether I have to wait until my Inga's Big Day? Is that unlucky? - I can't jinx her weeding so I haven't even let Inga see it yet until I've sought the advice of my friends.

Photos of the Humans...?

2008-06-28T15:35:00Z

In reply to Austin and Hatty's idea of posting pics of our humans, I think everybun already has endured the misfortune of having encountered mum's ugly mug, but here's another pic as a reminder. I like this one because she's growing a tree from the side of her head suggesting it serves some purpose after all:

Far more rare are sightings of Uncle J, particularly during the sailing season. Today, he's returned from his latest drenching and here's a video of him with his traditional holiday-diary bit:

I hope my friends will post pics of their staff, particularly Dusty's mum, Jettymob, Princess Taz, Star & Sweetpea and everybun elses' staff whom I've never had the hopportunity to laugh at.

My Outing

2008-06-28T11:38:12Z

I'm back and I've got it!

I couldn't sleep last night and, in my egg-sightment, I spent much of the night chasing my grandbunnies. I know I shouldn't, but , well.... I am still quite a young grandma and not an old fuddy-duddy.

Anyway, mummy strapped me into the passenger seat of the non-deluxe tin tent and drove me to the sorting office. I leapt out, posed for a quick photocall and then other humans who were collecting their packages came out to see me and gave me lots of fuss - apart from a teenage couple who stared at mummy as though she were from a different planet.

Mr Postmaster smiled sweetly at me as I joined the queue, clutching my card in my paw.

When it was my turn to be served, he already had my package waiting and announced loudly that I must be Ms Maddie Bunny (he missed off the CBE) of the Brick Hutch, Burrow Court Apartments. I confirmed that I was, signed for my package and then had another photoshoot.

Everyone was smiling. I think it was the first time they'd had such a fay-mouse celebrity visit. As we left, there were lots of chuckles and mummy said that my appearance had probably made their day!

I'm home now and having a little rest and then this afternoon I'm going to open my little package. I know what's in it, because mummy told everyone that it was my new hat, but I have no idea what it looks like.

Here's my morning in pictures:

Off I go...

My arrival:

One of my public stares as I, Ms Maddie Bunny CBE run towards the door in my egg-sightment:

Queueing up with my collection card. (Everyone was smiling at me apart from the two teenagers who were muttering beneath their breath...)

At last, I collect my package from Mr Postmaster:

Now it's time for Ms Maddie Bunny CBE to return to her burrow with her package:

Collecting my Prezzie!

2008-06-28T00:50:36Z

It's nearly 2am so the sorting office will soon be open and I can go and collect my surprise package sent to me by my bun-in-law-to-be.

I'm all ready to go. I've washed myself all over, groomed my fur, combed my whiskers, polished my ears, dressed myself in my smartest lead and harness and been to my litter tray, but 6am is still HOURS away.

So, I'm sitting here on the doormat nibbling on the card. It says I need to take along proof of my identity which could be a passport, but I don't travel, or a bank card. I don't have one of these either because mummy pays my shopping bills. Being such a fay-mouse bunny and highly-decorated LIA agent, none of these will be needed because I eggs-pecked to be recognised immediately.

Later today I'll show everybun what Sascha's sent to me.

In the meantime everybunny, remember it's the Bunny Tunes Live Hay'd 2008 concert next Sunday 6th July and if you would like to attend and need details, please email me at: maddie@rossrabbits.co.uk

A Present in the Post

2008-06-26T13:20:20Z

Following my last 2 days of boredom while we all await the emergence of The Stone, today should have been more egg-sighting because one of my kind friends has sent me something in the post which needed my pawtograph. Mr Postman rang the bell but my girls were sitting on my ears so I didn't hear it and mum was outside so he had to leave me a card, addressed to 'Ms Maddie Bunny'.

I am egg-sighted. What could it be.... Could it possibly be a little present for me? Sascha's song and photographs? Could it be treats? Might it be a complete surprise?? I will ensure Mummy takes me to collect it when the sorting office opens at 7am on Saturday morning. There's a sign on the door saying 'No Dogs' but it doesn't mention bunnies. I'll try to get a photograph too. Thank you to whoever sent it for me.

Quiet days

2008-06-25T16:59:26Z

It's been another quiet few days here with mum still stoned and nothing having yet reached daylight.

The Frenchies continue to go out on a rota of 1-2 at a time while my girls and I have to suffice with dreaming about adventures on the patty-o. Yesterday we had a visitor - Uncle J had complained to NAL about the massive leylandii which are pushing the fence over and she agreed to have the offending branches removed. A tree surgeon came eggs-peck-ting to trim a short branch but instead had to buy a new saw to cut down 5 thick branches each over 18' long and almost the size of trees themselves. Grandma Bonnie is very pleased because she now has daylight in her retirement suite and mummy is pleased because she doesn't have to face the tricky issue of disposing of them.

That's about all my news for now - I haven't even been shopping this week. Last week was much more egg-sighting when I had my little holly-day. This time it's Uncle J's turn for a holly-day and he's enjoying being tossed around off the Pembrokeshire coast at St. Annes Head. I wouldn't fancy that myself.

I hope all my friends are enjoying themselves and that Ringo and Merry are coping without their doe 2-foot who is still having a rough time in the 2-foot vet surgery.

New LIA Agents

2008-06-22T18:40:43Z

None of us are getting any younger and we feel the time has come to step down from our LIA positions and hand over to the younger generation.

With effect from Tuesday 1st July, we would like to relinquish our roles to three carefully selected new agents with high aspirations and whom, we feel, have much to offer. They come from a sound LIA ancestry: I (Hafwen) recommend them as their grandmother, seconded by Great-Grandma Bonnie and Great Aunt Jacinda. My daughter, Heulwen is their mother and proud dad is Bentley (of course). They were conceived during Master Bentley's illness in the spring in the hope that his date would stimulate his recovery. Bentley survived his illness so, even before they were born, our new agents had already helped to save their father's life - a most admirable achievement by mere embryos.

Although they are individuals, they propose working together as a team known as The Triplets. They understand the value of having a body double for LIA missions and are proud to have a spare to deliberately confuse the enemy.

We hope our resignation will be accepted by our fellow agents. We have enjoyed our work with the LIA and will always be on paw to offer advice and support to our younger generations but feel we have fulfilled our roles to date and are now looking forward to spending our remaining months in leisurely retirement.

Without further ado, may I introduce my triplet grandbunnies - Miss Blodwyn, Miss Bianca and their brother. He hasn't yet been formally christened as we scour lists for boys' names beginning with B. Many seem to have been taken recently, but he might become Bertie or Bernard unless somebun can think of something more original.

Hafwen and Jacinda
0019 and 0022

The triplets - prepare for trubble:

Am I Happy Today?

2008-06-20T17:31:38Z

Apparently today is supposed to be the happiest day of the year. As my close friends know, I’m not normally an introspective bunny but I have been examining myself closely to assess whether I am indeed deliriously happy today - yet I don't think my mood is different to any other typical day....

The 'happiness' of today is due to the feeling of optimism caused by the combination of lighter evenings, (but it’s dull and grey), the prospect of holidays (I’ve just returned from mine due to homesickness) and memories of childhood summers which is at its peak on June 20.

According to the research this has been worked out using the equation:

O + (N xS) + Cpm/T + He.

(I'll have to ask Inga and Einstein about this.)

O stands for being outdoors (I’ve been indoors all day) and outdoor activity (I wish… but it’s raining), N is connection with nature which is in full bloom now (well, mum tells me my carrots are growing slowly), S is socialisation with neighbours and friends (I don’t tend to mix with the Frenchies but I invite Inga to join us as often as possible), Cpm stands for childhood positive memories (all I remember of my younger days is being taken away from my mummy and my family and put with Dillon – my ex-husbund until we divorced), T is the mean temperature which is now usually warm (it’s not), and He is holiday expected (what – am I going on another holly-day?).

I asked mummy about this but she most definitely is not looking at all happy (or comfortable) today (I'll save this for another entry).

So, I bunder if my friends are feel ecstatically happy today?

Home again!

2008-06-17T22:32:23Z

I'm safely home again following my holly-day.

I've decided that I like camping and, one day, I might go again but I missed my family very much so next time we'll have to make it a family holly-day so we can all go together. Now that I know what a beach is (not the tree-type), I think my grandbunnies would love to dig on one.

I've now updated my holly-day travel-log and included some eggstra photos taken over my 3 days away:

Monday

Chewsday

I'm tired now so I'm going to hop into my hideout and enjoy a long snooze.

furrymob @ 2008-06-16T05:22:00

2008-06-16T09:31:42Z

i'm enjoying my hollyday. today mummy's going to take me to the

coast and show me the sea but first we have to find some tin tent

juice because everywhere has sold out. it's lucky that mummy has a

professional shopper available to help.

the fresh grass is very yummy and the dandylions are huge

- much better than mummy's chewy maps...

all tucked up!

2008-06-15T21:27:49Z

i'm somewhere by a stream alltucked up in my tent after a busy day

supervising mum and making sure she takes lots of pics for BT4.

night night to all my friends - and more vibes for auntie sue

tired

Off on my Holly-Day!

2008-06-15T09:19:46Z

I've been such a hard-working busy bunny recently and have been feeling quite stressed with the pressures of looking after my twins (whom I love very much) and grandbunnies (whom I also love very much) and keeping up with all my shopping. Sometimes I get the impression that mum thinks my shopping does itself - but it doesn't. My shopping can be quite hard werk.

Una's offered to look after Evie and Eva and will oversee Uncle J feeding and cleaning them and Inga's taking charge of Burrow Court so... I'm going away on my first ever holly-day. Inga looked after me so well last month when I had my breakdown and we enjoyed our mother-daughter bonding time, so now I think I'll do the same with mum.

I've packed up my new tent (complete with its 4' long poles) and will be leaving shortly for Devon, Exmoor or Summer-set. I haven't decided where yet. Mummy says I can just look out of the window and when I see somewhere nice, we'll camp there.

My internet-on-the-move is an eggs-perry-mint thanks to Uncle J loaning me his boaty-thingy so I can stay in touch with my girls while I'm away. I've also set up a new email account for my travels: furrymob@live.com

This is sooooo egg-sighting!

Live Hay'd Festival Tents

2008-06-13T17:10:10Z

As a professional shopper I have to ask: why pay lots of gold coins and pellet tokens for Burrow and Breakfast when you can camp in true rock festival style...

For anybunny who’d like to camp out Glastonbury-style for the Bunny Tunes Live Hay’d Concert, I have some very nice tents available:

• Easily erected
• Provide shelter from the sun
• Negligible hydrostatic head
• Dimensions – monster-sized dimensions: 60cm wide x 50cm deep x 50cm high to top pole (suitable for any claustrophobic buns amongst us)
• 20 x 16cm entrance
• Order now and collect on-site on the day!

No, I didn’t make a mistake…. Honest….

And no, of course I haven’t had to hide the 4’ fibreglass poles from mummy. I have just stored them away safely.

Mummy’s the stupid one, not me. She hasn’t got any 4’ long padded envy-lopey fings to put the poles in so they will break in the care of Royal Snail.

Where does the time go?

2008-06-12T22:09:48Z

I've been very busy today and I'm feeling quite stressed so I've had to take a few beta-blockers to supplement my Prozac.

I haven't even had chance to go shopping, nor have I unpacked yesterday's delivery (apart from hiding the 4' long fibreglass bunny-tent poles before mum spots them and gives me a stern talking to).

I've caught up with my friends' news, passed on the bunderful news of Bosley's continuing recovery and Doris & Christabel's new life to my Burrow Court friends, and waved at Reggie who's back from his trip and enjoying a nightly silver-service supper.

I'll pop a nitrazepam pill to settle myself down for the night and then I'm going to ask mummy for a nice holly-day by the sea. I'm a hard-working bunny and I think I deserve it.

I might suggest a camping trip.

The Bunny Tunes Live Hay'd Concert - 6th July 2008

2008-06-11T11:19:15Z

Many of my friends will already be aware of this but, for those who aren't, let me introduce Live Hay'd....

This year we will be staging a live 'concert' of Bunny Tunes songs and everybuns' 2-foots who have written or recorded a song or would just like to hop along on the day to give some support, sing along and clap are invited to participate.

The concert will be filmed to become the Bunny Tunes Live Hay'd DVD which will be sold to raise funds for needy bunnies in the UK and USA - just like the Bunny Tunes albums.

An international event:
Like the original Live Aid concert, the Bunny Tunes Live Hay'd version will also be international - with a similar event taking place across the Pond in New York (but this may be delayed due to Merry and Ringo's doe 2-foot planned kid-knee transplant).

An international song:
We are planning for UK Live Hay'd to end with all of us joining in for a sing-along song. There will be the hopportunity for EVERYBUN to be involved in this on both sides of the Pond, even those who can't make it to the New York Live Hay'd, because we're going to have a go at mixing a recording of everybun singing it as our group song.

Location:
Live Hay'd UK will take place close to my burrow in a very quiet spot with scenic views (and huge juicy dandelions) on Sunday 6th July - the exact times haven't yet been set but will be roughly 1-5pm. My journal is widely-read locally so I won't be publishing the location here but I have put together very simple directions which I can email on request - maddie@rossrabbits.co.uk

2-foot Accommodation:
If any of your 2-foots need overnight accommodation then we recommend:

Broadmeadow Camping and Caravan Park (very close to Morrisons supermarket): http://www.broadmeadow.info/index.htm tel 01989 768076 We have a 4-person ridge tent which will be available for loan and we may also be able to (very basically!) accommodate two 2-foots in our burrow (this will depend on whether Uncle J is home or not and that is subject to tides and wind speeds so can't be confirmed until nearer the time!)

Linden House B&B - very friendly and spotlessly-clean B&B where the owners are used to meeting bunny slaves: http://www.lindenguesthouse.com/ tel 01989 565373. (Please ask for Patrick O'Reilly and ask your staff to say they are 'bunny people' and know mummy!)

There is a Travel Inn at the end of the M50, just 2 minutes from our burrow: http://www.premierinn.com/pti/hotelInformation.do?hotelId=23975. (An earlier Black Monster resident of Burrow Court once spent the night in the double bed in room 6 - although the staff aren't aware of this!)

An area/accommodation guide for Herefordshire and the Wye Valley is available from the Tourist Information Centre - tel 01989 562768 or can be ordered online from: http://www.visitherefordshire.co.uk/brochure.asp