Mice Bearthdays and Bus Bingo Cards

 Hullo! We went to the beach to catch the sunset the other day.

That's all the colour we got... sigh.

It was really too cloudy but... we had a good chit-chat and Sandy agreed to let us have a post ALL TO OURSELVES!!

So here we are... Cocoa and Navy Beanie. We hereby call this Meeting of Mouse Minds to order!

And the first order of business is Mice Bearthdays... we can neither of us remember when our birthdays are and Beanie Mouse suggested that given the whole Mouse Island tsunami fiasco and the loss of all mouse records... that we take the date of issue of our passports as our birthdays!

So we got our passports and... hmmm...

We got our passports!

And had a look!

My bearthday is 21 November 2020!

And so is mine!!!

Well that's handy! So mark that on your calendars... it's a busy month November... Sandy has a birthday on 9 November... Jerry has his on 11 November and now we're in the fray with 21 November! Cool!

Now... our next item to discuss is...

This Bus Bingo business...

This is Sandy's Bus Bingo card and do you see how many he has crossed off???

He has NINE crossed off (9)....

And this is our Bus Bingo card (which we are sharing... along with our bearthday!)...

Do you see how many we have crossed off??? FOUR!!! Just 4!

9 for the Bear...

4 for the Mice...

Well, at least we can see Beanie is definitely not playing favourites in the Bus Bingo realm...

But then we think Beanie does not realize the significance of some of the weirder bus numbers we chose...

So we are going to share some intel...

So maybe... you know... Beanie will realize that there is lots to discover on some of these mouse bus routes!! Ready....

Ahem....

Beanie's Bus Adventure Tour

Bus #37 - House of Dreams

This is a weird little place - by Stephen Wright - who has accumulated all sorts of weird and wonderful things from various places... which we thought might appeal to Beanie...

Bus #339 - V&A Storehouse

This one seems like a dead ringer for Beanie! You can get hands on with over half a million works from every creative discipline. Seems kind of cool... Now it's a bit further afield... but... it's pretty appealing... for an artistic mouse. We think...

Bus #197 - Hornimam Museum & Gardens

We'd never heard of this place! It's free for the main collections and there's a raft of things to see and do by the looks of it... A Music Garden with giant musical sculptures? Eh??!! And if that's not enough... an overstuffed walrus!

Bus #188 - Greenwich

This route may lean a bit nautical (Navy is whistling and staring at the ceiling)... National Maritime Museum? Cutty Sark? Queen's House? AND... the Prime Meridian and the Royal Observatory. Hmph... slam dunk in our minds. Not to mention the Greenwich Foot Tunnel under the Thames...

Bus #C1 - Leighton House

This one is near Holland House!! And it's got paintings and cool architecture and is 50% off if you have the National Art Pass... We know Beanie uses the C1 on occasion... but go here? Hmmmm

Bus #135 - Mudchute Farm

The name grabbed us on this one... a chute made of mud?? Sounds fun for stuffies! This is like 32 acres of green space in East London with a farm and farm animals. That you can get into for FREE!! And then buy some stuff to feed the animals... 

Bus #39 - Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum

OK... this one might be a bit off the wall... but apparently people find it quite intriguing... sooo...

Bus #43 - Muswell Hill

Errr... hmm... why did we pick this one again? Was it Alexandra Palace? Maybe? Can't remember!

Bus #139 - Abbey Road

Don't need to say anything about this one...

Bus #68 - Brockwell Park

Hmmm... not sure about this one... It has an art deco lido at the pool!!! Do mice have to get wet to go there... that's the question...

Bus #254 - The Viktor Wynd Museum Of Curiosities, Fine Art & UnNatural History

Well... the name says it all! Who can resist a museum of curiosities? Wonder if it's got a severed hand in there...

Bus #15 - Trinity Buoy Wharf and Lighthouse

Another nautical theme! And London's only surviving lighthouse... And the Trinity Buoy Wharf has warehouses and art expeditions and other cool stuff!

Bus #24 - Camden Arts Projects

They have free admission with an arts pass! They support emerging artists too! And it's all in an old Methodist church which adds its own vibe.

Bus #205 - Chinese Pagoda - Victoria Park

There's a cool Chinese Pagoda in Victoria Park... and there's some Punjabi and Pakistani food in Whitechapel... which we know is a draw for Beanie & Co.

Bus #29 - Little Istanbul

This bus goes along Green Lanes Haringay in north London... a place known as Little Istanbul! Turkish food... nothing left to say!

Bus #85 - Dorich House Museum

A cool museum in a nifty house with art deco vibes... and sculptures... and it's free!

Bus #149 - Dalston - Kurdish

This one can combine a couple of things... Dalston which is a hub of Kurdish cuisine... AND Abney Park Cemetery! Eh??!! Some notables include Betsi Cadwaladr, the ‘forgotten Florence Nightingale’. A sleeping lion on a tombstone... and a ruined chapel...

Bus #49 - Leighton House

You can get here with Bus C1 too (see above).

Bus #190 - Chiswick House & Gardens

There's a house... and gardens! The gardens are free to roam...

Bus #73 - Abney Park Cemetery

Yes... hmmm... this was mentioned above too... on Bus #149!

Bus #52 - Museum of Brands

This sounds cool! It's like time travel, walking through old brands! And they have a gift shop... National Art Pass gets you 50% off entry!

Bus #26 - Museum of the Home

Beanie already did this bus on Oct 18, 2026 but... we don't think they went to the Museum of the Home! It's free and has different rooms that show how home life has changed over 400 years...

There!!! That's why we picked some of the weird numbers! Hmph!!

You don't think this is like... swaying the judges do you??

Nope... this is just providing info so that the judges can make informed decisions!!

Hatch Watch Bear

 Ready for the costume reveal??? OK... here we go!!!

I am going to be working at BearMac as a Hatch Watch bear!

I have my PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)... my hardhat...

And my safety vest and steel-toed boots...

My safety vest is adjustable!

And I am dressed warmly as well... cause it is not a job for those who can't stand being chilled!

I have my clipboard...

We will be tracking workers as they go into and come out of the hatch (what hatch? Wait and see...)

And... the tiniest pencil in history... it's from Gramma!!! We are all impressed with her ability to sharpen this pencil to such a tiny nubbin! We are ready!!!!

These are the hatches we will be supervising at BearMac during their shutdown. Workers (pipe-fitters, steelworkers, etc) need to go and work inside these vessels... and the hatch watch person (aka Confined Space Entry) records who goes in and out... and tests gases inside as well! 

This is the hatch watch crew!! They were short-staffed and so... I got the call! 

Hatch Watch Sandy reporting for duty!!

Right... we are going to put our pole with the tubing inside of the hatch...

And then we will monitor for harmful gases like CO, H2S, LEL and O2... too much or too little can be bad... I am ready for workers to arrive! FYI... the mill makes a lot of weird noises and is beary dark and dirty and... scarey... so this bear is keeping a sharp eye for things that go bump in the dark!