Spot and Cecil Have A Jam Session!

Surprise, surprise, Spot taught computer class in Igschool this morning!

Afterwards, he and Cecil had a little practise session – Cecil playing what he learned yesterday on his flute, and Spot helping him out on his panpipes.  I think they had fun.

Tooter Tutor!

Well, how exciting!  Cecil had his first music lesson with Eskimo Eddie today.  It had been agreed in advance that Charlie the carpenter should attend the first one, simply because of the nature of his newly invented instrument, in case anything needed to be tweaked.  (Cecil’s parents were rather relieved that Charlie would also be there.)

Cecil is, by all accounts, absolutely thrilled with his new instruments.  After some thought, Charlie has decided to name the one which he invented the “Tooter”.  Eskimo Eddie likes the name because it enables him to make a joke which he has gotten awfully fond of awfully quickly…the fact that he, Eskimo Eddie, is now a Tooter Tutor!

As you may have seen on Tuesday, the Tooter has multiple pipes with a number of holes on each which are to be covered and uncovered by wingtips.  But the Tooter’s real magic is in its “switches”.  They are on the back of the instrument.  The player presses these little levers which switch the path of the air flow from one pipe to another.  Each pipe has a distinctive sound.  That is because each one has been carved slightly differently on the outside and hollowed out slightly differently on the inside from the one next to it.  The Tooter really is a very impressive instrument.  It is also a little difficult for a complete beginner to learn how to play.  So it has been decided, with Cecil’s, Eskimo Eddie’s and Charlie’s agreement, that Cecil should learn some basic skills on his flute and then transfer them to his Tooter after a little while.

Cecil and Spot can’t decide whether playing the Tooter will make Cecil a “Tootist” or a “Tooterist”.  My penguies are on “Tootist”!

Battenberg and Spot-to-Spots!

I asked Dellia and Delilah if they could make us a special black and white Battenberg cake.  The black blocks of sponge are liquorice flavoured and the white blocks of sponge are cream flavoured!

Spot has been busy drawing out more of his little so-called “Spot to Spot” pictures.  Then he gave them out to Bruin, Crockery Charles, Santa Panda, the little bears and I to fill in.  The results yielded pictures of fish, skis, ice skates, igloos, computers and panpipes, to name but a few.

Cecil’s Surprise From Charlie

What a lucky kiddy-penguin Cecil is!

Well, yesterday Charlie the carpenter didn’t give Cecil just one present, but two!  After Igschool today Charlie came to meet Cecil.  Cecil was so pleased with his new presents that he showed them to Spot and I, and Charlie explained them to us.  Charlie had desperately wanted to make a musical instrument for Cecil, but because he couldn’t find out what Cecil would be playing, Charlie decided to make two instruments.  One is a beautiful flute.  Charlie has carved and painted it so ornately and decoratively so that if Cecil doesn’t want to learn how to play it he will have a lovely ornament.

The other instrument (see above) is one which is entirely of Charlie’s own design.   Although he did have a squawk with Eskimo Eddie about the science of how it would work, before he made it, to make sure that it was playable and that Eskimo Eddie would be able to teach it.  Eskimo Eddie squawked excitedly that he would be able to.

A Suggestion and A Surprise

Elsewhere, after Igschool, Spot, Zig, Zag, Polka, Dorothy and Cecil went ice skating on the Grand Ice Rink.  From what I could see from a distance they looked to be having a lot of fun.  After their skating session, I went to meet Spot.  Charlie the carpenter came to pick Cecil up, instead of Cecil’s parents, because he squawked that he had got a special gift for Cecil.  With that, the two of them waddled off to Charlie’s workshop, leaving the rest of us wondering what the gift might be.

My Conundrum

As usual, Eskimo Eddie’s radio show was very entertaining this afternoon.  Penguinally, I found it more atmospheric than the others, I would imagine, because I had seen Eskimo Eddie in the Igstudio with his headphones on preparing for the show before it began.  I had gone in there to have a little squawk with him, you see.

The work to restore The Park has kind of gradually fizzled out.  Since it has nearly returned to how it was when it was first opened last December, there has been less and less to do.  That said, constant maintenance of such an area is needed so the work is never completely done.  The conundrum that I wanted help with was this:  should there be another opening ceremony for The Park or not?

Part of me wonders if it would be too much, making a big deal, repeating something that has already happened before.  As it is, no-one ever visits The Park anymore because they assume that work is still in progress there and they don’t want to interfere.  So another part of me wonders if another opening ceremony would draw the penguins’ attention back to The Park.

I asked Eskimo Eddie what he thought we should do.  He squawked that he’d give it some thought, but judging from the twinkle in his eye, I’d guess that he thinks we should have a do!

Manipulation and Sculpturing

Cecil’s parents have contacted Eskimo Eddie and told him that they would definitely like to book some instrumental lessons with him for young Cecil.  (Isn’t that just like Eskimo Eddie?!)

Spot taught computer class this morning in Igschool.  Then there was a voluntary workshop which Dellia and Delilah put on for the kiddy-penguins.  The Cooking Twins showed those who attended how to make a Kendal Mint Cake sculpture!  Needless to say, they all enjoyed that very much.  Not least the taste tests of the Kendal Mint Cake before they moulded it.