Showtime!

When I was a kid I always loved the show, although we rarely went since we lived in the country. When we moved to Perth and were older the show became something of an obsession for myself and my sisters and we went every year. My younger sister even had her wedding reception there! But over the past few years it's become less and less exciting and I tell myself every year 'I'm not going next year'.

Yet somehow, every year I end up back there...

And so what better place to take TPOH than to my beloved show? Here is what he got up to.

The excitement on his little piggy face is evident as we line up for tickets.

As soon as we walked in, TPOH was bounding with excitement due to the sounds and smells and noises. He wanted to do everything! One of the first things that happened was a lovely lady in red walked past on stilts and kindly posed for a photo.


These displays were either new this year or just moved onto a main drag. I hadn't seen them before anyway.


TPOH with a rather evil looking Skippy the Kangaroo.

TPOH is an avid supported of free animals.



He freed this bear and now they're best freinds.


With some old farm machinery.


We stopped off at the Police Pavillion and TPOH made lots of friends.


He also got into a little bit of trouble...



But after having his mug shot taken...


...all was forgiven.


To keep TPOH from getting into more trouble we went to see the doggies. However, this doggie was looking at TPOH like he was lunch so we hurried onwards...


...to see the farm animlas! However, TPOH's cousin Boris didn't recognise him and tried to eat him too. And I mean literally. I had to wrestle TPOH out of his chewing jaws!


Seeing the other animals from a safer distance.


With the iconic ferris wheel in the background.


Watching the horses do their thing.


In sideshow alley.




After a big day, it's time for some dinner.


Then we watched the fireworks.


And then after a long and exhausting day, it was off home to bed!

Pig in the city

Last weekend The Pig of Happiness and I went into Perth for a day trip to play tourist in our home town. I must say, I absolutely love Perth. It's a nice, friendly place with gorgeous weather and I haven't yet gotten beaten up for taking photos of a plush pig...

First of all we stopped for a photo in front of this banner, just so you know where we were ;-)

Perth is actually a very small city, we have very few skyscrapers but thanks to the mining boom in the 70's and 80's we do have an overwhelming number of glass and concrete buildings.


One of the first places I take people new to the city is the Supreme Court Gardens, to play with the roos there. TPOH was just as fascinated as everyone else as been...



After the roos it was time to stop in at the Gumnut baby garden. Based on the characters by May Gibbs, most Aussies have grown up with them. Though I must admit, the sculptures are pretty freaky looking...


From the Gumnut Babies, it's a short walk down to the monstrosity that is the Bell Tower. TPOH quite likes the tower and I must admit, it's pretty when it's lit up at night but it does kind of look like they just nicked half of the Opera House roof and dumped it on the banks of the Swan River...


The city from the Espanade is rather pretty. Also TPOH is getting really enthusiastic about being in so many photos and demands I take one of him in front of EVERYTHING!


One of my favourite places in the city, London Court, or as I call it, Diagon Alley. TPOH found is quite charming.



TPOH loves this sculpture because the man is just so happy!


We came across this giant tooth on our travels and he was very happy to pose for a photo with TPOH.


It had been a long day so we skipped the stairs and took the escalator instead.


With the town crier.


Hanging out in the new orchard outside the art gallery.


And that was our trip! I hope you enjoyed the post, I'm taking TPOH along to The Perth Royal Show this weekend and hopefully will get the post up next week.

Note - I've managed to get the old blogger editor back, when I set up this account it automatically gave me the new version, which absolutely sucks! The old one won't be around for too much longer though so when they make the chance permanently please excuse the layout. You just can't rearrange photos the way you want with the new one!

Katanning All Ages Playground

First of all a short video of The Pig going down the twisty slide and then some photos of his day. Enjoy!

 

The Pig loves to watch the scenery fly by

 

 

 

Look how excited he is to be at the All Ages Playground! He just can't wait to start playing!

Atop the twisty slide. It's so high up! But The Pig is adventurous!

On the dizzy satellite thing. The Pig really enjoyed this.

One last time down the slide before it's time to head off.

Waiting at the bottom for his friend.

Looking pretty with flowers in his hair.

With the Giant Ram in Wagin

With Annie and The Giant Ram.

Welcome!

Hello all!
My name is Annie and I'm going to be helping my best friend, The Pig of Happiness chronicle the adventures that we have had together. Obviously his cute little trotters make it a little difficult for him to type and so I'll have to do it for him!
First of all I'll tell you a little about me and how this blog came about.

I'm from Perth, Western Australia and I must say that it is a sad, sad fact that very few of us have experienced the joy of having Edward Monkton in our lives. In 2006 I went to Edinburgh for the first time to visit some friends that I had met online. Stuck to the fridge was a 'The Lovely Hats' card. I was fascinated. It made me smile every time I saw it and I would find myself smiling just thinking about it! My girlfriend saw my interest and explained to me that she was a huge fan of Edward Monkton and showed me her (well used and loved) 'Madness Hamsters' coffee cup and all the other bits and bobs she had around the house. It wasn't long before I was hooked myself! When I had to go home she gave me 'The Lovely Hats' saying that she knew how much joy I got from it. Since then, every time I got a package from either her or her sister there was bound to be a coaster or magnet and so my collection grew. I used a Facebook application to share the love with my friends here and slowly started to introduce Edward Monkton to more and more people.

Earlier this year I went back to Edinburgh and whilst browsing through a charity shop on The Royal Mile, I came across a 'plush in a bag' version of The Pig of Happiness. I was stoked. I adopted him straight away and spent the rest of the day grinning like an idiot. My hubby got me a 'Your birthday song' card for my birthday and inside wrote 'You're crazy but wonderful and that's why I love you. Have a great time on your birthday and remember to be as happy as The Pig of Happiness'.

When I got back home I decided that The Pig was just too wonderful to be stuck on a shelf somewhere, out of the way where no one would ever see him. Since I travel a lot for my job I decided that he would take up residence on the dash of my car and go everywhere with me. And so it was that he found himself on a road trip with myself, the hubby, my sister and niece, heading into the south west of the state to a place called Katanning where there is the most wonderful playground. And it was on that trip that I decided to make The Pig our mascot and take photos and videos of him which I later posted on Facebook.

I had such fun that a few weeks later I took The Pig with me into the city and again got photos of him doing various touristy things and seeing the sights. That night I decided that I would start a blog so we could share the happiness with even more people. I emailed Edward Monkton and received his blessing to go ahead and this is the final result.
I hope you enjoy The Pig's adventures as much as I have and please, if you have any photos of yourself out and about with The Pig or one of his friends, please email me and I'll share them on here. It's all about spreading the love!

Annie xxx