A very special house guest...

Hi everyone!

We've been a bit quiet but my human will be back on her computer again this week, it always takes us about a month to get into the swing of a new year! We're actually quite excited and can't wait to introduce you to our house guest from the UK. Our mate, Flat George, is busy with a world tour this year and we invited him to come and visit for a while.

He's actually been here since before Christmas but we've been having such a hectic time showing him all the sites, we haven't been able to sit still long enough to pose for pic's!!

Well, here he is - we've given him his own bed and he seems to love it... But wait, let him tell you what he's been up to himself...

Hey there fans! I am so relaxed over here and enjoying the lovely African sun, I'm not sure how I'm going to pack my bags again - I tell you, a dog can get used to this life! These mates of mine really do have a royal life but I will admit that I'm still getting used to some of their human's strange habits.

Before I tell you about some of those strange habits - here is a map of the continent I'm on at the moment, I'm in the city of Cape Town, right at the bottom at the southern tip.

Cape Town is situated at the feet of the 1086m high Table Mountain - you can see it in the background on the next pic.

I've noticed that Abbey's human uses Mrs Ball's chutney almost every day, so I asked her if I could pose next to a bottle to show ya. She's added a little link so that you can read a bit about their famous chutney - click here to learn a bit more...

Then there's the famous Amarula drink. Wow, that stuff's good! Well, I don't really drink but if I listen to the human's talk about how yummy it is either with crushed ice or added to a shot of espresso, I can tell it's worth trying (if you're a human, that is...). It's sort of like Bailey's Irish Cream and it's made from the fruit of the Marula tree that grows in certain parts of their country. Click here for some more info. Bacardi told me the funniest thing - when the fruit ripens and falls to the ground out in the game parks, animals eat it and actually become quite intoxicated when the fruit starts fermenting in their tummies. (He's named after a well known drink, Bacardi is, I wonder if that explains this particular interest....:)

Now we come to the strange habits....

These humans like to make fires and prepare their meals either on the coals or in pots...

They have a special word for barbecue - they refer to it as having a 'braai'. They have a myriad different ways of doing this and I've noticed that wood, coal or gas seem to be their favourite sources of heat. They 'braai' chicken, lamb, beef, ostrich and even fish. I've actually become quite fond of their braai evenings, the smell that fills the house is YUM-YUM!

(Note to my mum at home: Don't fret mum, I'm just posing on the grill here, I'm pretty sure there isn't a recipe in that book for 'Flat George on the Coals!)

I will say though - when they wanted me to pose in the pot below I was sort of expecting either Stanley or Livingstone to pop up there with me....

It is actually just another one of their strange habits - they prepare food in these large pots and they refer to it as a 'potjie'. They prepare stew-like dishes in it and you can read more about it here.

No, there wasn't boiling water at the bottom of the pot, I promise!

Then there's the dog food. Over here these pooches eat ostrich and rice pellets. It's a hypoallergenic food and they eat it because the one Yorkie, Chloe, has allergies. At the moment they're trying to eliminate all possible causes and the food is one of the things that they're very specific about.

Here Abbey is telling me that it's OK to give it a try...

She's so kind and friendly!

She said: 'Watch me, it's actually quite nice FG! You have to give it a try!'

So I tried it. And I will say, I'm getting quite used to it. Nice and healthy!

So all in all, I am learning so much while I'm over here and I love this little doggy tribe. Abbey and Chloe, I have to admit that when I heard I'm coming to visit to tiny Yorkies, I thought OH my word. Pampered, spoilt rotten and probably with royal airs - how am I going to survive that? Well, as royal as you are, you are the most gracious hosts and I feel very much at home here. It is a pleasure to know such lovely young ladies!

As for your two Maltese brothers, Bacardi and George - I feel as if I have made two buds for life! In fact, George the Maltese and I have become really good friends and I just love hanging out with him!  Here are some of the pic's their human took of the two of us...

Well there you have it! Our guest from the UK. We are so happy to have him here and I know his mom loves pictures of both FG and the real George back home, posing on steps, so this week we'll be looking for special steps for FG to pose on.

I guess all that's left to say is: Watch this space!

To read more about Flat George's 2011 World Tour, go and say hi at: http://www.flatgeorges2011worldtour.blogspot.com/