Lady Hermann not her usual self

ruthiepo

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Dearest and respected Zola,

That is a wonderful experience of yours, making so many different people happy with a simple word and meeting your noble self. Your Papa is indeed wonderful with languages; remembering such different words. We are all very impressed.
I am happy to report that my invalids are much better now and my retainer has resumed her proper duties of stroking and scratching my shell and feeding me my soggies and carefully chosen green foods.
My retainer tells me that this horrid virus is really strange and that one good way of getting rid of it is to "work it off" she did some vigorous housework and sweated and sweated and then felt much better (after a refreshing shower)
it seems that this activity really did help to shed the virus.
I was shown a picture of a large tortoise who actually held up the trains by walking along the lines and who may have been injured. I hope you never have any accidents with trains, my dear friend.
It is very hot and i move around the garden from my hut to my favourite morning basking place behind a glazed panel and when that gets a little too warm, on to shady shrubs and long grasses.
I am given my bath and enjoy the water and feeling the sunshine on my shell. my bathwater is then emptied onto the beans or potato plants.
We are forgetting what rain is like, the swifts have gone and summer is getting dusty and tired.
Thinking of you beside the sparkling western sea.
much love from Teztez and Ruthxxx
 

zolasmum

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Dearest and respected Zola,

That is a wonderful experience of yours, making so many different people happy with a simple word and meeting your noble self. Your Papa is indeed wonderful with languages; remembering such different words. We are all very impressed.
I am happy to report that my invalids are much better now and my retainer has resumed her proper duties of stroking and scratching my shell and feeding me my soggies and carefully chosen green foods.
My retainer tells me that this horrid virus is really strange and that one good way of getting rid of it is to "work it off" she did some vigorous housework and sweated and sweated and then felt much better (after a refreshing shower)
it seems that this activity really did help to shed the virus.
I was shown a picture of a large tortoise who actually held up the trains by walking along the lines and who may have been injured. I hope you never have any accidents with trains, my dear friend.
It is very hot and i move around the garden from my hut to my favourite morning basking place behind a glazed panel and when that gets a little too warm, on to shady shrubs and long grasses.
I am given my bath and enjoy the water and feeling the sunshine on my shell. my bathwater is then emptied onto the beans or potato plants.
We are forgetting what rain is like, the swifts have gone and summer is getting dusty and tired.
Thinking of you beside the sparkling western sea
Dear friend Teztez - my mama and I are delighted to know that your retainer and her partner have recovered from this horrible illness - and of course that you haven't caught it yourself.
I just wrote a post to you, but when my mama tried to send it, the whole thing vanished.
So this is just a test run to see if it is ok - then, if it goes through, I will write a bit more !!!
Your friend Zola (and Angie) xx
 

zolasmum

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Dear friend Teztez - my mama and I are delighted to know that your retainer and her partner have recovered from this horrible illness - and of course that you haven't caught it yourself.
I just wrote a post to you, but when my mama tried to send it, the whole thing vanished.
So this is just a test run to see if it is ok - then, if it goes through, I will write a bit more !!!
Your friend Zola (and Angie) xx
It seems ok this time. I was telling you that there is a recently opened little train line over Dartmoor - it had been derelict for many years - my parents would like to go on that -with me, of course -I'm sure they wouldn't let me wander off - I think I might like it !
My mama says she must go, as she has some washing-up to do, so I will write some more tomorrow.
Zola xxx
 

zolasmum

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My dear and treasured friend Teztez - it has been a very hot day, and we had to go to Barnstaple to get more radicchio for me - however, the car has air-conditioning, so the drive was quite pleasant - the countryside is very green still, despite the drought in many places. My friend at the radicchio shop was very pleased when I gave her some photos of her holding me,which my papa took last time we went there. However,she says the shop owner is planning to close it soon,which is a great shame. So we will have to find somewhere else that can get radicchio.
I didn't go for a walk today, as we were late getting back, and it was so hot - I didn't even feel all that hungry !
My papa is watering the garden while he still can - he got a lot of assorted flower seeds, and planted them all over the place randomly - it really looks so pretty - you could imagine little fairies sitting under the leaves. It's amazing - however the colours are mixed up they always go well together !
I hope you are enjoying the sunshine, dear friend - try to persuade your retainer not to overdo her activity in this heat - maybe she could soak peacefully beside you in your bath.
My deepest affectionate regards from Zola xxx
 

zolasmum

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Dear and amazing friend Teztez - I didn't get to look at the sea today, as we went to Dartmoor, enjoying the air-con on the way. It all looked pretty green, but I know the farmers are very worried. The sheep on the moor were mostly lying in the shade - some were lying piled up in the shelter of an old bridge - looking like a heap of sandbags - a very good place with the shade and the running water - but they looked very funny.!!
I hope you and your retainer are coping well with the heat - my mama doesn't like it, because it makes her headaches worse. Best wishes from your always friend Zola (and Angie) xx
 

ruthiepo

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Chippenham
Gorgeous and noble Zola 😍
I am glad you have been able to enjoy some rides in your comfortable car.
And that there are no fires near you.
My retainer doesn't really like the hot sun, preferring to stay inside, fortunately our house stays quite cool. I am being given extra baths to make sure I have plenty of water, and I am quite skilled at vanishing into shady shrubs and finding cool places.
The poor sheep must be glad to rest in a shady spot, carrying round their fleeces must be exhausting in this heat.
I am sorry that your Mama's headaches are troublesome.
I am in my hut this evening and my staff are sitting in the cool darkness admiring the moon and looking up at the stars.
Last night I was allowed to camp out under a box Bush, but my retainer does not really like letting me do this as she is afraid rats or hedgehogs will gnaw at me. Strange ideas she gets!!
I am glad you have some green grass. Ours is dry and yellow.
Hoping you have a good night and restful sleep,
From Lady Teztez and Ruth.20220808_195520.jpghere I am sampling a cool snack.
 

zolasmum

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Gorgeous and noble Zola 😍
I am glad you have been able to enjoy some rides in your comfortable car.
And that there are no fires near you.
My retainer doesn't really like the hot sun, preferring to stay inside, fortunately our house stays quite cool. I am being given extra baths to make sure I have plenty of water, and I am quite skilled at vanishing into shady shrubs and finding cool places.
The poor sheep must be glad to rest in a shady spot, carrying round their fleeces must be exhausting in this heat.
I am sorry that your Mama's headaches are troublesome.
I am in my hut this evening and my staff are sitting in the cool darkness admiring the moon and looking up at the stars.
Last night I was allowed to camp out under a box Bush, but my retainer does not really like letting me do this as she is afraid rats or hedgehogs will gnaw at me. Strange ideas she gets!!
I am glad you have some green grass. Ours is dry and yellow.
Hoping you have a good night and restful sleep,
From Lady Teztez and Ruth.View attachment 348724here I am sampling a cool snack.
Dear and remarkable friend Teztez- how typical of your noble and kindly personality that you are concerned about the welfare of the Dartmoor sheep. However, you need not be anxious - they have all been sheared some time ago, and don't seem to get afflicted by sunburn - I think their skin is protected by the lanolin in it (or what my mama chooses to call lamb-olin.)
It is going to be another hot day, but we shall be going out soon, to check that the sea is still there.I see you enjoy cress - my mama says she will try me with a whole block of it too - she normally just gives me some of the top bits.
May I say your shell looks very lovely today?
With admiration and affection from
Zola xx
 

zolasmum

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Dear and remarkable friend Teztez- how typical of your noble and kindly personality that you are concerned about the welfare of the Dartmoor sheep. However, you need not be anxious - they have all been sheared some time ago, and don't seem to get afflicted by sunburn - I think their skin is protected by the lanolin in it (or what my mama chooses to call lamb-olin.)
It is going to be another hot day, but we shall be going out soon, to check that the sea is still there.I see you enjoy cress - my mama says she will try me with a whole block of it too - she normally just gives me some of the top bits.
May I say your shell looks very lovely today?
With admiration and affection from
Zola xx
Treasured friend Teztez- it is a while since I heard from you or your retainer, and I hope this is because you are having a busy but enjoyable time, rather than because some catastrophe has befallen you all. I and my mama have been thinking of you, and I still wish you goodnight every night, like I did when you were in hibernation.
I have been on lots of long walks with my papa recently, and making some new friends - I met three little boys who are identical triplets - that's the first time I have ever met triplets, and my mama was quite jealous, as she has never done so - only triplet lambs !! And miniature piglets !!! She doesn't like the very hot weather, and the bright sun, as it makes her headaches worse, so hasn't been coming out with us much. Once, many years ago, she spent months wandering round Greece on her own, but the sun didn't bother her then at all.
I do hope, dear friend, that you are well and enjoying the sun and your soggies. I will wish you goodnight in a few hours, as usual.
My fond regards and affectionate wishes to you and your retainer
Zola xxx
 

ruthiepo

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Good morning dear Zola,
Thank you for your kind message.
My retainer has been rather distracted as her son who lives here and is a devoted and affectionate member of my staff, has been ill in hospital in Bath for the past week.
He has ulcerative colitis and has been poorly for the past year, off and on, but is now getting sorted out properly we hope.
I miss him as he often strokes my head and likes to see me in my bath. He also is far too good at finding me when I have craftily hidden myself away for an illicit camp out at night. He uses his torch on his phone and is very good at finding my impenetrable lairs.
We hope he will soon be home.
I am glad you have had some interesting walks. You are a wonderful tortoise and I am sure the children you meet will never forget you.
How lovely to explore Greece. My retainer has never been there, only read about it in the Gerald Durrell books which make her laugh a lot.
She has told me about the chapters about tortoises, including Achilles, the intelligent tortoise who loved strawberries but who sadly fell down a well and died. This is an awful warning to look out where we are walking.
Do be careful. Don't fall down a mine shaft or anything.
I am sitting in my hut, under my heat lamp, it's definitely getting on for Autumn 🍂
I am reducing my soggy intake although my retainer keeps trying to tempt me with newly grown weeds and lettuce.
Much love and fond regards from Teztez and Ruthxxx
 

zolasmum

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Greetings, dear and most delightful friend Teztez - I was very pleased to hear from you, but so sorry to learn of the illness of your retainer's son. I don't think she or you have mentioned him before, but he is obviously a valued member of your entourage,and I hope he will soon be back at his duties again.Please ask your retainer to convey my good wishes to him, and inform him that my medical skills and advice can be available at his service, should that help. But I expect that he is being well cared for in hospital.
I am having a very quiet day today, as it has been too damp to go on a walk with my papa. Not much rain, but a sort of misty drizzle.
I don't think I have mentioned that all the outside building work next door seems to be finished, and the building rubbish has been removed from the verges either side of the entrance. But there may be inside things to do still.
At least it is quieter now.
I am sending a photo of me taken some years ago, when I was preparing to help a human friend with some internal difficulties - if I can be of help, please do call on me !
With much love from Zola xxx
Nurse-Zola.jpg
 

zolasmum

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My mama went to Greece in the 1960s, on a sort of student travel arrangement - she had never been abroad before. The journey was arranged by the organiser, and then you were on your own. So she went across the Channel, and then by train - that first night, she was sleeping in a luggage rack on the train, and when she woke up, she was able to peer out from behind the closed blind - and the train was going past snow-covered mountains !! It was just magical, and she has never forgotten it.Another amazing thing was going to sleep on the deck of a ship in the Corinth canal, and waking up in the night to find the ship moving silently along in the dark,with just small lights at intervals along the sides. She says she was very lucky, because it was before Greece got to be a major tourist destination - she was able to walk round the Acropolis in the late afternoon and take photos with nobody else around !
Zola xxx
 

zolasmum

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Good morning dear Zola,
Thank you for your kind message.
My retainer has been rather distracted as her son who lives here and is a devoted and affectionate member of my staff, has been ill in hospital in Bath for the past week.
He has ulcerative colitis and has been poorly for the past year, off and on, but is now getting sorted out properly we hope.
I miss him as he often strokes my head and likes to see me in my bath. He also is far too good at finding me when I have craftily hidden myself away for an illicit camp out at night. He uses his torch on his phone and is very good at finding my impenetrable lairs.
We hope he will soon be home.
I am glad you have had some interesting walks. You are a wonderful tortoise and I am sure the children you meet will never forget you.
How lovely to explore Greece. My retainer has never been there, only read about it in the Gerald Durrell books which make her laugh a lot.
She has told me about the chapters about tortoises, including Achilles, the intelligent tortoise who loved strawberries but who sadly fell down a well and died. This is an awful warning to look out where we are walking.
Do be careful. Don't fall down a mine shaft or anything.
I am sitting in my hut, under my heat lamp, it's definitely getting on for Autumn 🍂
I am reducing my soggy intake although my retainer keeps trying to tempt me with newly grown weeds and lettuce.
Much love and fond regards from Teztez and Ruthxxx
Dear Ruth - we hope your son is getting better and will be home soon. Zola and I now say goodnight to him as well as to Teztez - if you could tell us his name , we could be more certain our good wishes would reach him. Zola is well, as always, but has been missing out on some of his long walks recently,because of the unsettled weather. Take care of yourself
Love from Zola and Angie xxx
 

ruthiepo

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Dear Angie and Zola, Thank you both so much for your kind message.
Our son is called Martin and he is very much better now thanks to the medicines and treatment he has been given.
He has been poorly off and on for nearly a year and the doctor thinks it could be partly genetic and partly due to stress, he was buying a house last year and it was quite an anxious time.
He lives with us and is indeed a valued member of Teztez 's entourage.
All the rest of our family have married and he is the last one at home, biding his time.
We loved the picture of you, Zola, in your paramedic outfit! If we had known your medical skill we would not have waited 6 and a half hours in A and E for a doctor to examine Martin!
It was on a Saturday night, unavoidably, and what an eye-opener it is to witness the sad cases that are brought through the doors.
The teams of doctors, nurses, ambulance crews and police really do a magnificent job.
We were very thankful when Martin was seen at last and admitted to a ward.
Thank you Zola for your kind interest and we hope you have a very good night tucked up in your special sleeping box.
Much love from Ruth and Teztez xxx
 

ruthiepo

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IMG-20220825-WA0003.jpegI am keeping cosy today as it is rather mizzly and dismal outside. One of my favourite places. The garden door is open so I can go outside if the sun comes out.
 

ruthiepo

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20220825_124502.jpg
 

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zolasmum

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Dear Ruth - Zola and I wrote a really long post to Teztez, and it somehow didn't get posted properly. We will have to try tomorrow
Angie xx
 

zolasmum

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Dear and most kind Lady Teztez - I hope you are having a delightful day. I have been thinking a lot about your trainee retainer Martin, and wondering how he is getting on. I envy him being able to watch you in your bath - if I were with you, I would scatter flower petals in the water, and stroke your neck gently with a pink ostrich feather.
My friend David ,who met Jonathan, who is now the oldest tortoise in the world, has been ill, too, and was rushed to hospital, where he lay on a trolley for 2 days, as there were no beds. He finally came home yesterday, and I visited him in his bedroom - he was very happy to see me, and me to see him. He is fairly old, and quite thin, though he does a lot of walking, as he has no car. He said he felt a lot better for seeing me !!
I trust you are well, dear lady, and will have a lovely day tomorrow.
Your devoted friend
Zola xxxx
 

zolasmum

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Dear and revered Lady, and your delightful retainer - I hope all is going well for you all, and especially for poor Martin. I have been out practically every day for a walk with my papa - a long walk by the sea, when the tide is out and he can paddle and hold me to the top of the water - not actually putting me into the water, of course. We have met some very nice people, including several old friends, who come to Bude every year, and always look out for me.
Please tell dear Ruth that we are thinking of her and Martin.
And of course you are often in my thoughts, lovely Lady.
Zola xxx
 
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