An ear-splitting scream shattered the neighbourhood that morning as the young Swedish au pair who had moved in alongside the young family into the house opposite, came running down the drive bawling. Fearing the worst, both Dad and I hightailed it into their house to be confronted by six-year-old Sophie and her younger sister Emily crying at the top of the stairs. Neither of them appeared to be hurt, however, water had begun to flow down the stairs and it appeared to be coming from the bathroom.
Upon closer inspection after wading through a few inches of water, it seemed that the toilet was blocked. Young Sophie informed me that both mummy and daddy had gone to work leaving them in the safe hands of Camilla, the au pair, who was shrieking at the water pouring through the bathroom floor into the kitchen below.
As my Dad can always be relied on in any crisis; he immediately switched off the power and located the water stopcock before we started investigating any further. Sophie stood forlornly in the bathroom as my Dad ascertained that there was a substantial blockage in the bathroom pipes. I tried to comfort Sophie whilst young Emily told me that they were both upset because their pet guinea pig Mr Giggles had died the night before. I suggested that we all pop across the road to our house for a nice piece of chocolate cake when Sophie started to howl like a banshee whilst telling me that she was pretty sure that her parents were going to ground her.
Puzzled I asked if she had done something to cause the flood and in between sobs, she told me that she had decided to give Mr Giggles a burial at sea just like her mummy had done with their goldfish Nemo when he had died. As she didn’t want Nemo to be on his own anymore, she had despatched Mr Giggles in the same way.
Sadly a professional needed to be called and my Dad had to calmly explain several times over the telephone to the plumber that a portly ginger guinea pig was the cause of the blockage. I secretly thought that the plumber would be dining out on that particular story for sometime to come.
Thanks… I needed a good laugh! :0
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You gotta love kids, Maggie
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Sometimes, I really wish I lived on your block, lol.
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Never a dull moment!
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There’s no lack of excitement ’round your place, is there. But at least, Dad to the rescue once again. He’s a jewel.
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Jennifer, he is the neighbourhood go to guy or as he would prefer, superhero (but without the pantyhose/tights)!
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Yep. Can’t imagine your dad in tights 🙂
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Hahahaha! That is hilarious!
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I wouldn’t have believed it myself if I hadn’t been there but kids are so unpredictable and entertaining
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LOL!!! Poor Mr. Giggles! Expertly written for maximum effect, Dear Dallas! – Kaye
http://www.youtube.com/user/kittrellkaye
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Thank you Kaye; I really do appreciate all the encouragement
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Bwahahahahaha!!! OMG….. this is priceless. Giggling all the way to the loo. 🙂
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You’ll have to watch out for what your little angels are flushing!
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You can count on kids for great material and Dallas for her talent at crafting a humorous anecdote.
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Bless you Aisha but as always you’re right the kids provided the inspiration for this one as they so often do
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Oh how Dad’s come to the rescue in such a calm manner – even when the situation involves an expired guinea pig and a toilet…Hahaha!
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The thing is my Dad’s a bit of an expert now because he lots of practise with me and my sister when we were kids
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That is such a cute story. I’m sorry for the loss of Mr. Giggles, I hope he got a ‘safe’ burial somewhere else 😉
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He was recovered and laid to rest under a shady tree in their garden by my Dad
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Your Dad, the superhero! 😉
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Well the kids wanted to hold a service!
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Lol
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Thank you!
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You see, kids pick up everything they shouldn’t …. Nemo down the toilet … everything goes.
And the logic in the kids thinking …. Nemo don’t have to be alone anymore now.
It’s such fun story, but also very heart warming … because that is the way kids thinks – very logic, but not always the right move.
Great post – wonderful to have you back with me. *smile
Give dad a hug from me .. *smile
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Kids and animals generate their own special kind of happiness – thank you Wivi
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Had to check that Mr Giggles was already a gonner! Flushed Away has a lot to answer for 😉
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He had definitely passed before he was depatched for a life on the Ocean Waves and I’ve not seen that film – should I?
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Oh yes, you must! We have a new name for one of our dogs ‘Milicent Bystander’ as a result!
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Oh dear, a dead guinea pig in the pipes. That’s something my boys would’ve done when they were younger!
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Exactly, I love how children see the world
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Wait. Did you say something after young Swedish au pair ?
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My Dad wants one as well
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Sometimes I get the feeling that your neighborhood is like that old show Keeping Up Appearances (they show old reruns on PBS, the same channel that airs Downton Abbey in the States). You cannot just make this stuff up.
Would have loved to see the plumber’s face when he arrived to unblock the toilet! Also I’m assuming a stopcock in your country would be a toilet plunger in the US? Because stopcock definitely brings other images to mind lol.
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My mum is just like Hyacinth and our neighbourhood probably is very similar! In England, a stopcock is a tap for the water mains which you can find in most houses. I don’t think there would have been a plunger big enough to retrieve Mr Giggles!
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Oh my gosh! This is exactly what i was talking about when I commented on your last post. You tell a tale like no other, Dallas. This was hilarious, yet heartwarming. Poor Sophie and Emily. Poor Mr. Giggles. 🙂 And I still love your dad.
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Thank you Maddie, this one was a labour of love as I did think about you all as I was mopping their bathroom floor. You can borrow my Dad anytime
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LOL to the story and to the comments above!! what is a stopcock….. ? lost in translation across the pond, it seems… 🙂
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It adds to all the fun especially as I learn something every day from blogging too
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Oh dear poor Mr Giggles, but at least he was dead when given the burial at sea. Unlike the TWO guinea pigs belonging to our next door neighbour that ended up as 2 big bulges inside a rather large carpet python. He had wriggled into their cage then couldn’t get back out again because of the guinea sized bumps.
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Oh that’s horrible – how awful for the owners I hope that there weren’t small children. I think Mr Giggles passed fairly dignified in comparission
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The 3 children were all under 10 so lots of tears. They rang a snake handler to take it away, a long way away, and he charged them $80
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Couldn’t see my Dad wrestling a python
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I bet he would try though….
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BAHhaha! My dad told us he flushed our hamsters when they died. I STILL don’t know if he actually did or not! That toilet was just a regular toilet, but it was Herculean!!!
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All joking aside the waste pipes in Turkey are miniscule so there would be little chance of flushing away a mouse let alone a portly guinea pig
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Woohoo! Dallas is IN the house! It’s so good to have you back. At least Mr. Giggles went down with a flourish. Thanks for my first laugh of the day! ~Terri
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Thank you and I did enjoy writing that post because I can remember sitting down with my Dad afterwards and having a good laugh over a cup of tea, of course.
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OH how sad…. and so cute! I wonder if he finally did get a burial at sea though?
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He’s buried under the shade of the cherry tree in the corner of the garden and we all attended the service
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Makes perfect sense to me! My first giggle of the morning, thanks.
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Kids have their own sense of logic which can be very endearing if not a little hazardous sometimes
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Can’t believe what just happened – weird coincidence! I was about to comment on your hilarious post above when Milo sprang after something on the carpet in my office. It was a gecko (small lizard). They are supposed to eat mosquitos but they poo all over the walls and we still have loads of mosquitos so they are considered unwelcome guests. I scooped it up with a sheet of paper and despatched it down the loo, maybe HE will find Nemo somewhere.
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what a close psychic bond we must have! I like to think they all meet up somewhere but I have to admit that I wouldn’t like them bringing in little lizards although I have had a grass snake
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Looks like something that my little boy would do. Thankfully, we don’t have guinea pigs in the house. 🙂
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Grace, I hope you never have to find recover a guinea pig from a waste pipe but kids do love to flush things away
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Yet again, you have me LOL. Great story.
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Thank you, although I think there’s not a day go by when my crazy family don’t provide me with inspiration
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Speaking of professionals, maybe group therapy could be initiated for both Sophie and Emily…
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It’s probably too late for Giggles though.
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We held a little service in their back garden but I think you’re right they’re going to remember that incident always
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…the equivalent of exchanging a people funeral for shooting the corpse from a circus canon. Poor traumatized kids! But still hilarious
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I’m glad there was no cannon involved as that would have been even more costly and thank you for taking the time to read
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HAHAHAHA! That was awesome. Thanks for the laugh.
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Having read your post on your boys today, I wonder if this is something they might do!
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Oh my gosh I never thought of that! Reason #3 why I won’t let them have gerbils or guinea pigs as pets. (#1 and #2 are they smell and I would be the one taking care of it)
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Poor, Mr. Giggles. You are such a wonderful story-teller.
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Ha ha ha hope Mr.Giggles was truly dead before being flushed down that loo 😆 Good to see you back in form Dallas 🙂
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Cheers m’dear as they say in the westcountry! He had most definitely gone to Rainbow Bridge before being flushed into infinity & beyond.
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Hilarious!!
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I’m glad you liked it and thanks for retweeting for me, particularly as I am so pants at tweeting!
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Oh, my! Quite funny to us, but I can see how the poor au pair may have been overwhelmed by the whole event. Gotta love precocious kids. 🙂
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So good to have you back, now that I’m back, too….. sort of. Still trying to catch up, but getting there.
Your stories are so worth saving and savoring.
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Take your time Gunta; it’s important to have a break sometimes, regroup and refocus
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Oh dear – poor Mr Giggles… I know I shouldn’t laugh but it’s the way you tell ’em!
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You couldn’t write this stuff, Dallas! Well, you obviously did, but you know what I mean…. 🙂
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