The tree seemed to be a large oak rather than one of the majority pine or birch that the forest was littered with, and it had a full crown intertwined with the surrounding trees. Even with his jetpack the foliage was difficult to navigate.
‘This is International Rescue. Is anybody there?’
Scott received no reply and he frowned.
‘John?’
‘Yes, Scott?’
‘I’m in the canopy. Foliage is quite dense. Can you check that I am at the right tree?’
‘You are. One life sign about halfway up the tree, two at the bottom.’
‘Ok, I’m going to cut the jetpack and climb down, I think it will be safer.’
‘FAB, Scott.’
‘Virgil?’
‘Here, Scott.’
‘How far out are you?’
‘Coming up to the Sussex coast now. Be with you in 2.7 minutes.’
‘I haven’t had any response yet, you’ll be better going down with Gordon by cable and checking everything out. There’s a small clearing not too far where you can safely drop but you’ll need to leave Two hovering with One.’
‘FAB, Scott. Coming up to your location now.’
Scott picked out a sturdy branch and began climbing down, a spare harness attached to his own. He’d picked up a child’s one, unsure of the size of person or bear he was picking up.
Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. “Pooh!” he whispered. “Yes, Piglet?” “Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw. “I just wanted to be sure of you.”
Two Winnie the Poohs flew home this week, fully rejuvenated for a new year. They’re a little different than the Poohs in my classic Pooh post, but pretty similar to each other, so I thought they’d be a good way to enter 2021.
First is a clothed Winnie the Pooh with a multicolored scarf. Here is his diagnosis photo:
As you can see, he was a little flat, his fur was a bit compressed. What you can’t see is that all those gathers in his scarf are wired, and the wires were poking through the scarf and scratching his human. So the plan was a spa for his compression and weight loss, and hopefully some sewing to fix up his scarf. Here he is in his bubble bath:
And here’s his heart being made and installed, a classic Pooh Bear heart with some of his original stuffing:
Then he had his first fur fluffing, and I sent photos to be sure his chubbiness was right before his scarf was refitted:
He’s perfect!!! said his person.
Then, for his scarf, I removed the wires and stitched the gathers instead, then refitted it onto him. One more fur fluff, and he was ready to fly home:
The other Pooh wasn’t going to have a bath, and was much more worn (and quite a bit older). Here’s his diagnosis photos:
The plan for this guy was to keep him as is inside, add a touch of supplemental stuffing to plump him up, and then fully recover him (thereby fixing balding, nose, and smile). So, the first decision was what fur to use:
Pooh’s family opted for the furry fleece in the second photo. So surgery proceeded. And soon… Pooh was ready to fly home:
His family’s response… “That is awesome!”
I hope the newly smiling Pooh made you smile, and that you all have a happy (and better) 2021!
