Hello, dearest daydreamer. Today, Pixie and Bumble would like to introduce you to Albie the Adventurer, one of the Island’s best-known residents. He is also the very first friend Travelling Ava met when she arrived on the Isle of Neverwas. So grab yourself a cup of tea and a biscuit, and let us transport you to Slumber-on-Sea to meet Albie the Frog.
Sorry about this daydreamer; sometimes Pixie’s magic isn’t as accurate as it should be. We are looking for No. 27; the guesthouse is located opposite the park in the centre of Slumber-on-Sea. It must have had a name once upon a time, but nobody ever used it, so it just got lost, or wandered off somewhere as names sometimes do. The islanders have always affectionately called it No. 27; the door number is displayed on a red circular sign that hangs outside; you can’t miss it. Keep going; this side of the park is all grand buildings, Victorian-style townhouses with iron railings separating them from the street. Ah, here it is; Albie’s guesthouse sits perched at the top of five wide steps. It is three stories high, plus a basement and an attic where Albie lives. The red front door matches the sign; it is adorned with a large brass lion’s head doorknocker. What are you waiting for? Give it a knock; we are late for afternoon tea.
You have barely raised the doorknocker when the door swings open with a flourish, and we are greeted affectionately by our host. Albie is not your typical frog; he is a portly gentleman who always wears a top hat and looks like he would suit a fancy moustache. Unfortunately, he can’t grow one; he is also bald, but he does sometimes wear a toupee under his top hat on the days he wants to feel extra fancy. Albie’s top hat is distinctive, a treasure he picked up on his travels when he first decided to become an adventurer. The Portal had taken him to London, and he had wandered off through a small archway and found a cobblestone courtyard with a gathering of small shops. Narrow shop fronts leaning up against their neighbours. In the window of a shop specialising in theatrical supplies sat the most magnificent top hat; he knew the moment he saw it he needed to have it.
Albie ushers us along the hallway; the floor is tiled with black-and-white tiles in a chessboard pattern with a black diamond border. A dark floral wallpaper covers the walls; clusters of picture frames are tastefully dotted all along the hallway. There isn’t time to take a closer look, but you catch a glimpse of what might be Stonehenge in one picture and St. Paul’s Cathedral in another. The hallway ends in bright sunshine as Albie leads you outside onto the patio for afternoon tea in the garden.
Our host gives you a moment to take in the sights of the garden; he has pulled a pair of round, wire-framed glasses from his pocket, they are now perched on his nose, and he is sitting comfortably at one of the white metal tables enjoying your reaction to the oasis he has created. From your spot on the patio, you can see a weathered red-brick wall surrounds the large garden. It has apple and pear trees and an abundance of plants and flowers. Stepping into Albie’s garden feels like stepping into the Kentish countryside. It is easy to forget you are in the middle of one of the island’s busiest towns. The air is delicately perfumed by the fragrance of flowers, and there is the tang of salty sea air just behind it.
Take a seat, daydreamer, and let us join Albie for a cup of peppermint tea and some cake and sandwiches. The cake is from Mrs. Morris’ tearoom. Albie only visits the cafe on a Monday, but he does like to order a selection of cakes for his guests. Carrot cake is always the most popular with his visitors. She really does make the best cakes. Albie has baked the bread rolls himself and made the sandwiches, mini quiches, and cheese and caramelised onion rolls. Your mouth is already watering; the food smells so delicious. Albie pours the peppermint tea from a teapot shaped like a strawberry; a matching sugar bowl sits on the table. Albie collects novelty teapots. He brought them back from his adventures, displaying his favourites in the dining room of the guesthouse. He keeps a small selection of his most treasured teapots on display in his attic rooms. Albie has about 50 teapots; they aren’t just for decoration. This frog is a firm believer that teapots are for tea, and it makes him sad when they aren’t used. You take a sip of peppermint tea, not your usual brew, but it is tasty. Albie beams with pride. The mint is fresh from his garden, and this is his own special blend of tea.
Albie the Frog retired a couple of years ago. He chose to buy No 27 because he felt he needed a project. It’s hard to slow down after spending a lifetime as an adventurer. There is something special about No 27, and Albie loves the hustle and bustle of having a busy town on his doorstep. But his favourite part of the guesthouse is the garden. Albie has always preferred to be outdoors, and he has spent a lot of time getting the garden just right. He doesn’t do a lot of digging; it’s all a bit too much hard work, so he gets someone to help him with that and cutting the grass. Albie likes to spend time in the greenhouse and the potting shed. The favourite part of his new hobby, though, is planning the garden design, visiting gardens and shopping for flowers and plants. Albie has passed many happy hours playing chess with King Otto while talking about plants and flowers. Castle Nod has beautiful gardens.
Albie pours you another cup. It really is peaceful sitting here on the patio sipping tea and eating cake. The carrot cake is delicious, but the scones are something else. Albie can’t take credit for those. Mrs. Morris might be the best cake baker on the island, but Joe the Bear is the best baker of scones. They have been award-winning for the last three Summer Fayres. The jam is homemade too, chunks of gooey strawberries slipping off the edge of your scone and dripping over your thumb as you try to add a dollop of clotted cream.
As you sip your delicious peppermint tea, Albie explains that each type of flower and plant has been specially selected to remind him of the different places he travelled to on his adventures. He also has a dedicated herb garden and a kitchen garden for growing vegetables. Izzy the Tree Sprite has been helping Albie use some of the plants from the garden to make soaps and hand lotions for his guests. His lavender and rosemary soap, with a hint of mint, has been popular with visitors. Albie likes to send them home with a little bar as a gift from No. 27. The soap is round and packaged to look like the sign at the front door. Albie likes everything to be just so.
Albie the Frog grew up part of a large family in a small, quiet place called Chapel Oak. One of his favourite childhood memories is the time he spent daydreaming in the bluebell meadows. Fairies and gnomes played hide and seek while he dreamed of what he would discover on the other side of the Portal. Even as a tadpole, Albie had aspirations of one day becoming an adventurer.
One day the Portal appeared at the edge of the pond where Albie lived. He decided to follow his curiosity; his first adventure lasted two weeks. He returned to Chapel Oak excited to tell his brothers and sisters all about his adventures. Albie has always carried a notebook with him. As he travelled through the Portal, he wrote about his adventures, filling his notebooks with his observations, sketches, and doodles of things that had caught his eye. He made notes about places he visited, people he met, and food he tried. The more he travelled through the Portal, the more questions he got from the islanders. He wrote about his adventures, starting with a column in the island newspaper. Eventually, Albie wrote books including his sketches and photos from his favourite places to visit. When he returned home, he received dinner invitations and invitations to speak at events. The islanders are free to come and go as they please through the Portal, but most islanders choose not to leave. They are curious about the mainland, and Albie’s books quickly became best sellers. Albie the Frog has spent most of his life travelling back and forth through the Portal. He loves the freedom to go where he wants and has found a lifetime of joy not just from his adventures but from writing about them and sharing his stories with friends and family.
Albie had spent three months travelling around the Scottish coast. This was one of his first adventures when he was younger. Revisiting some of the locations brought back fond memories. Much of the coastline had remained the same. For the first time in Albie’s life, as he stood watching the sea on West Sands in St. Andrews, he felt homesick. He had many fond memories of this place but realised that he didn’t have quite so many of Bubble Beach on the island he grew up on. After a lifetime of adventures, Albie wanted a place to call his own and purchased No.27.
Albie is happily retired from his life as an adventurer; he is content running his guesthouse, planning his garden and writing his books. My dearest daydreamer, the teapot is empty, and the cake is finished; it is time for Albie to get back to work. We can always call another day to hear more about Albie’s life as an adventurer; the door to No.27 is always open.
For my daydreamers, mischief-makers, and restless souls. Welcome to the Isle of Neverwas. You are home.
