Monkey love is unconditional

I’m not entirely sure how it happened but Max the Monkey quickly became THE favourite. I desperately tried to entice my son Alfie with soft fluffy bunny rabbits and cute cozy teddy bears, but no, my gallant efforts failed miserably. So here he is, Max the Monkey!

Max

You may think he’s rather ugly, like I do, but the true extent of Alfie’s love for this cuddly creature came to light on a recent visit to Nanny’s house (my Mother).

Unfortunately for Max the Monkey it seems Alfie is not the only one who likes to suck and chew on his un-primate looking ear. We now know that Flynn, Nanny’s border collie, is also partial to a bit of lobe love too – Don’t shed a tear just yet, it’s not quite as bad as you’re expecting, thank goodness!

So, poor Max was left unattended in the presence of the stuffed toy devourer while the unsuspecting Nanny and Alfie went about their business. It was a chance glance at the dog when Nanny realised Flynn was chewing on something! Max! Argh! I can just imagine her leaping to the Monkeys rescue – it even plays in slow motion in my head. After a brief game of tug of war and a finger wagging scold Max was freed. But he was not unscathed.

Although I wasn’t present during this whole ordeal (hockey match), I can just imagine the ear piercing wail that came from Alfies mouth as his Monkey dropped from the jaws of his vanquisher. The more I think about it the more I wish I had been there to console my poor boy. My heart sinks when I think of what he felt at that precise moment. I struggle to put soft toys in the loft after a de-clutter (they’d be lonely up there!) so I can’t imagine how Alfie felt seeing his Monkey in this predicament. It wasn’t a complete horror story though, Max had only lost an ear. The stuffing was seeping out the side of his head and Alfie was traumatised, but at least it was only an ear!

Nanny and Grandad B spent the next half an hour consoling poor Alfie. The three of them studied soft toys in hope to find an appropriate candidate for a skin graft. A teddy bears arm, a rabbits ear, a camels leg, what could they use for an ear? – But Alfie didn’t want to harm them, bless him. In the end Nanny managed to talk him into letting the Lanzarote Camel help out. Out came the sewing box, off came Camels leg and ta dah!!!

The operation went well and Max the Monkey got a new ear! Can you tell? I thought Nanny did a grand job, don’t you?

So where were Nanny and Alfie in Max’s hour of need? Racing cars on a playstation game! Poor Max had been neglected!

You’ll be glad to know that Alfie has fully recovered. The only person I’m worried about now is Nanny. What will her work colleagues think of her when she tells them she’s spent the weekend operating on cuddly toys?!

(We’d like to thank Lanzarote Camel for his overwhelming donation during this truly emotional time.)