When I Notice Marshmallows In The Sweet Drawer

Dobro/Thunderbirds Are Go Go Go Go Go Go!

Hi Dobro! How's it going?

Hi! Just fine! My parents just picked me up from school after a long, hard day of play.

What have you been playing today?

Well, since I'm dreaming of being a firefighter like my idol Fireman Sam, me and my friends have been playing at rescuing my friend Charlotte from the upper boughs of a tree in the forest. However, Charlotte was stuck and my teacher had to phone the fire brigade to get her down.

You

,

12:01

Good for her. She's the wisest teacher around. And I see you've been the parents of Chloe and Jack too,

You bet I am! Mum, dad and I are going shopping at the moment. I insisted on showing my art project about the ocean to everyone I passed by, and they all just stared at me with shock and disbelief. Unfortunately, Mum knew the person at the counter, who always loved to tell jokes and use puppets to entertain the little kids who come to the supermarket.

Of course! She's Abby, after Abby Cadabby.

Yeah, I heard her favourite programme was Sesame Street, so that's how she got a job seeing to the little kids at the supermarket.

You excited for Easter?

Yeah, you bet! I'm also excited for our annual Easter party, which we're holding on Easter weekend.

An Easter party! How exciting! What are you going to do at the party?

There's going to be a barbecue, a bouncy castle and a treasure hunt to find the elusive chocolate bilby. All my family will be attending.

Including your Uncle Frank, who once didn't know a thing about the Octopus game?

Of course he's coming, and so are all my aunts and uncles. Aunt Lulu is sure to give me one of her famous 'Easter Pressies' this year - I'm hoping it's the new Zappatron Hip Hop Electric Robot Dinosaur I've always wanted. However, it's a bit too expensive. My mum and dad are always telling me to buy cheaper stuff.

You

,

12:12

Yeah, I hear you, dude. I just heard from Teletubbies creator Anne Wood that kids in every UK playground are talking in American accents because Channel 4 and ITV don't have the guts to produce new kids' shows, and the BBC has lost their budget. As a result, they're airing American programmes which interfere with the British charm of shows like The Herbs, Postman Pat and even Fireman Sam.

You

,

12:15

No, not Fireman Sam! Anything but Fireman Sam!

Yes, anything including Fireman Sam.

Oh my god....whispers My mum and dad think it's wrong to say that phrase.

But you can only say it to me.

Hey, what's with that bandage on your head?

I had a raw itchy patch on my head and Marina cut it open to take out a red, itchy, blobby creature. But I'm okay and fully healed now.

I know her! She told me that she was very guilty of doing so, and that the police would come and arrest her. We learnt about it in school the other day. I was shocked to hear that mermaids who cut people open would be reported to the police.

That's not what I learned back in my school days. Urgh....I should've been homeschooled. I never was suited for school, it's the most awful and noisy place in the entire universe!

Well I'm suited for it.

I wish you never went to school!

Okay, okay, keep your hair on.

Well it's off, because of Marina cutting part of my head open to get the creature out of my brain.

She wouldn't do that! The police would go bananas if they heard it!

You

,

12:22

Now I have an itchy back. Great.

Oh! That reminds me. I've got the scissors....

No, no no no....

I'm going to cut you open! RAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

NO! STOP!

CHLOE: Dobro! Please stop teasing your friend. She already experienced enough pain as it is.

DOBRO: Sorry, Mum! (to S) Anyway, I'm sorry for what happened. I often tease my younger cousins like this sometimes, although Mum and Dad like to scold me for it.

You should let your mum and dad teach you how to play nicely with your younger relatives.

Well, it's become a habit. I'm always teasing my younger siblings, which means Mum and Dad have to ban me from seeing them for a few weeks every time I tease them.

That's horrible. I hate to see an energetic young boy like yourself being punished. I have an idea: whenever you feel you want to playfully tease your siblings, instead ask them to join in your firefighter games or join them for getting a snack from the kitchen. It's easy!

Wow! Why didn't I think of it before? I'll go and tell my Mum and Dad right away.

A few seconds later....

Mum and Dad think it's a great idea!

Wow, I'm glad to hear that.

You

,

12:28

Anyway, I've heard that you were very hungry earlier, after your nap. There's some Tiny Teddies and Cravendale in the kitchen.

Really? Come on, let's go get it.

Minutes later

Wow, for snacks, these are actually pretty delicious!

Mmmmm, they're pretty tasty and all, because that's why I love cookies.

I see you're eating the chocolate chip ones. I'm having the chocolate ones.

My favourite type of cookie is chocolate chip. My jaw drops open at the sight of a chocolate chip cookie baked by my mother. She's an excellent baker as a well as a marine biologist.

How on earth did she get that job? She's the most awesome mother in your region!

It was after the Octopus incident from when she was young. After Bluey went home, Mum told Uncle Frank that when she got older, she wanted to study sea creatures. And now, here she is. She has a job!

What happens when your mum is away studying sea creatures?

She's away for a long time, and that's why Dad always looks after us. He only knows how to make bacon and tomato sandwiches, and is goofy around us, but that's okay, he's great fun when it comes to playing games with me, especially my trademark firefighter game.

Like father, like son, that's what they say.

You

,

12:40

Sometimes my father likes to go fishing with me, and sometimes I am very impatient when it comes to fishing. Sometimes I even chew my leg. My dad tells me, 'Patience stops the chewing'. And I'm glad he told me that, because while we're waiting he likes to tell me what he got up to in his school days.

Then do the kids at school called you 'Chew Chew'?

Not all of them, no, but I think there's this mean bully at my school called Rasher. He's always picking on us younger kids and making noises corresponding to our horrible nicknames he gives us. He was the one who called me 'Chew Chew'. He even made some offensive train noises,

Did you tell your teacher about him?

Not exactly, no, I was too scared to tell her he called me 'Chew Chew'.

You should! You really should!

I can't. I'm just too scared.

Well, I heard from your mum that there's a counsellor at school. She can tell you about your problems with Rasher.

I'll tell you what: you tell your dad to phone the school counsellor.

What if Rasher hears this and knives me?

He wouldn't do that. In fact, knife crime isn't allowed in schools in Australia.

Thank goodness.

You

,

12:49

Now, take a few deep breaths with me. In.....and out. In.....and out. And one more: in....then out. There! That wasn't too bad, was it?

Nothing to it at all.

Your bedroom looks awesome! It's all red and themed around firemen and Fireman Sam!

Yeah, cool ain't it? My mum, dad and I decorated my room together.

Well, my room is painted pink and it has lots of pink things in it.

Cool!

I know, right, it's a bit girly for you, you might visit it one day.

Okay, if I can dig ballet skirts and unicorns and rainbows...

I laugh

No, but seriously, I know a friend who was once a Brony. He isn't cringe like what the internet says, he's actually nice and brings his ponies everywhere he goes, even to school. He never got teased by Rasher once. He thinks it's the early 2010's all over again! What's that smell?

Mum's cooking bacon or something. By the way, it's past lunch time, so I can't eat until dinner.

I always have bacon and eggs for breakfast. Dad calls it 'The Future Fireman's Fry Up'.

The Future Fireman's Fry Up....hmmmm, maybe I can have bacon for dinner tonight.

Dad will be so proud of you...even though you're not a fireman like I wanted to be when I'm older.

You

,

13:00

Anyway, about your Brony friend. What's his name?

Pedro.

Pedro? There's no one in Bluey called Pedro before! What's he like?

He's awesome! He always invites me to play at her house so I can use my model knights to play at fighting dragons with his ponies. He even lets me join his pony tea parties.

Wow! He's the most awesome kid in your school!

He's even fond of watching pony videos and reading fanfics on the internet - as long as they're not too inappropriate for me. His favourite story is My Little Dashie, because he cares for his ponies like that man did with Rainbow Dash in the story.

Does he love My Little Mane 6?

Yep!

Why?

Because not just Rainbow Dash but all her friends get adopted, and this single family befriends them.

I wish I could own the Mane 6 like they're pets.

Well I overheard Pedro's little sister Conquita stated she wants Twilight Sparkle as a pet.

Hang on a minute, I have to check my emails.

Well, the Gerry Anderson email to me stated that they don't make shows like his nowadays due to cheap and low budget stuff.

You

,

13:10

O, M, G. Did you say Thunderbirds?!

Yes.

I love Thunderbirds! Oh, and Thunderbirds Are Go.

My favourite characters in both series are Lady Penelope and Parker.

Well mine in the original series is Scott, and mine in Thunderbirds Are Go is Gordon, mainly due to his humor.

grumbles Gordon....that annoying prankster. His jokes are a little good, but he just wants to fall in love with Lady Penelope and I won't have him near me, because he bullies me!

Wow! What a coincidence! We have bullies at once!

Well, the sad truth is....erm....I once attended a secondary school named Willie De Ferrers. Everyone at school bullied me, said I had to go to boarding school and told me I smelled of smoke, usually because my Mum smoked cigarettes before vapes were invented.

No one's allowed to smoke in our house.

Good, because my Willie De uniform is thrown away.

So...you hate school? I love school, mostly because of my awesome best friend Pedro.

I know Pedro is your best friend, but school is a nightmare for me, mainly because of my autism.

But you're a grown woman! You never go to school!

You're right, I never do now. But I wish I was homeschooled!

You

,

13:19

Oh you do? Well I don't mind school, it's a fun place. Our teacher always encourages us.

Well, to me, school is a horrible place. The teachers always verbally abuse me, everyone laughs at me and I get angry throughout lessons. I wish I was homeschoo-

Okay, okay, I heard you the last few times!

But seriously, if I could do it all over again, I'd be homeschooled because all the kids are really loud and noisy.

Well, have you tried reading The First Day Of Homeschool? I keep this book somewhere on my shelf, and I always let mum read it to me before bed.

I'm going to get it next Monday morning.

Awesome! I also keep some Fireman Sam and Thunderbirds Are Go books on my shelf.

You're never bored. And look at your toy fire engines!

Yeah, cool, huh? I have millions of 'em!

So....I think your hobby is collecting toy fire engines, is that right?

You bet it is! I always beg Dad to take me to the toy shop to see the latest toy fire engines in stock.

Well, my hobbies include writing, video making, roleplay, collage making and....I seem to have forgotten.

Never mind. Mum says, "Leave it to one side until you think about it again."

You

,

13:31

Thanks for the advice, Dobro. Now, this Gerry Anderson email I received was absolutely true. They don't seem to make British kids' TV anymore. They're just sticking to American programmes to make kids speak in American accents in playgrounds everywhere we go!

The same goes to TV stations in my region. They don't show kids' TV like it used to anymore, they just air American stuff. And ABC doesn't show Thunderbirds, or Strange Hill High, or Scream Street, they just show My Little Pony! And My Little Pony doesn't belong on ABC!

Well I heard Pedro was oblivious, and so was Conquita.

That's no excuse! They're allowing full length toy advertisements on ABC, and that sucks!

DOBRO! Just look - under your bed. Mmmmm, mouldy sandwich. Bleaurgh. Broken toy plane? It's good for nothing with handymen, that is. Ah! Here it is. Your DVD pouch.

Alright! I was meaning to tell you about this. You see, Mum and Dad recorded everything that was on ABC Me on these makeshift blank DVDs so I could relieve what was on back then. Now there is only one ABC Kids channel. And it sucks! I want ABC Me back! It's my favourite channel!

Did everything go downhill from there?

Of course they did! ABC wanted to show more boring adult programmes, so they gave their creativity away to some weirdo who said kids' programmes were for babies.

And they're showing Cartoon Network shows, too, I did all my research.

You did...it makes me shudder just to think about Teen Titans Go being on there. I hate it!

Don't we all. It's been airing 24/7 on USA Cartoon Network, and some people are really annoyed.

Yeah! They just want toons of every variety, not a bunch of ridiculous superhero bullcookies!

You

,

13:42

Mmmmm, speaking of Cartoon Network, I found The Powerpuff Girls Movie too overstimulating.

I don't watch this movie either.

It would be much better if the movie showed a scene where a woman gave birth to a chimpanzee in hospital as Mojo Jojo explains his origins to the girls.

Eeeeewww! Gross! No human would ever give birth to a chimpanzee!

What could you say? It's only a cartoon, so there's nothing to be afraid of. Although I have to admit, the Dexter's Laboratory short Chicken Scratch is the best part of the entire DVD.

Well, I heard that in one of my classmate's comics, a woman gave birth to....wait for it........A LIVE COCKROACH!

YUCK! I gotta go and use the bathroom, be right back!

A few minutes later

Never talk about that comic again, Dobro. I heard it's not suitable for kids.

But he brought it in anyway. Don't you understand how stupid it is for kids to bring adult stuff into school?

Also over on Fanderson....there's a new article about the most fantastic and comfortable Thunderbirds event ever! Have a look:

https://fanderson.org.uk/news/thunderbirds-are-go-go-go-go-go-go/