Giraffe Greetings of the Season!

Even accounting for the time-difference between our Camelopardalis Constellation and your planet Earth, dear Bloggy Friends, it has been a long time since I have communicated with you via the Interneck!

It has been a busy year for our family and friends - I shall endeavour to tell you some of our adventures neckst year. We even managed one visit to planet Earth a few weeks ago, when there was a 'nextra day' enabling us to travel in an intergalactic instant and enjoy one of your cities unseen by any human eyes! Oh the fun we had skating on your frozen river, nexploring your historic sites and buying souvenirs. (I hope our coinage was correct for the nexchange rate - it is a long time now since I left accounting!)

Here at Necky Knoll House we are in the midst of our winter festivities - delicious aromas drift across from the kitchen where Girth is preparing a feast, and The Stiffnex band are rehearsing raucously in the cellar. We all send you our heartfelt greetings and wish you much giraffitude and joy in the year ahead!

Ingrid Sylvestre Artist Designer Writer Composer Speaker Storyteller Durham North East England UK

A Nexceptional Year for Sprouts!

Allotments, Neckelchester Village

Greetings to all my dear human friends! It has been many Camelopardalian moons since I last visited your planet via the Interneck. We have had such adventures! I shall begin with our most important news; this has been a nexceptional year for sprouts ...

As you will know, we giraffes love our sprouts and they have a very special place in our culture and energy. (Necky Becky has just reminded me that she will NOT eat sprouts!)

Our Brassica camelopardalis are very similar to your earthly Brussels sprouts, coming from the same family. Here are some of our most popular varieties:



'Nexceptional' yields very neat tightly-budded sprouts with a lovely nutty flavour and is one of the easiest to grow.

'Celestial Giraffe' sprouts are a little untidy in their individual shapes, yet their taste is truly heavenly! Those of us with a delicate and experienced palate can detect subtle honey-like flavours that vary from region to region.


Last and most important is our great 'Fountain of Flatulence', grown especially for our AFF Gas energy supply. A robust plant that will flourish in any soil, it has a wholesome flavour especially popular in soups.

Camelopardalian sprouts grow very tall, and have to be harvested with special long-handled tools.


Here we are enjoying a family sprout-gathering in our vegetable patch at Necky Knoll House. The February evening sun sends low shafts of light between the trees and overhead the sky is dusky pink and mauve.

As it grows dark an enticing aroma wafts across the garden. Uncle Girth is busy at a huge tureen of freshly prepared sprout soup! It's time for supper ...

(c) Ingrid Sylvestre - Artist, Illustrator, Writer, Durham North East England UK