Horace The Hippopotamus

Although I am calling myself a collector of hippopotamuses, I am in fact only a mere amateur when compared to some (what I call) real collectors. "Capable of finding a hippo" (in any store or flea market) would be a more accurate description of my level of collecting. This was of course, long before the internet era. Now, not only are hippos and hippo-products just a few clicks away, I also can enjoy the company of many hippo collectors who know their artists, brands and of course the hard to find collectables. I would never have expected a collectable (black & gold, hippo, see picture below) would join my collection. A wonderful Christmas present of my dear friend Sheila. She wrote to me:  "This gift for you is a retired Kevin Francis "Facepot". They only made 2 hippos that were sold until 2005. The first one (grey color) came out in 2002, with only 195 made. This black with gold tone one came out in 2003. Only 22 of those were made. Most were sold in the UK."

Thank you Sheila, for giving me this wonderful gift (and the only hippo I own, who has its own Certificate of Authenticity!). Who knows, I will become a Real Collector like you, one day!
 

  Horace The Hippopotamus

 

 

Inside Name: Horace The Hippopotamus, Inside Script: Got Mud? Artist: Andy Moss, Number: FP121G, Colorway: Black & Gold, Collection: Animal, Exclusive: Collectors Guild, Status: Retired, Release Date: July 1, 2003, Retirement Date: August 5, 2005, Edition Size: 22, Hand made and hand painted in Staffordshire, England, Produced by Peggy Davies Ceramics.

(photograph grey hippo from: britishcollectibles.net)

The Choir

This is the title of a card, I received a few days ago, from my dear friend Marius. It is printed by a French company called: Nouvelles Images (new images). The artist is: Nathalie Choux. One of the great things of the Internet: wonderful hippo products, just a few clicks away. While checking out the website of Nouvelles Images, I saw a few more "Happy Birthday" cards with hippos. They are very hard to find, so happy I found them. Dear Marius, thank you so much for always looking for nice hippo cards for me. Of course, I will be up and running in no time, especially with the help of this cute fellow with his singing friends.

 

 

www.nouvellesimages.com

An Apple a Day...

Once in a while, I just Google: Hippo (or Hippopotamus), select: Images, and I am able to enjoy myself for quite some time. During one of those "entertainment" sessions, I found this beauty. As an apple a day can keep a doctor away, I would like to make the case that you can change that to: A hippo a day... as the best medicine (cure) in the world is a good laugh. And that is just what this is. Look at those eyes... and try NOT to laugh :-).

 

 

www.wallpaperup.com

Hippo News!

It is not possible to miss the birth of a "surprise" hippo, when you are part of a group of fellow hippo lovers. The arrival of the newest addition to the L.A. Zoo was shared immediately. But if I had not been a member of "Hippolotofus", the news would have reached me through many friends.

 

How old is the story of a female, thinking she is gaining weight, but then finding out something else is going on? I think it is very convenient if this happens to a female hippo, as it is easy to hide those extra pounds... three thousand two hundred pounds, or three thousand four hundred pounds... who is counting anyway??

 

It reminded me of the story of my hippo friends in Jakarta, Indonesia. The keeper Mr. Bagus, thought Dania's baby would come a few months later... the next week Semar was born. It is not easy to examine a hippo, let alone a pregnant one. As you can forget the "come sweetie, time for your ultrasound" approach, the only thing left is a "well educated guess".

 

But in all cases (with or without birth control) eight months later, you have the cutest baby of all animal babies... if you love hippos, of course ;-).

Hippo News CNN

Ps. The baby does not have a name yet, if it is named, I will add his/her name to this post.