The Balderdashes on Bob's Boat Grandpa In My Pocket

-BOTH:

-Not the shrinking cap, Grandpa!

Catch me if you can!

Come down, Grandpa!

'Lots of people come to Sunnysands for their holiday.

'They love the beach huts, the lighthouse, the pier

'and they love the harbour

'where our friend Bob keeps his boat - the Boomerang.

'But today at the Mill on the Marsh,

'we had some holiday people who didn't love anything.'

Ooh, I don't know about this.

'Brenda and Bernard Balderdash.'

-How are your eggs, Bernard?

-Well, Brenda, I...

-Our eggs are lumpy!

-Lumpy? Sorry about that.

-Bernard can't eat lumpy eggs, they give him

indigestion. You can't eat lumpy eggs, can you, Bernard?

He can't eat lumpy eggs.

'We were keeping well out of the way.'

I'm not keen on Brenda and Bernard Balderdash. How about you, Wulfy?

He's not too keen either.

Well, that was a struggle.

-Right, we're going on a trip, we'll be out for the day.

-Oh, lovely.

We're hiring a boat, aren't we, Bernard? What sort of boat is it?

-Shiny portholes with a fish on the front.

-That's the Boomerang.

It's called that because when it goes out, it always comes back.

-It's Bob's boat.

-Today it's Brenda and Bernard's boat. We need to go

-to Sunnysands harbour.

-We don't want you to be late. I'll take you there.

'Auntie Jules rushed down to the kitchen and told us all about it.'

Shiny portholes with a fish on the front?

-That sounds like the Boomerang, Bob's boat.

-That's what I said. Anyone seen

-the keys to Campo?

-Bob lives on his boat, he never hires it out.

Maybe it's a new thing. Don't worry about it, Grandpa.

'Grandpa was worried. He didn't like the idea of...'

Elsie, Josh, you'd better come with me.

-I expect Grandpa wants a little lie down.

-Yes.

Maybe I do.

-BRENDA:

-Hurry up, Mrs Mason! You're keeping us waiting.

I think Brenda and Bernard Balderdash are making a mistake

and I'm going to go and keep an eye on them.

-Make sure they don't cause trouble.

-But you're not invited.

I don't need to be, I've got this.

-BOTH:

-Not the shrinking cap, Grandpa!

Catch me if you can!

'You know what happens when Grandpa shrinks.

'He runs about so fast I can't catch him.

'He zooms around in the toy car

'and chuffs about in the Sunnysands train.

'He loves flying in Jason's plane

'and swooping about on Gordon the seagull.

'But sometimes he just comes along with us.

'So off we went to Sunnysands harbour. Me, Auntie Jules, Elsie,

-the Balderdashes and...

-Grandpa in my pocket.

'And Mrs Balderdash said...'

I don't think much of this old van, do you, Bernard?

-'And then she said...'

-I hope the boat's more comfortable.

'And when we arrived she shouted out...'

Shiny portholes with a fish on the front, that's our boat!

'The cabin door was open

'so Brenda Balderdash barged in and we all followed her.'

-Hello? Bob? He doesn't seem to be here.

-Well, good job too,

we don't want anyone else coming on this trip.

We don't like sharing, do we, Bernard? What a mess.

It looks like someone's been doing their washing.

Oh, I'll be having to complain to the boat hire company about this.

Don't just stand there, help!

'While the others were clearing up, I took Grandpa out of my pocket.'

I'm sure Bob knows nothing about this.

When you get home call him on his mobile. Tell him what's happened, OK?

-OK.

-And if there's any big problems here, I'll send you a signal.

Look out for it.

Bernard, I want everything up on deck, I want it all out of my sight

and these ghastly red shorts.

-We'll leave you to it. Have a safe trip.

-Look out for the sharks!

-Huge, giant, hungry sharks.

-Sharks? Nobody said anything about sharks,

did they, Bernard? Nobody said anything about sharks.

They were only joking. Let's go now, shall we?

'So we left Grandpa with the Balderdashes.'

Oh, I thought we'd never get rid of them. Cast off and start the engine.

'As soon as we got back to the Mill on the Marsh,

'we looked in Auntie Jules' book for Bob's phone number.'

Oh, Grandpa must've gone for a little lie down.

Doesn't surprise me. At last I can have a bit of a break.

Oh, I can phone my friend.

'Now Auntie Jules was using the phone, we just had to wait.

'The Boomerang was sailing out to sea.

'Down below, Grandpa was keeping an eye on Mrs Balderdash.

'She tidied up and was listening to the radio.'

What are you doing down here? You can't leave a boat to steer itself.

It's very windy. Maybe you'd like to have a turn.

Don't be ridiculous, I've got a picnic to make.

The boat hire people didn't leave us one.

That's because you're on the wrong boat.

-Go back, Bernard, head for Bongal Island.

-Bongal Island?

Bongal Island?

But isn't Bongal Island supposed to be very rocky and dangerous?

Oh, don't make such a fuss. Off you go.

'But Mr Balderdash was right. Bongal Island is very rocky and dangerous.

'Grandpa was even more worried. This was a big problem.'

Time to send Josh and Elsie a signal - but what?

'Then Grandpa had an idea. He jumped off the shelf and ran up on deck.

'Back at the Mill on the Marsh, Auntie Jules was still on the phone.

'So we couldn't get in touch with Bob.'

Let's go on the balcony and see if we can spot the boat.

Grandpa might have sent us a signal.

-We can borrow Uncle CJ's binoc...bino...you know!

-Binoculars!

'We ran out onto the balcony.'

There's the Boomerang and there's something red flapping about.

-I think it's a flag.

-I bet it's a signal from Grandpa, let me look.

That's not a flag, it's Bob's red shorts.

-Grandpa must have found them in the washing.

-What do red shorts mean?

Well, red usually means danger so Grandpa's trying to tell us

there's a big problem.

'But it was a big problem Grandpa would have to sort out himself

'because Auntie Jules was still on the phone.'

'Mrs Balderdash was enjoying the music on the radio

'and making a picnic using up all Bob's food.

'Grandpa came back below deck. Luckily he had a plan.

'He went up to the radio and turned down the volume

'and then he did this.'

-We interrupt this programme to bring you a special warning.

-Bernard!

There's a warning on the radio.

This warning is for all shipping in the Bongal Island area.

The Bongal Island area, that's us.

A huge, giant, hungry shark has been spotted.

-BOTH:

-A shark!

The biggest shark ever seen,

with sharp teeth the size of pointy volcanoes.

And now back to the music.

Ah! We're being attacked by sharks! Don't just stand there, Bernard,

turn the boat round back to Sunnysands. Go on, now! Now!

'And Grandpa followed Mr Balderdash back up onto the deck.'

The boat! It's coming back, it's turning around.

Just like a boomerang.

And Bob's shorts are coming down.

That means the big problem isn't such a big problem any more

but we've still got the problem of getting Grandpa off the boat.

Yes, I'll phone again and next time we'll have a proper chat. Bye!

We've just seen Bob's boat, it's on its way back to the harbour.

Should we go and pick up Mr and Mrs Balderdash in Campo?

Yes, I suppose so. Come along!

'We arrived at the harbour just as Bob's boat had moored up

'and things were not at all good below deck.'

Huge, giant, hungry sharks

with sharp pointy teeth the size of volcanoes.

That's what they said, didn't they, Bernard?

-Who said?

-The man on the radio.

You knew there were sharks in these waters.

That boy even tried to tell us.

We'll be making complaints, won't we, Bernard? Come on!

Back to the Mill.

-Of course, it was your fault for telling us to hire this boat.

-Me?

I said no such thing. Some people are the limit, I've tried my best to help

-and all they've done...

-Don't worry, Auntie Julies,

just take deep breaths.

'While Auntie Jules was taking deep breaths,

'I put Grandpa back in my pocket.

'Then Bob turned up.'

G'day.

-Where have you been?

-Up Misty Moor mountain on my bike.

-Oh, crikey, someone's been busy.

-Brenda and Brendan Balderdash.

-Who?

-BRENDA:

-Mrs Mason, you're keeping us waiting again.

-My guests, sorry, got to go.

-OK.

-We'll explain later.

Give me a call any time.

Oh!

'As soon as we got back to the Mill on the Marsh, we rushed upstairs.'

Cap off, Grandpa, quick!

'He came back to his normal size.'

-You did a great job.

-So did you! If you hadn't come to fetch me home

I could've been stuck on that boat for ages.

-It's teamwork, isn't it?

-That's exactly what it is. Teamwork!

Oh, you're up, Grandpa. You'll be pleased to know

-the Balderdashes are leaving.

-I shan't be sad to see them go.

Nor me, they were difficult guests, though it wasn't their fault

they had such a terrible time on Bob's boat.

Oh, you mean the huge, giant, hungry shark with sharp teeth

-the size of pointy volcanoes?

-So you heard it on the radio too?

Yes.

Teamwork!