Sitting on my desk, keeping an eye on me, are Snoopy & GF. Snoopy has been with me for over 55 years; GF is a relative newcomer of a mere 34 years. My daughter Jo gave me Snoopy when she was four years old. I was starting out on what I knew would be extensive travels and Jo wanted me to have a companion. He went everywhere with me.
He flew on the first Boeing 747, that monarch of the skies. He was on my many trips on Concorde, the supersonic beauty that for 27 years gave us unimaginable speed. They even once held up Concorde at Washington airport for half an hour to ensure that Snoopy got on board. He accompanied me over the Atlantic on the old Cunard liner Queen Mary’s penultimate crossing. The PanAm Clipper waited for 40 minutes for him at New York’s Kennedy Airport when my little Cessna was delayed by snow.
He ascended in an air balloon ride at Albuquerque, New Mexico. He even fastened his seatbelt – very tightly – when I actually flew an extremely fast private plane that belonged to the head of a big American commodities business. The real pilot kept a close watch that time. Yes, Snoopy’s been around. He never lets me forget it. GF, as you will have guessed, is Green Frog. Younger than Snoopy, GF didn’t at first like his friend so much. We found out why. He thought he was called Snooty. But Snoopy isn’t at all snooty and the mistake was soon corrected. Ever since, they have been inseparable.
We all need someone to love. Even though you can’t say you love symbols like Snoopy and GF you can get very attached to them. Their comforting, reassuring presence has calmed down many a worry. Their quiet – well, silent really – attention to what is happening in our turbulent world is better than many blasts we get announcing Armageddon. They chuckle politely at jokes, shed an invisible tear at sadness, let out a real belly-laugh at what they see as absurd. What’s more, they’re there. Pretty good friends, I’d say.
But life moves on and I think it’s time for Snoopy and GF to make their way back to Jo to look after them while the world decides whether to destroy itself or not. GF once said ”Not much point in being a Green Frog unless you can see one of the greenest countries in the world”. So perhaps it’s now good to go there. From their English window they will be able to see the green, green grass of home. And I know they will never forget the tall, tall trees of Singapore.
When Jo gets old maybe she will pass them on to her granddaughter Phoebe to take care of them. If that happens over and over again they could be around forever, keeping an eye on each other and on the next generations. There’s something comfortably steady about the idea, don’t you think?
I’ll be sad to see them go, of course. But like all good friends I won’t say good-bye, just Bon Voyage.
The next journey’s always the most exciting, you see.
Good morning
John Bittleston
Messages by all means at [email protected].
Better still, a thought for someone you know who doesn’t have a Snoopy or GF.
19 June 2025
