Wednesday, 19 August 2026

The BBHQ Midweek News Round-Up **Heavenly Hollhocks** ~ Fudge's On The Roof Again, Parsley and Smooch on Pawtrol, and Pandora's Under the Gazebo ~ **PLUS** The BBHQ Bunker!!! MOL

Seven cats sit together in a colourful garden filled with flowers, butterflies, and festive bunting. Behind them are scattered newspapers and a large banner that reads “Midweek News Round Up with the B Team.” One cat on the left has its mouth open as if shouting, next to a speech bubble that says “EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!” The scene is bright, playful, and lively, with each cat displaying different fur colours and patterns. The overall design feels cheerful and whimsical, like a fun feline news announcement.
This week on the news: heavenly hollyhocks, roof shenanigans with Fudge, garden pawtrols and staying dry under the gazebo
A vibrant summer garden scene filled with colourful wildflowers in shades of yellow, pink, purple, blue, and red. Butterflies in various colours flutter above the dense blooms, creating a lively, cheerful meadow atmosphere. The composition is bright, lush, and full of movement, evoking a warm July day in a flourishing garden.

Supurr Floofy Greetings Pawesome Furiends

Welcome to the BBHQ midweek news round-up!

Happy Wednesday, and thank mew so much for dropping by. Pull up a chair, get comfortable, and let’s dive into what’s been happening at BBHQ over the last few days.

The Weather Report

Well last Wednesday was hideous, and Thursday was even worse at 39C; the UV was so bad that it crisped the edges of the lily pads in the pond - we've never seen that before. The trees started shedding leaves at a terrific rate, which was rather disconcerting.

Friday was 33C, still scorchio, like there was no oxygen, and really, if mew think that the leaves were dropping, there wasn't! 

We must say that unless mew've been in the UK in 39C, mew have no idea; it's not like 39C elsewhere in the world. Cat Dad is from Australia and has travelled around the outback multiple times in 45C+; he says that 35C in the UK is worse than the Ozzie outback.

Luckily, the weather has cooled tremendously to the low twenties, and on Monday it started to cloud over; later, we had a nice, steady rainfall for a few hours. There's supposed to be more rain today, Tuesday, so hopefully it won't be a deluge as the ground is like concrete and everywhere will flood - we'll keep mew posted.

This Week's Flower Offering

Two large, vibrant pink hollyhock flowers bloom on a tall green stem, their delicate petals surrounding pale yellow centres dusted with stamens. Broad textured leaves and several unopened buds frame the blossoms, which stand out brightly against a dark fence and soft garden greenery, creating a striking and serene BBHQ garden moment.

This is the last hollyhock in the little garden at the side of the summer house; the P.A. has got seeds, so she'll grow some more for next year. 

She did plan on growing lots of flowers from seed this year, but it will have to be for next year now, as she cited the health and safety protocol of possibly combusting in the heat, which is not a good look for her! MOL

Anyhoo, let's look at this week's top headlines.

A vibrant summer garden scene filled with colourful wildflowers in shades of yellow, pink, purple, blue, and red. Butterflies in various colours flutter above the dense blooms, creating a lively, cheerful meadow atmosphere. The composition is bright, lush, and full of movement, evoking a warm July day in a flourishing garden.

First up in the news this week

Fudge's On The Roof Again


An orange tabby cat wearing a collar with a small bell stands confidently on a wavy‑tiled rooftop, looking directly toward the camera. Green leafy branches frame the background against a bright sky, creating a lively outdoor scene that captures Fudge’s curious, adventurous habit of climbing onto the roof at BBHQ.

Fudge was on the roof again - single story - don't panic! Cat Dad had just blown all the leaves off, as it was covered, and rain was due. Cat Dad didn't want the gutters and drain pipes getting blocked. 

So Fudge had to do the final check to make sure it was up to standard! MOL

A vibrant summer garden scene filled with colourful wildflowers in shades of yellow, pink, purple, blue, and red. Butterflies in various colours flutter above the dense blooms, creating a lively, cheerful meadow atmosphere. The composition is bright, lush, and full of movement, evoking a warm July day in a flourishing garden.

Next up in the news

Parsley and Smooch on Pawtrol


Parsley, a sleek black cat, and Smooch, a white cat with black patches and a tripawed stance, stand close together on a grassy lawn beside a garden bed. They face one another as if checking in on patrol, framed by green plants and a brick border, creating a calm outdoor moment of teamwork at BBHQ.

Parsley and Smooch on pawtrol in the BBHQ garden. The rose petals on the large standards were like snow! MOL

Is this a sign of things to come?

A vibrant summer garden scene filled with colourful wildflowers in shades of yellow, pink, purple, blue, and red. Butterflies in various colours flutter above the dense blooms, creating a lively, cheerful meadow atmosphere. The composition is bright, lush, and full of movement, evoking a warm July day in a flourishing garden.

In other news

Pandora's Under the Gazebo  



Pandora, a long‑haired brindle tortie cat with striking green eyes, sits upright on a small wicker stool beneath a garden gazebo. She looks alert and regal, framed by soft outdoor light, reddish cushions, and lush greenery in the background, creating a peaceful BBHQ garden moment.

As we mentioned above, it started to cloud over on Monday teatime, and then it rained about 8pm.

So Pandora was hanging out here while the weather changed; she knew what was coming and said, "NOPE, not on my fur!" MOL 

A vibrant summer garden scene filled with colourful wildflowers in shades of yellow, pink, purple, blue, and red. Butterflies in various colours flutter above the dense blooms, creating a lively, cheerful meadow atmosphere. The composition is bright, lush, and full of movement, evoking a warm July day in a flourishing garden.

Which is your favourite spot today?
A bright, colourful summer garden filled with a mix of wildflowers in yellow, pink, purple, blue, red, and white. Several butterflies in vivid colours flutter above the dense blooms, creating a lively, cheerful meadow scene. The overall look is vibrant and full of movement, evoking a warm July day in nature.

Today's Really Random Photo


Last week we showed mew the bunker entrance upgrade.

A tactical‑geared cat wearing a red beret stands confidently inside a futuristic metallic bunker corridor, illuminated by blue computer screens and industrial lighting. Behind him is the new BBHQ bunker door featuring a large winged paw‑print emblem. To the right sits Astrid, the bright red time‑travelling telephone box, glowing against the sleek cyber‑tech surroundings, creating a dramatic sci‑fi scene at BBHQ.

This week we thought we'd show mew near the inner doors, just so mew can get a sense of the place!

Yep, it's epically epic, right? 

We love it!

And yes, Astid materialised in the T.T.T.B., aka the Time Travelling Telephone Box, just as we were taking the photo; she thought this was hilarious - hence the surprised/bemused look on my face!!!  MOL

A vibrant summer garden scene filled with colourful wildflowers in shades of yellow, pink, purple, blue, and red. Butterflies in various colours flutter above the dense blooms, creating a lively, cheerful meadow atmosphere. The composition is bright, lush, and full of movement, evoking a warm July day in a flourishing garden.

That's us done for today. Melvyn will be here on Friday, so do join us then, as he's still dealing with THE oddity that fell from the sky, and it's now thumping from within the box! #OHDEAR

And if mew missed any recent posts, here are the links:




We hope mew have a furbulous day, and remember to always...

Summer Stay Text Fluffy Banner To Sign Off The Post ©BionicBasil®
...and epically epic!


Wing Commander Basil & The B Team 

A Cute Balck Paw Print to Sign off The Post 








A vibrant summer garden scene filled with colourful wildflowers in shades of yellow, pink, purple, blue, and red. Butterflies in various colours flutter above the dense blooms, creating a lively, cheerful meadow atmosphere. The composition is bright, lush, and full of movement, evoking a warm July day in a flourishing garden.
Don't furget to subscribe and never miss another post! 
  A vibrant summer garden scene filled with colourful wildflowers in shades of yellow, pink, purple, blue, and red. Butterflies in various colours flutter above the dense blooms, creating a lively, cheerful meadow atmosphere. The composition is bright, lush, and full of movement, evoking a warm July day in a flourishing garden.
Copyright Notice
© [2026] BionicBasil®. All Rights Reserved. No part of this post, characters, or lore may be reproduced, scraped, or rewritten in any form (including AI) without express written permission 
A vibrant summer garden scene filled with colourful wildflowers in shades of yellow, pink, purple, blue, and red. Butterflies in various colours flutter above the dense blooms, creating a lively, cheerful meadow atmosphere. The composition is bright, lush, and full of movement, evoking a warm July day in a flourishing garden.
Graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com 
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Monday, 17 August 2026

**LOVE TO COLOUR?** Colouring with Cats ~ Getting Your OM’s on with Mandalas on Monday ~ **Crystal of the Week ~ MALACHITE ~ What Is It Good For?**

A vibrant, whimsical banner themed around relaxation, creativity, and cats features a large glowing mandala at the centre, surrounded by colourful lights, crystals, pencils, and playful signs. Inspirational phrases about breathing, colouring, zen, and mindfulness appear throughout, alongside cat‑themed humour and decorative items like mugs, books, and a “Zen‑O‑Meter.” The overall scene is bright, cosy, and artistic, inviting viewers into a calm, creative Colouring With Cats space at BBHQ.
Mindful Monday Magic with Melvyn: Crystals, Colouring Mandalas, Finding Your OM, and Unleashing Zen Harmonies at BionicBasil.com
A decorative horizontal divider featuring a bright pink‑and‑gold mandala with a paw‑print symbol at its centre. Colourful flowers, crystals, and coloured pencils radiate outward, framed by ornate golden swirls. On each side sit gold circular “Om” symbols, butterflies, and additional floral accents, creating a vibrant, symmetrical design that blends artistic, spiritual, and playful cat‑themed elements.
Supurr greetings, meautiful furiends

Happy Monday! Melvyn is here to continue our crystal journey, since we haven't shared a Colouring with Cats post in a while. 

This time, we've got a lovely gemstone to share. 

Crystal of The Week

&

What is Malachite good for?

Malachite is a gorgeous green crystal with swirls, bands, and rosettes in all shades of emerald. It is readily available and is usually one of the first crystals most collectors buy.

A decorative malachite poster displays three forms of the crystal: a rough raw specimen with a textured surface, smooth rounded tumbled stones, and a polished or carved piece showing vivid green banded patterns. Above them is a close‑up of malachite’s swirling layers in multiple shades of green. The layout is clean and symmetrical, highlighting the crystal’s colour, texture, and natural beauty, with labels identifying each form and a title reading “Malachite – Crystal of the Week.”

We have a few tumbled stones at BBHQ, although we were given this larger piece a few years ago. We think it was supposed to be a rather abstract dolphin, although Melvyn said he didn't think it looked very fishy to him! MOL

Melvyn, a cute tabby cat with white fur and dark brown markings, stands on a woven mat indoors, leaning forward to sniff a small green malachite crystal placed in front of him. The malachite has a carved, fish‑like shape and shows its rich green colour and banded pattern. Melvyn’s curious posture and focused expression capture a sweet moment of feline investigation, set against a light wooden floor and simple home surroundings during the Colouring With Cats Mandala feature at BBHQ.

Let's tell mew a little about the gem lore surrounding this very verdant crystal. Malachite is safe to handle in its polished form, but be careful: the raw, unpolished crystal is toxic, so always buy tumbled stones or carvings. 

**Malachite dust is toxic; avoid cutting, grinding or sanding the stone, and avoid inhaling any dust.**

It is purportedly a crystal that can amplify positive and negative energies, is a supurr protection stone, and can assist in grounding spiritual energies. It is also said to be a stone of transformation and can aid mew to be more adventurous, to enable change and to be more open to risk-taking.

It is reported to be good for chakra healing, and its ideal placement is the heart chakra for bringing harmony and balance, although we've read that it's also good for the third eye as it could potentially activate psychic visions, though we'll have to get back to mew on that as we've never tried it. Mew can use it on the other chakra points too; for example, if placed on the solar plexus, it is reported to promote emotional healing and release negative traumas/experiences.

Malachite is also reputed to help clear EMFs and guard against pollution, helping to heal earth energies. So if mew missed our other crystals, which also help with EMF cleansing and protection, click here for orgonite and shungite.  And purrhaps add a few malachite tumble stones to your EMF home defence repertoire.

Another thing we read about this stone is that it can supposedly help draw out deeper feelings and break unwanted ties and/or patterns that mew feel need adjustment in your life. It's also reputed to help release inhibitions and encourage empathy towards others.

It is a crystal of intuition and problem-solving, and can apparently assist with becoming more observant and insightful, with the ability to absorb information more readily. 

As with all the crystals we've mentioned, there's oodles of jewellery made from this gorgeous, lush green stone, so if mew're drawn to it, know mew can get bracelets, earrings and pendants plus the regular tumble stones, and it's not an expensive crystal to buy either.

Even if mew don't want to use your crystal in any specific way, we think malachite is a mighty pretty stone to have in a crystal collection.

A decorative horizontal divider featuring a bright pink‑and‑gold mandala with a paw‑print symbol at its centre. Colourful flowers, crystals, and coloured pencils radiate outward, framed by ornate golden swirls. On each side sit gold circular “Om” symbols, butterflies, and additional floral accents, creating a vibrant, symmetrical design that blends artistic, spiritual, and playful cat‑themed elements.

Disclaimer: we are not health or medical practitioners; all crystal info is purely for entertainment purposes only. 

A decorative horizontal divider featuring a bright pink‑and‑gold mandala with a paw‑print symbol at its centre. Colourful flowers, crystals, and coloured pencils radiate outward, framed by ornate golden swirls. On each side sit gold circular “Om” symbols, butterflies, and additional floral accents, creating a vibrant, symmetrical design that blends artistic, spiritual, and playful cat‑themed elements.

We hope that mew're ready for the week ahead, so let's jump right in and start as always with our little breathing exercise, which we're sure mew all have down paw by now...  but if mew've forgotten, stop what mew're doing for a moment and take deep, fulfilling breaths; counting to five on the inhale and five on the exhale:

Breathe in
Breathe out

Breathe in
Breathe out

Breathe in
Breathe out

Smooch is here again to offer mew assistance in getting your OM's on and Zen Harmonies happening, so just press play, close your eyes and follow his instructions.



Don't mew feel better already?  I know we do!

A decorative horizontal divider featuring a bright pink‑and‑gold mandala with a paw‑print symbol at its centre. Colourful flowers, crystals, and coloured pencils radiate outward, framed by ornate golden swirls. On each side sit gold circular “Om” symbols, butterflies, and additional floral accents, creating a vibrant, symmetrical design that blends artistic, spiritual, and playful cat‑themed elements.

All the mandalas featured are created & designed by us, aka The B Team.

A black‑and‑white mandala titled “Mandala #132” features an intricate circular design made up of repeating geometric shapes and organic floral elements. The pattern radiates outward from a central flower‑like motif, forming symmetrical layers of petals, curves, and fine linework. The outer ring includes wavy lines and dotted accents that add rhythm and texture. The overall design is highly detailed and balanced, intended as a free printable adult colouring mandala for creative relaxation and mindful colouring.

Right-click the image to save and/or print the mandala.


And here's our finished version. This week, because we're sharing the gorgeous malachite crystal, we chose a green palette with a splash of pink.

A vibrant coloured mandala titled “Mandala #132” features intricate symmetrical patterns radiating from a central floral motif. The design is filled with rich greens, soft pinks, deep reds, and black accents, creating strong contrast and visual harmony. Petal‑like shapes, curved lines, and dotted details form concentric layers that build outward in a balanced circular composition. The colours are applied with care, giving the mandala depth, rhythm, and a polished finish, showcasing Cathrine Garnell’s beautifully coordinated palette of greens and pinks.

Coloured on the iPad and then transformed in Prisma, this time we chose the effect - nest.

A decorative horizontal divider featuring a bright pink‑and‑gold mandala with a paw‑print symbol at its centre. Colourful flowers, crystals, and coloured pencils radiate outward, framed by ornate golden swirls. On each side sit gold circular “Om” symbols, butterflies, and additional floral accents, creating a vibrant, symmetrical design that blends artistic, spiritual, and playful cat‑themed elements.

Don't forget mew can download** our free Colouring with Cats here:- Books One, Two, Three and Four.

Colouring with Cats Book One ©BionicBasil®Colouring with Cats Book Two ©BionicBasil®Colouring with Cats Book Three ©BionicBasil®Colouring with Cats Book Four ©BionicBasil®

Colouring With Cats Book IV

[**see our download policy here]
A decorative horizontal divider featuring a bright pink‑and‑gold mandala with a paw‑print symbol at its centre. Colourful flowers, crystals, and coloured pencils radiate outward, framed by ornate golden swirls. On each side sit gold circular “Om” symbols, butterflies, and additional floral accents, creating a vibrant, symmetrical design that blends artistic, spiritual, and playful cat‑themed elements.

On that note, we'll say bye for now and look forward to seeing mew on Wednesday, when we'll be back with our mid-week news round-up.

If mew missed any other posts, here are the links:



Until then

Keep Calm, Colour OM, and...

Bold, playful lettering spells out “Stay Supurr Zen” in bright pink text with a soft yellow shadow, creating a cheerful, uplifting design. The stylised phrase blends cat‑themed humour with a calming message, giving the graphic a fun, positive, and relaxed vibe.

Wing Commander Basil & The B Team 











A decorative horizontal divider featuring a bright pink‑and‑gold mandala with a paw‑print symbol at its centre. Colourful flowers, crystals, and coloured pencils radiate outward, framed by ornate golden swirls. On each side sit gold circular “Om” symbols, butterflies, and additional floral accents, creating a vibrant, symmetrical design that blends artistic, spiritual, and playful cat‑themed elements.
Don't forget to subscribe and never miss another mandala! 
A decorative horizontal divider featuring a bright pink‑and‑gold mandala with a paw‑print symbol at its centre. Colourful flowers, crystals, and coloured pencils radiate outward, framed by ornate golden swirls. On each side sit gold circular “Om” symbols, butterflies, and additional floral accents, creating a vibrant, symmetrical design that blends artistic, spiritual, and playful cat‑themed elements.
Copyright Notice
© [2026] BionicBasil®. All Rights Reserved. No part of this post, characters, or lore may be reproduced, scraped, or rewritten in any form (including AI) without express written permission
A decorative horizontal divider featuring a bright pink‑and‑gold mandala with a paw‑print symbol at its centre. Colourful flowers, crystals, and coloured pencils radiate outward, framed by ornate golden swirls. On each side sit gold circular “Om” symbols, butterflies, and additional floral accents, creating a vibrant, symmetrical design that blends artistic, spiritual, and playful cat‑themed elements.
Graphics created with paid licence www.canva.com  & Prisma IOS App 
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