Schnauzers' social-distancing calendar is a sell-out success

Best friends Mr Noodles, ten, and Wilfred Humphrey, eight, became social media sensations after their owner shared snaps of their socially-distanced photo tour around Constable Country online during the first lockdown.

With the help of their owner Graham Reed the pair have documented their walks across picturesque sites including Flatford Mill and Dedham.

The dogs continued posing two metres apart for photos during the second lockdown to the delight of their growing social media following.

As a way of letting their fans admire the pooches’ pictures throughout the year Mr Reed decided to create a charity calender of the canines.

Mr Reed, who lives in East Bergholt, said: “Midway through the second lockdown I was told it would be a good idea to make a calendar.

“We managed to sell about 150 calendars in the end - every one we had printed sold.”

Mr Reed said he even received a “really nice” letter from Buckingham Palace about the calendar after he sent a copy to the Queen.

“I don’t know if the Queen has seen the calendar herself, of course, but it would be great to think it could be hanging up on a wall somewhere inside Buckingham Palace,” Mr Reed added.

The calendars were sold for £10 each and raised a total of £1,400.

Schnauzerfest, a charity which rehomes schnauzers rescued from puppy farms, was given £700 from the sale of the calendars. The other £700 was donated to St Mary’s Church in East Bergholt.

Mr Reed added: “This magical journey that started from nowhere has created a massive following and kept people mindful of others during these difficult times.

“In distributing our calendars we have met some truly wonderful people in and around our village.

“Some of your stories have touched us, and enriched our perspective and understanding of how much Covid-19 has affected families and the every day lives of people in our community.

“If our pictures and words have helped just one person or family then that is enough.

“The businesses and establishments that have adapted to serve have, and will continue to rise to be the best they can to serve us all, and for that we, and we know all of you are grateful.”

Now the nation’s third lockdown is underway, Mr Reed and the dogs are trying to lift the spirits of followers by posting pictures of the pups in historic spots around East Bergholt.

He said: “As we are all now locked-down for the next few months due to the ongoing Covid pandemic, we thought a new campaign to keep you all engaged with each other and the wider community would be a good idea, all relating to local ‘Stories of Note’ and the history of East Bergholt and other surrounding villages.”

Each day of this lockdown the dogs have been posing at notable place in the area and Mr Reed has explained the history of the location for social media users to read.

If you would like to follow the pooches on their Stories of Note journey, they can be found on Facebook by searching Mr Noodles and his best friend Wilfred.