Below Bar deckchairs

31 July 2018

CJ and I had spent the morning walking in large circles up and down town from the precinct to Bedford Place looking for giant deckchairs. So far, with quite a lot of doubling back and grumbling from CJ, we’d found all the chairs at the top end of town. Now we had a proper map, rather than a badly cropped photo on my phone, the Below Bar chairs should be a little easier to find. In fact, I’d already seen the next three on the list on a shopping trip with Commando at the weekend.  Continue reading Below Bar deckchairs

Plans, disasters and a last look at the Bargate Centre

8 November 2017

For once I had a proper plan. There had been extensive research, route plotting,  notes taken and some very interesting stories ready to tell. CJ and I left home early feeling rather excited. We had a ferry to catch, the sky was blue, the sun was shining and it felt a little like a holiday. Then we got to the ticket office and it all went wrong.  Continue reading Plans, disasters and a last look at the Bargate Centre

Following frontiersmen’s footsteps

17 January 2017

Before Christmas CJ and I took a walk that inadvertently led us past the Swaythling Remount Depot and we recently walked through North Stoneham Park where one of the Remount camps was. Looking for more information about the Remount Depot, I stumbled upon some entertaining ‘campfire yarns’ on The Legion of Frontiersmen of the Commonwealth website. Three tales told of stampedes when frontiersmen were driving as many as six hundred horses through the city. Today, I thought CJ and I would retrace some of their footsteps, as far as we could, and share their stories. Continue reading Following frontiersmen’s footsteps

Waterside zebras, WestQuay zebras and free coffee!

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26 July 2016

With some difficulty we found our way out of Ocean Village and back to Canute Road.  Soon the familiar sight of South Western House was in front of us, along with our next zebra. Henman, sponsored by Barratt Homes, stood opposite the imposing building at the entrance to Queens Park. It took us quite a while to get across the road to have a proper look at him. Continue reading Waterside zebras, WestQuay zebras and free coffee!

Southampton old town Zebras

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19 July 2016

In hindsight the hottest, most humid day of the year wasn’t the best of choices for our first zebra hunt. CJ and I were too excited to wait any longer though and this was the first chance we’d had since the zebras went on display on Saturday. With one hundred and ninety eight zebras on the trail, including all the babies hidden in shops, we knew from the start we weren’t going to find them all in one go. Half way over Northam Bridge, with sweat dripping into my eyes and legs that felt like lead, I wondered if we’d even make it to town to find the first one. It may only have been three miles but, in such weather, it might as well have been a marathon. Continue reading Southampton old town Zebras

Mirrors, rhinos and achieving the impossible – first published 25 July 2013

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Towards the end of July 2013 I was still in single digits in terms of rhinos found but the rhino hunting malarkey was turning out to be a rather enlightening exercise. Not only had I been led to parts of the city I’d never seen before, I’d been seeing parts I did know with new eyes. Alongside getting a bit of extra exercise I’d discovered the work of some fantastic local artists and I was just about to have a reminder of the power of perseverance in the face of difficulties and learn about a truly wonderful charity I’d had no idea about before. Continue reading Mirrors, rhinos and achieving the impossible – first published 25 July 2013

Baby rhinos and a baby prince – first published 22 July 2013

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The day little Prince George was born I discovered there were way more rhinos to find than I thought. My original research and the map told me there were thirty six. Then I downloaded an app for my iPhone and discovered there were baby rhinos too. These were not exactly in plain sight either, but hidden in shops and cafes. All of the sudden the rhino safari looked a great deal harder than I’d bargained for. There was only one thing to do, get out there hunting for them. Continue reading Baby rhinos and a baby prince – first published 22 July 2013