Thursday, 24 July 2025

The Elephant In The Room

Tuesday was a free day, so we popped into Norwich for the morning. The 2025 GoGo Safari Trail has appeared for the summer. First we met an elephant. We did not go very far, but encountered three giraffes on our way from the car park to lunch
I bought a new non-slip mat for the shower - our current one is 16 years old and showing its age. I have been hunting for the right square mat since before Christmas. Without a mat it gets very slippery. I succumbed to a picture in a charity shop, to go in the kitchen.
You can't read the details, but the poster lists many places offering railway excursions up to the 1921 Poultry Show at Crystal Palace! These trains run from all those places in Kent which we had hoped to visit the other week as well as Gillingham where we lived in 1981, and Chatham where Liz was born.

We had an inexpensive lunch in Soupear, which is a delightful tiny café in Opie Street, near the Castle. It is run by a young couple from HongKong. We both had potato and chive soup, plus sourdough toast. It was presented beautifully, with a drizzle of fresh green olive oil and garnished with peashoots and dried rosepetals.

Then we walked back to the carpark at the end of St Benedict's Street, stopping to look at an art exhibition.

St Margaret's Church has been taken over by the Norwich Makers and Artists Collective, and there are free exhibitions running all year.

My favourite was a charcoal drawing on white cotton [about 7 yards long!] depicting the Bagot Goats which were a feature of Cromer Cliff for many years.  These creatures kept the vegetation down, and and were employed by the council as "natural maintenance operatives". Sadly they were removed last year
Bob liked some of the very modern bright pieces. We both felt we could have enjoyed the exhibition better if the 4 people at the entrance desk had not been talking and laughing so loudly. 
I hope to get into Norwich again soon - there are 51 creatures on the safari, and I have only seen 4 of them so far. Perhaps I will be able to do the trail with the grandchildren.  Here is the cheerful gogo-logo






20 comments:

  1. Norwich is such an interesting city. It sounds like you had a lovely day.

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    1. Just long enough to enjoy things without getting overtired, and we missed all the rain we have had since!

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  2. The Safari looks such fun, your grandchildren would love the adventure. The soul looks delicious 😋. I lived near Crystal Palace beforehand moved to the coast. My boys loved the dinosaurs in the park and we used to swim in the wonderful Olympic size pool. Happy memories. I love the picture of the goats. A great day in Norwich. Regards Sue H

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    1. I took Liz and Steph to CP park back in the 80s to see the dinosaurs

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  3. It sounds fun! The cafe sounds great! So many nice small businesses around to support!

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    1. Forgot to say, it is a veggie/vegan cafe. TINY only seats about 10 people!

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  4. What a fun day! Love the idea of a safari! Elephants and giraffes and charcoal drawn goats, oh, my! The grandchildren would probably enjoy it very much.

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    1. Yes, I think the littl'uns would love it

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  5. The Safari Trail will be a great adventure for the grandchildren when they visit.Your soup looked amazing and it’s always good to support a small local business. Catriona

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    1. These annual trails are so well planned

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  6. How nice to find a little cafe. Your lunch looks very good.

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  7. Your safari reminds me of a local artist in a nearby city that did an art exhibit a few years ago called Go Go Frogs. There are these life-size, colorful frogs throughout the city.

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    1. Ooh! We have not had a frog trail (yet) 🐸🐸🐸🐸

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  8. Hares in Ipswich for the Hospice this year, haven't been to Ipswich for more than a year and doubt I'll get to see them

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  9. I was watching part of the Antiques Roadshow recently and someone brought one or two railway posters and they were worth serious money! Your cute poster for the kitchen may be too, unless it is a reproduction. Enjoy it!

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    1. I'm afraid mine is a reproduction (from the Yorkshire Railway Museum)

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  10. Grand day out. I had one yesterday with my sister to the V&A in Dundee. Amongst other exhibitions there was one showing some fabulous dresses which had been embroidered by Palestinian women (Dundee is twinned with a town in Palestine). Politics aside, it was a marvellous exhibition with one exhibit in particular which made me cry. It was a collection of carrier bags from various shops in one village. On the bags (they were only allowed to take one each) were embroidered the contents which the women of the village were allowed to carry with them before they were evacuated prior to their homes being bombed.Some had embroidered toothbrushes and other toiletries. Some had embroidered food supplies but there was one embroidery in particular which shook me to my core and made me very emotional. It was of a child's teddy bear.

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    1. I would have stood beside you and wept with you I think

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