Rhinos and Cookies and Bears Oh My!

Marwell zoo is celebrating it's 40th anniversary this year and one of the ways it's doing this is with a Go! Rhinos trail around Southampton.

As you know we enjoy a good walking trail and this one being right on our doorstep was a must to do over the summer holiday. There are just over 30 Rhinos on display and on Sunday we went in search of them. 

They are spread out across the city centre and looking at the map we worked out a route so we could do approximately half them and then save the rest for another day. 

There were lots of other people out and about doing the same as us, it looks like it's proving popular. One chap G spoke to said they had made a day out if by coming into town early and having breakfast and then starting the trail, breaking for a sit down and a refreshing drink and then finishing off, I like the sound of that!

So here are the ones we found 

This one is called Flossy and she's a dental nurse.

This is Reginald in honour of RJ Mitchell who designed the Spitfire and who lived in Southampton for a time.

This one is sponsored by the OS and was one of my favourites, covered in signs found on maps.

This rhino was named Reveal. A big zip across the body was undone to reveal a colourful layer hidden under it's grey skin.

There was a small display of classic cars in town (and looking back on my blog it was there this time last year too) which we didn't stop at for long but this vintage mini caravan really caught my eye. It is dinky and what I really liked was the washing bowl  to the rear of it on the left and the cooking facilities to the right. Apparently not many of these were made and this particular one had been used as an air warden's shelter during WW2. 

Nothing was planned for Monday, a day to have a lay in and potter around the house was called for. S helped me bake a batch of oatmeal cookies and even T liked them. They were super quick and easy to prepare and bake so I can see them being made again and again, warm with a cup of tea they were delicious.

Then in the afternoon there was nothing more strenuous then helping S do a jigsaw puzzle with a mystery to solve in the pictures.

This morning the sun was back again and there was no lay in as we were going to Portsmouth city museum for

a teddy bears picnic and a Punch and Judy show. 
It was really busy and so we decided to stake our claim on a patch of the garden and eat our picnic whilst waiting for the show to begin at 12pm. 
S sat her two bears so they could see what was going on!
The chap who did the show was very entertaining when you could actually hear what he was saying. He was using a microphone but unless you were fairly close and sat in front, as opposed to the side where we were, then you had difficulty in hearing all he said.

I last went to the museum on my own in 2010 for an exhibition about British Rock and Roll and the children have never been so we went in to have a look around.
The current exhibition is on teddy bears. This little set caught my eye, Sooty, Sweep, Sue and Scamp. I've heard of the first 3 but never Scamp, what happened to him?

Upstairs in the museum there are various exhibits detailing the history of Portsmouth and Southsea as a seaside holiday destination.
We had lots of fun trying out the old arcade games and there were plenty of giggles courtesy of this fairground mirror.

I can't believe the tourist information board of it's day thought this would be a catchy slogan to entice visitors!

Last photo is a bit of a random one but it's so elegant. 
A gown from the 1950's, oh to have a waist that size.