Everything’s coming up rosy

258: Ziggy by Matthew Williamson at Selfridges.

WEM number #106

The Belle Mere is actually starting to behave like a granny, last week she made a trip to Hamleys in the rain and purchased a tipper truck for Erbie. Not only did she purchase a tipper truck but also a cement mixer and a yellow helicopter. Erbie got very excited and drove them around on the carpet all afternoon. He does this thing where he runs on the spot in anticipation whilst the grown up is attempting to get the things out of their packaging. This rather sweet anticipation dance prompted Belle Mere, this week, to present him with a campervan, a lovely mini campervan with a rainbow on the side. She is now camervangrammy. He fell asleep on the bus home from our flat to be, clutching his van and woke up at the door of our W1 home now.

‘We’re home’, I said.

I felt a bit sad and decided to whisk us off to Kensington Gardens for the afternoon, only the traffic on Oxford Street had a different agenda and the hot sticky bus only got as far as Selfridges. And Selfridges are having a sale. I bought some shoes, I had to, they were a real bargain, suddenly I didn’t feel so bad and the shoebox might be useful for packing.

A later bus took us straight to the park and Erbie ran around barefoot in the sand wearing only a cowboy hat and a pair of shorts as I followed in an equally stupid hat, as my roots are long overdue a retouch and my hairdresser is out of town until the end of the month.

Erbie collapsed in my arms on the way home and I slid him straight into bed meaning I got to watch the last BBC2 Springwatch uninterrupted. Small things!

Moving date booked...

I booked a removals company yesterday and am going to start packing up stuff on the 1^st July. So we are really buying our flat and moving. In – gulp – 23 days.

I should come up with a list of things I’d really like to do in town before we go. Not that things won’t still be accessible, we’re only going to be a bus ride away, but it won’t be the same as getting up and walking there. I’m strongly considering the Zoo, although the last time I went, as a student, (admittedly several years ago) it made me cry – the tiger looked mad and was pacing back and forth in it’s tiny enclosure and the monkeys were sad and haunted. Plus it is ridiculously expensive, I’m not sounding like it’s a good idea am I!

It’s coming up to 7.30am, Erbie and I have already had a trip to the shop for waffles (this mornings demand for breakfast) and I need to shower and get us dressed before getting the bus up to visit Belle Mere in our flat to be.

I’m not sure what I’ll do when we actually have the deeds signed over, I’m not going to keep up these weekly visits, that is for sure, but then again I can’t cut her off from Erbie altogether, for his sake as much as hers. Once a month is enough for any grandmother surely? Unless of course The GR and the Belle Mere miraculously make up, stranger things happen at sea.

Elephant obsessed?

The GR accused me of having elephant-itis, (see WEM number #104 & #105 below!) I AM a stone heavier than I should be but I haven’t ballooned. No, really, I think I’m using visible elephants to disguise the literal elephants in my everyday life. Whenever I see the Belle Mere, which is roughly once a week, (and later on today) we don’t mention the flat (which we are buying from her) or her son – The GR (who still have not spoken) which is, as someone pointedly said, a bit like not mentioning the elephant in the room.

There are several more unmentionable elephants in my life currently, The GR and I don’t talk about the fact we don’t have sex anymore, or the fact that we have borrowed, begged and stolen from virtually anyone who will comply in order to get a mortgage to buy aforementioned flat.

Zambi - 114: Hasbro, Hamleys Toy Store

Monopoly Community Chest - 113 Hasbro: Hamleys Toy Store

Selfridges too.

I thought it about time Erbie and I revisited Selfridges to find the other 3 elephants having already counted this one in the basement next to the Elephant Parade shop where one can buy mini elephants, I want to get one for Erbie but just can’t decide on which one! If I had the inclination I could bid on one of these big ones too at : givinglots.co.uk

50: Heavens Haathi by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla

I found The Emerald Queen elephant by Sabine Roemer wearing a 678 carat emerald and sitting in front of the Rolex section on the ground floor. Yours for a reserve price of £90,000.

216: The Emerald Queen. Sponsor: Haulage Heroes, Eco Movers. Location: Selfridges (WEM #100 - yay!)

217: The Spirit of India by Sacha Jafri, Sponsor Disney Theatrical.

(WEM #101)

249: Spooning Sunday by Claire Snell and Tory Bauer.

(WEM #102)

Her back is covered in the tips of vintage souvenir spoon handles from all over the world.

Mason

As I walked by the House of St Barnabas on the corner of Soho Square I thought I spied an elephant through the window. There just happened to be a delivery going at the same time and I jumped on the nice lady holding in the doorway:

‘May I see you elephant?’

He is ‘Mason’ a recycled elephant made from the red rubber off-cuts of Mason hair brushes! My photo is appalling, the flash wouldn't go off, Erbie was wriggling, the nice lady was holding the very heavy door, he (the elephant) was stuck in a corner, but here he is my number #99. They have another one in their garden but it wasn’t a good time...

159 Mason: Artist Lucy Fergus (re-silicone).

Sponsor: Quintessentially.

Location: House of St Barnabus

Elephant Parade - Herd Viewing Days

Thanks to Amy for bringing to my attention that there will be herd viewing days at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea from 10am till 7pm on 25th, 26th and 28th of this month. Members of the public will be able to see the elephants collectively in the grounds of the usually off-limits Chelsea Royal Hospital.

Here are three more down on the South bank.

(WEM numbering) #96

(121: James Bond): Artist Oliver Lloyd & Lucy Fleming, sponsored by Lucy Fleming.

#97

#98

More elliephants

It rained most of the day yesterday and Erbie and I were already going stir crazy by 7am this morning - another typical english Summer grey day, so we decided to check out the herd of elephants in Green Park.

I took my usual route down through Soho Square and caught this view of Centre Point unobstructed by buildings whilst Crossrail continues to demolish in the area.

Trafalgar Square was setting up for tonights live relay from the Royal Opera House of the ballet Chroma / Tryst / Symphony in C. The pigeons seemed rather abundant considering the hawk pest control vans were there. Perhaps the pigeons are learning that the hawks are just there to scare and not to kill. The fourth plinth is displaying a rather smashing ship in a bottle.

At this hour in the morning the ducks and geese in St James Park were still asleep on the pathway. We tiptoed past the preening pelicans and headed up to Green Park.

The Mall was bedecked with flags and Buck House had a flag flying too meaning queenie must be home. The posters had changed for Summer with a guide on how to tell the different guards apart by a coloured plume on their bearskins.

Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh guards

Then across the road to elephants a plenty in Green Park.

#66

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#93

and last but not least #94 & #95 on Piccadilly!