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Time on Jersey falls away like change through the hole in my jeans pocket. It’s easy to forget that its passing until you look back and see all the money you’ve lost. In this leg shaking, coin scattering year, April and May are the feeling you get as you stand making small chat with your not-altogether-unattractive neighbour and receive that sudden, cold, momentarily baffling (and yet strangely intriguing…) feeling that accompanies your coins fall into the trouser leg abyss. Concentrating on maintaining a grasp on the conversation whilst guiding said coin to the sanctity of ones shoe with a combination of cunningly disguised leg shakes and trouser hoists can be tricky, but I assure you, it can be successfully achieved. The key is not to attempt aforementioned manoeuvre with one’s hands in ones pockets. This kind of pocket jiggery-pokery could easily be misconstrued. In fact, for best results, I can recommend keeping hands raised well above your waist line and employing them in an exaggerated gesturing role, distracting said neighbour from the Ricky Martin movements taking place below the belt line.
Where was I?
Oh yes. The zoo.
Most zoo’s around the world attract the interested Joe Bloggs on the street
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Attacker approaches from behind...with exhibits that consist largely of animals. It is rare that you find a zoo that does not use animals as a marketing tool in its efforts to attract the soft toy consuming public to its over priced cafes that serve food they literally wouldn’t feed to animals.
However, Jersey zoo is different. Yes, it still contains a mind boggling array of representatives from the animal kingdom; and yes, the shop does have an exceptional number of foam stuffed, animal shaped products, but that is largely where the comparison ends.
Jersey zoo has a reasonable café. Take it in. Believe it.
Nowhere have I experienced or even seen a piece of Chocolate Brownie as large, soft and perfectly… “melty” as I have at the Dodo Café, Jersey zoo. To all the staff there: you’re a credit to the baked goods industry.
Vikki has just read the above rant and was not impressed. Apparently the first part doesn’t make sense and I shouldn’t call it Jersey Zoo “because they don’t like it”.
You see, the secret of the zoo’s success is not just in its bakery but is bound into the places entire ethos. It doesn’t like to be called a
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SIT ON THAT MEAN FECKER TIL HE BEGS FOR MERCY. zoo because it’s correct title is “The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust”. Now, I don’t know about you but I think this Durrell must be a little of an exhibitionist and somewhat of a big head to open a park dedicated to his own conservation.
Sure enough, just next to the Silverback Gorilla enclosure, before you reach the Wallabies, there’s a small enclosure with the world’s only captive Durrell in it. It has to be said that I didn’t find this to be the most riveting exhibit. The fully grown adult male Durrell is a bit long in the tooth and spends his time walking in circles, nodding his head and mumbling about “this one time, in Africa”. Big signs tell you not to tap on the glass or throw in food, but apparently, back in 1985, a small boy fell into the enclosure. Everybody feared for the clumsy, unconscious child as a large male Durrell lolloped towards him. But, much to the surprise (and I suspect disappointment) of the horrified crowd, no harm came of the child as the Durrell brought him a cup of Earl Grey and a finger of shortbread while the keepers and medics rushed to the
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When he's close to the end, stick your feet in his face. Poo! scene.
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Tartanbroon
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Good job! Pip Pip. Glad to see the Meerkats figure in your lives too.