Taking time out ...

Every so often, a bear maker needs a change of scenery and a little fun, so last Thursday was party night for this ol' bear maker!  Stuart and I enjoyed a terrific evening out at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon, as Jools Holland and his fabulous Rhythm and Blues orchestra treated us to an evening of boogie-woogie, blues, jazz and amazing singers (Ruby Turner in particular was magnificent ... what a voice!)  I swear there wasn't an untapped foot in the theatre that night!  If you can get hold of tickets, treat yourself to one of the best nights out in town ... you really won't be disappointed!  www.joolsholland.com

And yesterday we spent a rather chilly Sunday at Howletts Zoo Park in Bekesbourne with Stuart's grandson ... (where did our lovely sunshine go?!)  Despite the unseasonal cold we had a heap of fun and our little man was very excited when he found the tigers, elephants and rhinos he had been hoping for.  There's something very special about watching a five year old enjoy these rare creatures!

The magnificent Djala

 As for me, I was bowled over by the handsome silverback gorilla Djala, who was in majestic and exceptionally powerful form, thundering around the gorilla house enthralling his audience!

Djala, what a beefcake!

And being something of an old dinosaur himself, Stuart was of course, naturally drawn to the rhinos!

From one ol' dinosaur to another ...

We walked with lemurs ...

... admired the effilants ...

"Hey, do you think my bum looks big in this?"

... and occasionally got lost!

As you can imagine, with all the fresh air and exercise at the zoo yesterday and my boogie-woogie fun on Thursday night, I'm quite a sleepy bear maker today.  There's still so much to do for next Sunday's bear show in Stratford, so I can't put my feet up yet, instead I must plough on with my bearmaking this week, or I'll never be ready in time ... yawn!

If you would like to visit Howletts Zoo Park, please check out their website below for full details:
Howletts