Baby rhinos and a baby prince – first published 22 July 2013

The day little Prince George was born I discovered there were way more rhinos to find than I thought. My original research and the map told me there were thirty six. Then I downloaded an app for my iPhone and discovered there were baby rhinos too. These were not exactly in plain sight either, but hidden in shops and cafes. All of the sudden the rhino safari looked a great deal harder than I’d bargained for. There was only one thing to do, get out there hunting for them.

22 July 2013

When I left the house this morning it was like walking into a sauna. There were people waiting at the bus stop, telling me a bus was due. I confess, I would have caught it, I even opened my bag and got my purse out, but there were not enough coins to make up the £2 bus fare so I had no choice but to walk. My water bottle, rattling with ice, was in my hand, it was a slow, lethargic walk down to the river and, by the time I got the the bridge, the ice had already melted.

The blackberries are coming on nicely on the river path but at this rate they’ll be cooked before they’re ripe. In a vain attempt to keep cool I stuck as close to the river as I could, walking the shady grassy embankment rather than the road. There’s a new boat moored up by the skeleton ship. It looks in fairly good condition so I hope it hasn’t been abandoned to rot away there. There are far too many along this stretch of river as it is, makes me wonder how someone can abandon something as expensive as a boat?

When I came to the gate near the end of the embankment I reluctantly left the shade. Before I did I took a quick photo of the river, just as a seagull flew in front of me. How I envied that seagull, soaring on the thermals above the river, it must be cooler up there with the air rushing all around him. Once I’d climbed the steps back up onto the road it was certainly hotter.

All my water had gone long before I got to the office. My first job was to take more photos of the new COO. He still wasn’t happy with the ones I took on Friday. Again he spent quite some time in the gents sprucing himself up and he’d bought a rather snazzy jacket with him this time. Almost twenty attempts later we had one he was happy with, it didn’t look much different to all the others to me but I do understand how tough it is to find a photo of yourself you can bear to look at or have published. We are all our own worst critics.

Arabella was in, although she was late, delayed by an accident on the M3. She was ensconced with the new COO more or less all day, going through her long list now she had him trapped in his office. Everything on my own long list for Arabella is remains a job for tomorrow, if I can catch her. With Arabella otherwise occupied I did at least get a lunch break. Another chance to find rhinos. The next one was tough. The map only shows the general area and it looked like it was close to the Arcades but I couldn’t quite work out where. I found myself wandering off of Bugle Street into a tiny close I’d not known existed until that moment. There were old walls here I’d never seen before, despite all my walking of them. At first I couldn’t see a rhino but, when I turned the corner to get a better look at an unfamiliar tower the bright pink rhino finally came into view.

The tower was part of Westgate and the long building beside it Westgate Hall which once belonged to a Tudor merchant. I’ve seen Westgate before but not from the back and I’d never seen the plaque telling me all about Walter Taylor and his son, another Walter (that must have been confusing) mechanical engineers who invented ‘Things of great importance to the Royal Navy.’ Quite what they were was unspecified, perhaps they were official secrets but, as this all went on in the eighteenth century, I should think they could tell us now.

The rhino was called Fleur and she was otherwise engaged by the time I got close to her. A bride and groom were having their photos taken with her which did seem a rather odd thing to be doing on your wedding day but who am I to say? They were Polish, Southampton is home to a great many Polish immigrants so that was no real surprise. As I watched, the bridesmaid, a woman of about the bride’s age, came around the corner and climbed onto the rhino to have her photo taken. Maybe her English wasn’t good or she didn’t see the signs saying not to climb on them. A shout went up from one of the nearby houses, “you’re not allowed to climb on those, get off at once!” The locals are obviously very protective of the rhinos and rightly so. The bridesmaid got down, but not before her photo was taken I noticed.

They all left after that and it was my turn to take a photo. Fleur, as her name suggests, is a flowery rhino. Painted by Rosalind Hargreaves who specialises in showing the beauty of the natural landscape alongside the man made. She did a good job with Fleur and that pink is certainly eye catching. Wild in Art sponsor her, along with quite a few other rhinos I’ve seen so far.

With my photo taken, I stood back to let another woman take hers. Photographing rhinos is something you have to queue for it seems. Before I went back to work I wanted to explore this new area. The hall is a fifteenth century timber framed building that originally stood on St Michael’s square a little distance away. The upper story was used to store woollen cloth while the lower was used as a fish market, probably not the best of combinations. I imagine the cloth stank a bit but maybe no one minded back then. The Heritage Lottery fund restored and moved the delilapidated building and it’s now used for civil marriages, which explains the bride and groom. Beside the hall the most beautiful little garden makes a good backdrop for wedding photos, although I don’t know how a rhino would be explained in years to come.

There were steps leading up onto the walls and, despite the humidity, I couldn’t resist climbing them. The view was perfect and worth the climb, looking over the hall with the glass pyramid of the Grand DeVere hotel and the roof of the Quays swimming pool as a backdrop. It also helped me get my bearings. Along the walkway there were iron gratings and looking down I found myself looking at the Arcades from above. I’d like to have stayed longer but work called. Still it’s another nice place to wander when I have more time.

Dock Rhino, the next on the list, was supposed to be just below the arcades. As it was nearby I walked down to the road and, strolling in the sun along the ancient shore line opposite the reclaimed land of the docks, I spotted an orange rump. The rhino seemed to be looking at the glass pyramid of the Grand DeVere Hotel. This row of arches stretching up Western Esplanade towards the WestQuay shopping centre are the only machicolated arcades in England.

After a raid by the French in 1338 the king, Edward III, wanted a wall built to keep those pesky Frenchies out. There was a problem with this because rich merchants already had their houses and warehouses along the shore front and kicked up a bit of a fuss. In the end they couldn’t hold out against a direct order from the king but a compromise was reached. The wall was built but the houses and warehouses were incorporated into it. If you stand back from the wall and look closely you can still see where doors and windows were bricked up. Unfortunately I didn’t so you’ll have to take my word for it.

Dock rhino is sponsored by Associated British Ports and DP World, a marine logistics company. He stands on the wide pavement that would once have been sea. Right in front of him is the roundabout where dock traffic, ferry traffic and shoppers driving to Ikea or Central Station converge. Orange and black, he depicts the cranes and cargo of the docks and he reminded me of my winter walks to work where the orange light of dawn illuminated the cranes and turned them into dinosaurs. The rhinos being lifted by cranes made me smile.

Local artist Martin Davey created Dock Rhino. To Martin the huge cranes seem like giant walking robots which is not so far from my own thoughts. Martin creates digital illisustrations for games, books and TV, mostly aimed at children. He also paints in oils on canvas and, looking at his website, I found myself seeing many familiar local scenes. Maybe he’s been following me about on my walks.

Yesterday I downloaded the Go Rhinos iPhone app. There are more rhinos than I thought and the app shows them all, although not their exact positions. The ones I didn’t know about are all baby rhinos, made by schools and hidden in shops. Suddenly this all seems like it’s going to take longer than I thought. On the way back to work I found two baby rhinos in a shop called Oceans. It’s an odd little place, nostalgic tearooms, gift shop, luggage store for cruise passengers and an exhibition, mostly about the Titanic as far as I could see. It was quite crowded so I ducked inside and took a quick snap of Seamore, the baby rhino right inside the door. He was painted by the artist group at Testwood Sports College. The pupils, aged eleven to sixteen, came up with a sea themed design to represent the city’s dock heritage and each one painted a sea creature. For some reason he seems to be wearing diving goggles and a nose clip.

The baby rhino in the window is called Born Survivor and he was painted by the art students at Southampton City College. He’s a tangle of rain forest leaves with a target on his back, symbolising the rhino’s plight in the wild, the target shows he is in danger and the camouflaging leaves protect him. As the humidity is a bit like a rain forest here right now at 70-90% in the evenings, he should fit right in. Student, Dean Harrison designed him and he was painted by Louise Johnson, Melissa Widgery and Molly McDermott.

Across the road I thought I spotted another baby rhino in the window of a shop called Biltong and Bangers, selling South African foods. South African food is a mystery to me although I love North African food so it’s worth a try. First I tried to take a photo through the shop window but the position of the sun meant I just got a photo of my own reflection so I went inside. My next photo wasn’t the best to be honest because the shop was quite dark but it’s a rather beautiful rhino called African Sunset. Painted by Katherine Tweed of the Clere School and Technology College as part of her GCSE Art project the theme is forces of nature. I’m pretty sure she’ll pass her exams with flying colours. The animals against an African sunset show the beauty and drama of the rhino’s diminishing domain.

Just as I was about to post this blog the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s baby son was announced so I thought I’d mention it. Despite my love of history, I’m not a passionate royalist but I guess the birth of a new heir to the throne should not go unremarked. As the law was recently changed to allow female heirs to accede to the throne in future I thought it would be a girl and my money (if I’d been a betting person), would have been on another Victoria. For those of you who don’t know about the British line of succession, this tiny eight and a half pound baby is the son and heir of Prince William, who is in turn the son and heir of Prince Charles, the direct heir of Queen Elizabeth. Given how long our royals live I doubt I will see him become king.