The zebras have come to town!

12 July 2016

One sunny lunchtime in 2013, I sat in the park with a coffee and spotted what looked like a horse in a high vis jacket at the end of the path on Above Bar. The horse turned out to be a rhino. A summer of wandering around the city hunting these colourful beasts had begun. When they left, Southampton seemed a very empty and colourless place for a while and lunchtimes felt very dull. Late last year I learned there would be a new hunt this summer, not rhinos this time but zebras. Today, the zebras came to town!

Although the official hunt doesn’t begin until Saturday, we heard there would be a zebra parade through the city centre this lunchtime. Of course CJ and I couldn’t wait to see them so we took a walk into town. Our first port of call was Marland’s to pick up a takeaway coffee. We were a little early for the start of the parade but we wandered up towards the benches just outside Palmerston Park thinking we might get a good view there.

In fact the Marwell truck followed by three huge lorries came up the road while we were still walking up Above Bar. We chased them to the corner, fishing around in pockets for phones to take photos as we ran. We missed them. Luckily, they were doing two loops of the city centre so we sat on a bench and I tried to find a map of the route. As it was, I didn’t need one because, while I was looking, the first truck appeared again. They must have made a loop around the Civic Centre roundabout. My fancy camera came out and we moved to the corner just in time to snap the lead truck as it passed.

It seemed fitting that Gilbert, the zebra used to promote the trail, should be alone in that first truck. He very nearly wasn’t part of the trail at all because, back in May, he was stolen. A huge and unscheduled zebra hunt began. Why someone would want to steal something so large and conspicuous is a mystery, especially as the zebras are going to be auctioned off for charity at the end of the trail. It didn’t feel like a good start for the Zany Zebras. Thankfully, Gibert was found in a back garden in Shirley. From where we were standing he looked unscathed by his kidnapping.

The massive lorries behind Gilbert’s truck got stuck at the traffic lights so we had ample opportunity for photos. It isn’t every day you see a herd of zebra on the back of a truck driving through the city centre and we were not alone on the corner. In fact quite a crowd had gathered. Beside me was the Echo reporter, at least I think that’s who he was, he had a fancy pants camera too with a long lens and he looked very official.

When the lights changed the line of trucks slowly edged towards us. At one point it felt as if we were the ones being watched as the two zebra at the front of the truck seemed to be looking right at us. When the truck had turned, a row of brightly coloured beasts paraded in front of our eyes.

The second truck passed in much the same way and then the third. Finally, the last truck, followed by a zebra striped Marwell van slowly drove away down Above Bar. The show was over, at least for the moment.

Back in 2013 I missed my chance to see all the rhinos together. Before the event started they were kept in the warehouse we used to store things for the ship. Howard, who spent half his life there, saw them every day but didn’t think to mention it until the trail was underway. There was a parade then too, but I didn’t know until it was over. This time we’d had a wonderful sneak preview of all the zebras but I couldn’t help thinking back to the rhinos, the surprise of that first view in the park and the wonder of seeing each one for the first time. Would seeing all the Zany Zebras en mass spoil the trail a little?

We’d seen them now though and they couldn’t be unseen so we decided to walk down to Bargate to see if we could get another look. This was mostly because I thought the trucks laden with Zany Zebras against the backdrop of the iconic city gate would make for better photos. Of course, I’d forgotten the Bargate is still shrouded in scaffolding and blue mesh. Still, the sentiment was there.

There were a few people standing around by the crossing with cameras who obviously had the same idea. A man came up to me and asked, “what is everyone waiting for? Is something going to happen?”
“A zebra parade is coming past in a minute,” I said, feeling that was probably explaination enough since the Zany Zebra Trail has been on the news an in the papers since last year.
“What, real zebras?” he said, looking shocked. Either he was from out of town or he’s been living under a rock for the last six months.

By the time I’d explained I could see colourful zebras reflected in the window of a bus parked around the corner by Burger King. They were back. When I looked at the photo I took of Gilbert in the lead truck coming round the corner something about the stripes on the fascia of Poundland and the men crossing the road in step put me in mind of the cover of the Beatles Abbey Road album.

The passenger in the lead truck gave us a thumbs up as he passed and we got a wave from the Wave 105 car behind. Then it was a reprise of the previous viewing without the traffic lights and with a far better backdrop, even if it was hidden by scaffolding.

When the last van had passed I looked up at the Bargate. Through the blue mesh I could see a white boiler suited workman peering out. He’d been watching the whole parade. Now that would have been a wonderful vantage point.

So that was it, our first zebra sightings. The parade was over and the streets had returned to normal. Well, as normal as they can be with the symbol of the city hidden behind blue mesh and a giant black building topped by cranes slowly growing at the end of the street. Even without the zebras, Southampton is never dull for sure.

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