The next day as we manoeuvred the beast that is the Boomobile to leave, we noticed that the entrance to the car-park was now under a foot of water. The swans were expanding their territory as the waters invaded further into the town. Definitely time to leave. “There comes a time in the tide of the affairs of man, which, if taken at the flood, leave you with a very wet motorhome” I think someone once nearly said…..
Luckily, the exit from the car park was at a slightly higher level than the entrance, which was now under a foot of water. We left a sodden Stratford before requiring scuba gear.
Following an inaugural Sainsbury’s shopping visit for Miki in Warwick (inexplicably favouring the supermarket over Warwick castle) we came to rest in a lay by just shy of Twycross, home of the Zoo from my Junior School outing…ah, the memories, the short trousers, the powdered lemonade…
I fondly remember visiting the zoo in my second year of junior school. Founded in 1963 by two remarkable women, Mollie Badham and Natalie Evans, it was already making a name for itself in the late 1960’s, being the home of the famous Brooke Bond PG tips Chimps. I’ll never forget those TV ads, especially the Tour de France one, with the chimp cyclist asking, “Avez-vous un cuppa?”
By all accounts the zoo is still going strong.
Deciding to stay in our lay-by, Miki set up her desk and began painting a series of watercolours, while I rehearsed and read a little.
A cursory glance around our parking area revealed a sign allowing us to park for a maximum of twelve hours. Taking into account our time of arrival, we would have had to leave at 3 in the morning. However, taking into the account that the law in this case was an ass, we would leave whenever the hell we liked, adopting a sort of “rolling clock” system along the lines of: the first time we see a police car, is when the twelve hours start. Simple, when you think about it.
As it turned out, a peaceful night preceded our arrival in Derby on July 28th, for my Dad’s birthday, which I’ll tell you about tomorrow!
Text by Kev Moore
Drawing & Photos by Miki
Both on Planet Goodaboom
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