All Creatures Great and Small

J finished work on the Thursday, so on Friday we offered to take M to Bristol Zoo. It was a small zoo, so mostly small animals, but they pack a lot into the area and it was very nicely done on the whole. The only animal that concerned me was a cat that appeared to have very little space and was doing that pacing too and fro that often indicates boredom and mental illness in zoo animals. The most impressive for me were the gorillas. There was a family group of a big silverback, a female, a young male and a baby. Those apes are huge! Another nicely done display was an empty house with rats, mice and spiders all through it. J and M were less keen on this but it was a great set-up. Check your microwaves, folks. M had a good time looking at various animals and playing on the slides and whatnot. She even ran into a school friend so got to play with her for a while. There were almost tears when she got 'carpet burn' on the inflatable slide, but she was brave. (Click on the link above for more photos.)

The Harbour Festival was supposed to have started on the Saturday, but when we went for our walk we found it in full swing. There were French and Italian food stalls in the park across the harbour from us, street theatre nearby, and Toots and the Maytells were playing in the amphitheatre. Somehow the harbour had filled up with ships in between our walks and there were tall ships, narrowboats, wideboats, pleasure cruisers, motor launches and so on crammed up against every dock, pier and wharf. It was quite an impressive sight. We listened to Toots for a while then headed home through the very large crowds. It seemed like a Saturday. You know how it is when you have a long weekend? You seem to get a Saturday and two Sundays, especially if there is a hangover in there anywhere.