British eccentricities abound!  

Zoological phenomena – first we have London’s Elephant Parade where 250 artists and designers paint and decorate life-sized baby elephants, including Emma Sergeant, Nicky Haslam, India Jane Birley and the lovely Phoebe Dickinson.  These have been auctioned for a charity working to save the Asian elephant from extinction in the wild.  The city has never looked so colourful and it was impossible not smile as one came upon them during the daily routines of life and living in a bustling city; some in unexpected places against the backdrop of the grand and the mundane.   Over £4 million was raised and the auction became the social event of the year.  Check out more details and sign petition on  www.elephantfamily.org

This one was painted by Phoebe Dickinson  who just happens to be a budding young artist.    Each artist was given a bit of a brief as to what to paint and Phoebe was asked to do Impressionism.

Secondly, down near Bath, our most notable eccentric peer, namely the Marquess of Bath -  perhaps best known for his colourful clothes, his portraits of his ‘wifelets’ and his huge murals on the walls of his perfect house – an example of high Elizabethan architecture – namely Longleat – sponsored a public art event in the beautiful Georgian city of Bath.  The lions were modelled on his own pride, (how many of us can say that!) and painted by his Lordship, Sir Peter Blake and many local artists.

So what’s this all about?  Lions and elephants dotted about our country?  Art going on a walkabout bringing smiles as we delve deeper into austere times.   I say, let out all the animals of the ark  . . . . in fibre glass form.