Usually my unicorn is the only horned creature allowed to post on this blog. But, just for this week, he's allowed his real-world cousins the rhinos to take over...
So why are we all here in Exeter? Well, it's the last few days of Paignton Zoo's
Great Big Rhinos Trail, and we're actually quite glad we're city rhinos with the cold winds blowing in from the coast today. There are 16 of us altogether, making 40 along with our brothers and sisters down in Torbay, though we're one short now because poor Paladin could not return to his post in front of Exeter Central station after getting knocked off his plinth by some high-spirited students last week.
We've been very popular with visitors, especially children, so maybe it's no surprise some famous children's authors visited us too. Here they are posing with Finding Faru in Southernhay Gardens... yes, they spotted little Faru!
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| CJ Busby and Sandra Greaves... looking for Faru |
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| Found him! |
One of them even claims to have translated the Latin on neighbouring rhino Cath's scrolls... we'll be giving you a test later!
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| Katherine Roberts with scholarly, golden-horned Cath. |
Quite a few of us have been sponsored by businesses and given plinths in Exeter's shopping centres, where we've been made to feel at home despite the artificial environment:
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| 'All Creatures Great and Small' surrounded by palm trees in Harlequin's shopping centre. |
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Glimpses waiting for a lift in the Guildhall shopping centre
... and doesn't he have the perfect colour scheme? |
You'll also find a couple of us busy shopping outside in Princesshay, and on the corner of Fore Street and Market Street.
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| Symbiosis showing the ox-pecker bird, which keeps our real-life cousins clean. |
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| AquamaRhino (net side) |
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| AquamaRhino (free side)... which side of me do you like best? |
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| Charge... clearly on a mission, heading for the crossroads. |
A lot of people come to Exeter for the shopping, obviously, but you'll also find some of us lurking outside the main tourist spots:
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| Dino Rhino outside the impressive Exeter Cathedral |
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| Castle Seige in the car park at Exeter Castle... seeing double yet? |
And if you fancy a short stroll for a drink by the river on a sunny day, there's still poor hornless Hope (see previous post) spreading her message among the boats and the swans down at the Quay:
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| Hope |
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| Swans (and a few of our other feathered friends) lunching at Exeter Quay |
Back up the hill in the city, proving that both authors and students sometimes come into Exeter to study, there's Maximus keeping watch outside the library:
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Maximus
(showing nearby Crealy Adventure Park for after you've read all the books!) |
with Northernhay Gardens nearby:
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| No rhinos here. This is the war memorial. |
And since most people have to go home eventually, Targeted waits outside Exeter's main St Davids station to see you off:
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| Targeted - the station rhino looking very patriotic in his red, white and blue. |
If you've been counting, you'll notice there's one Exeter rhino missing (apart from poor Paladin!) - our sister Blossom, a bit too far out of the city for an author with girly shoes to see on foot. Also, George and Badak are still away in London and Bristol, so there will be another post soon with the missing rhinos and some of Katherine's favourites to complete the Trail.
See you next week!
