JUMBO DISPLAY

Just before the Elephant Parade left London in June, the entire herd were corralled in the grounds of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, where thousands of pachyderm-lovers went to to bid them farewell – including me!

There they were, lined up, row by row...

And here are a few of the those (not previously sighted on this blog) that caught my eye, beginning, appropriately considering the setting for their gathering, with a Chelsea Pensioner Elephant...

There were, amongst the ranks, elephants disguised as other animals...

Birds...

And even bugs...

Not mention, flowers...

Fruit...

And vegetables...

Literary tributes included an elephant covered with quotes from Ian Fleming's James Bond books...

And one for fans of Sherlock Holmes... "It's elephantry, my dear Watson!"

And a particular favourite of mine featuring a hare and moon...

...with, in the eye of the hare, the sign of the Infanta de Castile – the Elephant and Castle...

I even, finally, managed to track down the elusive Cloudia who made her first widely publicised appearance going round on the London Eye and then (presumably with help) moved around town to different locations.

And then it was time to go...

"TAXI!!"

Images: Brian Sibley © 2010. You can visit all the elephants I herded up (284 of them!) on my flickr set, Elephant Parade.