SELIGOR'S CASTLE INVITES YOU TO THE ALPHA ZOO

A's for the Antelope always on view
which Algernon saw when he went to the zoo.

B was the Bear that came up at a run
when Benjamin threw him a very nice bun.

C's for the Camel; "poor thing what a lump!"
was what Caroline said when she looked at his hump.

D's for the Deer with the soft pretty eyes;
Dodie found them so tame she had quite a surprise.

E was the Elephant: sixpence a ride,
but Eric soon found that you can't sit astride.

F was the Fox, very crafty and sly.
watching Frank from his den with a cunning old eye.

G's the Giraffe which made Geraldine smile:
she was sure with his neck he could see quite a mile.

H was the Hippo asleep in his pool.
Harry thought it an excellent way to keep cool.

I was the Ibex, a kind of wild goat
Ida though his horns nasty, but liked his fine coat.

J was a Jaguar, like a big cat.
But Jane didn't think she would like him to pat!

K was the Kangaroo off with a bound;
A fine way thought Ken to get over the ground.

L's for the Lions; they made such a fierce noise
Laura wished she were safely at home with the boys.

M's for the Monkeys, all patter and chatter,
But Michael couldn't tell what on earth was the matter.

N's for a Nilgai which jumped off a rock:
He took such a leap that Nell had quite a shock.

O's for the Ostrich a wise-looking bird
but Ophelia remembered the tales she had heard.

P's for the Parrots that had lots to say
and tried to peck Paul as he passed by their way.

Q's for the Quagga which Quentin found tame;
he is  quite like a Zebra with stripes and a mane.

R is the Rhino, a fierce looking beast;
Rosie watched him with awe in the midst of a feast.

S is the snake which Suzanne found asleep;
He was shiny and slimy and made her flesh creep.

T's for the tigers that gave Tim a fright;
He was horribly scared lest they got out at night.

for U (that's the Unicorn) nobody looks;
As Una can tell you, he's only in books.

V's for the Vulture, a big bird of prey.
Victoria she saw him - and soon ran away.

W's for the Wolf lying flat on the ground,
Though when William can near he was up with a bound.

X just looks on and has nothing to do:
There's no creature that claims him throughout the whole zoo.

Y is the Yak; he's worthy of note;
Yvonne was amazed at his long shaggy coat.

Z's fot the Zebra that kept Zoe so busy

She counted his stripes till she felt she was dizzy.

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        Charlie was a young Chimpanzee, he lived with his best friend Co-co the clown at Chigley’s Circus and had been there since he was very young.
He had been bought over to this country when his parents went missing after their trees were cut down.
Charlie didn't remember much about the place he was born but Co-co made him happy and there was always something to do;
he helped the clowns with their circus act, mending the ropes and buckets if they got bent or broken. He had his own special little car;
it was red with green bumpers and black leather seats and a little horn that went toot, toot when he pressed it, which he did a lot of times when he was being chased by the clowns.

Charlie would drive round the edge of the arena in the big top with the clowns chasing after him; of course they would never catch him, but they used to pretend to throw buckets of water over him, thebuckets were really full of coloured paper and when the clowns missed Charlie, and the water looked like it was going to soak the children in the front row, they would scream, then laugh as they realised they weren’t going to get wet after all.

As I said  Co-co was Charlie’s best friend, they had a lovely little caravan that they shared, Co-co had one half, well three quarters really and Charlie had the other quarter, they took it in turns to keep it nice and clean. Charlie had his own little bed and wardrobe with all his tiny suits and hats hanging up on coat hangers, to keep them neat and tidy for the shows. Co-co and Charlie did everything together and Charlie loved Co-co and the Circus so very much.

One of Charlie’s favourite jobs was helping Co-co wash the elephants down on a Saturday morning, they both ended up half drowned but it was better than going swimming and they laughed and laughed.

Charlie was beginning to feel really excited. It was time for the circus to move to a new town and this weekend they were off to Chester. Charlie had never been to Chester before but he knew it was not far from Wrexham, and they had been there last year and Co-co had seen the signposts but what Charlie didn’t know, was that going to Chester was going to be the start of one of the greatest adventures of his life.

    They arrived at the site early the following morning the Council had given Mr. Chigley permission to put up the tents in the big field by the river Dee. There was a hustle and a bustle from the time they arrived and it was the policy of the circus to always ask for the help of the local people in putting up the Big Top and the smaller tents that were needed for the different venues.
Charlie was sat on top of a big barrel, he had a huge smile on his face, it was so exciting. He was watching two of the local men unwinding the ropes ready to be attached to the Big Top; this was the tent that the clowns and Charlie did their act . men had been working very hard and had just sat down to have their tea and biscuits.“ Phew.” said Trevor. “I never realised these ropes could be so heavy, I’m quite shattered.”
he added.

They carried on working for a while and then Bert took out his flask and poured another cup of tea.
"That's almost it .Trevor." Bert said as he took a biscuit and dipped it in his tea, "and to think still have that jungle to sort out before can come to the show tonight."
Charlie almost fell off the barrel, did the man, Bert know where the lived long ago?
Poor Charlie, he didn't really stop to think what he was thinking.
All could see his mind was a huge forest full lions and tigers and course chimpanzee's.
Maybe just maybe his mum and dad had managed to hide from the bad men and stayed in the jungle. Maybe they were still there    ..... always maybe.

Poor Charlie he really was in a terrible state.
Charlie sat back down on the barrel and watched the men working all the time his little mind trying to work out if he should follow Bert when he left the circus.
"What if he got lost? What if Coco missed him and found another best friend to live with him in the caravan? Oh dear it was a very, very difficult decision to make."
Somewhere a clock chimed twelve o'clock and Bert and Trevor put their ropes down and began to collect their belonging together.
Well that's me Bert, I'm off to watch the match on the telly, I don't envy you in this heat, having to do all cut all that grass and stuff. Still if you really get stuck in, you should be finished for tonight."
Trevor smiled and threw his rucksack over his shoulder, "See you tonight then." He patted Bert on his back and walked off down along the riverside path under the bridge.
"Aye I'll be there, it wont take that long once I get rid of the deep undergrowth and get big Bertha on it,"
He said to Charlie who was just sitting there watching as Bert got his stuff together.
"What do you think, my little mate. I guess you wouldn't mind staying  with me whilst I do it either, I bet it's a long time since you climbed trees if ever?" Bert walked over to the barrel and gave  Charlie a  tickle under his chin,
 Charlie looked up at Bert and took the piece of biscuit he held out for him.
"Well it's no good young un, if I want to come and see you perform tonight I shall have to get on or the Missus will have a fit." And with this Bert turned around and started to walk up the river path but away from the Race Course not towards it as Trevor had done.
Charlie made his decision and without another thought jumped off the barrel and started to follow Bert up the path. After what seemed ages and with the trees becoming thicker on both sides of the path , they at last came to a long fence. Charlie watched as Bert stopped and then vanish through a tall gate. Before he had time to get through the gate banged to and Charlie was left outside. Looking up he could easily have climbed the fence but he wasn't sure what might be lurking on the other side and so he made his way to  a small gap in the fence and with a bit of a squeeze and a lot of breathing in Charlie made it through the hole and into the jungle.
    The chimpanzee crouched down in the small gap the other side of the fence, it had obviously been used by some sort of animal before because a small track wound its way through the dense undergrowth. Charlie sat thinking what he should do next before eventually following the track, so on all fours he made his way deeper into the tunnel of nettles and couche grass.
His back was beginning to ache so he stopped and took a step backwards to see if he could see over the top, he tried to jump up and landed pretty awkward on his back leg making him topple to one side.
"Hey, do you mind being  a bit more careful where you put your scrawney foot." someone shouted up from down below.
"Oh gosh I am so sorry, I didn't see you down there." Charlie looked by his foot and shook his head.
"I really am sorry but I still can't see you down there."
"And you wont unless you come down to my level," the voice answered him. He felt a tugging on his trousers. "Trousers, what kind of animal wears trousers," the creature said as its nose poked out and sniffed Charlies leg. "Oh your a monkey," the hedgehog spoke again.
"No I'm not, my name is Charlie and I'm a chimpanzee and you are a hedgehog." Charlie answered quite indignantly.
"Whatever," the hedgehog said, "My name is Clarence, what brings you to this neck of the jungle?"
Charlie felt his heart flutter at the mention of the jungle.
Maybe Clarence might be able to help him.
"I've come to look for my mother and father, the man Bert said he was coming to clean up the jungle and I thought I might find them here."Clarence began to laugh, he rolled himself up into a ball,rolled around a bit and kept popping out still laughing.
"I am sorry, so sorry." Clarence said unwinding himself and coming  up for air.
"You have come here to look for your parents. How long is it since you seen them?"
Charlie frowned, he felt like crying. What right had this horrible creature got to laugh at him wanting to find his mum and dad, it wasn't funny at all.
"I am so glad you think it's funny, but how would you like it if you had never see your parents, at least I don't think  I have, but I don't remember but I do know it's not as funny as all that?"
A small tear ran down Charlies cheek, he brushed it away with his paw and shook his head as if trying to forget what Clarence said.
"I'm sorry." Clarence said "I didn' mean to upset , but thing is....
Just at that moment there was a loud noise a helicopter going over head but it was somewhere jungle not air.
Clarence forgot about laughing and was already waking said, - "Sorry again mate but I can' stay around to help sort you out, that sounds like enemy at door. lost my sister and brother to one of them, 'm off to find a good hiding place." Clarence turned and without another word was gone, off track and towards a big tree.

sat down underneath long branches, that were covered with apples and leaned against the trunk breathing heavy, little heart was still beating like a tin drum.

     "Oh why did I come?" asked himself. "Why did leave Co-co and circus, so many things I should have thought , and now here I am trapped a jungle with a monster and t know how to get out?"

The cat said giving herself   a wash as she spoke.
"Well yes I should," Charlie answered in between his sobs, "but I came to look for my mum and dad, and all I've found is a very rude hedgehog, a monster and you."
"Well what do you expect in a garden in Chester, elephants and tigers an leopards, I don't really think so bachgen. I know where near the Welsh border and we may have the few odd dragons but we are nowhere near Africa my lovely." Gwenllian purred.
"Look you here, my name is Gwenllian and this is the back garden of Bert
Jones who is not into keeping the garden in check." She jumped down from the branch and rubbed her head against Charlie's legs, trousers and all.
"The thing is what are we going to do with you now, there is no way you will find your mum and dad here, not in Chester, not today, not any day really."

"I think I know that now, my name is Charlie  by the way and I am pleased to  meet you Gwenl, gwenll...."

"Don't bother with that, Gwen will do, the thing is we must get you out of here before Bert gets over here with the lawn mower, Monster to you." She smiled and Charlie smiled back at her.
"Thankyou so much, it must be getting late and Co-co will be wondering where I am, and who will drive my little car, and, and...", poor Charlie the tears came again.
"Come on, no more tears follow me." And Gwenllian was off up the path, all the time the roar of the motor followed them.

But when she looked up Charlie was away down the path, heading towards the Circus and his Co-co.
    When he arrived back Co-co was sitting on the top step of the caravan looking very worried in deed, as soon as he saw Charlie his face lit up and he rushed towards him , picking him up and giving him a huge hug.
"Oh Charlie, Charlie where have you been, I've been looking for you every where? Never mind, not to worry, your here now and that's all that matters."
He rushed Charlie into the caravan and got him into his costume for his show. "Oh Charlie please don't leave me again I would be lost without ?"

The show was ready to start, the ringmaster clowns were just getting ready to do there bit. Charlie peeped through curtain and there, sat in corner by the front row was Gwenllian, she was wearing her new diamond bracelet.She looked so beautiful.
Bert and Trevor were there with their children and everybody had a wonderful time. Charlie was so happy riding around the ring, hearing the children laughing, it was good to be back home and he vowed he would never leave Co-co again.......

Well maybe if they went to a real jungle, he just might!!!

Charlie from Seligor's Castle wants you to meet someone special.

JOSEPH GRIMALDI
1778-1837

Joseph Grimaldi was 3 years old when he first went on the stage of Sadler's Wells with his father and worked there for 45 years as performer and part-proprietor. From his debut in 1806 at Covent Garden in Mother Goose he was adored by all and could fill a theatre anywhere. The name Joey has passed into our language to mean a clown. He lived all his life among the people of Clerkenwell and died at 33 Southampton Street, now called Calshot Street. Islington Council has called the park in which he lies buried the Joseph Grimaldi Park to commemoratea great artist and a great man.

There was a special performance held in 2006 based on the life of the Great Joeseph Grimaldi. Do you know that many, many clowns have makeup that is their trade mark. It is registered and no other clown is allowed to wear his or her style of make up.

Following the clown's show you are invited to a special opening of the Clowns Gallery - Museum.
This is the UK's only museum dedicated to clowns and their history.
It is normally open just once a month - on the first Friday (from 12 noon to 5pm)
(special arrangements can be made for group visits at other times)
The address is: All Saints Centre, Haggerston Road, Hackney, London E8 4HT
(Tube: Liverpool Street, then bus 149 or 242; map)
It is just a few minutes' walk from Holy Trinity Church to the Clowns Gallery.

 

 

You may want to combine a visit to the Clowns Gallery with a visit to two other nearby museums:
- Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, London E2 9PA: http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/nmc (map)
- Geffrye Museum, Kingsland Road, London E2 8EA: http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk (map)

Clowns International (the organisers of this event): http://www.clowns-international.co.uk.

Theodora Children's Trust: http://www.theodora.org.uk. This is a clown doctor programme, bringing fun and laughter to children in hospital. This important service is provided by a charity (donations are welcomed).

  Thank you so much for letting me use these facts, excellent

      Thank you