Let me make a confession here... I LOVE Wallace and Gromit. I love their Englishness, their dry humour, their squidgyness. So when I found out about
Gromit unleashed I was hooked - I wanted to GO THERE and DO THAT!
Plans were made, tweaked and revised. Other stuff got in the way (mainly bees and quilting!) and finally we had a date to go to Bristol and exp..l..o...r....e ....How many Gromits will we find along the way?
This one seems like the perfect place to start in the Gromit Unleashed headquarters opposite Bristol Children's Hospital.
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| "Gizmo" Sir Quentin Blake |
No time to hang about tho'
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| "Canis Major" Katy Christianson |
And if the paint job isnt enough for you...this one comes with additional sound...(sadly the office doors were closed on Sunday so we just gazed longingly through the window)
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| "Bumble Boogie" with additional music courtesy of Jools Holland OBE |
Thank heavens for Sunday retailing....the book shop was open!
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| "Nezahualcoyotl" by Joseph Dunmore |
This one appears with a bit more of a "street" Gromit in the background...
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| "Hero" by Tom Deams |
But perfectly positioned at the head of the docks...
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| "Salty Sea Dog" by Peter Lord |
Still no time to hang around...
Who'd have guessed we'd find a near naked dog in the dockside post office...
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| "A Close Shave" by Harry Hill |
A dog with a snorkel is better equipped for an aquarium location...
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| "Fish Tales" by Jeremy Wade |
A quick peek of high contrasts ....ancient and modern Bristol cheek by jowl...
Just like ancient and modern day industrially inspired Gromits...
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| "Steam dog" by Dan Shearn |
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| "Astro dog" by Ignition DG Ltd |
I'm fairly sure I've seen something like this logo somewhere else recently........
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| "Gromit-o-matic" by Donough O'Malley |
I did tell you I loved Gromit's Britishness....
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| "Jack" by Martin Band |
Here's some very British architecture too....
That's a great walk we've already completed this morning... so its not so much "Where's Wally?" as much as "where's Lunch mum?"
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| "Where's Wallace?" Martin Handford |
Flowers and fountains in the City centre - the perfect location for an impromptu picnic...
Off we go again... this time along the other side of the docks...
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| "Hound dog" Sir Peter Blake |
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"Zodiac" by Inkie
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Two for the price of one at the M shed...
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| "National Treasure" by The National Mint |
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| "Watch out Gromit" by Gerard Scarfe OBE |
Yes, he really was covered in penny coins!
Then just outside we found the local scooter enthusiasts were meeting up prior to their Sunday morning drive...better take a couple of photos for my favourite biking quilter...( yes CB I'm thinking of you!)
From bikes to sailing boats....an appropriately named and homed Gromit aboard a replica of "the Matthew"
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| "NewFoundLand" by One Red Shoe |
A bit more proof that a lot of Bristol docks is not a historic replica but a working boatyard...
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| "Being Gromit Malkovich" by Thomas Dowdeswell |
Onward now to the Ardman studio, their Gromit covered with "Well I never knew that facts....."
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| "Stats the way to do it, Lad!" by Gavin Strange |
Sadly we couldn't get in to look around so I had to content myself by pushing my nose up to the window, it certainly looks like a super FUN place to work....
Meanwhile further on down the river....
We found inspiration for an album title and then...
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| "Gromberry" by Itec |
Then there was the steep, StEep, STEEP hill all the way up to Clifton....
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| "Grant's Gromit" Osborne Clarke |
Wow......look at the view.....
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| "Ship Shape and Bristol Fashion" by Sarah Matthews |
One last glimpse of the panorama and we're off again .......
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| "Sugar Plum" by Celia Birtwell CBE |
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| ""Sheepdog" by Richard "Golly" Starzak |
"Patch" by Emily Golden should have been here - but sadly local yobs had got to him first :(
Thankfully ....."TutanGromit" and his exquisitely decorated toes were safely tucked away inside the Bristol City Museum....
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| "TutanGromit" by Brewin Dolphin |
At Last! Gromit with his constant and most faithful companion...
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| "Newshound" by Nick Park CBE |
From one hero to another....
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| "Sir Gromit of Bristol" by Ian Marlow |
From armour cladding to a coating of inspring poetry...
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| "Poetry in motion" by Joanna Lumley OBE |
and a Big "Hurrah" for Bristol City children's library - open for a half day on Sundays!
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| "The Grommalo" by Axel Scheffler |
If only we had time to sit and read a story....but no ....ever onwards.....
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| "The King" by Stephen Mckay |
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| "Carosello" by Giuliano Carapia |
We were running out of time and had already missed a couple of Grommits who had been packed away early (this is my one grumble to the organisers . why oh why did you have to start packing them away so early? so elected not to try to cross the river to get to....
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| "What a wind up!" by Trevor Baylis OBE |
We nearly gave up trying to find....
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| "Collarful" by Hannah Cumming |
Which was very well hidden (not!) in Castle Park, as was
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| "Grommitasaurus" by Huncan Daskell |
In the nearby shopping centre
We were seriously flagging by the time we found...
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| "Malago" by Dan Collings |
Thank fully he had some friends not far away....
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| "Lancelot" by sir Paul Smith |
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| "Grosmos" by Cheba |
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| "Doodles" by Simon Tofield |
But we may well have inadvertently left the best till last...
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| "Gromit Lightyear" by Pixar |
Phew!
We were shattered but quietly elated
45 sites visited and 40 gromits found ( thats my final whinge because we really did have a GRAND day out discovering Bristol !!!
Cracking lass - now are you sure Patch didn't find his way into one of your ruck sacks?!!!! So glad you all had a 'Grand Day Out' , and so very pleased none of the boys were in the 'Wrong Trousers' !!! :)
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