Elephants Invade London!

Posted by Gigi on Jun 22, 2010 in News | 0 comments

If you’ve been anywhere in central London over the past few weeks, chances are you will have seen the life-size elephant statues that have appeared all over town. In case you’ve been wondering what brought these brightly painted elephants to our great city, let me enlighten you.

Elephants enjoy a break in Green Park.

The Elephant Parade is an art-based conservation campaign to highlight the rapidly dwindling numbers of Asian elephants in the wild. In other words, these lovely creatures – each painted by a different artist – are here to raise awareness as well as funds to help preserve the animal’s natural habitat.

For several weeks, elephants have been scattered throughout the city. A herd of the multicoloured beasts found shelter in the peaceful surroundings of Green Park, while others nestled snugly between shop-fronts on Regent Street. There was even a throng of elephants congregating near Tower Bridge, and a crystal-encrusted pachyderm peering through the windows of a bank on the Strand.

But since last Friday, they’ve been on the move. A pack of 62 elephants were spotted near Leicester Square on Saturday, and rumour has it that all 268 statues spent Sunday at a secret elephant salon for a bit of a touch-up to ensure they’ll look their best when they’re put up for sale at the Grand Elephant Auction on 3rd July.

An elephant gazes wistfully at Tower Bridge.

There are only a few more chances to catch these creatures in all their glory before they disperse to their new homes. So get your skates on and head over to Westfield Shopping Centre where 18 indoor elephants (the weaker beasts in the pack) are taking shelter until 30th June. Or for an even better elephant hunt, visit the outdoor herd at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea on 25th, 26th or 28th June, when you’ll get to see 250 elephants in one go.

Die-hard elephant seekers have spent weeks traipsing around London with checklists and maps in order to locate and photograph all the statues. But you can catch most of them in one spot. What could be easier?

And while you’re down in Chelsea, you can make use of today’s amazing deal at the luxuriously decadent Chelsea Club. Located at Stamford Bridge, this place has got it all – a gym with top of the range equipment, three fitness studios, saunas, steam rooms, plunge pools and even a 25m indoor swimming pool complete with poolside Jacuzzi. The deal includes use of the fantastic facilities along with a massage, a facial and lunch in the club’s restaurant.

So spend a morning spotting elephants followed by an afternoon relaxing by the pool, and you’ll feel like you’re on an exotic holiday. But you’d better move quickly, because like the Elephant Parade, this deal won’t be around for long.

Photography: Maxvon_d

Today’s Deal for London

(Running till the end of Tuesday 22nd June 2010)

£45 instead of £110 for a thirty minute facial, a thirty minute massage, use of all facilities including gym, classes and pool plus a meal at the club restaurant at the wonderful Chelsea Club – Save 60%