* the “Penguin Parade” – in the ‘Fleet Street Quarter’ London EC4 (2024)

Last week saw the launch of yet another of the quirky seasonal related type of attractions that have been popped-up throughout London over the past few Christmas periods – and, as with previous years, my London Shoes went out to track this new one down, and check it out!!!

The “PENGUIN PARADE” hit the London streets on 14^th November – and is already proving to be a big success in terms of interest and involvement.

This ‘parade’ consists of 12 large and colourful penguin statues that have been positioned at specific locations throughout the streets between St. Paul’s Cathedral and Chancery Lane…..street locations including Fleet Street / Fetter Lane / Holborn Viaduct / Ludgate Circus – all in an area that is referred to these days as the ‘Fleet Street Quarter’.

Each of the 12 Penguins has been individually designed, and each one of them is dressed up and decorated with its own seasonal festive clobber, all of which have been created by a whole host of different artists.

So – accompanied by long time mate Pete, who fancied going on a Penguin hunt with me – off we went on what just happened to be the coldest day of the year so far…..absolutely freezing it was too.

Anyway – armed with a specially produced ‘Penguin Parade’ map I’d downloaded onto my phone screen (my printer don’t work) my London Shoes arrived at the Fleet Street Quarter – and starting off at St. Paul’s Cathedral, set off in search of these 12 festive Penguins.

Now – with the help of a Parade Map, one would think the task at hand would be a relatively simple one……..wrong !!!

Although the Parade Map gave the ‘location/area’ where each individual Penguin was situated, in a lot of cases, it didn’t actually specify the ‘actual’ site in terms of the respective street name – and with London’s many streets / courts / alleys / squares, especially around the Fleet Street Quarter area – it was, at times,  a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack…..and an extremely freezing cold haystack at that.

It soon became evident that my London Shoes were not alone in discovering the Penguin Parade, because at every one of the statues Shoes located, there would be groups of folk on a similar mission –  either approaching the site of the Penguin or coming away from it, having already locating it.

I have to say, at this stage of the proceedings, my London Shoes became a bit competitive – because, very similar to the recent popular TV series ‘Race Around the World’ – I found myself itching to get to the next Penguin location before any of those folk who were at the same stage of the Parade as me – and on the occasions where I couldn’t easily locate a Penguin site, and others could – I ashamedly felt a little ‘beaten’ and ‘defeated’…… 

 

All joking aside – there is a serious side and purpose to the Penguin Parade.

It has been put together by ‘Wild in Art’ and the ‘World Wildlife Fund’ charity organisation.

Wild in Art produce spectacular but meaningful public art trails, to help raise awareness and to make a certain point – and they work collaboratively with charities / brand owners / learning projects – across the UK and worldwide.

The World Wildlife Fund – for Nature,  was founded in 1961 and is a Swiss based non-political organisation, that deals with preservation of animals and the reduction of human activities that impact endangered animals.

On the base of each Penguin statue there is a QR Code that enables a viewer to learn all about the Penguin in question – its habitat and its endangered status.

This QR Code also allows you donate much needed funds to the WWF to help protect these lovable creatures – to ensure that future generations get to enjoy them.

So – eventually, having trawled a total of 5.5miles around the Fleet Street Quarter (according to the Step Counter app on my phone) – the locating of all 12 of the Penguins Parade, was finally achieved.

By this time my hands were purple from the cold, as a result of me having to continually refer to the Penguin Parade map plus Google Maps on my phone – and also, the content of my actual London Shoes, were like blocks of ice – so me and Pete, my co-penguin hunter for the day – found an old skool greasy spoon type café down an alley off of Fleet Street – where we proceeded to warm our cockles with a proper tasty couple of sausage & bacon baguettes washed down with piping hot tea.

Having warmed up and suitably nourished, we then headed off in search of a historic old Fleet Street pub – the “Punch Tavern”.

There has been a pub/tavern/Inn on the current site of the pub site since the 1700’s – the current Punch Tavern building dates back to 1840.

The pub is hidden away amongst a cluster of other Fleet Street buildings, and unless you knew exactly where it was, you could easily walk past it totally unaware of its existence.

Fleet Street was once world famous for being the centre of the ‘print’ industry in this country – and the Punch Tavern is so named because the satirical magazine ‘Punch’ that was first published in 1841, had its offices very close to the pub building.

The pub was once commonly looked upon as being one of London’s famous Victorian Gin Palaces – and today, some of its original fixtures and fittings are still in situ – such as wood paneling / etched mirrors / its marble top bar / ornate plaster work and covings / a barreled skylight.

Throughout the pub there are many references (paintings/carvings) to the ‘Punch & Judy’ characters and story – all of which are, quite rightly, protected by the buildings Grade II Listed status.

Well worth a visit should you fancy a quick ‘cheeky’ one if you should ever find yourself down Fleet Street way.

So – to summarise – although the climate was exceptionally cold – all in all, a good day was had exploring the Penguin Parade – a great fun day out, not just for kids, but all the family, especially when looking for things to do over the festive period – and all against a backdrop of what is (in my humble opinion) the greatest capital city in the world.

Hope you enjoyed the Penguin Parade ‘tour’ and the accompanying photos.

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