I sat, listening with what I hoped was an interested expression, to one of my (on the Spectrum) students as he earnestly explained, in the utmost detail, the intricacies of his Pokémon Go game. This downloadable App swept our nation (and most likely the entire planet) at the start of the summer and is the sole reason that more children than ever were walking around during the holidays with their eyes fixed firmly to the screens of their mobile phones, obsessively collecting virtual cartoon characters. I suppose it at least got them outside in the fresh air and with any luck gave them some insight in to map co-ordinates – but I’m not holding out much hope on the latter. Frankly I just don’t see the attraction of these crudely drawn fantasy figures with their over large eyes, flat colours and lack of detail. I was about to say it’s probably an age thing but our local TV news ran a feature on a man – yes, people, an ADULT, who apparently was the first reported person to have finished the game and was offering help to others for a FEE. How low can one stoop.
As my student launched into a second phase of enthusiastic explanation, the like of which he never displays in any lessons, I felt myself glazing over and for the first time in my life was thankful to hear the bell ring indicating the start of maths. Then, as I sat trying to absorb what my teaching colleague was saying about simplifying expressions so that I’d stand half a chance if any of the students asked me for extra help, I realised that I could have been guilty of a similar useless obsession during my own summer holidays.
It began last term when a friend arrived at work one morning waving her phone at me and asking whether I’d seen the life-size blue cow at the traffic lights.
She’d managed to snap it while waiting for the green light to prove that she wasn’t going mad. A few neural cogs chugged around and I vaguely remembered my niece (the arty one), mentioning something about a Cow Parade.
So, on further investigation (OK, I Googled it: isn’t that what we all do these days?), I discovered that The Cow Parade reckons it’s the world’s largest public art event, providing artists and chosen charities a chance to benefit from the scheme. Anyone can sponsor a cow – from individuals, to schools to local businesses or multi million pound companies. Each cow is painted – either by an amateur or an established artist and then auctioned to raise money. There have been Cow Parades in different cities across the world since 1999 and over £2.5 million raised for worthy causes. This year the Cow Parade was coming to the Surrey Hills.
From this point on, my friend – I shall refer to her as WF1 (Work Friend 1) and I were on a mission. To see how many cows we could find over the summer, either by ourselves or by meeting up for a walk which would invariably end in a tea shop and doing a bit of cow-spotting on the way.
We started off enthusiastically enough.
Here’s one looking nicely out of place at the top of Guildford High Street while this mother and calf greet shoppers at the entrance to the Friary Shopping Centre.
WF1 was better at it than me and would arrive in the staff room with reports of yet another sighting. We met up for a walk across beautiful countryside ending at the Watts Gallery where a couple of painted cows were grazing, one of which had allegedly been decorated by Sir Peter Blake, designer of the Beatles iconic Sergeant Pepper album cover.
I think what had really happened here was that he’d allowed his signature to be used. I refuse to believe that one of our foremost pop artists would have been content with simple colour blocking when we could have had something fantastical. And those awful plinths! Whoever attached these sculptures to their bases certainly wasn’t over flowing in the imagination department, were they? A little green paint may have helped, or even a yard or two of Astroturf, which to be fair, I did spot a few days later as I spied a cow in the middle of a round-a-bout outside one of Guildford’s Park and Ride facilities.
But by this time, WF1 and I were becoming a bit bored by the whole thing. Once you’ve seen one painted cow, you’ve seen them all. I was much more taken with this wooden sculpture which I discovered near the Park and Ride when I stopped to photograph the one on the round-a-bout. Although I must have passed it hundreds of times in the car, the view was always obscured by a hedge.
Called ‘Farm Talk,’ the farmer and his bull were sculpted by Jo Wood in 2004 as part of the Wey Valley Rural Art Project.
The Cow Parade cows are due to be auctioned off on Thursday 20th October at a grand bash at Sandown Park. Tickets are from £10 (standing) or £65 for a three course dinner. It’ll be interesting to see how much these vibrant bovines fetch…and even more interesting – what do you actually do with one, once you’ve bought it?
LOL! You definitely should put in a bid, Jenny! I like the one in the second to the last photo. It’s so colorful.
“I felt myself glazing over and for the first time in my life was thankful to hear the bell ring indicating the start of maths” Classic Jenny line! You’ve been missed.
Ah, thanks Jill – I’ve missed my regular writing…my discipline has been shocking of late. I’ll try to find out how much the cows go for and post an addendum but I think they will be way past my budget. And honestly, what would I do with one? 😆
I am totally ignorant of Pokémon or cows. Why does it have an accent? Is it French?
In any case I do like the featured cows. They all look friendly and approachable.
Pokemon is Japanese. Here’s what good old Wikipedia has to say:
The name Pokémon is the romanized contraction of the Japanese brand Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター Poketto Monsutā?).[19] The term Pokémon, in addition to referring to the Pokémon franchise itself, also collectively refers to the 721 known fictional species that have made appearances in Pokémon media as of the release of the sixth generation titles Pokémon X and Y. “Pokémon” is identical in both the singular and plural, as is each individual species name; it is grammatically correct to say “one Pokémon” and “many Pokémon”, as well as “one Pikachu” and “many Pikachu”.[20]
I love real cows. They have beautiful eyes with lovely long lashes😀
Cow hunting eh? My question though was the one you ended with……. Too big for the mantlepiece……… Do you know we have a Sir Peter Blake down here too – well, we did until his untimely death in 2001. He was our yachting hero, the man who brought the Americas Cup to New Zealand. Nothing to do at all with cows!! Nice to see you back Jenny! Oh, we also have Pokemon Go and it is actively undertaken by many of our aspiring leaders of the future, also known as University Students, who can be seen stumbling around the campus area all hours of the night gazing fixedly at their phones or looking upwards. “Oh well,” said one Campus Official “it keeps them active and out of the pubs.” 🙂
I suppose they’re not quite adults in the true sense of the word…no responsibility, no bills, no mortgage, blah, blah, blah.. Apparently at Cambridge one of the traditions is for dare devil students to go night climbing. They scale the beautiful old buildings of the university, leaping at great height from one building to the next. The idea is to leave something totally inappropriate on the roof…the most ambitious to date has been an old vintage car. Most often it is items of clothing draped over gargoyles and statues.
I have heard of that activity Jenny. There’s a part of me that admires their derring-do and another part that thinks ‘Thank god it’s not my kid’…..You have to do crazy things like that when you are young so that, if you survive, you have stories to tell your grandkids……
Yes, very true. A bit like your art work about quiet women and history…
We’ve seen painted animals, much like your cows, on our travels before but it wasn’t until now that I learned that they are a charitable effort. Makes sense. The last time we came across such a thing was in Bennington, Vermont which sported a number of colorful Moose around town. You know which sculpture I like most, Farm Talk. It really struck a note. I suppose, 5 or 10 years ago, you could have photographed me with one of my bulls … in the very same pose. The sculptor clearly understood the relationship between a farmer and her/his animals. I imagine the farmer speaking, perhaps without words, to the bull and saying something like, ‘We’re planning on moving you into the pasture with the cows today … everything will go just fine if you simply take your time and follow me. There’s no need to get flustered or rambunctious. Really, there isn’t. If all goes well the move should take no more than a few minutes.’ And, the bull replies … ‘I will try. I really will. But I sometimes cannot be held accountable for my actions. I will do my best.’ I really, really, like the sculpted piece – thanks for thinking to grab a photo of it.
I’m so pleased you liked that sculpture…I somehow thought you would. I like that it has been created from wood and it’s looking well worn now, with bits of cracking – it makes it more rustic and organic – wholly suitable for the subject matter.
I’m all for raising money for good causes and the sponsored cows had very diverse charities…ill be interested to hear how much they make at the auction.
I like the cows. They provide diversion and delight in the everyday. A few years ago, we had pandas and another animal plopped around town and they were really fun. I’m glad the idea has spread to varied places!
It’s the power of the Internet, I guess. I like the idea of pandas. I wonder what we’ll get next? Giraffes might be a bit of a challenge. I believe there were elephants in central London a few years ago but only a few. We had over sixty cows in Surrey.
It’s a whole herd of cows. Perhaps dairy….
We had the same thing here in our small town in Central Florida which is known for it’s horses. So of course, we did horses. 50 the first time through, and then 2 years later another batch. All done by local artists, and really quite good over all. Although, I did favor some more than others. When auctioned off, after being displayed for months, they brought in quite a bit of money, and were proudly displayed near the purchaser’s home or business. That was 8 years ago, and you can still see certain ones displayed in town.
That’s amazing they are still around and good to have an animal with an association to the town. I’m looking forward to seeing if any of ours turn up somewhere permanently. At the moment, they have been herded to Sandown Park ( which is actually a race course) for safe keeping.
Great to hear from you, Holly 😉
Love the cows. They are imaginative and stimulating. Don’t feel I can apply that to Pokemon. Still this week it is clowns…..
Your reaction to your student reminds me of when I was an Orals Examiner for a CSE Board having to listen to a student explain her fascination with soaps in a variety of shapes for 10 minutes. Dull barely expresses it.
At least soap is three dimensional, has texture and scent – plenty of sensory detail there to appease the exam boards! I work with someone who is clown phobic, she’s going to have a good week 😄
I love the way you link the cow hunt with Pokemon Go. 🙂
Haha, thanks Derrick. I enjoy finding links in seemingly obscure things😉
Take that, you Pokémon Go gamers! The march of the world cow statues will trample you, yes it will! 😉
This is one time that the UK and the USA share both topics, Jenny. We’re at the end of our tolerance for anything Pokémon…AND we also have several cities–and not necessarily connected to big rural dairy areas–with the bright, funny, wonderful cow art statues.
Great post! 🙂
I love that…’we’re at the end of our tolerance…’ made me laugh out loud. I heard on the news just this morning that Holland has banned Pokemon from a particular beach there because the gamers are trampling an area of ecological significance.
Happy to hear you have cows grazing in your part of the world…I wonder if they produce multi flavoured milk😆😆
The idea of cows at Sandown Park bemuses me. It must be a flat race but I presume the jockeys will wear colours to match the cows. I’m still on Tetris so by the time I discover Pokamon I suspect I will be about 130. Or dead.
Stick to Tetris, Andrew – Pokemon will have ceased to be long before you’re 130 or even younger, I suspect. I like the idea of camouflaged jockeys…and Sandown isn’t that far away…maybe I could get a sneak preview.
Nah, too many REAL cattle next to me here, but I have always fancied one of the decorative elephants, until I saw the price for one!
I love the real ones, Jude. Especially Jerseys…such pretty faces. I saw some of the elephants in London a few years back…where would you put it – they’re huge!
I think on the site I looked at they had smaller ones too 🙂
That’s a relief!
In our small town, since we are part of the triple crown harness racing circuit, home of the Little Brown Jug, we have horse sculptures for auction. People who were in them with highest bids love to put on their porches, in their yards and gardens.
I loved the cow painted elaborately standing in the weeds by the edge of a round-about, Jenny. 🙂
Little Brown Jug? That’s an old Glen Miller tune, isn’t it? I’ll have to Google it…
Glad you like my colourful cows, thanks Robin…the one on the roundabout was sponsored by a children’s hospice.
Jenny, I left a ‘better late than never’ comment on your national reserve post. We interchange preserve and reserve so hope this makes sense! 😉
Oops, heading over there in a min. Yes, it does make sense!
I liked the cows and wish a few of your cow statues could intermingle with our horse statues. 🙂
Jenny, our male horses race with the harness riders in back is named Little Brown Jug or “the Jug” while the fillies racing is called, “the Juggette.” I think the song may have inspired this but not sure. We learn so much from each other! 🙂
Great post, Jenny. I really enjoyed reading it. I think I’m a bit like you – I don’t get the Pokemon Go craze at all. But then I wasn’t ever much into any crazes.
was thinking about your saying about your eyes glazing over. I think that’s what happens to a lot of kids in class when the teacher pontificates about things that don’t interest or don’t make sense to them. It’s a good lesson to learn.
I love the cows. One of them looks similar to a couple of cows that I saw in our art gallery a number of years ago. I’m not sure if they were part of the same project. The mother at the Friary Shopping Centre is probably closest in design to the ones I saw. I think it’s rather gorgeous. I think every butcher shop should have one at its entrance; and that’s no bull. 🙂
If you have time to research and post results of the auction, I’d be interested to hear please.
Aw, thanks, Norah. I like the idea of them being displayed outside butcher shops, that’s a great idea!
Also, I’m hoping to find out about the auction (although I won’t be going), and I will post an addendum to this post if I do😉
I’ll have to keep checking back then for news. Should be interesting. 🙂
We don’t have cows Jenny, we have dogs – Raymond Briggs style ‘snow dogs’ to be precise (though I think cows is a much more quirky idea 🙂 ). There’s a whole snow dog trail across the north east, though so far I’ve only seen three of them. They are quite attractive and my doggy friends have been quite excited about them. I do like the carving of the cow, much more evocative.
Dogs! That’s an idea for a trail. Are they for sale, though, I wonder? I imagine they’d make easier sculptures to own…and much less disruptive than the real thing😄
Same principle Jenny, they’ll be auctioned off for St Oswald’s Hospice at the end of it.You can have a look here – ttp://www.greatnorthsnowdogs.co.uk/the-snowdogs/the-big-dogs.aspx
These are great, Andrea . I’ve just spent probably longer than I should trawling through the Snow dogs. I rather liked Pawdington myself. And what a worthwhile charity, too.
Many many years ago this was the summer surprise in Zurich, Switzerland. Colorful cows were placed all over the city, each one of them a highlight. I liked it.
Sounds like geocaching. Looking for tat treasure, strange cows or well, whatever Pokémon involves.
Yes it is similar. Although I’ve only ever been geocaching once. We had to find a minute message tucked into an old film canister buried in a rotted tree trunk. I can see the fun if you’re doing it with children – and it gets them outside thinking of map coordinates. But I can’t see myself making it a hobby 😊
We had one of these in Calgary a few years ago. It coincided with the Calgary Stampede and was supposed to encourage everyone to get out with their stetsons and pretend to be cowboys. 🙂 They were a lot of fun but I really felt that it was too much – there seemed to be a cow on every block in the downtown core. 🙂
Great post. 🙂
Exactly! You can have one too many painted cows! I see that our local one has become a permanent fixture now after the auction. The charity that benefited from it is a children’s home, so that’s great. I just wonder how long it’ll be before the graffiti artists get out there and change the design! 😄
Yes I agree, Peter Blake has gone downhill. And not to rethink (or pay attention to) the base for his cow! I like the one in the grasses. The print pattern is kind of a good idea. I have no idea what I would do if I were commissioned to paint a cow. I would certainly give it some thought. If I were to buy one, I would put it in our woods. No question.
I’d love you to have a go at painting a cow if the parade ever comes to Atlanta!
There was a herd of painted horses in Atlanta about 14 years ago. I wonder where they went? Thanks for your faith in me.
Always.😉