I want to see the zoo, she said…

When you live somewhere, you never get round to doing the touristy things that are on offer, which is why yesterday – aged 25 – I went to the zoo for the first time.

I think this was my first time at a zoo ever, in fact. I’ve been to Sigfried and Roy’s Secret Garden, but that doesn’t really count being in the middle of a casino, and having grown up so close the West Midlands Safari Park, there was never any need to go anywhere that involved walking to look at animals.

But on a surprisingly sunny April Sunday, I’ve now established there really is nothing better to do but wander round Regent’s Park debating whether there’s anything cuter than a baby meerkat.*

I took loads of photos, but since I seem to have misplaced my card reader, you can’t see them. Instead, I will leave you with a video from the 1970s Mike Leigh TV play ‘Nuts In May’, with Alison Steadman singing the song I hummed all day while walking round. When you watch it, you’ll understand.

*it turns our there is, it’s called a Prairie Dog, and its bark sounds like a little girl sneezing.