ANIMALS AND BOATS AT HENLEY SATURDAY 19TH | mahler's Blog

On Saturday we went to Henley on Thames to take part in the Traditional Boats Rally.  It waas to celebrate the ships that went to Dunkirk to rescue the soldiers off the beaches.

We had an area allocated to us by the river for my granddaughter's and her fiance's animals and birds, most of them rescued animals.  Up at 6am, loading the two Shetland ponies, ducks, goats, sheep, tortoises, geese, chickens, rabbits, guiea pigs, an enormous turkey and a Frizzled chick and other chiickens into the trailer.

There was a massive sail past by over 500 boats, and the a parade of the Dunkirk boats.  How osme of them even made their way across the Channel I do not know! I spoke to a few of the WW2 veterans and the stories they had to tell were amazing.

There was a flypast arranged to celebrate the RAF's anniversay, a Vulcan bomber, spitfires,  Hurricanes and Lancaster bomber, which was going to drop poppy petals over the river.  Unfortunately the waather in Southampton was bad so they could not take off, it was a great disappointment to all.

All in all though, it was an amazing, and quite touching day.  Here are a few of the boats, which have all e loovingly restored and cared for:

Pail Daniels (the magician) and Debbie Magee came and chatted to us, he offered to do a disappearing act on our rabbits!

After setting up the pens the children and their parents started coming in, they were able to stroke, feed and hold the smaller animals and birds, and feed and groom the larger animals.   They all had a terrific time and the animals enjoyed all the attention. 

The most peculiar bird was the Polish Frizzled chicken and the turkey stomped around all day with all of his feathers puffed up, he was annoyed because his mate had not come with us.