gorillas in the mist…
On a misty Saturday morning in September, gorillas across the country were stretching their hamstrings, donning their running shoes, boarding trains, buses and bicycles and congregating en masse in the City of London in preparation for what was to be a world record-breaking gathering of gorillas, and Intrepid’s Emma Southerden was amongst them…
“Over 1000 gorillas registered to take part in this year’s Great Gorilla Run, in aid of the Gorilla Organisation. Shockingly that is actually more than there are mountain gorillas remaining in the wild. The Gorilla Organisation, which was founded by the late Dian Fossey, works to protect the gorillas in west and central Africa, including Rwanda and Uganda.
Intrepid’s Simon Graham, Rosie Cowen and myself led a family of Intrepid apes, who were all dressed up in our finest furry suits ready to run, jog, walk and dance through central London and raise vital funding for the organisation.
‘The Village Gorillas’, ‘Marilyn Bonobo’, and ‘Primates of the Caribbean’ were among the others decked in their furry regalia, and causing mayhem among tourists on the South Bank. As the temperature soared and the sweat patches grew, so did the overall level of hilarity. Finally, as we lolloped our way over the finish line, we were rewarded with a banana each, and a medal presented by none other than the Funky Gibbon himself, King of the Swingers, Bill Oddie!
A riotous time was had by all and, with a sponsorship target of GBP400 per gorilla, we managed to raise in excess of GBP2800 for the Gorilla Organisation, whilst The Intrepid Foundation has pledged an additional AUD2500 to top up the funds! You can still sponsor the team by contacting our Islington store, and you can even sign up online to take part in next year’s run at greatgorillas.org.
So come on, swing after me: “We are family. I’ve got all my primates with me!”
