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Jersey's 'Yarn Banksy' adds new stop to tortoise trail

Jersey's 'Yarn Banksy' adds new stop to tortoise trail

Thursday 10 August 2023

Jersey's 'Yarn Banksy' adds new stop to tortoise trail

Thursday 10 August 2023


She's been dubbed the Yarn Banksy, the Knitting Fairy, and the Phantom Knitter, and now... the Tortoise Postbox Topper?

For her latest creation, the anonymous wool wonder has taken inspiration from the Tortoise Takeover.

The new post box topper, which was spotted outside the Co-op at Red Houses in St. Brelade, features some usual suspects from the trail of 50 giant tortoises and 65 younger ones which has been in place since the beginning of July.

Islanders who inspect closely might see detailed woolen replicas of: Berry Good Tortoise, Not Fast Food, Dodo Tortoise, Forget Me Not, It's A Rave Dave, Terrace Tortoise, Eco Ninja, as well as the hare sculpture Love To Run.

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Pictured: Different angles of the new tortoise postbox topper.

She said: "I started doing the Tortoise Takeover, collecting the tortoises with my grandchildren before the summer holidays and we were all enjoying it so much, I started thinking could I make mini replicas of some of the tortoises we had collected and photographed."

"I am hoping the serious tortoise collectors will realise that I have created the actual tortoises from the trail."

"The other inspiration behind this particular topper is that it is exclusive to Jersey which makes it more special. Being a Jersey-born girl, I am always very excited about special events as this."

While the hare is the centrepiece of the topper, she said: "I had already started on the tortoises when the hare arrived in Jersey! This then gave me a new inspiration to create the hare in the middle of the tortoises!"

Each tortoise, she said, took two to three evenings, and the hare about the same, which meant it had taken about a month to create.

"By making this tortoise topper I feel, in my own way, I have hopefully brought a smile to peoples faces, as all the statue tortoises are bringing a smile to my face and thousands of other peoples faces. It is such a wonderful thing for the Island for locals and holiday makers alike."

Funds raised from the auction of the tortoises, which is already live online, will support the construction of the new tropical house for Durrell's endangered reptile and amphibian inhabitants.

TIME TO EXPLORE...

The official Tortoise Takeover trail guide can be found in the July edition of Connect Magazine – you can read the digital edition below...

Express is proud to be the media partner for this year's Tortoise Takeover. Sign up to our daily news email for all the latest updates. 

READ MORE...

MEET THE TORTOISES #1: A berry good shell-ection of sculptures

MEET THE TORTOISES #2: Strike a cosmic connection with a p'tit pal

MEET THE TORTOISES #3: Dodo you like to explore? From Eden to Eco Ninjas...

MEET THE TORTOISES #4: My tortoise family and other sculptures

MEET THE TORTOISES #5: Keep going, as the trail keeps growing

MEET THE TORTOISES #6: Will you be the 'lucky one' as the trail continues?

MEET THE TORTOISES #7: Good enough to eat?!

MEET THE TORTOISES #8: Live slow...die old?

MEET THE TORTOISES #9: Life in plastic...it's shelltastic?

MEET THE TORTOISES #10: A 'Royal' visit...to the Tortoisphere

Pictured top: The topper as photographed by Carol Hector.

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