Jubilee postbox topper theft won't stop Thatcham crochet crafter

A community crafter hasn't let a crochet theft stop her from leaving creative surprises on post boxes and bollards around town.

The artist, who prefers to remain anonymous, created a Platinum Jubilee-themed postbox topper earlier this year in preparation for the celebration of the Queen's 70-year reign.

However, before the Jubilee bank holiday arrived, the 'Queen and guards' topper had gone missing.

"I was hoping someone had taken it down to fix it or I wondered if it had blown away in the winds, but it was not found," she said.

"It is really disappointing to think that someone would decide to just take it for themselves when so many people were enjoying seeing the topper on their walks."

The Thatcham resident, who had been working on the project whenever she had a little bit of spare time, said: "I heard from neighbours and parents of schoolchildren how much they enjoyed seeing the topper and I think we were all hoping it would turn up but it did not.

"With a week left before the jubilee weekend, recovering from a hospital operation and starting a new job, things were a bit hectic, but a neighbour kindly agreed to pick up some supplies for me so I could try and make another topper in time for the jubilee.

"I did not have time to make the Queen and guards in a week, so I decided to make the jubilee crown instead."

She continued: "The crown went up on May 31st with some apprehension. I hope it is still there so children can see it when they return to school after half term next week."

This isn't the first time she has left crocheted creations in and around town - she has been yarnbombing for a few years.

Yarnbombing, also referred to as yarnstorming, is a form of street art whereby crafters apply often highly colourful, knitted or crocheted garments to physical objects outdoors.

She made her first postbox topper in September 2001 to welcome local schoolchildren back to school. She created a swan and cygnet, which represented the Parsons Down primary school logo.

"I had seen a few of these postboxes topper's online and loved the idea of making something for the local community to enjoy as they walk past," she said.

"Something that I hoped would bring a smile to the faces of local residents and schoolchildren."

She continued: "I wasn’t quite sure how it was going to be received, but people started posting pictures online and the comments were so lovely to read.

"People were so enthusiastic about the topper, I knew I couldn’t just stop there."

For Halloween she created her second postbox topper in the form of a collection of pumpkins and spiders.

Her next project saw the bollards opposite the Thatcham Lakes entrance don berets and poppies.

"With Christmas around the corner, the pumpkins were soon replaced with an elf diving into the postbox retrieving letters to Santa," she continued.

She is now urging others to immerse themselves into the world of yarnbombing on noticing a particular interest in the local area.

She even saw neighbours creating their own bunting through crochet or sewing displayed across their windows.

"One neighbour in particular made a huge bunting string which was put up behind the postbox, on the school fence," she commented.

"A few local crafters are discussing plans for a first joint project in our area on a newly-created a Facebook page called Postbox Toppers and Yarnbombing in West Berkshire.

"I would urge anyone who would like to participate in our summer project to join the page as soon as possible so we can get started".