Following an artistic workshop near Blackburn’s Drummer’s Arms, a snowman made from plastic cups appeared in the pub. This turned out to be very popular and became a great success.
Not only was it an unusual and aesthetic work of art, but it was environmentally friendly too, as most of the cups could be used again in the vending machine they were borrowed from. Unfortunately, the ones stapled at their base might have turned out to have been a bit leaky while you were drinking your cuppa. But how often do you get dodgy drinks from vending machines anyway? Half a cup of cocoa, topped up with chicken soup, often makes you want to put its cups to alternative uses.
This secret project followed plans to make a snowman which wouldn’t melt. It was completed despite the pub being very busy over Christmas and many people going in to enjoy themselves during the recent festive season. With it being a mild winter this year, there had been no snow available. Besides, things might have got a little bit messy if people had taken their own snow into the pub and started building a snowman inside. Using plastic cups was an ideal substitute.
Building a snowman using plastic cups is also quite a symbolic gesture. After the New Year festivities, we start to get bombarded by holier than thou commentators trying to persuade us to give up drinking for a month. The first one of the New Year is always this Dry January campaign. A plastic cup snowman sends a message out to people about not using vending machines for a drink, but to get to a pub and have a proper drink from a glass instead. Our plastic cup snowman leaves no carbon footprint, because he has no feet. What better way could there be to send those annoying Dry January people a message to leave us alone, by showing you don’t have to be a snowman to give them the cold shoulder.
