Hull's Freedom Festival and the scrappy blocks are taking shape

I am posting a mix of pics this post so bear with me please!
Hull has an annual Freedom Festival and this year I popped in to see what was on one day and got caught, well volunteered : ) to take part in this surreal little show.
The taxidermied creature on the top, is apparently an 'Albino Arctic Duck Billed Platypuss' - yes go figure! - and the scenario is as follows...
The two guys, using no words and exaggerated facial expressions, select 5 folks to take part in the show.
That involves wearing a number round your neck and placing headphones on your ears and listening to a voice.
Now your not sure if the crowd around you can hear what you hear, they can't, but your told  eventually to walk forward, place your eyes on the eye holes and then watch and listen.
So your leant at an odd angle if your tall like me, not that good for the back that and music and poetry is played, whilst an apparent 'egg' enlarges before your very eyes, with a flickering light to give it a vintage edge..
The 'egg' eventually explodes, because its a balloon and then extravagant  orchestral music applauds the birth of an automated chick - of mechanical sorts lol
Bizarre but fun and te metal work on the cabinet is magnificent and the stuffed 'mythical' creature was delightfully cute ............

 

Coincidentally, Lynne whom I sit alongside at work was there too and had been picked ahead of myself.

 

 

Another act keeping Queen Victoria company ...
All manner of events and acts took place over 2 days and there were a number of music groups, choirs set up to play each evening.
Its in the spirit of freedom for all and many activities for children take place each day.

I had my pal over from Australia (thankfully she did like the cushion Id made her lol) 
and I took her into the cities Holy Trinity Church to see the knitted version of the
Wilmslow Homer painting several of us had been involved in making last year.
I still think its such a clever idea to create a knitted version of a painting and volunteers from all walks of life were involved in the process, needless to say it wasn't my idea!

It was made, along with a great deal of yarn bomb knitted articles to celebrate a theatre production that was travelling down the East coast commemorating the Trawler men and 'fisher women' whose economic lives, revolved around the silver herrings.
I had made the faces and some of the sea and sky, though the lass on the right came out with far more naff than the other two lol she looks a real sarcastic lass!

I still like this barrel of herring  and the dedications to lost trawlermen that are also to be found in the church.

 

Saw these little guys on a collectibles stall in the market as we wandered round, well loved by the looks of them.

An interim pic of some of the cut up scrappy blocks ...