I don't know how I stumbled across these post box toppers, but they are just the cutest things. According to the Royal Mail, they have been around since 2012 but have exploded on the scene in UK cities and villages with the Platinum Jubilee of the late Queen Elizabeth II, Her Majesty's 90th birthday, her death in 2022, and King Charles III's coronation in 2023. Add in the Paris Olympics and the creativity of local knitters and crocheters knows no bounds. The pandemic created a surge in post box toppers as knitters and crocheters worked overtime during the lockdown.
It's wonderful to see the creativity and dedication of individuals in celebrating special events, and Helene Buttifant from Wells is no exception.
She has spent over a month creating a knitted postbox topper to commemorate the coronation of King Charles III, which is currently adorning the postbox next to the Bishop's Eye.
The topper features all of the big players in the historic event, including King Charles III, Queen Camilla and the Archbishop.
"The topper took me over a month to complete as there are so many small components to each figure," Helene explained. " It took me a whole day just to crochet the triangular pennants around the topper and add the gold tassels and lettering and crowns."
The piece has already had a gentle re-sew ('The Archbishop looked like he'd had too much communion wine', Helen said,) and has been met with delight from residents and visitors to the city.
"Lovely piece of work. Well done," one resident wrote on a Facebook post, before adding: "Almost makes me forget I can't stand the pair."
Another wrote, simply: "Absolutely beautiful."
"I just love creating these toppers and am overwhelmed by the community spirit and kind comments received from everyone who has seen it," Helen said. "I just hope our British weather is kind to it as we have gales forecast this week - so fingers crossed it stays upright!"
From the Wells Nub News, 17 April 2023
Through reading about the post box toppers, I found the Facebook group, UK Post Box Toppers and More Group, which has almost 88,000 members. The photos are amazing!
I'll leave you with this, since you all know how much I love Christmas.
They are a thing here, in the little town that I live in, I think I first noticed them appearing during the months that we were in the Covid lockdowns. They are always so cute.
ReplyDeleteThey are so fun. I remember seeing one for the 2012 Olympics when we lived there and the Coronation when I visited last year.
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