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Big penguin adorns village phone box for Christmas

Cary Outis The head and shoulders of the large penguin artwork. It is made from black and white fabric and has an orange and black beak. It is pictured against a cloudy sky.Cary Outis
The emperor penguin is made from fabric with wooden supports

An old phone box has been turned into a giant penguin, in what has become an annual Christmas tradition in a Fenland village.

The bright red box in Prickwillow has been "blinged up" for the festive season since 2011, after the Cambridgeshire village bought it from BT for £1.

Members of the Ouse Life Drawing Group have taken on the "blinging" task, but most years local artist and sculptor Cary Outis has created the designs, which have included Santas, reindeer, a giant Christmas gift and a sleigh stuck down a chimney.

This year's enormous penguin took him about three days to sew, and is made from fabric with wooden supports.

Cary Outis A large penguin artwork is made from black and white fabric and has an orange and black beak. It is pictured against a cloudy sky.Cary Outis
The penguin decoration has been well-received in the village
Cary Outis A penguin artwork covers a phone box on the side of a road in a village. It is black and white with an orange beak. The penguin phone box is situated off a layby and there is a white bungalow on the opposite side of the road.Cary Outis
Artist Cary Outis said an idea for the annual design usually "pops into his head"

"Every year I think I'm running out of ideas, and then something pops into my head," said Mr Outis.

The penguin, with its fabric, stuffing and supports was quite a challenge, he admitted.

"I had to work out how to sew the head on to the shoulders and to be honest, I'm not very good at sewing."

The penguin is holding a sign that reads: "I'm so confused."

Mr Outis said: "The world seems like it's turned a bit upside down at the moment - so I wrote that, as our penguin is in the northern hemisphere instead of the southern - where it belongs.

"But people can interpret it as they like and take it as a flippant comment if they want to."

Cary Outis A penguin artwork covers a phone box in a village. It is black and white with an orange beak. Is is holding a sign that reads: "I'm so confused." There is an old chapel that is being renovated in the background and building materials can be seen in front of it.Cary Outis
The penguin is the latest in a long line of phone box artworks to grace the Fenland village

Decorating the box has become an annual tradition, delighting villagers and visitors.

Since the penguin took up residence on Tuesday, Mr Outis said he had received "lots of very nice" comments and local children were "laughing out loud" when they saw it.

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