Two festive nutcracker soldiers, guarding the entrance to Stanley Park’s Art Deco Café, have gone down a storm with customers.
Created on site from kitchen odds and ends
But the ‘nutcracker’ figures, resplendent in red – were not bought from a shop.
In fact they were created by one of the cafe’s own members of staff – from kitchen odds and ends.
Stephen Hall, 64, who works as a barista at the Blackpool Council-owned cafe, made the figures on the site.
He said:
One of the managers here loves nutcracker figures and said she’d like to see full-sized ones here, so I set about making them.
The heads are made from two mixing bowls stuck together, the hats are made from margarine tubs.
For their bodies I used two Walls Ice Cream litter bins, I got some down pipes for the legs and added tartar sauce jars for the legs.
Their arms have been made from pipe lagging and I’ve added ballcocks for their hands.
Stephen even made one for Brian’s House children’s hospice
Stephen introduced them last Christmas and was inundated by customers with requests to make miniature versions.
He’s added a few smaller ones in the cafe this year and has donated one for the benefit of Brian House children’s hospice.
He said:
I obviously can’t make them for every customer but it looks very festive inside and one of the smaller ones is going to a good cause.
The Park’s Art deco Cafe is owned by Blackpool Council but run by Sean Gallagher and his two daughters, Sinead and Francesca.
Nutcracker figures originate in German folklore
Nutcracker soldiers are decorative wooden figurines, most commonly associated with Christmas, that resemble toy soldiers.
Originating from German folklore, they traditionally symbolized good luck and protection for the home, and were believed to ward off evil spirits.
While many modern nutcrackers are primarily decorative, the classic design features a lever in the back to open the mouth, which historically was used to crack nuts.
An article by Local Democracy reporter Richard Hunt.
