A magnificent mythical creature made real is looking for a permanent new home in its historic Angus birthplace.
Abrinca the unicorn was created by a group of Arbroath yarn bombers in a contribution to the town’s coronavirus-delayed commemoration of the 700th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath.
Standing proudly at around nine feet high, the spectacular willow-framed creation has been catching the eye of people around the ‘fit o’ the toon’ near the harbour.
But Abrinca’s days at the Old Shorehead home of Woolly Workers’ group leader, well-known local artist Jilly Henderson, are numbered.
Jilly said: “I am moving house next month so there is a bit of an urgency to find somewhere for her to go.
“She is a big beast, but it would be lovely if we could find somewhere she could go on permanent display.
“It would be great to see her in somewhere like the foyer of the visitor centre at the harbour for people to enjoy her.
“I can’t help thinking Arbroath may be missing a trick by not embracing her as a local attraction and housing her somewhere safe and visible to visitors.”
“She really is a showstopper,” said Jilly about the Woolly Workers’ largest scale effort to date.
The group started out two years’ ago and have brightened up the town with their yarn bomb additions to the streets around the seafront area.
Declaration anniversary
Jilly added: “It was a project for the Fit o’ the Toon and when we heard about the programme for the Declaration anniversary we thought it would fit in quite nicely.
“The group worked on it behind the scenes for months and we were lucky because Seaton Grove care home offered us the use of their activity room.
“When lockdown hit we left Abrinca there, but brought her back out again and completed her around the willow frame.”
Jilly said the magnificent creature took her name from an old Latin word for Arbroath.
She said: “There are many places she could go – how many towns have their own handcrafted unicorn to show off and use to promote the community?”
“There have been endless suggestions, but she does need a decent amount of space and protection from the elements.
“If we can’t find a new home for her in the next two weeks we will be looking at dismantling her for indefinite storage.
And if Arbroath doesn’t want Abrinca, we are certainly happy to be looking further afield for her new home.”