Brightlingsea residents were out and about over Easter on the hunt for miniature Bateman’s Towers – and helping to raise money for schoolchildren in Ghana at the same time.
Local pottery painter, Lucy Weaver, who runs Pink Parrot Pottery, joined forces with businesses around Brightlingsea town centre to create an Easter hunt with a difference. In honour of the town’s iconic landmark, Bateman’s Tower, Lucy painted 23 mini ceramic lighthouses – each designed with a different theme – and placed these in shop windows around the town for people to find. Each participant receives a badge and entry into a prize draw to win one of the towers to paint themselves.
Trail maps were sold with all proceeds going towards the Brightlingsea-run charity, Porridge and Pens, Ghana, which funds the Brightlingsea school for impoverished children in Kumasi, Ghana. To date, over 200 people have participated and almost £400 has been raised with the trail still running for the remainder of the school holidays.
The idea behind the trail was to provide a Covid-safe activity for people over the Easter holidays and to generate interest and visitors to the High Street ahead of the scheduled reopening of shops on April 12. Said Lucy: “The response has been fantastic and I’m so pleased with the feedback we have received. People have loved hunting for the towers and have said it’s been an ideal Easter holiday activity while so many other leisure facilities remain closed due to the pandemic.”
The Bateman’s Tower Trail finishes on Saturday, 11 April. More info can be found via facebook at www.facebook.com/brightlingseabadgechallenge or by messaging Lucy on 07738 258131.
Replicas of the towers can be ordered from www.facebook.com/pinkparrotpottery with £5 of each sale going to Brightlingsea charities.
