A BISHOPTON woman has come up with a creative way to entertain neighbours during lockdown…by placing painted pebbles along her street to make a colourful snake.
Caroline Dale Mann, who lives in Old Greenock Road, started painting the pebbles three weeks ago with her family and decided to turn it into a community project for the village as a way to show support for key workers.
She put a poster on her front gate and used social media to ask fellow villagers to paint their own stones and add them to the line next to the wall outside her home.
Since its creation last month, the ‘snake’ – made up of over 200 colourful stones – has grown more than 18 metres long.
Caroline said she decided to start the project to combat a lack of activity around the village during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I live beside Bishopton Primary School and, with the lockdown in place, the neighbourhood has been like a ghost town,” she told The Gazette.
“It’s been very quiet and a lot of parents have been telling me how they’ve been struggling with home schooling and trying to find things for their kids to do, so I thought it would be a good idea to do something they could all get involved with.
“All the kids have loved it and I’ve had amazing feedback on Facebook, with lots of mums and dads messaging me.
“It’s not just youngsters who are contributing, there have also been many adults adding stones, and a number of older people have come by to collect some for their grandchildren.”
Caroline has used a pile of pebbles collected from beaches, putting them outside her home for villagers to use, while other residents have been bringing their own stones to contribute to the art project.
The snake now showcases a multitude of creative designs, including flowers, animals and personal messages supporting the NHS.
Caroline said her idea was partly inspired by the rainbow drawings that have become popular during lockdown.
She added: “It’s really nice to see the community rallying round in the spirit of showing our appreciation for the NHS.
“It’s important to support the key workers and also make sure Bishopton remains an active community of its own.
“I’m going to keep the snake going until the schools go back, at which point I’ll ask participants to take their own stones back home with them.
“I would like to thank everybody for their contribution and collaboration with this village project.”
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