Aylesbury Ducks celebrate key workers

Winners have been announced after two weeks of a trail around the town

Author: Dan GoodingPublished 18th Dec 2020

Key workers have been celebrated in a unique way in Aylesbury - through painted ducks!

The Trail, organised by the Town Council, ran for two weeks and led the community around Aylesbury Town Centre to various local businesses.

The Shopworker Duck in Stay & Play window

The Flower Bar, The Works, New York Deli, Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity shop, The Grill Steakhouse and Stay & Play all took part.

The six ducks were each dedicated to local key workers and were nominated by local people. 60 heartwarming nominations were submitted, all praising local people from different backgrounds and generations.

It was the Mayor of Aylesbury who had the difficult task choosing the overall winners for the following categories:

  • Delivery Duck - Scott McEvoy, Just Baguettes
  • Nurse/Caring Duck - Sarah Bullimore, Social Services, Stoke Mandeville Hospital
  • Shopworker Duck - Kathryn Martin, McGrumpy & Snuffles, Duck Farm Court
  • Teacher Duck - Gemma Price, Bearbrook School
  • The Neon Army Duck - Steve Richardson, Openreach
  • Transportation Duck - Mark Hare, Chiltern Railways
The Delivery Duck winner Scott McEvoy

The categories recognised those who have worked with dedication and kindness to help and support the Aylesbury community.

The Transportation Duck winner - Mark Hare

They aren't frontline workers, but local people with a spark of compassion and care - which shone through in every nomination.

Nominations are listed below:

The ducks were hand-painted by Tina Fox Pearson from Aylesbury Community Workshops which added a vibrant hot spot to the town as well as increasing footfall into local businesses.

A special Town Mayor duck was also painted and positioned in the Town Hall.

The Teacher Duck in The Flower Bar window

Town Mayor, Cllr Mike Smith, said:

"The fact we received so many nominations just goes to show how incredible our key workers are in Aylesbury Town.

"It was a difficult task to pick just six from all the incredible nominations.

"Thank you to everyone who took the time to nominate and walk the trail.

"On behalf of Aylesbury Town Council, we hope it put a smile on your faces reading about the dedicated work of those in our community."

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.