Here’s a telephone interview that we did about a month ago with Paul Sivell, creator of the Arreton Hare that was stolen at the end of July.

Paul heard about the return of the hare through VentnorBlog.

Due to a lack of time and resources, we weren’t able to get the story out when it was most relevant, but as tomorrow night (Thursday, 3rd Sept) sees the return of the hare being toasted from 8:30pm at Arreton’s White Lion pub, it felt important to get it out now.

The chat with Paul
We spoke to Paul on the phone as at the time, he was working for the Royal Horticultural Society up in Surrey.

Clearly the Arreton Hare was special to Paul. He told VB “I was quite upset when I saw it gone, which I haven’t been in the past when I’ve lost things.”

The quality of the work of the Hare, and its positioning at a frequently-used junction, has lead to Paul being commissioned to create seven other hares, with four of them living on the Island.

Why the Hare was special
Paul said that “It was done quickly and spontaneously after it was suggested by Ian Boyd of the Island 2000 Trust. Obviously I got a bit carried away because I added the magpies to it.”

He told us that one theft, of a dragon’s head, turned up a year later when the police raided the home of a known fence of stolen goods.

Protecting the Hare
At the time of the theft, some commenters on the VentnorBlog story suggested that a metal spike might be put inside the Hare to protect against theft in the future. Paul told VB that he intended to do this.

Now the hare has been re-fitted, it’s unclear if this security measure has been taken, but perhaps that uncertainty will make the another thief think twice.

Have a listen to the whole discussion for yourself …

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Below are some photos of the Hare returned to its rightful position, taken by James Pickett.

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