A giant neon marmot has been unveiled as the centrepiece of a town’s Christmas decorations. Sadly, not everyone is feeling festive about it.
The 16ft creature – complete with ear muffs and skis – has replaced a traditional tree on the lawns outside Alton’s 19th century Assembly Rooms.
Emma English wrote on the council’s Facebook page: “I just don’t understand! Whatever it is, it has no relevance to Christmas, it’s embarrassing and just plain ugly. I struggled to like the Christmas hat we had last year but this is another low.”
Carole Samuda added: “I could understand it if we had some connection to
ski-ing but it seems a bit of an odd thing for Alton to have.”
But others were more supportive, with Caroline Wren saying: “I think it’s fantastic, the children of Alton will love this and Christmas is for them after all.”
And Sara Cantello added: “I think Marmite is a great name for it because people will either love it or hate it, I think it’s great.”
A council spokeswoman said the design was chosen “to bring a smile to people’s faces, particularly the children”.
She added: “We realised that people were really keen to take selfies with it and it was definitely a talking point.
