All save the Whale! Don’t hurtle the Turtle! Squidy, squidy, squidy… INK, INK, INK!

Sea Trek marked the fourth annual parade to take place at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. This year we left land behind and looked beneath the waves for inspiration, transforming the hospital grounds into a celebration of sea life.

Led by Poseidon – god of the seas – the parade took form with the Wednesday Art Group as Poseidon’s shoal draped in hand-printed shell tunics and vibrant coral headdresses, Michael the Octopus, Sean the Lobster, Tommy and his Squid, alongside Wilma the Whale and a sea of tropical fish, turtles and jellyfish to bring up the rear!

Our route flowed from the Glasshouses, past “Turtle Beach” beside the Robert Fergusson Unit and the R.E.B entrance (where we engaged in some lively jellyfish jiving), before reaching the Community Gardens for a welcome break. Cyrenians staff and volunteers showed great hospitality as they shared refreshments and starfish scones amid competitive seahorse races. Our last stop at the Hive featured a performance of sea poems read aloud against a backdrop of delicate banners, bubbles and jellyfish bunting made in the Hive’s creative groups. 

Sea Trek was the culmination of three months of workshops with patients, staff and volunteers. Participants transformed everyday and discarded materials into extraordinary creations: curtains became tentacles, umbrellas transformed into jellyfish, cardboard excavated from the Hospital Tech Department became painted seascapes, tropical fish, seahorse placards and turtles, bedding became a whale and last year’s giant carrot was reborn as a squid!

Sea Trek parade was a celebration of all the imagination, creativity and energy of the REH community. Thank you to everyone who took part!