Big Freeze flashmob strikes Kendal (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Big Freeze flashmob strikes Kendal

1:36pm Saturday 13th March 2010 in

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TIME stood still for people in Kendal town centre today as Market Place witnessed a stationary ‘flashmob’.

Around a dozen people took part in the Kendal leg of the UK Big Freeze - a co-ordinated event that occured at 25 different towns and cities across the country at 12.30pm.

The event, which was organised through online social networking sites such as Facebook, started shortly after the sounding of an airhorn - which seemed to startle unwitting diners sipping lattes at nearby Cafe Nero. After around ten seconds participants stopped what they were doing and stood still for around five minutes before another airhorn blast - causing more bewilderment - signaled the end of the event.

Chris Ashton, of Parkside Road, Kendal, who works at the Brewery Arts Centre, took part in the event by standing still near the Game shop.

“It was really good,” he said. “I have seen things like this on YouTube and this was the first opportunity to do this in Kendal.

“It felt quite cool. I could hear people round me wondering what was going on. Though I thought it would have been better if it was closer to a landmark.”

Dan Jones of Castle Street, Kendal, also joined in.

“It was good,” he said. “I quite enjoy standing still in one place. I used to do it at the youth theatre. It is good to get involved in stuff like this because it brings people together and it is a bit of fun.”

Daniel Charles, of Barrow, organised the Kendal flashmob and said the event was to raise awareness of the World Wildlife Foundation charity and global warming.

“On the Kendal Big Freeze Facebook page there were more than 200 people signed up to do it but I think people got scared, but I’m happier than no-one doing it,” he said.

The event was filmed and Kendal footage is to be edited in with footage from the other UK Big Freeze locations to make a short film to appear on YouTube.

A flashmob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then disperse or continue on their way as if nothing happened.