Wildlife ice sculptures in London

This video is called Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, 1/2.

Part 2 is here.

From British daily The Morning Star:

Chainsaws replace chisels at ice sculpting festival

(Friday 09 January 2009)

A FLURRY of ice crystals and the whirr of a chainsaw marked London’s first ice sculpting festival on Friday.

Huge blocks of ice, each weighing about two tons, were sawn and chiselled into artworks interpreting the theme, wildlife in the city.

Sculptors from Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Bulgaria have until 11am on Sunday to turn the blocks into something which will impress the judges.

Freelance art critic Carol Cordrey, who organised the festival at the Natural History Museum in central London, said that the teams had to submit designs but she would only say that they ranged from ants to trees.

“I need people to come and see it emerging,” she said.

Britain: Public-sector union UNISON took a chilling warning about the dangers of making cuts to the public sector to the Tory Party conference in Manchester on Wednesday. An ice sculpture of a hospital porter, together with his NHS wheelchair, melted throughout the day, promoting the union’s Million Voices campaign message: here.