I received an enquiry from another Arndale Centre. This was from the Kirkgate Shopping Mall in Bradford who wanted a couple of sculptures. For them I made a variation of my Hippopotamus design and an enclosed slide in the form of a Praying Mantis.
I had made snakes before but I tackled a much larger one for the Bond Street Shopping Centre in Leeds - a climb-on, crawl-through Giant Snake - which had to be made in Iroko. This is a teak-like W African hardwood which I found more difficult to work with, but was required to match up with the other wood features in the Centre.
Another Arndale Centre, later called the Swansgate, was in Wellingborough, and they asked for a play sculpture. For them I made a wooden Dragon. After its service in the shopping centre it was passed on to a local pub - the Green Dragon - who painted it green.