A Manager's Life
Leo never imagined that as a shopping centre manager he would be called upon to be a rabbit...
"I was Warren the rabbit.
The original Warren was sick with a funny, bunny tummy so I had to parade around the town of Rhyl on the north Wales coast in this rabbit outfit.
At the end of my tour I was feeling hot, sweaty, and thirsty so I retired to a local watering hole for a cold drink, still in character. I noticed a young boy who was taking quite an interest in me - Warren. He whispered to his Dad and they disappeared to the restaurant area.
The boy re-appeared with an ear-to-ear grin and presented me with a... carrot.
I hopped back to my office to change magically from Warren into the Manager of Rhyl's White Rose Shopping Centre.
Centre managers and rabbits are not normally synonymous, but this was all part of an Easter advertising campaign to promote the centre. We had events at various times of the year. Christmas was the big one, but also Easter, Mothers' Day, Fathers' Day, you name it day.
Many people's perception is that a shopping centre manager is sat at a desk all day. Some people don't even know that there is such an animal but, in fact, my job brought me in touch with many interesting people, whilst I also had responsibility for all aspects of running the centre and the car park.
My job description certainly didn't include dressing up in an animal costume, but when Warren went sick how could I refuse?
I have also been a stand in Santa, but that wasn't worth a carrot compared to being a rabbit!"
Leo Farrell
