![Ely Standard: It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: CAROLINE CAWLEY.]( "Ely Standard: It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: CAROLINE CAWLEY.")
It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: CAROLINE CAWLEY. (Image: Archant)
The Day of the Duck was put together over six years by artist Helen Stratford, from Fordham, alongside Lawrence Bradby.
It uses the form of play script and instructional manual to dig away at the “muddied idea of Englishness”.
This duck noir story follows a Muscovy duck as it questions the residents of Ely.
Mayor of Ely Mike Rouse accompanied Helen and Caroline Cawley from Babylon to learn more about the book last week.
![Ely Standard: It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: CAROLINE CAWLEY.]( "Ely Standard: It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: CAROLINE CAWLEY.")
It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: CAROLINE CAWLEY. (Image: Archant)
Helen said: “It was a great chance to give Mike a copy of the book as he couldn’t come to the original launch.
“It is very quirky and some people may get a totally different view of it from someone else reading it.
“You can read between the lines and see the contemporary issues it holds.
“So far it has been great and I have been really pleased with the responses.”
![Ely Standard: It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: CAROLINE CAWLEY.]( "Ely Standard: It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: CAROLINE CAWLEY.")
It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: CAROLINE CAWLEY. (Image: Archant)
It comes as Helen had a successful London launch at the RIBA Bookshop in Portland Place last month, which more than 40 people attended.
Artist Elspeth Owen called the book “a magnificently sustained political speech”.
It was also selected by a-n the artist’s information company as one of the top 10 artists’ books of 2018.
The Day of the Duck is now on sale at Babylon Gallery and Burrows Bookshop in Ely at £15.99.
![Ely Standard: It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: HELEN STRATFORD.]( "Ely Standard: It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: HELEN STRATFORD.")
It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: HELEN STRATFORD. (Image: Archant)
![Ely Standard: It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: CAROLINE CAWLEY.]( "Ely Standard: It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: CAROLINE CAWLEY.")
It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: CAROLINE CAWLEY. (Image: Archant)
![Ely Standard: It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: CAROLINE CAWLEY.]( "Ely Standard: It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: CAROLINE CAWLEY.")
It was a day of frivolity as artist Helen Stratford launched her The Day of the Duck book at Ely riverside along with a feathered friend and Mayor Mike Rouse. Picture: CAROLINE CAWLEY. (Image: Archant)
![Ely Standard: The Day of the Duck had a successful London launch at the RIBA Bookshop in Portland Place last month. Picture: NICK CHEEK.]( "Ely Standard: The Day of the Duck had a successful London launch at the RIBA Bookshop in Portland Place last month. Picture: NICK CHEEK.")
The Day of the Duck had a successful London launch at the RIBA Bookshop in Portland Place last month. Picture: NICK CHEEK. (Image: Archant)
![Ely Standard: The Day of the Duck had a successful London launch at the RIBA Bookshop in Portland Place last month. Picture: AIDAN MCNEILL.]( "Ely Standard: The Day of the Duck had a successful London launch at the RIBA Bookshop in Portland Place last month. Picture: AIDAN MCNEILL.")
The Day of the Duck had a successful London launch at the RIBA Bookshop in Portland Place last month. Picture: AIDAN MCNEILL. (Image: Archant)
![Ely Standard: The Day of the Duck had a successful London launch at the RIBA Bookshop in Portland Place last month. Picture: GORDON SHRIGLEY.]( "Ely Standard: The Day of the Duck had a successful London launch at the RIBA Bookshop in Portland Place last month. Picture: GORDON SHRIGLEY.")
The Day of the Duck had a successful London launch at the RIBA Bookshop in Portland Place last month. Picture: GORDON SHRIGLEY. (Image: Archant)
![Ely Standard: The Day of the Duck had a successful London launch at the RIBA Bookshop in Portland Place last month. Picture: NICK CHEEK.]( "Ely Standard: The Day of the Duck had a successful London launch at the RIBA Bookshop in Portland Place last month. Picture: NICK CHEEK.")
The Day of the Duck had a successful London launch at the RIBA Bookshop in Portland Place last month. Picture: NICK CHEEK. (Image: Archant)
![Ely Standard: day of the duck]( "Ely Standard: day of the duck")
day of the duck (Image: Archant)
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