Playing

 Well flicking through my photos I came across a folder one called Miniatures.  It recalled the years I had furnished the Georgian dolls house we had plus of course making little boxed room sets.  I had all the tools, a miniature lathe, tiny drills and chisels and sent off for specialised wood from an expert.

I had bought the dolls house at Tridias the toy shop in Walcot Street in Bath, also a small octagonal shop, with a gold cupola on top, an imitation of Beckford's Tower up on the downs.  I fitted the shop with shelves and made the hats from bits and pieces.  Note: simple way to make hats from felt, is to shape with glue and then mould onto the bottom of the rounded base of screwdriver, something round anyway.

Then I went on to creating tableaus in  boxes.  Firstly there was Farley Hungerford castle, we did a dig there and the custodian told wonderful stories about the ghosts of the castle.  For instance the three little children coffins  down in the crypt when once the custodian stayed down there one night in the crypt for a bet..  She was woken up in the middle of the night by a child's voice saying 'I'm  cold'!  Yes I was a bit sceptical as well but she put her coat over the coffin.   At the moment l am listening to Barbara Erskine and her book which talks of leaving a wife to starve too death.  'Lady of Hay'.  Is  the book. The second photo with its chain and swords were put to good use by Tom for killing the dolls;)

When I had nimble finger making the pictures and frames was easy.  Though I note I was in my William Morris stage.  I started buying furniture, intricately perfected by much better miniature furniture people than myself and Christmas arrived in the scene with the purchase of a Xmas tree.

Then my favourite, Prittlewell Saxon Burial.  A father buried by his sons. Pagan and Christian objects within the burial chamber.  I used my little Persian salt and pepper silver bowls and enjoyed creating the timbered effect out of soft wood. Also the bags and Roman chair had leather from a purse.

I had found a box of all the little pieces of china, I must have kept, it sits now on my desk, Lillie hasn't found it yet, she was the only one interested in the Georgian dolls house, it had become a 'grown-up' hobby unless you think of yourself as a child of course.

Two early ones than I finish: the first is a sketch of Gandalf.  The story  of Lord of the Ring echoed through my life.  I was first introduced to it in Blonay by my then husband and have read it a couple of times.  A great classical telling of another imagined world.

The second tableau is of a small Roman temple, again the Roman temples round Somerset with their secrets.  There is one along the Bristol estuary that many little statues of dogs were found.  Apparently the saliva of a dog is healing - bet you didn't know that!