St. Hils may be a miniature dollshouse church but to Pebbles it is............

Hiya Everyone
It is true........St. Hils  really IS a 1/12 scale miniature church..............well to me, and you and, of course to many others too.  However to our Pebbles it is something FAR more important and that is..........................................an outpost for sentry duty!
You see, Pebbles succeeds our late hen cockatiel, Cheeky, whom we also nick named our "winged sentry" on account of her habit of using our church as a sentry outpost to keep guard on the garden.............keeping unwelcome guests away.
Of course to Pebbles as to our dear late Cheeky, "unwelcome" unfortunately for us, means something completely different.
There we are............putting wild bird food out to encourage the local song bird population to come IN to the garden as our WELCOME guests......whilst we have our Pebbles on the scene who's main aim in life would appear to be........keeping OUT the local song bird population! 
You may be asking HOW effective our Pebbles is in his "winged sentry" duties.  Well fortunately for us......not very well at all.  He may think he is big and frightening..............but when the crunch comes and a really BIG bird comes flying over the house...............he cowers on the room side of the sloping church roof so that he can't see the said bird...................  We find him completely hysterical of course.................and when he is REALLY frightened of any of the birds he sees he does a double loop around both the living area and kitchen to show off his displeasure with his "unwelcome" guests.

We, Andrew and I, have taken "winged sentry" from an anthem called "My Soul there is a Country" (the composer of which temporarily escapes us both but Andrew thinks it may be Parry).

With no further ado here you can see our Pebbles "in position" as he "keeps guard" over the garden for us....

I think this gives you a good idea of scale too................  I am not sure if there ARE any other people who find that their dollshouse has accidentally doubled up as something completely different......................but please let me know if there are any strange "other" uses for your dollshouses.........I will be MOST interested.........

On a slightly different tack we visited Andrew's parents yesterday.  Andrew's mother is an avid miniaturist just like myself and also has a wonderful dollshouse she takes great pride in.  In fact his father has even made an extension to her dollshouse many years ago now and it really looks great.  At Christmas she even has Father Christmas on the roof............just about to descend down the chimney.............................

This leads me on to my next "idea" for St. Hils.  I am fully aware that printing off almost any internet browser is not very easy.....................you can be sure that, however you try, the printer will NOT print the right things on the right page.............or the page is too wide and the printer only prints half a photo on one page and half on another.  I do know that Internet Explorer has improved with later editions in being able to shrink to fit the page when printing.........but the print may be TOO small as a consequence for some to read.

So I have, over the last few years, been keeping a parallel "book" going in which I include all my latest stories in printable form.  I have, in the last few weeks, finished a version of my book which I am hoping to provide to you all as a set of freely downloadable pdf files.............in bite size chunks so that you can collect the whole book over a period of time.  I was able to give Andrew's mother a copy of this book yesterday and she was, of course, thrilled to receive it.

I am letting you all preview the first part as a taster............................................St. Hilary's Miniature Church Year Book 2009 Part 1

However as with all projects...................................you realise "too late" you have got something wrong or around your neck.  Imagine my horror yesterday when, at Andrew's mother's home, I realised that I had included the "wrong" photo in my Miniatura Show visit story.................................................and then today when reviewing my book again........found spelling errors................arghhhhhhhhhhhhh  So today has been a busy time making sure there are no more............

However it just proves a point..............my St. Hils project will NEVER be finished.....................................but does it ever have to be?

Till the next time.............

PS - Please see my new photo on my Home page....... pasted below............................Miss Enid and Phoebe enjoy a game of dominoes....................................and even Eric has come to visit his son and wife and can't resist trying to help Miss Enid out too.......AND you can download it as a greetings card too......again on my Downloads page.............enjoy!

Celebrating the life of a St. Hils' supporter and dear friend.........

Hiya All!
Today I feel it only right and fitting that I pay tribute to my dear friend, Jan, who passed away last Sunday.  She was a devoted St. Hils' supporter and who was also a great contributor to St. Hils too.

It was Jan who suggested we used the weekly Common Worship Collects for our website and I have kept that up faithfully week by week.  Not only did she suggest them but she emailed me the whole lot so I had NO excuse or could say I "couldn't find them" online!  You see Jan was, for a while, the webmaster for Holy Trinity Church, Stratford's website so I was able to return the compliment to her by helping her set that up after the last webmaster retired from the job.  She added the collect to the church's site and thought it a good idea for St. Hils.  I thought, "Why not?"..........after all, St. Hils is a REAL church too in my mind and equally worthy of having a weekly collect too.  The collect gives weekly focus on the site to the church year as the Anglican church celebrate it..............and of course St. Hils IS part of the Anglican church.......even if it is just "in miniature"!

When I set St. Hils up I was very keen that we had all the "right" church furniture for liturgical use.  However Jan was extremely observant and noticed that we were missing one particular item and she took care that we had one as a gift. Unbeknown to me she approached John Cheal of "Saved in Time" and commissioned him to make us our very own processional cross.  You can see the processional cross used for the first time in St. Hilarys here...............Rev Ken was MOST privileged to carry it for the church for the very first time at Christmas. 

This approach to John proved invaluable to us because John's craftsmanship skills are second to none working as he does, in both wood and non-precious metals. We even took a big risk and asked him if he would consider trying to make us a 1/12 scale brass eagle lectern for St. Hils too.  Of course he agreed to the challenge and the rest is history.  John went on to make more commission items for us too including the organ, altar rail, tea trolley, (a strange request I know but we attended a church for years where a tea trolley was an integral part of the church - serving drinks after some services..complete with urn too!) and paschal candle to name a few!  ALL thanks to Jan who knew how talented he was!

I can't finish this blog without mentioning her one other important contribution to St. Hils.  Jan, with her husband, was, for a few years, a representative for the Church of England Children's Society so it was only natural that, when we had our very own Christingle Service in St. Hils, she kindly offered to let us have one of her sermons which she preached at a real Christingle service in St. George's Church, Coventry.

Jan is one of many people who have given of both their time and talents to St. Hils so it is lovely that I am able to share her contributions with you all today.   I will always remember her with great fondness and her legacy will live on in St. Hils......................
Till the next time..........

PS: You won't believe it - I have yet ANOTHER darned cold - and it feels worse than the last one!  However I managed to convince the pharmacy assistant in a local Boots store to sell me the illusive "purple bottle" of Covonia today..............you know the one...................it is the night time version for tickly coughs (with cough suppressant and makes you lovely and dozy too so says a work colleague!)  which they jealously guard behind the counter and only give it out if you give the right answers!  AND my answers were 100% honest as I admitted the original version did nothing last night with my cough keeping me up half the night.  I DO think the squeaky/croaky almost non-existent voice helped some lol

Is it too early to look forward to Valentine's Day?

Hiya Folks!
I have a great idea for Valentine's Day next year (2010) and it is courtesy of Frances of Buttercup Miniatures who suggested this one.  You see.....................if you remember, in a previous blog, I was worrying about poor Miss Enid's hands freezing to death in the Winter months because of the erratic heating in St. Hils so had the idea that she would enjoy having a pair of gloves as a Christmas present at Christmas.  She can wear them when not playing so as to keep her poor arthritic finger as agile as possible.
Frances has told me that gloves were traditionally given as a Valentine's Day present in pre-Victorian times. The tradition started back in Saxon days apparently.  PERFECT I thought!  And so.........................whilst at the last Miniatura Dollshouse Show I made a point of buying her a pair alongside a matching leather purse courtesy of The Luggage Lady. 

Of course our Miss Enid must have a suitor..............and there is just one obvious candidate in St. Hilarys at the moment......who is.....................the vicar!  So a future storyline is already born!  I am not sure how much our Miss Enid likes the vicar......but he has definitely taken a liking to her and is plainly keen to let her know.
You can see him hanging around her coyly when she finds this anonymous little Valentine's present left on her organ stool...............she is MOST curious.

Of course we all hope that she is pleased with this........................as she opens it.....................................The vicar sneaks back to pick up a Valentine's card he has already written out for her and is waiting to present her with it when she has opened the gift.................

You may all think that all is plain sailing here for the vicar as he can't see any competition for his affections .........yet!  However, courtesy of Jane Davies, who has agreed to consider another of my ideas for St. Hils, Miss Enid may have another potential suitor on the scene in the form of crusty old "Archie", the church verger.  Jane was only too pleased to consider the idea when I suggested it to her at the Miniatura Show.  She was even able to add flesh to the bones in more ways than one.........would you believe it but she actually KNEW an "Archie" who WAS a cleaner. I immediately felt that "Archie" was preordained and "meant to be"..................  However the twist here is.............this "Archie" was also a very good operatic singer too!  So as you can see...............if Archie arrives as verger/church cleaner he may well steal Miss Enid's heart with his beautiful voice....................but if he does.............poor Vicar ....watch this space.....................

In the mean time......................I will let you all wonder how Miss Enid receives these presents of a pair of gloves and matching purse............................and whether she is thrilled with the expression of affection in the card he has chosen for her to celebrate the day.................................................

As they say..............you are NEVER too old for love.......................................

Where will I go next?  Now THAT is the question!

Till next time!

My poor Ernest in the wars again poor chap................my fault too probably!

Hiya again Folks
This may be a short blog today.  As some of you may have discovered, I have actually created my new Remembrance day for All Souls!  I would also love to say it all went smoothly........but no.....it didn't!  I had quite a panic.  Some of you who have been reading my blog regularly will realise that I had a sad accident with our duck and drake, Esme and Ernest - two Mallard ducks.  I thought I had done a pretty good job sticking their beaks back with some of Andrew's wood glue so imagine my horror this afternoon (I only work mornings on Thursday and Friday!) when, whilst trying to pose young Tom in front of the pulpit where he was to hold up his paper with the name "Bungle" on it as his late pet hamster, my poor Ernest must have fallen on to the church floor and I picked him up to see................half his beak missing...............arghhhhhhhhhh

As you do I tried to be practical and NOT panic but that was quite difficult.  It got worse if you can believe because I had the added issue of our hand reared cockatiel, Pebbles, who, with immaculate timing as per usual, decided to fly downstairs and join in the fun by landing on my head and church - NOT good!  I had to sport my sun hat bought for our last trip to Australia back in July/August/September 2007.  Pebbles HATES it and hisses at it like mad............but apart from a very hot head for me it is better than him doing what male cockatiels love to do on a nice head of hair..............say no more..............and before you ask - NO - he has yet to show ANY kind of learning curve on this matter at all but any tips welcome!

I cleared the area where poor Ernest had been the best I could................I picked up various little bits in the church as the light was not good enough to see properly...................and thinking I was on to a good one at one point to find it was a ...................................cockatiel seed................again..........arghhhhhhhh  I am sure that, even IF I never found the proper article - ie a bit of broken beak, poetic licence would not allow that seed to work at all as part of my poor Ernest's beak - joke!
Having failed to see anything I had a brain wave.......................my daylight bulb I used for my photo shots - HOW stupid was that to forget THE most often used tool of my trade when on a St. Hils photo shoot!
So I shone the light in and presto.........THERE the little bit of beak was..........it was hiding at the back......................  I was thrilled..............never mind the fact that most of my poor porcelain dolls were strewn about on the backs and stomachs on pews.........floor.....squashed between the choir stalls and altar rail................................ALL in a desperate effort to rescue my poor Ernest's pride and joy and all that makes him a duck........ie........his beak!

I can now report that Ernest is almost "good as new" (well as good as can be "post" his last accident!) ..........having extrapolated the wood glue from one of the drawers in our coffee table and courtesy of one fat pin which I used to streak the glue on to broken part of the beak on the duck itself.........  It may not be normal for a duck to be sitting on an altar......but that is where he is..................til he feels a bit better and I feel more confident to "pose" him for any more photoshoots.......................
And here he is....................on the altar with GP, Gracie's pet guinea pig keeping him company until he feels better........

I think I have done quite a good job here considering I am left handed and have cut my left hand index finger so have had to sport a plaster.......................amazing what you do when you have to...........and the odds of me finding the said broken beak bit was not that good given the fact that things, being so small, can easily fall on to the carpet and then can be lost forever....................

I can now return to the matter of the two stools that I bought last Saturday.  They look really nice I think as the first photo on my new page on All Souls.....(link as above) ...............................................but to save you visiting the page here is the photo...

I had to include Miss Enid..............and I do think she looks rather nice sitting on the stool.  I had quite a job placing her spectacles.........................but we got there in the end.......  Emily also sits on the stool most elegantly too. 

I have just checked this in the "preview" window and note that I started this as a "short blog".........whoops!
Anyway.......till the next time...............

My lovely new Christmas tree to show off today.

Hiya again folks!
I am back again to show off my new Christmas tree which I bought at the Miniatura show with the help of my sister, Catherine, and husband, Andrew.  I will have to save it till next Christmas though because, as I have told you all before, this year's is already set up and done and dusted.......ready to upload when the time is right!

I have to thank my sister, Catherine Davies, of http://www.dollshouseheaven.co.uk/, for sending me the adaptor and also adding a little extension lead too so I can plug my tree in to light it up.   You see......Vic Newey who put St. Hils together and extended it for me has already wired it all so we have no actual sockets in the church to plug my new tree in.  Thankfully Catherine posted me this little adaptor gadget so I CAN see my tree all lit up under our bell tower!
And here it is......

The original uploaded is a decent size so please feel free to left click it to see it all in greater detail!  I sadly couldn't resist including our Grace again....................................even though I had to re-set her standing up when her joints pinged back again in her legs and hips.........arghhhhhhhhhhhh.  Eric too had to come in on the act and he, as you can see, is having a little chat to Prince whilst Megan is also admiring the new tree.

I have kept Frances', of http://www.buttercupminiatures.co.uk/, crochet angel..............so instead of having an "either star OR angel" we have BOTH!  Well why not?............................the wise men were led by a star............but the shepherds were guided by angels to find the baby Jesus so it is most fitting for our tree to sport both for biblical accuracy.........!  Poor Grace..........she is trying SO hard to reach that star and angel................but something tells me she is just NOT quite tall enough is she?  I think Magnifi-Cat has just come to see what all the fuss is about.................although we hope he doesn't spot Sepp the rat who is also sheltering for safety from Magnifi-Cat by sitting very close to Prince!

I have done it again........strayed into fantasy land.................but I really can't apologise for that I am afraid.  ....  EVEN after having a couple of my work colleagues declare me "completely mad" after reading one of my latest blogs I can unashamedly tell you all that my being "completely mad" is THE only tool that keeps me "completely sane".......................SO THERE!

As I often tell my friends and family and work colleagues....................there are many bad addictions in the world..........but thankfully an obsesssion with fantasy and miniatures is NOT one of them!

I am sure I will find more St Hils musings to share with you all soon........................so...........until then..................

PS - just to say.....I have just this minute (4.40pm BST Thurs 15/10/09) uploaded the above photo as a downloadable Christmas card on our Downloads page.......so DO go and check it out - it is a pdf file for ease of printing and viewing etc...

Thanking you all muchly.........

Hiya Folks!
A quick one today !
Just want to say a big "Thank you" for the awards - they are great to receive! 
You will be delighted to know that I have bought some miniature playing cards...................again for my games day/afternoon.  I promise to set my "children" up soon so you can all see the games we have for them to play.
I am not much good at card games...........so I will have to investigate and decide which card games the children will most enjoy playing..............although solitaire would be good for any one of our children who prefers to be on their own for a while.....................

Pebbles seems a bit better today - he still sneezes a few times but he is certainly bright enough.  Yesterday he was causing a spot of bother around the gas cooker as the potatoes were boiling................he would insist on dancing and singing to the kettles nearby.............
Sorry this is short - but wanted to let you know that the awards were really great to receive......

Remembering.............

Hiya Again Folks!
I am back again to report on.............well not a lot today.  I just felt it right to share with you the beginnings of a new page for St. Hils.  I am focussing in on "remembering....." because, as I have mentioned before, November is, very much, a month of remembering for me every year and particularly even more so since the loss of my mother.

And so it has felt very right to devote at least one page on the topic at this time.  November has two main days which are devoted to "remembering" and they are All Souls Day (2nd November) when all who have passed away are remembered and then "Remembrance Sunday" (usually the second Sunday in November) when all who died fighting for the country are remembered nationally.

I confess to a slightly sombre mood at the moment.............................so without giving away any personal details..........just to say that, yesterday, I had it confirmed that a much valued friend is terminally ill and yes.........it hurt.  Fortunately my friend has a deep Christian personal faith so I KNOW that they are being  called to greater things and that their work here is done............but my humanity hurts............because yes........I know we will never exchange another email..................phone call..............or a light hearted exchange when sharing a mutual joke................  And of course - they fervently supported St. Hils and also were a great support to me on the loss of my mother.

And so..............to have a special page this year devoted to the act of remembering those we have loved and lost seems highly appropriate................
So without more ado I have to share with you the first couple of photos taken which will form part of this new page.
Here you can see Ambrose with the church's very own Book of Remembrance which is kept for church records.  He has been asked to bring it into church by the vicar so that the names of those who have passed away during the last year can be read out during the service.

 I do have to assure you all though that this will NOT be an entirely sombre occasion.......oh no......................that would NEVER do in St. Hilary's.  We can always count on someone in either our human or animal/bird community to lighten the mood........................

And so......................Esme and Ernest our resident Mallard ducks are anxious that they too add a very special name to the list of those to be remembered on this commemoration of All Souls Day.

Ernest wants the vicar to include his mother, Elsie, in the names because she passed away very recently and his father, Eric, is naturally devasted.  They hope that Eric will find time to come and stay with them........................   Whoops - I have strayed into fantasy land again.............but you can see where this is going can't you?

Before telling you about my latest purchases (yep - we went out yesterday and I chatted to the lady assistant in one of the shops that sells dollshouse accessories and yes.......I succumbed...............) I must tell you that I am quite pleased with my miniature "Book of Remembrance".....................all created in Image Composer/Word and then printed on our Epson R1800!  I just LOVE my Epson!
You probably are wanting to know what I bought yesterday................  I bought two stools.....NOT that exciting in themselves but you see, I only have a few chairs and some tables - but no stools.  And stools can double up as small tables too for my games day.............................. 

The lady assistant at the dollshouse shop has finally bought herself a couple of 1/24 scale Tudor style houses and is most excited about them.   She didn't have room for anything 1/12 scale so these are perfect. I think, however, I am sticking to 1/12........definitely small enough for me!  I have enough trouble with my clumsy fingers and, as you will know from previous blogs, have had a couple of accidents recently...........so yes......................will stick to 1/12 scale.........

Looking ahead and to Valentines' Day.......................................Miss Enid will be having quite a surprise from the vicar................................................I will share more later.................................

So folks........till the next time...............

PS: Pebbles, our little cockatiel, has caught a cold poor little chap but DOES it put him off his performances of "Pop goes the weasel" and "MAKE a cup of tea"..........well of course not. And he still enjoys perching on St. Hils and keeping an eye on the birds in our garden................AND a nieghbour's black and white cat who was also eying HIM yesterday afternoon from the top of a nearby garden shed.  I got my camera out but was just too late.........cos it would have made a great photo................

Gracie stands for the first time..........................

Hiya Folks
It has been quite a week so far.......what with the excitement of the Miniatura Show at the weekend.  Sadly my credit card got another bashing today in Marks and Spencers - they are SO clever aren't they?  I had already bought my favourite apple slices from the bakery section (doesn't that lovely smell of "just baked" entice you - such a clever trick - but we love it!) and was intent on dropping in to another shop on the way back to the office. 
Trouble was.......I got well and truly caught when I saw the "just in" arrivals not far in from the exit/entrance........and suddenly I found myself standing in a long queue (just what you want at lunch time) whilst clutching a pair of lovely soft grey cotton leggings and a beautiful purple sculptured top.  I always enjoy a banter at the till - and yes - they ALWAYS offer you a Marks and Spencers credit card so I ALWAYS decline but joke with them that I am trying to get RID of them at the moment..................................and the lady serving me worries that she is too old to wear leggings so I assure her nobody is EVER too old..................

Sorry about that - but I have to tell you that, after the hassles of my day, what with temporarily "losing" Pebbles, our cockatiel, (on account of him spooking because of our new chordless phone ring tone - giving me a temporary heart attack!),  and my broadband connection (I will spare you the details), I rather fancied seeing if I could get Gracie to stand up.
It IS quite tricky cos of her 14 joints.  Jane showed me the trick on Saturday when she handed her over to me.  It IS very tricky......as soon as you have ONE leg straight you start to work on the other...................and bingo the other leg springs back into a "sitting" position and you have to start again.  However...................I DID succeed and here is the result..................hope you all like it - I do!  Prince's eyes are spectacular too.........the detail is amazing..

Doesn't she look superb?  Shame she is not officially living in Daffodil Green yet isn't it?  But as I said - we don't want her to feel too jealous cos she is not included in this year's Advent Calendar nor Christmas page.  Make sure you click on this picture so that you can see the detail better............................

I HAD to add Eric our new duck on the block................just love him too!

I have an idea for All Souls Day.........................and you are welcome to comment ...............I am going to have it as they do in many churches throughout the land............and so St. Hilary's will remember all who have passed away in the last year and our congregation will submit names of those they want to be remembered too.

November is a very poignant month for me as my mother, Hilary Davies, passed away on the 26th so it seems fitting that All Souls Day is commemorated in November.

We, Andrew and I, will NEVER forget the amazing Autumn/Fall we had in that year of 2003.  My mother left us at the right time....................with all of those beautiful Autumn colours of red and orange.............and the mountains of orange and red berries on the trees and bushes too.  I felt it "right" and significant..............and in that way we knew that it WAS in God's own time..........................

Sorry to end on a sombre note..........but really it isn't................because my mother is well now.................

Till the next time.................

Miniatura Madness Part 2!

Hiya Everyone
I am back to report to you all on my second day at the Miniatura Dollshouse Show.  Did I add to St. Hil's collection of props and congregation you ask?  Well the answer to that question is a big YES! 

A certain duck had taken my fancy yesterday...............so poor Andrew had to cope with me insisting we went down EVERY aisle methodically after we couldn't find the right stall...........so of course WHEN we found the offending stall the least I could do was buy the said duck!

And so Eric is born...........he is a proud Mallard drake with attitude and he is made by the talented Aidan Campbell.  I did feel a little concerned for his lady friend as I had decided not to buy her too but Aidan's wife/partner assured us that she would be fine on her own........phew!  No doubt Aidan will find her a new mate soon enough............

So we here present Eric in all of his glory as he meets up with his son, Ernest and his wife Esme..........in the church sanctuary next to the altar where both Ernest and Esme were having a quiet time away from the noise and activity of the nearby village pond......................those ducklings and geese can be SO noisy at times!

Eric has come on a short visit to see his family...........but who knows........he may decide to make Daffodil Green village pond his new home!

Sorry about that folks........yet another trip into fantasy land.........................................

I mustn't forget to tell you that I also bought a couple of other items............some dominoes in an old fashioned little box which will create a great storyline as they will easily be presented as a family heirloom along the way................and then a tambourine for our new girl on the block, Gracie!  We can see even before she officially arrives that she will certainly add to the life of St. Hils in a great way............because she just loves to bring her tambourine along to church when she has a fancy and accompany the hymns and songs with it as she herself sings.......

Well - work for me tomorrow and I can tell you all now...........it will be back to earth with a bump for me BIG TIME - will I cope after an amazing Miniatura dominated weekend........?!

Til the next time folks................................oh and before I forget - do visit our new page and see how our "children" enjoyed their visit to the Miniatura Dollshouse Show ...........and find out why Esther was so cross with the children.........

Miniatura Madness.........................need I say more?

Hiya Folks!
As promised a "report back" after a day at the Miniatura Show at the Birmingham NEC.  I had a brilliant time.  I have a confession........I have added to our congregation........both human and pets!
My new "girl on the block" is Grace.............or "Gracie" as her new friends like to call her despite her protestations that she is "GRACE"!! 

I do not intend to showcase Gracie yet..................her family have not properly moved into Daffodil Green and they don't want to disrupt her education by taking her out of her present school at the moment preferring her to start afresh in January next year!  However you can have a preview of her as she makes a short visit to the village, her new school and St. Hils, which will become her local church! 

See her here as Adele comes to welcome her when she finds her under the bell tower complete with her pet guinea pig, GP!  She brought GP with her because he goes almost everywhere with her.......although NOT to school of course!  (left click to enlarge - I uploaded a 0.2meg photo so you will see her so much better if you do!)

Esme and Ernest have come along to greet her too..............................

You will all have to wait til after Christmas to meet our Gracie properly...........and I will also let you into a secret here.  I have already completed the page for Christmas and we feel Gracie would be very upset that she is not included if she had moved in earlier!

Now my third new member of the congregation is actually an ex-guide dog called Prince (courtesy of Pocket People - Sarah Schiff) Prince is a yellow labrador who was chosen to train as a guide dog.  Sadly he failed because he just ate everything in sight so he had to be found a new home poor chap.  Good thing that Rev Ken and his family take him in!  I have based this story on fact........a lady in our home group takes in rejected guide dogs and one of her last ones was rejected for this very reason.........this labrador would eat literally ANYTHING to the point that the family had quite a time keeping up with her antics as she raided fridges and anywhere which had.......well ....food actually.  And of course she would also eat other non-food items too.......a veritable nightmare she was.......but so well loved despite this rather mega fault!

Oops ..........apologies here because I strayed into my St. Hils world of fantasy here...............................a story is always being found!
Anyway - before I stray futher into fantasy...............here is Prince together with Grace who, by the way before I forget to tell you all,  is a 14 jointed doll by Jane Davies.

Gracie is the first 14 jointed doll I have bought from Jane and she is just wonderful.  She is also able to stand as well as sit which means we can use her for various poses which the other dolls are not so good at.  I just LOVE everything about her.  Jane told me today that the material for her dress is antique and she will be so sad when she finally finishes it all up.  If you are all wondering WHY we have called her pet guinea pig GP.........I can tell you that he (yes - her guinea pig is a boy we have decided!)  is named after the guinea pig of a work friend and before you ask........................it stands for ....Guinea Pig - original right?!

I also broached the subject of "Archie" as our new verger/church cleaner whilst at the show and it looks as if Archie may happen which is great........................but I can say no more ............yet.........
I can also tell you that I DID pick up a cut out kit (free courtesy of Dee Daw Designs on presentation of a voucher) for a trip to the Miniatura Show for our"children".......it includes a catalogue, tickets, sandwich pack, Miniatura bag and a cup of coffee!  I plan to take a couple of photos tomorrow (yep - back for a repeat visit tomorrow....CAN my bank account cope after today's extravaganzas?!) so that we can sprite our dolls out and make it look as if they really came along with us this weekend..................no promises it will work mind.............so watch this space.......

I did buy a few other things too...........but they can wait for inclusion in a later blog...........................
Til the next time..........