Children's Toy (unspecified)

Forget about whiskers on kittens or warm woollen mittens, some of my favourite things are cheap plastic toys. I've mentioned before how I love them and their packaging.

This is a cheap plastic rattle or noisemaker. Possibly it's a bit like a pair of clackers (which I remember quite fondly). The packet doesn't actually tell you what it is. It's a non-specific toy. But can you imagine Mummy's delight when Junior gets hold of this little instrument of torture and rattles away? Or the stinging blow that will result whent the elastic band snaps?

And yet, the picture on the packet is surprisingly dull. Poor little Junior just stands in the middle of a field, glumly holding his limp rattle. It looks like the most boring toy imaginable. He probably wanted a Wii instead.

Healing Fairy

"Clears Stress and It Works". No it doesn't. It's a cheap metal charm.

 Worryingly, it's not all that long ago that I bought this healing fairy in a gift shop. Even if you believe in fairies (and I sincerely hope not!), why would you believe that a bit of old tat would somehow harness their wonderful supernatural powers? It's not even a pretty piece of jewellery - this poor fairy has been hit with the magical ugly stick.

I don't know if they still make these. I couldn't find anything on the web about Wheal Kitty Crafts, and if you google 'healing fairy', you get over 12 million results, and quite frankly, life's too short to look at pages and pages of fairy nonsense.

However, in the interests of science, you can read the instructions below and make up your own mind. I love the way they explain it...

'Short trial period'! You bet!

How Collections Start

Thank you for accompanying me on another trip along the forgotten byways of kitsch ornamentation and curious home decor. As we meander down this less-travelled road, we find that the unexpected often turns into the familiar.

Just a few short years ago, I had never seen a plate with a furry 3-D animal in it, mounted behind convex glass. When I found the kitty plate above, I have to admit, I hesitated. Was it good kitsch or just bad weirdness? You see, dear reader, even I sometimes find it hard to tell. And there just isn't room for everything.

I bought it, more for its novelty value than for its beauty. (What do you mean, you thought that was why I bought all my stuff??) Anyhow, it must have grown on me, because when I found Mr Bunny, I didn't hesitate at all...

Big Hair

Well, of course, a china figurine is better with nylon hair added. That's just obvious.

This strange little cutie has enough hair on her enormous head to knit herself a large blanket, with some left over.

And if her hair isn't weird enough, look at her eyes. I think someone got a bit carried away with that 'millionizer' mascara.

Postcard Friday - Flowers, Cake, Coffee and Candles

 OK, I admit it - these are more of my strange European postcards. I can't help it - they're just so wonderfully peculiar. So, why did someone take the time to photograph coffee and cake and put it on a postcard? Well, we get a chance to take a peek at some quite nice mid-century china. And some tasty-looking cakes.
There must be a better reason, but I'm jiggered if I know what it is. Whatever they're about, I love the vintage style of these - the colours and the lighting are just great.

The two above were obviously by the same photographer, with the same cups and the same cake. Or is it the same cake? It's very nearly the same, but there are a few differences, so possibly from the same baker on different days? Or possibly this is putting far more thought into the whole thing than it really deserves?  Possibly, but did you also spot the randomly draped bits of fabric?

The first four were all printed in Germany, and I wondered if it was some sort of German custom, but these last two were printed in Greece.

The Greek photographer shuns the draped fabric, but adds candles instead. A romantic touch? Search me. The one on the left is no longer about the cake and coffee, but birthday presents instead. And a ceramic bottle.
So if that's a birthday postcard, then the others must be...er...
Nope, no idea.

Animal Biscuits

Whenever I go on holiday abroad, I love to visit a supermarket. The different foods and packaging just fascinate me, and I can find a surprising amount of pleasure in browsing canned goods or cereal packets. Does that make me very weird? Anyhow, when I'm not abroad, the next best thing is to visit the local Chinese supermarket.

I'm quite a sucker for cute oriental packaging, with kawaii characters on. And sometimes the food is cute too. I was amazed by these animal biscuits, with all the different, slightly obscure animals and birds.

 You don't just get bird-shaped biscuits, you get a duck, a pigeon, an eagle, a parrot, a penguin, a horn-owl(?), a hen, a rooster, and, according to the packet, there is also a pelican.

The animals are equally wide-ranging. To be honest, I think it is a little over-ambitious to try to portray the difference between a wild boar and a tapir in a biscuit that is only about an inch high, but hell, they've given it a try! They have also helpfully written the name of each animal on the biscuits. I'm glad they were in English, or I would have struggled to recognise some of them.

There is also a very random cartoon on the back of the packet. It's nice to see the animals have career aspirations beyond being biscuits.

Souvenir of Normandy

I got this miniature souvenir plate from the Normandy town of Sainte-Mère-Église about 10 years ago. At the time I was surprised by how much World War II was part of the tourist industry there. Nowhere more so than the little town of Sainte Mere Eglise.  When we arrived there, we were amazed to discover this.

Yes, it's a life size dummy of a paratrooper hanging from the church tower. Apparently this incident really happened to an American paratrooper in the D-Day operations in 1944 (he played dead and was left hanging there for hours), and it was portrayed in the film The Longest Day. It seems a bizarre kind of memorial.

I can understand that they still get war veterans and their families touring the area, and so there is a demand for maps and guides of the battlefields, memorials and cemeteries. But souvenirs with soldiers on? Well, yes, I bought one, but purely because I was attracted to the sheer oddness of it. I'm still not sure I really understand its appeal to any normal person. Or maybe it's a boys' thing?