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Sarah Todd: A bid for peace and quiet as arguments rage in toyland
AUCTIONS get under the skin. We've had many an outing to a farm sale and got carried away bidding. A desk with woodworm, a stone duck with part of its foot missing …
The latest bout of bidding came about after arguments about fencing. No, not the ones between us grown-ups. The spats being referred to are much more vocal. They usually involve bedtime raids followed by allegations of theft and torture tactics to recover the allegedly stolen property.
Yes, it's the children. They've each got toy farms set up in their bedrooms. The boy's is actually a farm combined with a riding school that has "no girls allowed".
Every night there has been bickering about not having enough fencing to keep their animals separate.
"We need an arena to ride in, a field for the cows, somewhere for the sheep, then there are the pigs and that field of corn that needs to be fenced …"
So, the upshot has been – for the second time ever – a visit to the computer auction site, eBay.
The first foray was when the daughter needed a tweed hacking jacket for last summer's shows. An ancient Harry Hall was picked up for a fiver and, it has to be said, looks a lot better this year now she's grown a bit. Poor child though, the weight of the cloth is such that if it's a hot day it gets terribly scratchy. It's a wonder she's never passed out.
"It'll do her for another couple of years," says her father, with genuine admiration for this example of frugality.
Anyway, back to the toy farms. "Britain's farm toys" was typed in and, believe it or not, more than 3,900 items were listed for sale. If only my brother and I had looked after ours better, we'd be sitting on a small fortune.
Within minutes, three lots of fencing were found. With a few pieces of new now costing not far off 5, it was easy to get carried away. We're now the owners of boxes of metal fencing, stone walling, along with plastic and wood enclosures. Some of it was date-stamped 1979, but it couldn't be faulted. It would be interesting to hear readers' tales of how many generations down the line their farm toys are still being used.
Interestingly, the William Britain Company employed home workers who were paid per figure to paint the items. Some rarities produced at the time – which would be highly sought after now – include the village idiot (wonder what today's politically correct brigade would make of that?), a Jersey cow with a bell, and a dairy cow with a map of the world painted over her.
Sure we had a Jersey cow. Now, a) did she have a bell? And b) where is she?
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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