There are just a handful of people left here at Steampunk-Shrunk Towers who remember the touring days. The rest of us listen with a mixture of respect, envy and terror as they tell us tales of being bubble-wrapped, boxed and thrust into Mrs S’s trusty old wheelie suitcase, then trundled away on journeys lasting many hours.
“Ah,” they say, “but when you finally arrive and are unpacked – then it’s all worth it! You’ll be placed ever so carefully in just the right spot to display your fine costumes and intricate details. Fairy lights and spotlights will illuminate the stall and people will come to stare, to gasp, to admire… and sometimes to buy and take you off to a new home.”
We had almost given up hope of experiencing a fair ourselves, but now we have FOUR to look forward to before the end of the year!
The months of lockdown in the Towers have been pleasant enough. The visits from the plague doctors and others were diverting, but to see Mrs S dusting off the suitcase and searching out her stocks of bags and boxes… Well we can’t deny that we are more than a little excited.
Some of our favourite finds are the little packs of boot and shoe eyelets we pick up for a fairly modest price (and an excellent cause) from the local children’s hospice charity shop. They are leftover stock given to the charity by Clarks – the famous shoe manufacturers a mile or two down the road.
There are all manner of fancy designs, though. It didn’t take us long to realise that they would be ideal as miniature candlesticks.
Steampunk - Shrunk! 