Time to Play

The photo challenge on SCS this week was Toys, with extra brownie points for colour.
We don't have kids, but since we also don't have TV, I think it's important to have books,toys and art/craft supplies available for when friends with kids visit. I still remember C's brother being totally amazed when his two lasted a whole afternoon without TV and without being bored.
The first picture is a Spelling House that my dad made when we were small. There were some interchangeable discs with different pictures and words on them. It was so cleverly designed, because you had to use memory to remember which knob would put which picture inside the closed door, and then you'd match the spelling to the picture by turning the knob in the centre of the flower. There was manual dexterity too, and coordination, because to get the little door open to see the mouse (he squeaks when you pull the little cord), you had to lower and raise one hand of the little boy on the side, and press the chimney down. His other hand has a bell, and when you raise that hand, a little bell rings inside the house.  This has had a lot of love over the years, and is showing it's age slightly, but is still in perfect mechanical order.

My other picture is a pre-school toy made by Bluebird toys (Big Yellow Teapot, Big Red Fun Bus, Big Jumbo Fun Plane, Polly Pocket) in the late eighties/early nineties. Despite being an award-winning toy it didn't sell as well as some of their other toys - I never could understand that. Both of us used to work for the company which had the agency for Bluebird, and when the Tool Street Gang was retired, I was lucky enough to get the sample from the showroom - along with a Big Red Fun Bus too. Kids of all ages have had fun with this. When we visited my brother recently, my 12-year old nephew was trying to remember the names of all the tools, so I guess I should send him this photo. It required a bit of a hunt to find Mr Squirt, so now I need to go and get all the Lego and Duplo back where it belongs. We're going to need to cut the grass soon, although there is snow forecast for this week - in which case it will be all wet and soaked again.

Loving behaviour? This morning when I threw some worms out for the robins, I saw one of them fly down to the patio, pick up a worm, fly back to the wall and feed it to the other. Then I saw the same again this afternoon when I was out taking my toy pictures. This time they were both on the ground, but one of them chirped, and then the other one fed it. Now that I know to watch out for this I hope to get a photo.