X is for Xavier the Mouse . . . ♪♫♪ Where? There . . . There on the Stair! ♪♫♫♪

Heh-heay! I found him, and for the second time . . . sort of, but I'll bore you with that story in a minute, I think we've looked at Xandria Holland twice now or three times, and with stuff from Chris, Theo and a recent purchase, we'll be looking at them again soon, but on those previous occasions I mentioned the fact that I had the mouse with the cheese when I was a kid . . .

. . . and here he is in all his polyvinyl chloride glory!

I can't now remember whether it was aunty Margret or aunty Ruth who gave us these, but one summer's day in the late 1960's or early 1970's we - four middle cousins - all had one, I was given the above, I can't remember which of two my brother had, either the dog tramp (hobo) or the gopher (?) in chef's whites, I suspect he had the tramp, and one of the two cousins' had the chef? I can't remember anything about the fourth?

Anyhoos, we were playing in the bale-stack (as they built them my cousins would leave den's and tunnels hidden in them!) and I must have caught the cheese against some twine, it pulled loose and was gone forever (". . . needle in a . . ." and all that!), only to turn-up in a stiff envelope (no Jiffy back then!) the following winter, after it turned-up in the sweepings at the end of the selling/feeding of bales season!

The two parts hung-around in a drawer for years after, but I hadn't discovered PVC welders in those days, so it went the way of all flesh when we moved-house in 1980. Now he's back and I'm quite pleased to see him! He never had a name, so now he's Xavier - after the maker, because Xandria is a female name apparently! And obviously he's a little mouse with clogs on!