About Me

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No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.

Thursday, November 22, 2018

B is for Baubles!

Well, I know it's ONLY November, but time marches on and waits for no man, and the bauble season is a funny one, the retail sector like these cleared well in time to set-up for the Boxing Day sales, so the season is really now, and has been busy for three or four weeks.

Also one of the nicer thing to come out of the combination of the soviet-hegemonic 'wall' falling and the move away from plastics (odd combination but bear with me), has been a real resurgence in the blown-glass ornament, the art of which excels in those parts of Europe which were behind the Iron Curtain!

See, method in the madness; Poland, Eastern Germany and Czechoslovakia (now the Czech and Slovak republics) are the real home of fancy glass baubles, and their migrant decedents - once 'illegal's' (ask the Natives) - have taken the skill to North America.

Baubles; Big Ben Bauble; CC Coco Channel; Christmas Baubles; Christmas Decoration; Coco Channel Bauble; Guardsman Bauble; Guardsmen; London Tourist Keepsakes; Novelties; Novelty; Pill Box; Pillar Box Bauble; Post Box Bauble; Routemaster Bauble; Seasonal Toys; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tiger Bauble; Tiger Pill Box; Tigers; TK Maxx; TKMaxx; Tourist Keepsake; Tourist Mascot; Tourist Trinket; Tree Decoration; Tree Hanger;
One of the stores leading that move back in recent years has been good old TKMaxx. This set was a bit brash for me, I like the soldier, he's a little smaller than the shelfie I took in TKMaxx's household subsidiary last year, and better decorated, but the other three would look a  bit daft on a tree I feel, still - probably aimed more at tourists?

Baubles; Big Ben Bauble; CC Coco Channel; Christmas Baubles; Christmas Decoration; Coco Channel Bauble; Guardsman Bauble; Guardsmen; London Tourist Keepsakes; Novelties; Novelty; Pill Box; Pillar Box Bauble; Post Box Bauble; Routemaster Bauble; Seasonal Toys; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tiger Bauble; Tiger Pill Box; Tigers; TK Maxx; TKMaxx; Tourist Keepsake; Tourist Mascot; Tourist Trinket; Tree Decoration; Tree Hanger;
But I bought both these without a second thought! Also in TKMaxx and - like all their stuff - limited. The soldier is smaller still, and when I get around to setting the tree I'll get him out and compare him to the others, while the tiger was simply irresistible, with his enigmatic yet slightly threatening smile and golden shine!

Baubles; Big Ben Bauble; CC Coco Channel; Christmas Baubles; Christmas Decoration; Coco Channel Bauble; Guardsman Bauble; Guardsmen; London Tourist Keepsakes; Novelties; Novelty; Pill Box; Pillar Box Bauble; Post Box Bauble; Routemaster Bauble; Seasonal Toys; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tiger Bauble; Tiger Pill Box; Tigers; TK Maxx; TKMaxx; Tourist Keepsake; Tourist Mascot; Tourist Trinket; Tree Decoration; Tree Hanger;
My mother has a small fairing-like, porcelain, pill box with an equally wonderful tiger, so I introduced them and fired-off a few shots. I took these shots on the 27th of October and I'm still finding bits of glitter in the counterpane!

Baubles; Big Ben Bauble; CC Coco Channel; Christmas Baubles; Christmas Decoration; Coco Channel Bauble; Guardsman Bauble; Guardsmen; London Tourist Keepsakes; Novelties; Novelty; Pill Box; Pillar Box Bauble; Post Box Bauble; Routemaster Bauble; Seasonal Toys; Small Scale World; smallscaleworld.blogspot.com; Tiger Bauble; Tiger Pill Box; Tigers; TK Maxx; TKMaxx; Tourist Keepsake; Tourist Mascot; Tourist Trinket; Tree Decoration; Tree Hanger;
The Devil's tree wears Coco Channel! This is hideous! Overblown, fabric and faux-jewel draped, tasselled piece of jet-black nastiness, it was in an 'advertorial' in last year's papers (possibly the Metro) and I scanned it because I scan anything figural.

The best thing you can do with this is take it out the back and put it out of its misery with a sledge-hammer! If you put it on a Christmas tree kids would have nightmares, it's evil - look at its eyes!

I won't tell you what it cost because I've forgotten, but if you recognise the logo, you'll be able to have a good guess how many £3.99 tigers you can have instead - I think it's more than ten, many more!

2 comments:

Andy B said...

Yes, like the tiger, thanks for posting- may get one- normally never go near TKMaxx

Hugh Walter said...

They've got some really nice stuff this year Andy, and if you can't find it in TKMaxx, the same stuff is in Homesense in greater quantities, if you have one of them nearby.

H