A small wish - part 2

At Lorraine's house when we visited to collect the toddler, Henry gave Laura a very lovely denim handbag which he brought from the Sasha Festival.

Henry's gift for Laura from the 2015 Sasha Festival

In addition to helping the toddler from SusanLK make his way to England for my daughter, Norvell enclosed a gift for him which she bought at the festival.  It is a delightful outfit made by Sheila Foery - Superman shorts, t-shirt and socks.  After he had tried on his shorts made by his new mum, it didn't take Edmund long to decide he wanted to be Superman and do brave things so on went the new outfit from Norvell.

Edmund as Superman

Edmund strikes a Superman pose

Edmund was sitting on the sofa when he started to slide off it to go exploring

Peggy Sue spotted him and thought he was falling, so she helped Edmund back up onto the sofa again

Edmund managed to climb back up again with Peggy Sue's help

"I hope you're sitting comfortably away from the edge now" said Peggy Sue.  Edmund just smiled at her.

Peggy Sue sat down feeling pleased that she had arrived in time to help Edmund back up to his seat

As Peggy Sue wandered away, Edmund watched her go

Edmund slid down from the sofa again and stood behind Peggy Sue but she didn't notice.

He climbed off the stool and toddled off towards an interesting looking box

He discovered his swimming shorts in the box (made by his new mum) and some pretty fabric which came with him on his journey to England

Feeling bold, Edmund climbed into the box

and settled on the fabric for a rest 

Soon it was time to go home, my girl wrapped Edmund in his towel as it had been raining outside and she didn't want him to get wet.

Cuddling Edmund in his travelling towel

However in the end Edmund travelled on the final part of the journey to his new home in the doll bag made by Lorraine

SusanLK very kindly send the Mary Engelbreit fabric to me as a gift - maybe it will become a quilt, I'm still considering ideas.

Thank you Norvell for hosting Edmund on his journey to England and for his lovely new clothes.

We had a lovely time visiting Lorraine (and her glorious collection of dolls) and are so grateful that she offered to transport this little red head from the USA to England for us.

A small wish - part 1

I saw a Sasha toddler for the first time at the 2012 Sasha Festival. Later, the antics of Lonely, Lucas and Connor on Ronnie, Dee and Jen's blogs kept my younger daughter laughing and drew her attention to toddlers.  More recently in 2014 there was a big gathering of toddlers at the 2014 festival in the US and then at the Chat 'n Snap in the UK.  My daughter kept asking if she could save up for one, so we started her toddler fund (mainly any sales I made at the Chat 'n Snap, kind donations and she has been doing helpful chores around the house which she keeps track of in an account book).  I wanted her to understand that you can't just have everything you want straight away - it often means saving up and working hard.

Earlier this year I posted a request on Sasha Mart for anyone who might be selling a toddler to contact me.  Lorraine had suggested that if a toddler was for sale in the USA she could bring it back after the 2015 festival as these days the additional cost of UK customs and international shipping can really make buying a doll from overseas expensive.  After a few days I was contacted by SusanLK in Massachusetts who had a Claudius for sale.  A lot of emails flew back and forth, arrangements were made and in due course the toddler was posted within the USA to Norvell who was going to the festival (Susan couldn't attend and we didn't want the doll to be sent direct to the hotel).

Norvell kindly took photos which she emailed to my daughter when he arrived at her home.  This certainly helped increase the excitement about him as the waiting for his arrival continued.

Gotz toddler Claudius (photo by Norvell)

Close up of the toddler Claudius (photo by Norvell)

My daughter reading the email from Norvell with the picture of the toddler doll

The next stage of his journey was with Norvell to the festival in Texas where she gave him to Lorraine.  He is in such lovely minty condition that Lorraine decided not to take him out at the festival to photograph him attending it (we had given her permission to do so if she wanted to).  Norvell added a gift from the festival to his tube and he travelled to the UK in Lorraine's hand luggage with Henry (his tube went in her suitcase).

Lorraine arrived back in the UK just as my daughter went off to the first of 2 summer camps, so it was only today that we were able to arrange to meet up (at Lorraine's house) for my girl to finally get her longed for toddler boy.

Laura and Florence help open the toddler's tube

He was carefully wrapped in a towel and in tissue paper

Oh he is beautiful

One very happy girl with Laura, toddler and Florence

My daughter asked me to photograph her toddler's introduction to his new big sisters.  As he is a sailor boy, to make him feel at home Florence had dressed in her original Marina outfit and Laura wore the union flag with sailor collar dress which I made a couple of years ago.

"Hello, welcome to England little brother, I'm Florence and this is Laura"

"We have a gift - our girl made these swimming shorts for you" said Laura

"We think he likes the yachts on his swimming shorts"

"Thank you big sister Laura"

it is good to have a welcome cuddle

"Look, my new swimming shorts fit"

My daughter decided to name her new toddler 'Edmund' (Ed for short) an old English name which means 'fortunate protector'.  She was also considering 'Kelvin', a Scottish name which means 'friend of ships'.

giving Edmund a cuddle

I would like to thank SusanLK, Norvell and Lorraine for enabling my daughter's wish to come true in such a lovely way and helping to nurture her doll hobby.

There is a part two of meeting Edmund which follows in the next post.

Laura in London again

On a glorious sunny Sunday afternoon Laura set off with her family to London again for another outing.  We had a date with the BBC Proms again (Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Berlioz Symphony Fantastique played on period instruments) but as it was such a gorgeous day we decided that instead of a museum we would do some walking instead.

On the tube from Stanmore Laura had her hair tidied up

Tidying into a neat ponytail 

There, all ready for the outing in London

Laura studied the London Underground map to find the destination of Westminster

Houses of Parliament clock tower containing the bell 'Big Ben'

Laura stared through the gates at the Houses of Parliament

Next we visited St Margaret's Westminster alongside Westminster Abbey.  Unfortunately they have a policy of no photos in the church, so we couldn't photograph Laura with any of the fascinating carved memorials or the beautiful stained glass.  We did leave a donation in their box.

Laura peered up in amazement at the sheer splendour of the entrance to Westminster Abbey.  She did not go in because although it was free for her, it was very expensive tickets for the family unless we were attending a church service.

The amazing stone masonry above the West Door at Westminster Abbey

We walked through back streets (which were quiet on a Sunday afternoon) to Vincent Square then on to Westminster Cathedral - the Catholic Cathedral in London.  This was built in 1895-1903 and the internal decoration (mosaics) are still gradually being added (Byzantine style).  This was also free entry with plenty of donations boxes.  Once again, no photos were allowed in the Cathedral, however Laura was given a Peace badge by some anti nuclear campaigners who were standing outside the entrance reminding people of the terrible events in Japan 70 years ago.

Westminster Catholic Cathedral tower

We walked to Victoria where we found another branch of Giraffe (we like their food) and had an early evening meal.

Laura enjoyed some strawberries and ice cream (wearing her Peace badge)

An orange giraffe with the sugar packet on its head

Instead of catching the tube to South Kensington, as it was such a beautiful day, we decided to walk via Buckingham Palace to see the Queen.

Laura sees the Guard at Buckingham Palace

My younger girl and Laura outside Buckingham Palace

It was a warm walk from Buckingham Palace to the Royal Albert Hall with the evening sun on our faces.

Two tired girls resting outside the Royal Albert Hall waiting to go in

The Royal Albert Hall entrance opposite Hyde Park in the evening sun

Laura watched the orchestra (who stood to perform) just before they started playing Beethoven's fifth symphony in the BBC Prom

The Royal Albert Hall at night, opposite the Royal College of Music

It was a lovely day in London, the Proms were wonderful and we all enjoyed the outing.

July outing for Laura

Laura likes her travel bag made by Lorraine, it means she can come on outings with us.  Yesterday we went to London for the afternoon and evening.  We made a short visit to the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington which we have visited once before (but without Laura that time).  It is a vast place and despite the map it is still easy to get lost or distracted along the way to a particular gallery as every gallery contains so many interesting artefacts.  We were trying the find the Theatre and Performance gallery but somehow got side tracked by the Architecture gallery where Laura encountered some model houses.

Laura admires the model of a traditional Japanese House and wonders if Miss Happiness and Miss Flower live here

The model Japanese house at the V&A museum

Laura is impressed with the model of a suburban house

the information about the model Suburban House at the V&A museum

We found the Theatre and Performance gallery and Laura was delighted to meet Joey the horse from War Horse as we entered the gallery.

Laura says 'hello' to Joey, the War Horse

The information about Joey at the V&A museum

In the same gallery were 16 of the poppies from the amazing display which 'grew' around the Tower of London last year.  It was interesting that these were featured in the Theatre and Performance gallery - they were part of an art installation which triggered an immense and moving public reaction because of its scale and dramatic message.

Laura and my younger daughter look at the poppies up close

Some of the artwork for the poppies art installation at the Tower of London

Laura is interested in the orchestra in the wonderfully detailed model of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane

the information about the Theatre Royal Drury Lane model at the V&A museum

The side view of the model of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, showing how scene changing is done

We had a meal in Giraffe again, so added some plastic giraffe's to Laura's collection.  Then it was off to The Royal Albert Hall for the first ever prom of the whole musical 'Fiddler on the Roof', performed by Grange Park Opera with Bryn Terfel in the lead role.

Laura at the Proms again with my younger daughter

View of the stage during interval, it was a shame this prom wasn't filmed as the production was outstanding

During the interval while the girls went to get ice cream (expensive but it was a family outing) a voice behind me said "is that a Sasha doll?" I turned around and had an interesting conversation with a woman who admired Laura.  She recognised the Sasha face but was puzzled by Laura's legs as she remembered her daughter's Sasha having 'soft' (she actually meant curved) legs.  I didn't immediately realise that she was talking about a baby girl Sasha (an early 70s Trendon girl) until her daughter returned (I momentarily thought she was talking about a studio doll).  It was clear that that the baby had been cherished for years, she had kept her name of Sasha, though was no longer with her owner.  They did not know that Sasha dolls are not made any more and had come across the Gotz name in Harrods and Hamleys when looking at dolls for grandchildren (they liked the modern Gotz faces they'd seen).  I told them a bit about Sasha collectors and assured them that our little collection is small compared to some.  They were fascinated that Laura comes on outings and that Sasha collectors get together for social and creative gatherings.

It was a very good outing, Fiddler on the Roof was done wonderfully well at the Proms and the hall was packed.  The girls want to return again and again to the V&A as there is so much to see in that wonderful museum.